Subject:Scrape
Entries
Entry 3624
Yo' have tuh take his nature fo' it, yo' understan', dat he wouldn't want othah wimmins. Yo' have tuh take his nature fo' it. Well, now to take his nature yo' would have tuh - where his privates lay on 'is clothes. Undahstan', his drawahs. Well, yo' scrape dat lint from dose drawahs - scrape de lint from dose drawahs, see. An' den yo' take dat lint an' sew it up intuh a nice white piece, see. An' den yo' got 'is nature, see. An' den yo' jis' take dat evah nine days an' dip it in urinate. Jis' dip it in yore urinate, yore own urinate. An' as yo' takin' dat yo' take de measure of 'im. See, yo' take de measure of 'is privates where dey lay at, an' dat's whut yo' scrape out - dat lint right in de seat of dat.
(What do you do with that string?)
Well, now, yo' know whut chew do wit dat string, if yo' take a notion tuh measure wit dat string [instead of measuring the drawers place] - co'se yo' kin measure wit chure fingahs. But yo' put nine knots in dat string. Yo' put nine knots in it an' yo' sew it up intuh dis white piece wit de lint. De lint is in dere. An' den yo' dip it intuh dis watah, intuh yore urinate an' yo' got 'im:
(Where do you keep that then?)
Wear it right round yore wais' an' let it hang right down straight 'tween yore laigs. Dat's whare yo' keep it at.
Entry 3716
Ah tell yo' whut he kin do. Whut dey tell me is very good. Yo' take dat cow's horn, yo' know whut belong on a cow's haid, an' yo' scrape it up an' let it - don't scrape it down. Git de shavings up dat way an' make a tea out of it, an' he drink that. Dat's as good a medicine as yo' want.
(That's to bring his nature back.)
Bring it back.
Entry 5190
Dey say dat chew could take a li'le shoe sole an' burn it, an' den scrape it aftah yo' burn it, an' it wus good fo' good luck.
(Just how would they prepare that? Then, after they have got it scraped?)
Well, ah don't know sir, only jes' know dey put it in a little bag an' wear it.
(You mean the shoe sole, that thick sole at the bottom?)
Yessuh, yo' parch it lak yo' would peanuts or anythin' lak dat. Well, yo' kin scrape it tull [till] yo' scrape a dust off it.
Entry 5221
If yore wife or anyone is gone 'way from yo', yo'll take dat shoe an' scrape de toe out of it wit yore pocketknife, on de inside. (Both shoes or just one?) Well, one of 'em will do - eithah one. An' yo' take dat scrapin' an' yo' put dat in a bottle an' yo' bury dat. Dat will turn dem aroun' - turn 'em back tuh yo'.
(Do you bury that bottle in any particular way or just any old way?)
Well, yo' should bury dat bottle tuh de sunrise.
Entry 5682
Take de print of yore lef' foot, about a teaspoon an' bring it toward 'em, an' in nine days time yo'll be gone. (Here's your left-foot track and you get a teaspoon?) Bring it towards yo', bring it back towards yo'. Dey'll be gone in nine days time.
(What do you do with that after you get it in the teaspoon?)
Entry 6384
Dat he tole yo' concernin' scrapin' part of de foot, didn't he [my contact man]? [My contact man always required a rite before anyone could enter interviewing room. We wanted to be certain informant knew what we wanted. The rite in- formant gave now follows.] Yo' wash 'am an' evahthin' an' yo' take an' yo' scrape a li'le bit of de skin off yore foot. Ah don' know if white folks do or not. Ah know colored do, but now yo' - co'se ah nevah knowed zactly whut dey [white folks] do. Yo' take an' scrape de foot an' - take a knife, a dull knife so yo' won' cut chure foot, an' scrape it lak dat. Yo' take an' put it in a li'le [can or jar] top an' put it in de stove [oven] an' brown it. When it brown - yo' mix it [with] black peppah an' put it in de stove. An' whoevahyo' Wanta see, dat all yo've gotta do. An' whoevah dat chew want - whatevah one yo' want, yo'll have 'em right down undah yore foot. Dey'll come an' give yo' evah- thin' an' stick right tuh yo'.
Entry 6409
Take an' wash yore feets an' take de dead skin from undah yore feet. But now, what dis is fo', what I'd [use] it fo', would do it fo' diff'ren' things. I'd take de dead skin from undah yore foot. An' yo' wash it, yo' scrape dat dead skin an' yo' let it dry. Put it on de stove an' make a powdah out of it. An' aftah yo' make dat powdah out, wellyo' kin drop it intuh dere Coca-cola or anythin' a person eat. Dat's when yo' wanta control 'em, yo' see; keep 'em so dey can't do yo' nuthin. Take advantage of 'em, yo' see.
Entry 6446
Well, see - jis' lak yo' go tuh de fo'ks of de road. An' dey supposed Th be crossed lak dat [demonstrates]. Well, yo' take dat part of it - dat's de same as buryin' it an' [or] throwin' it in runnin' watah. Yo' take de skin from dey feet, de one's [feet] whut chew wanta do somepin tuh "a, yo' undahstan'. Well, yo' takes it an' yo' scrapes it back. See, jis' lak da [demonstrates]. If yo' from or tuh yo' lak dat. If yo' are cleanin' dere feet, yo'll have dat chance. Yo' take it an' bury it jis' lak ah tole it. An' o takes it tuh de fo'ks of de road an' throws it ovah yore lef' shouldah. An: look back at each one of de fo'ks, an' den go on where yo' goin'. Makes a as nark in de road an' turn aroun'.
(What will that do to them?)
Dat'll make dem go - jis' insance [insane]. An' dey mind nevah will come tuh 'em lak it supposed tuh.
Entry 6447
Yo' take yore fingahnails - do dat on Friday. An' yo' trim all 'em off an' den git chure toenail de same way, an' scrape de bottom of yore feet. An' yo' parch dem toenails an' fingahnails tuhgethah. Parch 'em separate so dat de toenails be hard as de fingahnails an' de trimmin' from de bottom of yore feet. When yo' git 'em all parched, den yo grind 'em up tuhgethah. Yo' take dem den an' yo' sprinkle it ovah de food dat dey eat, an' dey'll eat dat. Well, now, yo' puttin' dem undah yore feet den.
(That's for love?)
Yes.
Entry 6487
(You were saying something about a woman holding or bringing something back - to hold it back or something. What were you going to tell me about that?) Hold yo' back? (Yes.) Oh! Keeping yo', jis' keepin' yo'. Jis' lak, if yo' come here, lak yo' is now an' someone taken a likin' tuh yuh. Well, she will fool around wit yo' but she nevah could git yuh mind. Well, dat's like me. Well, ah could be a man of plenty of money an' a woman could heah talk of me. She say, "Well, I heah talk of dat fellow. He got plenty of money. I'm goin' tuh try tuh git in touch wit 'im." Well, she gits - some day she be settin' down an' she'll scrape de bottom of 'er feet. But she'll scrape it a diff'ren' way at least - a man kin take an' git holt of a woman de same Way, if she is a whiskey drinkah. Well, she scrape it back. Don' nevah scrape it fo'ward.
[Informant will continue to confuse person or sex of who is doing what.]
(How will she scrape it back, from the toes to the heel?)
[This is quite evident, but I wanted a statement from informant.]
From de toe tuh de heel, right in de hollah yo' see. Well she'll git dat. Well, her feet is got tuh be soft yo' know, got tuh be soft tuh do dat. She'll soak 'er feet in watah, yo' know, tuh git dis skin of it soft. Well, she'll take dat den an' she'll put dat intuh dis whiskey, an' she'll let dat whiskey set about ten days. In ten days time, well yo' kin hold it up an' yo' cain't see anything atall in it. Well, yo' might come an' yo' be settin' aroun' an' she come an' set in yuh lap an' yo' say, "Well, sugah," say, "ah brought somepin fo' yo'." Yo' reach back in yuh pocket. She say, "Whut is dat?" She say, "Aw, yo' been talkin' about whiskey." She say, "Ah'll give yo' a drink of whiskey. Ah bought some fo' yo'. Ah git ti'ed [tired] of yo' worryin' me fo' some whiskey all de time." Say, "Ah bought dis especially fo' yo'. Ah don' wan' nobody drink dis but yo'." Well, she take some an' drink it. Well, yo' still-drink. Yo' ain't drinkin' none atall, 'cuz yo' know whut it is. Yo' say, "Drink - drink - drink. Help yuhself, drink." Say, "I bought it fo' yo'." Well, fin'ly yo' - yo' do dat twice. Unlessen not, if it don' take no effect, well yo' do it three times. Well fin'ly it will take effect. It gits so den, when yo' git ready tuh go, if she'sa young girl - if she - yo' kin take holt of a young girl de same way. Her mothah cain't keep 'er at home. She'll come zactly where yo' is at. She'll - first thing yo' know, yo' look dere, an' yo' see her comin'. She say, "Where's Mr. So- and-So at? "' 'He's not here." 'How long he been gone?" '"Oh, he's been gone such- an'-such a time! He'll be back directly." "Do yo' reckon dat he'll be back?" "Yeah." Well, if yo' don't come, well she'll go on away huntin' yo'. Well, yo've got de underholt of 'er, see. Dat's where yo' take de underholt of 'er.
Entry 6488
Take de skin from undah yore feet. Yo' wash yore feet clean an' den yo' take a knife, jis' lak yo' scrapin' yore feet an' carry it back dat way, back tuh yo'. An' take dat an' mix it wit some sugah an' put dat in sompin tuh eat. Yo' give dat tuh 'em.
(What will that do?)
Dat will make 'em bring yo' evah cent dat dey git.
Entry 6489
Yo' wash yore feet right good, an' start at de - look, de toe of yore feet lak dis way, an' scrape down on de lef' feet. Come down [from toes to beel] an' let it be real quick. An' when yo' cook 'is food, see dat's when yo' wants 'im udah yore feet so yo' use him lak yo' want. When yo' coot 'is food yo' don't 'sposed tuh cook dat in dere [the food] but sprinkle dat ovah de food; see, whut he eats. An' dat hold 'im undah yore feet. Yo' kin use 'i jis' lak yo' wanta. See, dat keep 'im from gittin' away from yo'. Long as yo' use dat on 'im he cain't git from undah yo'. He's undah yore feets.
Entry 6490
(Now what do they do with that stuff from the bottom of your feet?) Well, yo' takes dat an' yo' dries it. Dat's if dey're washin' [the feet], yo' know. Yo' take dat. Dey soak dere feets an' dey take de scissors an' instead of scrapin' it down - an' dey scrape it up.
(They scrape it up from the heel to the toe?)
To de toe.
(Well, why do they do that?)
Well, dat's de way dey do it, from de heel tuh de toe. Dey dries dat. Let it dry an' roll it lak a powdah. Put it intuh de sugah an' let yo' sweeten it intuh yore coffee or intuh yore food. Dat's fo' makin' people lak me, yo' know. Bring on luck, brings all dat, see.
(I see.)
Entry 6491
When yo' wash yuh feet clean, don' wlpe it, wait until it begin tuh dry an' den yo' scrape de bottom of each feet from de heel tuh de toe. See. Save dat an' put it intuh a vessel an yo' put yuh own chamber lye on it. Den yo' stop it up an' yo' let it stan' nine days - nine days. An' de las' day take it out an' dat party, if yo' kin git neah tuh 'em, drop a drop or two of dat in whutevah dey eat or dey drink. Why dey will eithah have tuh be yuh frien' or dey will die. I've knowed of dat [death] evently [eventually].
Entry 6502
You can scrape the bottom of a person's feet, you see, aftah yo' sweat, an' dat's yer stren't'. An' if you scrape the bottom of a person's feet an' you buries it, well some people say to leave it stay buried about six months an' some about nine. Well, you begin to feel bad. Nuthin'll hurt you at all, but you just getting weak, they tell me, in your breath, an' you begin to feel bad until you just pines away to nuthin until yo' die.
Entry 8201
Use it fo' back luck, by scrapin' dat silvah offa dere; well, dat silvah offa [the back of] dat lookin'-glass. Dey take dat an' scrape it offa pichure. Jis' lak if dey wanta harm yo', dey take an' scrape dat silvah off dat pichure [mirror] an' put it in yure face, on yure pichure.
(On the face of your picture?)
Dat's right, an' den dey take it an' put it in sompin, [anything to hold the scrapings and photo], an' bury it, bury it [face] down. Dat'll make yo' dwindle down an' die. Make yo' stay sick an' nuthin will cure yo' unlessen somebody [hoodoo doctor or healer] take an' find whut's wrong wit chew.
Entry 10649
Ah heard if yo' take a ant, if yo' wus tuh take, if yo' could a - jes' lak a ants' nest. Jes' lak yo' go to a ants' den dey have made. Jes' lak if yore husban' or sompin lak dat would wash his feet an' yo' would scrape his feet, well yo' take dis dead skin offa yore husban's feet an' take an' put it in dis ants' nest. Den dat et [eaten] by de ants an' den dat would cause him to walk jes' lak a ants, if yo' wanta do somepin to him or somepin lak dat. Dat would cause de husban' to walk jes' lak de ants.
(What do you mean, run him away or something like that?)
Yeah, jes' gives him de wanderin' an' sturbin' an' all lak dat. Jes' lak he'd love somebody an' yo' thought yo' could break him - yo' know, stop him from lov- in' 'em. Yo' jes' wanta do somepin ill to 'im. See, yo' takes an' wash his feet an' git some of dis heah, yo' know, dead skin off his feet, an' yo' puts it in dis ants' den, an' say den when he starts tuh walkin', he jes' wouldn't be sat- isfied novhere he goes, jes' lak de ants.
Entry 10854
In gambling, yo' take an' git chew a dime worth of dat Georgia Pure Syrup [perhaps brand name] an' sprinkle a little sulphur in it an' cook it an' jes' pull it to a candy. An' when yo' git it to a candy, take a little piece - about dat much [shows a finger] an' wear it. After it git dry, yo' grease it an' wear it. An' ever' time yo' git in bad luck, yo' pull off an' yo' scrape a little of it in de bottom of yore shoe an' go on. Yore luck's always on.
(Luck in what?)
Fo' gamblin'.
(And you have a piece of this candy about the size of one of your fingers?)
Yassuh, a little piece about dat long, about de size of yore finger. An' old-fashioned candy, yassuh. An' ole reg'lah syrup candy. But chew put dat sulphur in it.
Entry 11692
Go to a table, de fo' corners of a table, an' scrape de dirt off it - de fo' corners of a table an' cook it in his biscuits or anything she cook it in an' give it to him to eat, an' ah guarantee he won't leave. He'll stay right there [I had heard about sitting down at a kitchen table, scraping the corner to your right and feeding scrapings to dog, also scraping 3 corners for the same purpose, keeping animal home (see FACI, 2nd ed., Nos.2295-2296, p.91- 92); but keeping a man home with scraping from 4 corners was new to me. Is a man harder to keep home?]
Entry 13291
If yo' got a man an' he's runnin' aroun' an' yo' wanta stop him, dey say yo' feed him offa de fo' corners of de table. Scrape de fo' corners of de table. Git dat stuff, yo' know, off de fo' corners of de table an' put dat in his food, an' dat'll make him stay home. [A dog rite transferred to man!]
Entry 10025
Jis' say fo' instance yo' kidnap yuh black cat. Yo'll have tuh kidnap 'im. Yo'll take dat cat an' skin 'em. Yo' kill [stun?] 'im an' skin 'im 'live, jis' lak yo' would a rabbit or anything else. Well, yo' take dat cat an' yo' cook it. Yo' boil dat meat, jis' cook it so it'll fall tuh pieces. An' yo'll git dat bone. Yo' have tuh take it den an' yo' sterilize it. Yo' scrape it, scrape dat bone an' git it white, white-lak.
(How do you know that you have got the right bone?)
Well, it's a certain bone intuh 'is [left?] hip.
Entry 11420
"Just like you wash your feet good, take and scrape good and hard and get plenty of that scraped off. Put in a bottle or a bag, take it to the grave- yard and bury it, that will MAKE YOU "WALKIFIED, " jes' walk all the time."
[Vicksburg 1007:6.]
Entry 11423
Scrape fingernails and toenails and drop into drink for love. [Mem- phis 1570:2.]
Entry 11465
"A person kin take and wash their feet, just scrape that, get it off there; I mean that dead skin off the feet. And I've heard they say they take and parch it and put it in coffee, or a man's food that a man be eating, to take advantage of a man." [Vicksburg 1001:4.]
Entry 11468
"Dey say you kin take de skin off de bottom of your feet and scrape it, you know, scrape it off; and put it in some whiskey and give it to him to drink, and he can't go nowhere." [Wilmington 257:2+85.]
Entry 3083
A fellah tole me oncest - he said he was fixed in his haid. Something Was in his stomach. He said when it come to de bottom of his stomach, said some- thing would start to roarin'. An' he said when it got up here along about de breast-like, he said he couldn't hardly talk. And I asked him myself, I said, "Well, what was it?" He said it was a snake. "How do you know it was a snake?" He said, "My wife could even git a snake to grow like a [something]." Ah said, "Then what did you do?" He said, "Well, ah searched for a fellah in Hickory, S. Car., who was called Doctor Buzzard." And he told me that that Doctor Buzzard called to him, to that man, and he ["that man"] said he [Buzzard] scraped both feet, after having him put his feet in hot water, warm water, and git his feet hot. Doctor Buzzard came to see him and he had him to put both feet into a hot pan of water - all right, and let it got hot. And by taking his feet out de water, instead of washing dem, he jest take dem out de water and scrape 'em, both feet and - what he scrape from de water, de guy said, it looked like scales had come off his feet and practically other dirt. See, now. Den he said de ones dat dey got off his right foot, he said dey didn't use dat; but de one dat dey got off his left foot, he said he remembering him folding it into a pocket hand'chief good - fold it into a pocket hand'chief good. They ask fer a wet towel. Then taking de wet towel and dampen it and place it [left-foot scrapings] into de wet towel and place it [remainder of towel] across de stuff and let it lay [hidden] dere, he says, two hours. He says he [Buzzard] didn't leave. He say he stopped dere [in patient's house] and read [prayers or from the Bible]. And [after] de two hours, he said the snake come from de man's body. [This is a rare method for removing a live snake from the human body. Unfor- tunately informant did not remember or was not told how "the snake come from de man's body." But we can reconstruct this foot-skin operation. Live things like most hoodoo disease can be moved down through the body and out through the feet. Sometimes the live thing will go out through the big toe, leaving a small hole to prove they exist. Since the present patient evidently picked up his live snake by Walking over a snake preparation - dust or dried blood - the logical procedure was to scrape the bottoms of the patient's feet, using only the left or evil-side skin. Our operator could easily have pulled the live snake out through the left foot; instead he unfolds the towel and there is the small crawling snake he had taken from his pocket and had palmed into the towel. This trick is not so simple as it sounds. It demands a master of preparation and execution. Whoever this Doctor Buzzard was, he was also an original thinker. For this type of work, see LIVE THINGS IN YOU, Pp.227-239; and especially, "...lak a snake. Den he'll make lak dat'll come out of her haid," p.268, line 22; and then the snakes in preced- ing story.]
Entry 1935
Ah've heard tell of 'em using, gittin' a chip off de headbo'd, gittin' a piece off de headbo'd of de grave an' using it fo' luck.
(Well, how do they use that?)
Well, yo' scrape it. Yo' take a knife an' yo' scrape de - shave it off de lefthand side of it. Git dat off de lefthand side, yo' scrape it tuh yo'. Yo' scrape it to yo' an' yo' say, "Lord, let dere be luck. Lord, let dere be luck." Yo' say dat three times an' yo' scrape dis knife to yo' - yo' bring it to yo'. Yo' bring yore knife to yo', not from yo' - dat's lucky.
(Well, what would you do with it after you get those scrapings?)
Well, yo' take dat scraping an' wear it. Yo' take yore little fine scraping an' put it in a little bag an' yo' wear it round yore waist, if yo' a person out fo' luck in numbahs or somethin' lak dat.
Entry 2134
Take a silver dollar and scrape the, yo' know, the United States things off it an' sew it up in a sealed cloth, an' dat gives yo' good luck.
(Luck for what?)
Most anything.
Entry 4842
Jis' lak a man go out, yuh see, an' yuh cain't make him stay at home. Well, yuh take his undahsuit an' yuh scrape dat cotton lak dat - yuh see, dat lint. Take dat lint where yuh kin scrape it, see, an' put it in a little bag an' some sugah, an' wear it on de side an' dat'll make 'em stay at home. Wear it on de side nex tuh yore skin, jis' eithah side - ary one. Dat'll make him stay at home an' give yuh 'is money. "
Entry 5789
De foot track is fo' makin' yo' walk.
(How do they do that?)
Dey take a wasp nest an' dey burn dat wasp nest. An' git de print of yore track from dat - halfway lak dat, an' scrape dat firs' dirt back towards de front.
(Where do they take from the toe.or from the heel?)
Scrape towards de toe first an' den yo' scrape back tuh de heel. Den yo' git dat dirt in de centah [of the track] dere. An' yo' mix dat an' de wasp nes' to- gethah on de stove an burn it. An' yo' git outside an' yo' hold yore han' up - have it [mixed wasp powder and foot track] in yore han', an' de wind will blow dat away, see. An' whichevah way dat blows, why yo'll go dat way. (In other words, you scrape the dirt back from the middle - back to the toe and back to the heel? Get that dirt down at the middle?) Down in de centah dataway. [This rite is from my first trip to Memphis. See following rite.]
Entry 6173
Take de hairs from underneath yore arm an' de haid - yo' know, undah yore clothes down dere, an' wash yore feet. An' yo' know, sometime yo' don't wash yore feet in a long time, dere be lots of ole dead skin on it, yo' know, an' yo' kin take an' scrape dat off. An' den yo' kin take dis watah yo' see an' put it in sompin. A woman had mah brothah fixed lak dat. AN' AH PROMISED DE LORD AH'D NEVAH FIX A MAN NO HAY. IF ONE DON'T WANT ME, AH DON' WANT 'IM. So she had mah brothah fixed jes' lak dat - she had 'im fixed up jes' lak dat.
Entry 6473
" Yo' could take an' scrape out from under yore feet an' put it in a - sew it up in a little cloth an' veah it roun' 'er waist nine days. An' squeeze it in 'is food fo' nine mawnin's. Dat's de way yo' make him love yo'.
Entry 7660
Git chew a li'le graveyard dirt, if yo' kin git on de east side of a grave. Git chew some white vaseline an' make yo' a salve [with this graveyard dirt]. Make dat salve an' yo' kin 'noint dat person unbeknown tuh 'im, an' he'll go lame. He'll nevah be no mo' good in dat foot as long as yo' 'noint 'im. But yo' have tuh 'noint 'im fer nine mawnin's wit dat graveyard dirt an' dis white vaseline an' de stuff dat chew scrape from undah 'is foot - kin'a dead skin-lak yo' gotta git from undah 'is foot. An' he'll nevah be no mo' good in dat foot.
(That foot is supposed to go lame. I see.)
Entry 7901
Git chew - git nine or ten grains of fresh graveyard dirt an' fix it up wit garlic an' a piece of silvah, a dime. An' take de silvah dime an' scrape it. Scrape some of de silvah in wit dis sand an' a piece of garlic an' tie it up an' weah it. [This hand has 3 ingredients.] Dat's luck. (Luck for what?) Well, it's lak yo' got someone dat chew lak an' she don't care much about chew, yo' weah dat. Dat's suppose [to] be luck.
(You take ten grains you say?)
Yassuh, nine or ten grains.[ Brunswick, Ga., (1182), 1992:9.]
Entry 8050
(Did you say they could kill you with graveyard dirt?)
Yes, not with graveyard dirt eithah. When yo' spoke of it, ah remembah now about puttin' things in peoples. Yo' kin take powdah from a graveyard - yo' know, aftah a pusson been daid so long. Well, say if yo' wanta put a daid man's bone... Have yo' heah of peoples puttin' daid man's bone in peoples?) (No.) Now yo' take a pusson dat's been daid. Now, firs' yo' kin take de haid or skull, a man's skull, aftah he's been daid fo' yeahs. Yo' kin got [go] out some place an' find a skull. Scrape de skull off, jis' scrape an' scrape until yo' git a powdah. Yo' know as yo' scrape, an' it's ole, yo' gonna git a powdah off of it. Well, yo' kin take dat powdah, or a woman or man kin do it. If yo' wanta put it in a woman, yo' [a man] kin do it; if a woman wanta put it in a man, she kin do it. All right, chew take dat powdah an' yo' mix it up [in] bread or in tea or in coffee, jis' where it won't show. Mix it up good wit sugah, where it won't show. An' let 'em drink dat. An' when it gits down intuh 'em, dat stays moriced [moist] see, an' dat bone will jis' fertilize. Dat dust will fertilize intuh a bone. Dat bone will clog right up tuh here [demonstrates].
(Right up through his breast.)
Right up through 'is breast, an' if yo' don't fin' some way tuh git it out of 'em, it will kill 'em. Evah time he breathe yo' kin jis' see dat bone jis' up in 'is breast. Yo' see dat bone by bein' moriced [moist] in yuh stomic, well dat cuzes dat powdah tuh fertilize intuh a bone, an' dat keeps dat bone in here.
Entry 8247
I have heard of boys and girls being inti- mate together, and if this girl would have a pic- ture of this boy, and if she had any feelings of any kind against him, she would take this picture and scratch it all up to give him bad luck.
Entry 9953
(Will you talk louder?)
See, scrape de bottom of yuh foot.
(Yes?)
Git dat dirt out from under de track dere, see, an' put it in a bag, yo' uni dahstan'. Sew it up, yo' see. An', so ah'm told, git a toadfrog. Sew 'im up in dere wit dat bag. Dat is what dey call a hoodoo bag. See, dat's got chew hoodooed den. Dey'll take dat, take dat an' tote it. Yo' undahstan'. An' takes it an' yo' weahs it dere in yuh house, put it some place in yuh cornah, an' dat'll bring about dat, yo' see.
(Well, what will that do to me, if they put that in the corner of my house?)
Well, dat'll cuz yuh - yo' can't stay at home. Yo' go mindless, yo' udah- stan'. Prob'bly set chew crazy or somepin lak dat. Yo' ain't at yuhself. Always runnin'. Can't stan' still.
(How many foot tracks of mine would they take up, I wonder?)
They wouldn't want but one.
(One?)
One.
(Would they take the right one or the left? Either one?)
Either one.
Entry 11461
Take fingernails and toenails, wash feet and scrape and get dead skin, hair from under clothes, parch, put in food for love. [Memphis 1560:8.]
Entry 11473
Scrape de bottom of yo' feet. But people don't hardly worries wit mathin like dat now wit people so wise, you know, wit dem things. (Well, what would they do if they scrape the bottom of your feet? What would they do with that, did you ever hear?) Well, dey jest buries it somewheres in a bottle and buries it somewhere. Dat's jest to keep you down. You know, you won't have no character, do nothing fer yourself. [Charleston 623:3.]
Entry 12977
You take and scrape de bottom of his shoe inside. Den dat'll make him evil and mean in de home. Jes' take and put it in his bedtick, rip a little hole and sew it up. [This comes from the well-known Doctor Frank Hall of Nansemond, Co., Va., in 1937, whose words I had to take down by hand. Was man or dog [to make mean) the original of this rite?)