Subject:Runs
Entries
Entry 3283
Take 'is undahweah if he's runnin' roun' or anythin'. Take it an' run it through yore laigs three times an' den he can't have no connection wit no othah woman an' he'll stop runnin' roun'. (You run it through your legs?) Yeah, run it through yore laigs three times.
Entry 3410
Yo' take an' go in dere an' take dere dishrag. Take dey dishrag an' use it on yoreself an' de man's self an' take it an' throw it in runnin' watah.
(What will that do?)
Well, dat will separate 'em. Dat's whut ah heard. (Separate a man and his wife?) Separate dem. (That is, some other woman that would want to separate a man and his wife, she Would take their dishrag - go to the house and get their dishrag. Then she would use it on this man and herself when they were together, and throw it into running Water. That would separate a man and his wife?) That's right.
(So this woman would get the other woman's husband?)
Dat's right.
Entry 3411
An' a woman take a man, if he mess wit anothah woman, an' she take a dishrag tuh wipe him wit it. If she want it tuh last always, take an' soak it in sugah, den wipe him wit it. Den yo' put it in a quart jar an' throw it in runnin' watah. Well, it jes' work fo' about thirty days. Jes' take de dishrag an' put it in a bottle up ovah 'is haid, yo' know, where no one won't git to it. It lasts thirty days.
(Where do they usually put it over his head?)
Jes' lak yo'd go out dis do' an' lak yo' comin' in from work, yo' come in dat do' - go back an' come in dat do'. He cain't mess wit no othah woman. Ah know dat's tuh be true. (You put that over the door, but if you soak that dishrag in sugar before you use it on him, then throw this into running water it will last all the time.) Yes. [Fayetteville, N. Car. (1504), 2571:11.]
Entry 3820
Cuz I had it happen to me, see. I wuz goin' wit a woman an' I'd stop- ped. Well, she got hold of de tape measure, yo' know, an' she took mah nature an' put it in a bottle an' wore it in 'er stockin'.
(Wore it in her stocking?)
Wore it in 'er stockin'. Like dis is, right in de middle, right at de knee of de stockin' - yo' know, here [demonstrates - in hinge of knee]. (I see.) Yes, put it in dere an' put a string below de knee an' one above de knee. An' she had me about six or eight months. Dere wuz anothah thing she wuz doin' too. But aftah dat I got - somebody told me about it, told me to get dis bottle soon as I could. Dey says dat would get mah nature back. I wuz in bed wit 'er an' jes' took it off. Told me took it an' put it in runnin' watah. I keep away from her den.
Entry 3822
(What do they say about tying knots?)
My boy said a girl tied knots on 'im, but ah don' [know] wha' 'tis, how she did anythin' lak dat. Ah've heard it. An' he foun' de co'd [cord] tied aroun' 'er wais' an' it had three knots in it. An' he jis' made 'er pull it off. [He] said dat a wo- man [hoodoo he had consulted] tole him tuh, dat if he would search 'er, she would have dat on. Said, "When yo' fine hit, take it an' run right on tuh de rivah an' put it in de rivah, say, "she goin' tuh jump on 'im [you] an' be mad an' goin' on, '' she say, "but jis' keep right on runnin' an' throw it in de rivah. Dat will break 'im [you] loose from 'er.' But he didn't throw it in de rivah, he jis' made huh pull it off.
Entry 4506
An' throw it [bath water] in runnin' watah an' yuh'll drift - you'd drift, you'd drift from dere. (You throw my bath water into the water?) Yeah, in de watah, in de runnin' watah. (I see.) Dat's tuh put yuh on a draa tuh drift an' wandah. Yuh won't be satisfied no place. Yuh drift.
Entry 4703
Well, dey kin take dat bow an' dey kin put it in a piece of cloth, anythin' dey wanta put it in. Take dat bow an' carry it to runnin' watah an' dey kin throw it in dat. Long as dat bow stay in dat runnin' watah, yuh will be runnin'.
Entry 5252
Well, now, if yo' wan'a person tuh leave, say leave town, yo' kin take 'is shoe. Take one of 'is shoes an' take it tuh de railroad an' turn de shoe de way de train's comin', de way yo' want 'em tuh go. An' when de train runs ovah dat, yo' call 'is name an' have some graveyard dirt. An' jis' drop three pinches down in 'is shoe an' slip dat shoe on de railroad an' de train will run, yo' know, hit runs ovah de shoe, an' he's wit dat [train] crew. Yes sir, dat will lose him. (You don't put that on the rail, you just put that on the track? Between the rails?) Yeah on de track - NO, PUT IT ON DE RAIL!
(Oh! the train actually runs over it.)
Yes sir, runs ovah it.
(Either shoe is all right?)
Don' make any diff'rence.
Entry 5719
Take yo' track an' rake it from de toe back tuh de heel. Dey take dat sand an' dey tie it up in a rag an' it hangs dere fer so many days. Have it tied up in a tree or a ceilin'. Hangs it in de centah dere. Dey puts nine stick pins in it, two needles. Go across lak dat [demonstrates], pins lak dis; jis' put de needles up an' down, right across dere. Now, dat's tuh run yo' away from dere. Do yo' harm so dat yo' can't git along wit nobody dere. (Now they take up that track, they get six [nine] pins. and two needles. And what do they do with those?) Take an' put de pins dis way [demonstrates].
(Put the pins one way.)
Put de pins dis way an' dis way, an' de middle pin goin' cross dem two needles right 'cross dere.
(I see, they make a cross. Then what do they do with those things?)
Tie de things up.
(I see, they tie that foot track and these needles and pins in a rag.)
Dat's de one dat... [I interrupt. Informant was about to say, "Dat's de one dat keep yo' confus- ed."]
(Then what do they do with that rag?)
Take an' tie it up an' put it at de cornah of yo' baid. [Previously inform- ant said center of ceiling. Bed or ceiling causes confusion in home.] Dey takes de track an' yo' tie dat dirt up in a tree, tuh a limb tuh a tree. Dat's tuhmake yo' leave.
(What foot track do they take?)
De lef' foot track.
(What do they tie it up in?)
Piece of rag, jis' in any kinda rag. (What do they do with that foot track with those needles and pins in? What do they do with that?) Tie it undah yore baid. Dat's tuh keep yo' confused. Yo' an' yore family are confused.
Entry 6456
Take an' cut yore toenails off an' take dat an' put it in runnin' branch watah. An' take dis green stuff whut chew call moss, an' put it up in dere kinda like a tea an' put it in dat bottle. Shet it up airtight an' yo' put it up ovah de sill of yore porch.
(What will that do?)
Yeah, yo' wrap 'em up in dis green moss whut runs in runnin' watah [algae], an' yo' takes it an' puts it in a bottle an' put it up ovah de jois' [joist] of yore porch. (What is it supposed to do?) Sometimes dat'll - it will run some folkses CRAsY an' [but other folks] stay home. Dat'll bring peace in yore home.
Entry 6470
Some folks takes 'em an' parch 'em an' puts 'em in a sack, an' if yo' kin - jis' lak ah wan' chew tuh love me. Ah'll take yore fingahnails an' toe- nails an' parch 'em, an' put 'em sack an' ah'll wear dat roun' mah waist, an' ah'll make yo' cling tuh me. An' den ah kin take yore fingahnails an' toenails an' parch 'em, an' pound 'em up an' make a powdah outa 'em, an' feed yo' wit chure own fingahnails an' yo' own toenails. An' dat will make yo' love me. Den ah kin take yore fingahnails an' toenails an' bury 'em - parch 'em an' bury 'em an' name 'em, an' dat'll run yo' 'way from dere. (Now you say in putting that stuff into a person's food - now if I want this woman to love me I would use her own nails or use my nails on her?) Use yores an' hers mixed, jis' mix 'em.
Entry 6510
Ah heah yo' [they] kin take yore toenails - ah don't know nuthin about chure fingah - but chew kin take yore toenails an' stop it up in a li'le bottle an' throw it in nunmin' watah. Dat will cause yo' tuh be driftin' about through de world mindless.
Entry 6979
Whut dey put on 'em, ah don' know, but ah've known of socks bein' gotten out of a mattress. Den put it in runnin watah. Dat'll take de bad luck on off, if dey have it.
Entry 6981
If you have a [social] disease and have a running, they claim if you take some of that and go backward to a stream of running water and throw it over your left shoulder, it will cause that running to stop. [That word social within bracket, originally a parenthesis, is mine. What it replaces I no longer remember. Above it I have a note copy myself! Back in 1936 when this belief was collected, everything about a venereal disease was taboo. A final note of mine reads My original [[pencil]] copy never typed, dated H. M. H. note Aug. 1971.]
Entry 7621
Wal, dey learnt me dat if yuh wants tuh do any harm wit graveyard dirt, dat chew take ten cents [dime] an' go tuh a graveyard early in de amin' jis' befo' day, an' run yore han' down in dere jis' as deep as yuh kin. Have de dine in yore han' an' drop de dine dosn in. If yuh gu dem person name, yuh call dem name an' tell 'em yuh wants tuh buy a dime's wor' of dust an' do so- an'-so wit it. An' dey say when yuh git dat han'ful of dust, leave de dime dere an' take dat dust an' care [carry] it an' strike it round yore [victims] house. Jis' throw it roun' dey place of business.
(What will that do?)
Dey say that will run dem out or kill 'em, jis' whatsomevah dat yuh tell 'em
[the dead] tuh do - yuh wants tuh do wit it.
Entry 7653
Yo' could go tuh de graveyard at twelve a'clock at night an' go tuh somebody grave dat chew know dat wuz not very long buried dere - dat chew know 'em by der name personly [personally], see. An' jis' scratch chew a hole right on de lef' side of de grave tuh de haid part, right where yo' 'magine de heart would be, an' run yore han' down in dere tuh de elbow an' drop three pennies in dere. Git dat sand right on out an' come on back home. Put some cayenne peppah intuh dat graveyard dirt. An' on de side of de baid where he always lay, on de front or de back where he always lay, yo' jis' take dat sand an' sprinkle it on de mattress. An' make yo' bed back up an' let 'im lay on dat. Dat will run 'im right off from yore house.
(You will get rid of him then?)
Git rid of 'im.
Entry 7881
Dey could send yo' away wit graveyard dust. Git some cayenne peppah dat hasn't been used an' fresh table salt an' mix it wit graveyard dust, an' make a wish an' throw it de Way yo' live. Dat'll run yo' away.
Entry 8031
Take yo' a bone - lak yo' go tuh de graveyard an' take yo' a bone an bury it. An' pound it up. Pound fine, fine. An' if dey wants tuh run yo' crazy, sprinkle some in yore hair. An' dey'll keep dat. Or eithah put some in yore food. An' den yo' come in a length of time, yo' begin tuh pass worms lak snakes.
Entry 8095
Yo' kin take a man's pichure or a man kin take a woman's pichure. If yo' wan' de person tuh stay aroun', yo' kin turn it up an' dey'll be aroun' if yo' walk on tuh 'em. If yo want 'em tuh come rushin' right tuh yo' at once, turn it down. Dat puts 'em on dere haid, dey can't stay away. Den yo' kin take de pichure ag'in an' punch de eyes out, put a "x" in de mouth, an' bury it on de face of it, but punch de eyes out an' dat'll run 'em blind.
Entry 8435
Ah heard a lady said dat she knew a frien' dat a woman taken 'er photo- graph, 'cuz she wus mad wit dis woman about 'er own husband. An' she'd taken dis photograph an' taken it tuh a branch, yo' know a marsh place where a li'le watah runs all de time. An' said dey turned dis photograph ovah on de face an' let dis watah run an' run ovah it until all dat - all de person, yo' know, de flesh be, yo' know, cain't see any of 'em, until all of it's gone. An' dey say when dat's gone, say yo'll go on away from here. Gone, she say, "cuz she know a friend of hers says dis woman's taken 'er an' showed what she'd done.
Entry 8455
Dey say yo' take de pichure an' put it in runnin' watah an' dat will run yo' crazy. Put yo' wit de haid down de stream an' de feet upstream, pointin' up. See, yore haid go down which will be in front, an' it will run yo' crazy in nine days.
Entry 9430
They take a black hen egg an' cayenne peppah an' guinea watah - er, yes - an' chuck it at yore door.
(What is that? What else do they take, now?)
Cayenne peppah, yes; a black hen egg...
(A black hen egg and then what?)
An' guinea - not guinea. Aw shucks they call it...
A black chicken egg, cayenne peppah...
(Yes, all right.)
An' yo' mix dat togethah.
(What do you mix now, what kind of water?)
War water!
(Oh! All right!)
An' yo' take an' yo' chuck it at dere door. Now, yo' see, yo' take a black hen egg by itself an' yo' chuck dat at yore door fo' nine mornings, an' dat makes yo' move an' makes yo' an' yore husband or yo' an' yore neighbor fight until yo' go to jail. (I see. All right.) Now, dat war water, just sprinkle it all around yore door. An' yo' just take a whole bottle of it an' mix it wit cayenne peppah an' den chunk it an' it busts at yore door. Yo' are sure to go to jail.
(I see.)
Entry 9526
Den dere's anothah thing, if yo' wanta run a person off. Yo' kin take [get] table salt an' jes' throw it roun' in yore room fo' nine mawnin's. Put a li'le in de toe of dey shoe an' shake it down [into the toes] an' turn dat shoe down, one down at de foot - one of his shoes down at de foot [of the bed] aftah he's gone tuh baid. Yo' kin take dat shoe an' turn It down at de foot [of the bed] an' carry one [shoe] tuh de haid [of bed] tuh dat Odah off [opposite] post. Jes' lak de baid has fo' cornahs, lay one [shoe] down at dis cornah an' de othah one [shoe] down at de othah cornah, jes' lak dat [dem- estrates by pointing to bed in interviewing room].
(What will that do?)
Well, dat will run a man on away from yo'.
(That is to get rid of the man?)
Yes sir. (You put the other shoe catercorner from the other one, and you [also] put t salt around the room.) [This magic-of-the-diagonal rite is also known in New Orleans by laying a broom catercorner under the bed - see v.1, p.674, No.2425.] Yo' put jes' a least bit of salt roun' in yore room, jes' put a li'le bit in his shoes an' shake it down tuh de toe where he won' detect it when he go tuh put it on.
(That is to get rid of him?)
Git rid of him.
Entry 9756
[Here in italics is my notation about a rite my transcriber forgot to transcribe: 9 new nails evil wisher drives in your home where you walk over or at doorstep. Go inside and turn around and drive 'em into floor going out as you leave the house. Run 'em out. Nails go out in a row, but the last 3 together. I suggest that the last three nails grouped closely together, the nailheads forming a triangle, represent the 3 HOLY NAMES. Memphis, Tenn., (962, informant good), 1553:6.]
Entry 10646
Take dose antses, see, ketch 'em, an' dat [ant] bed dey done made - some of dat [ant] bed yo' see, an' yo' git it [some of that ant bed] in a box an' yo' bring it back. An' dey tell me yo' jes' keep dat sittin' ahin' yore bed all de time. See. Well, dey say dat's jes' tuh run yo' crazy - yore mind bad, see.
(You do that at some other person's bed?)
Yeah, doin' othah people harm.
Entry 10961
Jis' lak if someone heah an' yo' don' want 'em heah. Yo' take dat chicken blood an' write dere name up ovah yore do', an' dat runs 'em from yore house. [Walking under (as well as over) something be- longing to you is always a serious business.]
Entry 11745
Take yore hair - off a person's haid - an' git a little dust, grave- yard dust. Dat will run 'em crazy, dat will run 'em away.
(Well, now what about the buzzard?)
Dust of de buzzard [see later]. (How do you mean they get some of my hair?) Yeah, git some yore hair out chure haid, an' take it an' graveyard dirt an' pepper an' put it to a buzzard.
(What do you mean put it to a buzzard?)
Tie it to him or sompin like that.
(What will that do to me then?)
Run yo' crazy or run yo' away.
(The buzzard flies away with that stuff on him?)
The buzzard flies away an' yo' go.
Entry 12448
"Specially dis time of yeah, dese mockin'birds. Dat's how come we take ca' of de mockin'bird's nest roun' de house. An' so jes' take dat man's hair or dat woman's hair an' put it in de bottom of dat mockin'bird's nest, an' dat man have de headache dat run him perfectly crazy.
Entry 12742
Dey kin take yore shoes dat chew wear every day, if dey kin git holt of it an' if dey kin git a rattlesnake. Git de haid. Git him mad an' git dat rattlesnake haid an' dry it. Let it come so yol kin jes' compound it up. Understand, compound it up good an' put it in somewhere - inside de linin' of his shoe. It got linin' in dere, an' it surely runs yo' off. Or yo' kin put it in de band of yore hat. Either one. Den yo' can't see. It will blind yo', cause yo' know yo' sheds yore skin, an' yo' kin git blind from it. Jes' as shure as....
Entry 13137
If you got a husband that runs around, [or] if a man got a woman that runs around, he can take her dirty stockings and wash the toe and the heel - not the whole stocking, wash the toe and wash the heel. In about, well, I'd say about two ounces of water - that's suffi- cient, two ounces of water. And take that water and pour it in a bottle and stop it up, and bury it underneath the steps and that party will stay home all the time.
Entry 13369
Yo' kin take a aig. Yo' kin take one aig an' yo' kin put dat aig intuh chamber lye an' let it lay fo' 9 days, see. Well, den yo' kin take dat aig, jes' lak yo' goin' tuh fix a person. Well, yo' go tuh fix 'em, well yo' kin take dat aig aftah 9 days an' yo' kin take it an' throw it ovahbo'd. See. An' if a person's aftah yo', well yo' could - yo' know - git rid of 'em. (How do you throw that egg overboard?) Yo' throw it overbo'd tuh eithah run de person crazy or make 'em leave town. (Well, how do I know I've got the right person? By just using that egg? What else do I do with that egg?) Whut else? Well, ah don't know nuthin' else except yo' know, yo' go some- wheres an' yo' git information, see.
(The egg is supposed to represent the person you are to send away?)
Shore.
(Well, how do I know it's representing that person?)
Sign dere name on de aig.
(Oh! Did you tell me that before?) [Notice the answer.]
No, ah wasn't in heah befo' tuh yo'.
(I mean, did you tell me that a moment ago?)
No.
(Did you tell me you had signed the egg?)
[Here is a good example of working hard for information informant thinks you know.] See, yo' sign dat person name on dat aig.
(Any kind of a chicken egg?)
Yeah, jes' ole black hen aig.
(You didn't tell me that before, see.)