Subject:Separate
Entries
Entry 3473
When he go tuh sleep a woman take a string an' measure de length of 'i [his body] from de haid to de foot, an' tie jis' as many knots in it as yo' are tall, see, an' tie it aroun' 'er waist. Den she measure yo' othahwise, straight down, jis' de length dat [penis] is. She tie it in a knot an' tie it roun' 'er ankle an' wear it. One roun' one ankle an' one roun' de othah one - den dat roun' 'er waist. [This ambiguous statement sounds like 3 places the cause of my close questioning that soon follows.] Yo' cain't have no nature fo' no othah woman. (With THE FIRST STRING SHE MEASURES FROM THE HEAD TO THE FOOT? And tie as many knots?) As yo' [he] is high - de height of 'em, see. Yo' kin take dat string an' measure his height by dat string.
(You have to put a knot at each foot?)
No, yo' jis' take de string jis' how many foot yo' is an' put dem little knots in dere. Don't make no diff'rence whereabouts yo' put 'em, jis' yo' tie 'em in dere.
(Where does she wear that string then?)
She wear it roun' 'er waist.
(WHAT DOES SHE DO WITH THE OTHER STRING?)
Take de othah string an' measure othahwise, yo' undahstan' - de privates, yes- suh.
(The second piece of string, and she only ties one knot in that?)
"Cordin' tuh how long he is, jis' de length of it.
(For how long?)
Ah dunno, jis' as many knots - yo' see jis' lak if it's seven inches lak dat, yo' puts seven knots in it.
(Where does she wear that?)
Aroun' 'er ankle, eithah one. Or she have tuh put it roun' both 'er ankles, one on each foot.
(SHE'S GOT THESE TWO STRINGS THEN?)
Yessuh.
(She only uses the string for measurements?)
Yessuh. (You say the man can do the same thing to the woman.)
Entry 4990
(That little bow in the back of the hat.)
Dey take dat bow out an' dey dress it - dey carry it tuh de two-head [who dresses it]. An' dey tell 'im what kind of powdahs dey've got. Dey've got graveyard powdah, rattlesnake powdah, and - whut is dat othah? [Three ingred- ients]. Well, dey take dat. Dat's to keep dere husban' wit 'em, cuz ah sepa- rate a lady an' 'er husban' by not knowin' at de time, den bein' young an' didn't know. Dey take a sock aftah dey done wore it an' dey pin it.
(They do what?)
Dey takes de toe of it an' dey pins it tuhgethah disaway. Dey git a pack of [new] needles an' a pack of [new] pins an' dey jis' cross dem pins crossways goin' an' comin' like dat in both socks. An' dey eithah put it in de bottom of dere trunk or bottom of dere drawahs somewhere, an' dey keep it dere. Dat's tuh keep dere husban' wit 'em an' he won't go roun' wit no tothah women. (Well, what was your experience? What did you do, when you said you were a girl?)
[She does not understand.]
(You did something, you said?)
I took - I wuz stayin', me an' de lady - ah wuz youn' an' didn't know nuthin den about fortunetellahs. An' she had one room an' ah anothah room. An' mah clothes wuz in Ter trunk too, becuz ah didn't have any wardrobe tuh put mines in at de time. An' ah wuz cleanin de trunk out dat Friday night, an' ah seen de two dirty socks in dere. Ah said tuh mahself, "Well, whose dirty socks down in dere wit all de clean clothes in dere." So ah went an' ah took de socks an' sat down. It took me ovah a hour tuh pick de pins an' needles outa dere, dey wuz so rusty. An' ah washed dem socks an evahthin an dat separate her an' 'er husban'.
Entry 5089
Take yore shoes an' cuz yuh tuh fix 'em tuh keep yuh home, keep yuh from driftin' from pillah tuh post.
(How would they do that with your shoes?)
AH HAVE WELL EXPERIENCE OF KEEPIN' YORE MIND TUHGETHAH WIT SHOES. Yuh gO tuh de store an' git yuh a box of cinnamon an' a box of allspice. Take-a ole pair of shoes dat yuh have worn, if a person's mind have been drifted so dat dey cain't stay tuhgethah, an' take de cinnamon an' all- spice an' sugar, an' mix it tuhgethah an' put intuh each shoe. Take de shoe an' turn de shoes tuhgethah an' plant 'em [demonstrates]. (I see. You put the two mouths of the shoes together, and the soles away from each other, like that.) An' de sole away from each othah, an' den yuh kin [plant] dose shoes down in de centah of yore steps. Dat's tuh keep a person's mind from driftin' [away from home]. AH HAVE WELL EXPERIENCED DAT.
(Well, how do you mean, keep the person's mind from drifting?)
Jis' like if some one have put a spell on yuh, tuh be goin' from pillah tuh post, yuh see, an' by puttin' dis cinnamon an' allspice an' sugah in dat shoe, an' turn[ing] de soles of dat shoe tuhgethah [see later] an' plantin' it at de house where yuh live, it'll keep dere minds at home.
(You don't mean put the soles together, you mean put the tops together.)
De tops tuhgethah, yes. De soles go out.
(I see.)
[My correction of informant is one of the few times I ever did this sort of thing. I am not correcting her words but recalling her pantomimic actions I describe. Yet she was right the second time also, magically. What difference can there be whether the two MoUTHS of the shoes are together or the two soles (SOULS)? The significance is the same - love and peace. Significant also is the emptiness of the preceding magic. You are never responsible for any of your actions, because someone may have a spell on you. A perfect example of being irresponsible for your actions will be found in the alcoholic woman (No.78, p.33).]
Entry 5101
Has a sweetheart dat he may lak 'er. He may wanta git hold of 'er. Whut he'll do. He'll take - go tuh yuh front gate an' he may put 'er shoe on de right-han' side, take one of yuh ole shoe or eithah a sock, an' place it on de left. An' he'll git a bay bush, he'll stick it between dem shoe - jis' a li'le small piece. An' jis' as de wind blow dis li'le bush, den dey'll be agru- in' [arguing] an' quarrelin' - raisin' cain. An' de minute dat dis bush - de wind blow dis bush down on de ground, an' she [the bush] fall, dere's where dey part.
(That's when they'll part. That's if you want to separate these people?)
Separate dem, yeah. (But you must do that at the gate. You just get a bay bush and stick it in the ground?) Yeah, a li'le small piece of bay bush.
(A twig or something?)
Dat's de idea. Don' have it so large cuz dey might be able to find it befo' de wind blows it down. When it fall from de wind, dere's where yo' got 'em. [Norfolk, Va., No.466, Doctor Paul Bowes, see 300, p.89; 337, P.99; 410, p.122; 455, p.141;614, p.206.]
Entry 5305
Whut ah know about separatin' yo' husban' from yo' if yo've jis' tied up a man, sompin lak dat. Yo' kin jis' take his right foot track. Yo' see, it's leavin' yo' an' sometime as he go out tuh de do' an' yores when yo' is comin' back away from it. Yo' scoop up 'is right foot track right in de middle, yo' see, an' den yores as yo' turn back tuh go 'way from him. Yo' scoop up yore left foot track. An' yo' take dat an' carry it tuh a red ants' bed - big red ants' bed - an' yo' tell dem red antses, say, "Separate I an' him, I an' So-an'-so, 'In de Name of de Lord, dat we'll nevah have anything tuh do wit each othah any mo'.'" An' ah do know dat tuh be true.
(That is all you do, just put these tracks in that....)
Put dem tracks tuhgethah - jis' take it in yo' a little piece of papah or sompin, yo' know, dat chew won' waste it. An' yo' take it tuh dis red ants bed an' jis' sprinkle it as yo' talkin' tuh 'em.
(That's all you have to do for that?)
Dat's all yo' have to do wit dat.
Entry 5310
Tuh separate a man an' his wife or sompin lak dat, dey said yo' take up dere tracks. If yo' want de man tuh come tuhwards yo' an' yo' want de woman tuh go from yo', yo' take de man track from de heel comin' tuh de toes. Pull de heel dat way, see [demonstrates]. An' de woman, yo' take dat sand at de toe an' pull it - take it from yo'. Dat [is] if de man wuz yore husban', an' yo' break him from anothah woman dat way.
(What do you do with that dirt?)
Yo' take it an' put it in a big ants nest. Dat's whut dey tell me, put it in a big ants nest. An' when de ants take it an' bring it out, an' carry it diff'ren' ways, dat's tearin' de min' [mind] apart, cuz one ant's comin' disaway an' de othah one comin' de othah way. Dat will jes' tear dere min' apart.
Entry 7208
Ah've hear'd sev'ral diff'ren' things about de fo'ks of de road. Ah bear'd dat when people wan' tuh separate people, dey go tuh fo'ks of de road; an' when dey wan' tuh put dem tuhgethah dey go tuh de fo'ks of de road, but it depends on whethah dey work on eithah de left or de right hand side. If yo' want people tuh separate, well dey'll write de person's name, de woman's name, nine dues on a piece of brand-new papah wit a brand-new pencil, tablet an' pencil dat nevah been used. If dey wan' tuh separate dem, dey'll write de man's name nine times an' den dey'll write de woman's crosswise nine times. Den dey take de pencil an' dey think all de evil dey kin: I jis' hope yo' son-of-bitches jis' fuss an' fight an' scratch lak cats an' dogs. [Informant scratches all over the [paper.] An' dey go dere an' dey dig down a few inches.
(They scratch that paper all up.)
Yes, jis' scratch up lak yo're mad at it an' curse dem an' think all de evil yo' kin. An' den yo' dig a hole dere an' yo' bury dat on de left-hand side of de road at de fo'k where de fo'ks meet. An' aftah buryin' it yo' po' watah on L, yo' know, tuh pack de groun' down where dat kin rot. An' by de time dat papah rots, dose people'll begin tuh disagree, an' in from three tuh nine days aftah it rots, dey're separated. An' if yo' wan' tuh put dem tuhgethah, yo' write dere names nine times an' yo' fold it tuh yuh. Of co'se de lady involved has tuh do dat huhself. She has tuh be told. An' she writes 'er lovah's name nine times an' huhs acrost it, an' she folds it tuh 'er nine times. Den she turns it aroun' an' folds it small way, dis way; an' turn it aroun' an' fold it to 'er dis way. Den she takes it an hides it on de right-hand side of de road wit all good wishes.
(Then what happens?)
Well den aftah de same period of time, aftah from three tuh nine days aftah it rots, dis person'll become vi'lently attached tuh 'er.
Entry 7831
Lak if two people co'tin' [court- ing] an' yo' wan'a break 'em up, if yo' git some dirt from de graveyard an' throw it between 'em, dey say it will break up dere love.
Entry 8528
(Now, you are going to tell me something else. Now, all right.) Now, then yo' kin get yo' a coconut. Yo' git yo' nine seeds of punkin [pumpkin]. (Pumpkin seeds, nine of them.) Nine of 'em. (All right.) Yo' get yo' nine chicken corns [kernels of maize, Zea Mays]. (Nine what?) Chicken corns. (Chicken corn, what's that for?) Dat's to put in de coconut. (Well what is chicken corn?) Dat's what de chicken eats. (You mean the same thing as a horse eats, the same kind of corn the horse eats? Chicken corn? Ordinary corn like a roasting ear of corn. All right.) Yo' get that nine pumpkin seeds, nine chicken corn, the man name, but yo' take de water out de coconut. Yo' put de man name nine times an' de woman, if in case yo' wanta break 'em up. Put it in there.
(How do you put the woman's name in there?)
Yo' put de woman name crossways, this way [demonstrates].
(Across his name. All right.)
Across his name. Then yo' make a cross toward this way [a cross is added to the paper]. Then when yo' do that, then in that, then yo' takes this cayenne peppah an' yo' set it right up in de center [of the paper] and yo' bring it to yo'. An' yo' cuss 'em as yo' putting it to yuh. An' yo' roll it on dis side an' yo' put on dis, always rolling it to yo'. An' then yo' cuss it an' yo' stick it in there.
(In this coconut.)
An' then yo' take a stopper an' yo' stop up de two eyes, then yo' take de coconut an' yo' roll it fo' nine days in yore home. Then yo' take it an' yo' goes to de rivah. Takes fifteen cents an' throws in de - de fifteen cents be- hind it [coconut], to pay spirit for the work]. An' just let it go each way or de other, an' let it float anywhere where it's gotta go. An' yo'll have him just agoing from one to de other. He'll lose his mind or else go to de river.
(What do you mean by these two eyes?)
SEE, DE COCONUT GOT TWO EYES WHERE DE WATER DRAINS OUT.
(All right, on account of those two eyes you have two corks in that coconut?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 8548
Ah've heard that if dere's two people dat chew wanted, tuh break up, yo' kin take two names an' yo' give 'em names of each one of dem two people an' drive 'em in de back of a chimley [fireplace] an' that will separate 'em.
(In whose chimney would you put those two names?)
Yores.
Entry 8624
Just like ah may have a friend. I could be a woman an' I'd have a friend, an' I wants to part from my friend. I'll take de lemon. I'll get me some beer. After I'd get de beer, I get me a candle. Well, I take de candle an' take de lemon an' bore a hole through de lemon. Put de lemon [candle] down in de candle [lemon]. Put dat beer down in de can. When. I get the beer down in de can, an' start tuh burnin' my black candle, well, de woman couldn't stay dere ten days.
[I now try to understand the preceding confusion.]
(Now wait a minute. Here's your can of beer. Now where's your lemon?)
Yo' see, I put my beer first.
(Yes.)
Put de note second.
(What note?)
De woman name.
(Well, you didn't tell me that before.)
Yes. Mark nine times backwards. After yo' mark it nine times backwards yo' put de note in dere. After yo' put de note in dere, yo' stick de candle down in dere, an'.leave it down in dere fo' ten days, she can't stay wit yo' no more.
(What happened to the lemon?)
De lemon'll be right dere in de beer. Yo' see, like. (I see. Now, wait a minute, let me untwist these things for you: Here's the can of beer. You put this woman's name in there. You take a lemon and you put this black candle in the lemon and put that lemon down in the beer, and then you light the candle. How long do you burn that candle?) Yo' burn dat candle ten days.
(I see. Then what happens?)
De woman can't stay there no mo'.
(You just drive the woman away?)
Dat's to drive 'er away.
(Why do you use beer?)
De beer is down in de can.
(Well, why do you use the beer?)
Yo've gotta use so de lemon could have some kind of different juice to it. Dat de reason yo' use de beer.
Entry 8630
Yo' take some de entrails out [of the lemon] yo' know whatsomevah it [inside of lemon] is [called] an' yo' take a person name. Yo' could take it three times. Yo' could write it three times or else nine, de most is nine, but yo' could take it at three. An' yo' puts anyone yo' want. Heah's anothah separation. Dere plenty ways fo' separation. 1 make 'em confuse an' angry wit anothah, tuh keep 'em apart. Well, yo' put dis down in dere, put de name down in dere. Yo' don' have tuh take ink, yo' could put ink or else a pencil lak dat ink - yo' know, indelible or any kind. An' yo' do it zactly lak ah said wit dis othah one. Put nine time or three time wit one on top each othah. Den yo' take dis steel dust an' dis pePpah, de same red peppah. RED PEPPAH IS REAL HELL. Well, yo' put dat red peppah an' salt an' all dat togethah, an' dis steel dust togethah, an' yo' take it an' put it down in dat lemon, see. An' yo' take de top of de lemon whut chew cut off an' yo' pin it togethah, see. Hit don' have tuh be six feet of dirt where yo' could make a little hole about dat deep [demonstrates].
(About a foot deep.)
Yessuh. An' yo' put it down in dere an' yo' curse it. AN' YO' HAVE TUH BE DRUNK. Yo' have tuh git drunk, an' let de evil come up, yo' undahstan', an' curse it while puttin' it in. When yo' be puttin' de dirt on be cursin' it, yo' undahstan'. Any kinda ole dirty cursin' yo' wants tuh do.
(What will that do then?)
Well, dat's separation ag'in, dat's fightin'.
(While you are doing this, you have to be drunk to do it.)
Yo' have tuh be good an' - not say good an' drunk. WHUT AH MEAN, KNOWIN' WHUT CHURE DOIN'; BUT YO' HAVE TUH HAVE PLENTY LIKKER IN YO'. An' jis' curSe it, yo' know, while puttin' it any place in de ground.
Entry 8640
Well, a lemon, if yo' wanta break somebody up ag'in, lak a man an' 'is wife or sompin lak dat, yo' could take such a-thing as a lemon an' yo' could take that same cayenne peppah. An' yo' write their [man's] name down nine times an' de woman who yo' wanta break 'em up from Yo' could write their name, but whosomevah doin' it, well, dey could do it, dey could fold it, fold it but always fold it from dem. An' if yo' wants tuh put some- body togethah, yo' take that man's name, if it's a woman, an' yo' write his name down first an' that woman, write her name down. An' den she takes de papah an' she fold it comin' tuh her, see. Lak yo' take a papah an' fold it comin' tuh yo' an' make yore wish when yo' fold de papah. An' den yo' take nine dressin' [ordinary] pins, eithah yo' could use needles, but de goldhead needles would be bettah - nine goldhead needles. An' de top whut chew cut off de lemon - see, yo' cut de top off de lemon an' yo' fold dat papah tight an' yo' push it down in dat lemon. An' yo' take de top whut chew put an' stick dem nine needles, yo' know, shut it back up but stick it all de Way roun'. An' if yo' got anyway a [old-fashioned] icebox an' yo' [have a drain to the outside for] dis icebox an' [or] yo' have de foam [gutter or drainage ditch] go through [by] yore house. Well, yo' dig a hole an' yo' put it [lemon] in a moist place where it goin' be wet all de time, so it could rotten. See, an' as dat lemon rot away, yo' see, it'll break 'em up.
Entry 8720
Ah tell yo' what choo do fo' yoreself fo' tuh cross a person.
(Well, how would they do that?)
Well, dey take it an' write dere names on a hot stove with this stick [lump] sulphur. But if yo' gon'a use de powdered sulphur, jis' sprinkle dat on de stove an' make yore wishes. An' if yo' don't do like dat, yo' burn it wit some asfitidee [asafetida]. Get some asfitidee an' put it in de top an' put dat sulphur in dere, an' burn it togethah an' make yore wishes. Jis' like if yo' want 'em to separate or if yo' want 'em to stay together.
Entry 8982
Yo' go to de slaughter pen an' yo' get yo' a fresh beef tongue. An' yo' write his name, whosomevah, if yo' kin get dem witness names. Yo' write dem witness name down. Write each witness name down on a piece of papah. An' yo' take dat beef tongue an' split it open just like dis [demonstrates] an' put all dem names in dat beef tongue an sew it back up. An' yo' wrap dat up good an' yo' go on down dere [to court] wit dat in yore pocket. An' sit dere. When de witness get up dere, dey can't talk. All dem tongue-tied, dey can't say nuthin - just cross-talk, dey can't say nuthin. An' yo' goin' to get discharged.
Entry 9198
Get a black hen's egg. Yo' take it an' write - make a mark across it, around it - an' aroun' de long side; de long side an' de round side, twice. An den go tuh a house, if yo' wanta make a person fall out, go tuh a house an' throw it ovah de house.
Entry 9214
About de aig? Well, lak dis heah couple stayin' right heah, dis mar- ried couple [in house where author was interviewing], why ef ah wanted tuh break dem up. Take a aig, a hen aig an' throw it on dat front do' an' let it bust. Hit'll fall yo' see. Why yo' know in de mawnin when yo' wake up, yo' know quite natchly [naturally] yo' don't hardly, yo' know, look down dere at de do'. Yo' goin' be lookin' out in de street aftah sompin, yo' see, an' yo' step ovah dere. Yo' done go on. Den aftah yo' step in it [broken egg] den yo' say, "Well, ah wondah whut dis heah aig doin' heah on dis pō'ch. Well, see, dey break yo' up. Yo' an' yore husband nevah live in peace. Dat is tuh break yo' up.
Entry 9230
Take chicken aigs an' bury 'em undah de do'step an' a lady an' 'er husband tuh separate. (Any kind of chicken egg?) Black chicken aig. (Any number of eggs? How many?) Two an' [or] three. [Waycross, Ga., (1133), 1937:14. Two cylinders later in- formant returns to same subject.]: [I heard] of 'em usin' black hen aigs an' [or] usin' black hen dung.
(What would they do with that black hen egg?)
Bury 'em undah yore steps tuh part chew an' yore husband, cuz yo' tuh have back luck. [Waycross, Ga., (1133), 1839:10.]
Entry 9238
Yo' kin take a chicken aig an' yo' kin - jis' lak dat de aig [demon- strates] turn it dat way, de haid of it. Take dat chicken aig an' go outside where any couple's house is - yo' know, a married couple be - an' take dat chicken aig an' bust it up side of dat house, de haid of dat aig is turnt, an' dat'll bust 'em up. Dat'll separate 'em. (Do you use any kind of a chicken egg?) Any kind.
Entry 9243
Well, dey git a aig, hen aig. Go tuh de fo'k of de road an' bury it dere. Write his name on it an' de person name dat he go wit, an' put it at de fo'k of de road; an' when yore aig bust, dat bust de man an' woman up. (Well, how would I know that that egg is meant to be for them?) By writin' his name an' her name, an' tellin' de aig whut tuh do - whut yo' want it tuh do, bust.
Entry 9311
Yo' git a fresh aig an' yo' bust dat fresh aig. Yo' first write her name an' his name on dis aig an' yo' take dat fresh aig an' bust dis aig, yo' understan'. An' yo' take de yellah of de aig an' yo' throw de white away. An' take de aig shell, aftah yo' done bust it, an' Jis' crumble it up jis' as fine as yo' kin git it. An' den take de yellah of dat aig an' mash it all up in it, an' put chew a little black peppah in it. An' put it in a piece of papah an' rag an' bury it right up undahneat' de do'steps whah she passes in an' out, an' dere won't be no gittin 'long [along]. Dat'll separate dat man an' woman.
Entry 9318
Ah say, mah mothah, she wus - lost 'ah [her] husban'. An' anothah woman got between 'ah [her]. An' de way dey moved 'ah wus dey took a aig an wrote on dat aig fo' nine mawnin's, huh name. (Wrote her name?) Yes, wrote huh name on dat aig fo' nine mawnin's. An' den she [mother] jis' didn't become crazy er [or] nuthin of de kind, she jis' didn't wan' tuh stay at home. She'd been separated from mah fathah fo' seven yeahs.
(What did they do with that egg after they wrote that name on it?)
Dey took dat aig an' she [other woman] put dat aig up undah de baid [my moth- er'sl. An' ah don' know whut else dat she did wit it, aftah she did dat.
Entry 9324
Well, go dere an' break up people. Well, yo' gits a fresh egg. If yo' can't git a black hen aig, yo' git a fresh egg. Write de individual name on it nine times, an' write one name goin' dis way [away from you] an' don't write no name so dey comin' dis way [towards you]. See, dat writin' mean dey go de othah way. (They write one going away from writer, and one going down nine times.) [The first name is written away from the writer, the other eight names are written down and across the first name. This is an elaborate crossing of the victim.] Dey'll put nine "J's" on each one [one "J" on each name], go tuh de fork of de road twelve o'clock in day or twelve at night, eithah one, an' broke de egg an' call dere name. Smash it up. [The letter "J" could stand for the obsolete word "Holy Jakes" we met in No.9068, p.3676.]
(What will that do?)
Dat will smash up de life of de couple. De individual yo' wanta break up, put dere name on it.
Entry 9350
Ah heard dat yo' could take a rotten aig an' make a person move out of de house. Break it on dere do'sill an' dat will make 'em move.
Entry 9420
Yes sir, ah heard dat if yo' [woman] got a [man] frien' dat go wit anothah woman, yo' kin git a black hen aig an' make watah on it fo' nine mawnin's, an' go by dere an' throw it on dis woman do', see. It shore will break. See, dat will break 'em. (That will break that woman and your sweetheart up.)
Entry 9427
That's when you want to break up a man an' woman.
(How would they do that?)
Yo' write de names. Yo' write yore name on dat aig an' den yo' - yo' can break it. Yo' break dat egg just wherevah dat man or woman walks - just break it. Dat breaks things. Any little thing she... [I interrupt.] (Whose name do you write on this egg?) De man's, just whoevah yo' want to break 'em up. Just like if yo' want to write - just like if yo' want to break up [a man] an' a woman, well yo' write their name on dat.
(Oh! I see.)
Each name, all de way around dat egg. Den take it some place an' break it, right where dey have to walk on.
(I see.)
Entry 9485
Git chew a new box of table salt. Listen good! Git chew a new box of table salt an' yo' jes' take it an' open it. See, no one haven't nused [used] out of dat. An' when de' both are leavin' yore house, yo' jes' take some of dat salt an' chunk, stirrin' [magic action] yore salt lak dat [demonstrates circular motion, saying], "Go." An' den when dey - yo' jes' throws out yore arm lak dat [demonstrates], yo' jes' sprinkle it aroun' in each cornah of de house, in all fo' cornahs, an' dey'll finely [finally] break up. An' den yo' take up one of de bricks in yore chimley an' jes' put some undah de bottom of dat, an' set it right back down dere. An' dey won't be dere long - no, dey won't be dere long tuhgethah.
(That will separate them?)
Yes, separated.
(I would do that?)
Yes, separated, fuss all de time till dey separated. Ah'll pull 'em apart. (If I wanted to do that, I would wait until this man and his wife walk out and then I would sprinkle it in their house. Do all that?) Yes.
Entry 9725
Dey use nails fo' sep'ratin' a man an' a woman, or eithah de husban' an' wife, whatevah yo' wan' tuh do. Yo' take de three nails an' cross; 'em dis way. See, cross 'em dat way, yo' see, an' den yo' have anothah one comin' cross dis way. (They are crossed one on top of the other like a rail fence.) Yes. An' den git chew a twine string an' yo' wrap it till - have de twine string about a-like dat [meas- ures].
(Four or five feet long.)
Yes. An' wrap it till dat string is out; all de way in all dose things [dem- onstrates].
(In all those corners?)
[In the V's between the spokes of the wheel.]
Yes. An' den when yo' git it wrapped, den yo' take it an' whosomevah house it is, yo' go tuh dere house. An' yo' go in, yo' know, an' sit down an' talk or sompin lak dat. An' den go tuh de backdo' an' throw it east, jes' as fur as yo' kin in de grass. Den yo' come on back. Dat's de way tuh separate a man an' wife.
(You just throw the whole thing altogether, just throw the whole thing away?)
Yes, de whole thing away. Dat's tuh separate a man an' wife. [There are several of these rimless wheel rites in HOODOO.]
Entry 9982
(What sort of toadfrog? What sort of frog do you take?)
Jis' or'nary frog. Yo' take him an' yo' kill 'im an' yo' jis' salt 'im down. Ah 'magine yo' gits a five-cent box of salt. Jis' take an' scattah dat salt, jis' wad 'im ovah dit it tuh de time yo' think yo' got all dat salted don. An' yo' put 'im in one pocket an' yo' put de salt yo' didn't give tuh 'in in de othah pocket. An' if yo' go in a room roun' anywhere dey gamblin', jis' take dat salt, an' if yo' lucky an' got money, take dat same salt an' put it ovah 'im lak dat [demonstrates] an' dat'll give yo' luck. But chew have tuh pve salt in yore pocket.
Entry 10032
Yo' take de black cat an' yo' take 'im down by de run- nin' watah. An' yo' boil 'im until all de meat come off 'is bones. Den yo' take all de bones an' dump it into de watah, an' de bone dat swims - dat comes up an' swim down de stream wit de watah - why dat's de bone dey gits.
Entry 10888
( Git some of the hair off of a cat's neck an' git some hair from back of a dog's neck. You know a cat an' a dog will fight. An' put it together an git some pine straw [dried pine needles] and care it to the fork of a road an' burn it up. They say they'll go together no more; they say every time they meet one another they fight. [The male and female victims are not named here but the in- tention is there to identify them.]
Entry 10892
Well, the first thing that happened, this girl, other girl, was going with the woman's husband; and she [other girl] wanted the woman's husband for herself, and the woman wanted the husband at home. And she [other girl] told me that she was going to make them [husband and wife] get along bad. So she put some dog hair and some cat hair dat - you know, caught 'em fighting and cut the hair out of the dog and the cat, and put this hair together and put it in there, in his coat lining. And she say, whenever he go home that would cause he and his wife to get along bad, and they'd set up argue, fuss all the dune. Quite natural nobody wants to stay with anybody like that. After which, ohen they separated - the man and wife - den she wanted him back.
(The wife wanted him back?)
The wife wanted him back. And to get him back, she decided to get to him and soft talk, you know, love and talk to get him back home to have intercourse with hin, and then she was going to take part of his and keep it at home. She say she tie it in a rag and put a silver dime in the corner of the rag, and she stick it under her bed mattress, and that would make him to come back to where be left froa.
(Well, then, did he come back?)
Yes, he came back.
(Oh, he came back all right.)
Entry 10894
Any kind of cat hair and a he dog and a she cat to run a person away - break 'em up.
(How do you do that?)
You take this hair and you mix it all up together like that - the hair of the dog and the cat. The dog and cat don't mate together. Call this man John. Jis' say, Mary, you and John can't stay together. Well, then you get this gunpowder and you get nine pods of red pepper, and you put that all together. Don't burn it in de house. Make a fire out in de yard and burn it, and make your wishes and they gone apart.
Entry 10900
Say, for instance, if you was mah husband and you was living with another woman and ah didn't want chew to live with this woman, and I could get familiar enough with this woman to get in her house, or get someone to go to her house. I would cut the hair from under the chin of a dog, right under here [dem- onstrates], and under the chin of a cat, and under their tails, and wrap it up into a cigarette paper. And when I go to their house, have occasion to smoke or do something, if they have fire in the grate, I throw that hair in the fire. Put a little pepper in it - red pepper. And they positively will fight, [even] if they haven't been used to it. They will continue to fight and be in confusion all the time.
Entry 10901
Well, you see you gotta ketch a bulldog when he is mad...a real furious dog - gotta ketch a bad dog, and you ketch a cat and take the hair off his [cat's] back and the hair off the dog's back and you mix them together and you will put gunpowder in that and you burn them down.
(Where do you burn that?)
Burn dat in your stove. If you got a fireplace in the stones.
(What are you supposed to do then?)
That supposed to make anger, fuss, the one who you want to break up. (Well, how do you know which one to do that to? Do you do anything about that?) Well, like if I know you and I wanted to break your home up, I'll take your name and put it down and write, you have to write your name practically with most of the witchcraft work. (Oh! I see, you have to burn that with the name then? This paper and this hair together.) All in there and the gunpowder. Makes them fighting and fussing. Just like the cat and dog will fight, dat's de way you will do. Well, one or the other of you going get tired and leave.
Entry 10904
Yo' kin cut dat out from dog's - out from back de dog's neck an' yo' kin cut it out from back of de cat's neck, an' yo' put it at chure do', yo' see. See, dat separates man an' his wife. See, de cat an' de dog squabblin'. An' yo' jis' tangle dat hair up together an' yo' jis' put it down aroun' an' dey will separate.
Entry 10911
Dog manure an' dog hair - see, dey gotta git dat dog an' cat tuh fightin'; see, if yo' Wanta separate a man an' a woman. See, yo' git - lak mah, ah have two little white dogs now. Well, yo' git a cat an' git dem tuh fightin' an' clip de hair right quick while dey both mad. Yo' put dat tuhgethah, dat cat hair 'de dog hair, an' dog manure an' cat manure, an' rat manure. Well, yo' ba de three things don' git along, don't chew? Yo' know de cat hates de rat 'de dog hates de cat. So yo' throw dat in dere. It really separate any man wife an' it will make 'em move. Throw it in de room, jis' lak ah come in ah. Fo' instance, ah wanta have sompin in mah han'. Ah could be sittin' heah 'd coald be jis' sprinklin' it aroun'. [I replaced the original four-letter odd by amure.]
Entry 10944
A piece of cedar bush - take limb offa cedar tree an' slip it in a man house an' put it up ovah de do', up ovah de do' where he'd have to walk in at. An' ev'ry time dat man - if yo' wanta break him from his wife - ev'ry time he come in why hit'll cause confusion. An' eventually it will keep on until he can't stay dere. See, it'll run him 'way from dere. He jest can't stay dere at dat house.
(Some other man would be doing this to get rid of him.)
Git rida him, see.
(Just the ordinary branch of the cedar tree?)
A cedar bush.
Entry 11198
Dirt dauber's nest - take de dirt dauber's nest an' pound it with sulphur an' put it up ovah de do'post an' dat would separate a family an' make it go separately. [What is a doorpost? I would say one of the two posts of an un- ended door frame, such doors being fairly common.
Entry 11219
You get the mud dauber.
(Yes.)
Out of a big stable anywhere. You stick this finger.
(Which finger?)
This one.
(The middle finger of the right hand?)
Yes. Get the blood out of it.
(Yes.)
Get all the blood. You write the name nine times on a piece of paper. You roll that mud dauber, that name, steel dust, lodestone, wrap it up. Roll it up tight, and you get [have] some luck. (It separates them.) Man and woman.
Entry 11847
I've heard that a man and a woman - a woman couldn't get along with her husband or any man, that she would like, you see, could take some of her hair. Take, get some of her hair and get some of de man's hair and put pepper between it, you see, and put it in de path where dey walk over dat. Dat would separate dem. (That is, if I wanted to break up these people, or if the woman wanted to break up the man?) Yes. Doesn't make any different [difference] who it is if you get some of each one's hair.
Entry 12443
Well, dey didn't tell me no certain 'mount, but dey jes' say yo' kin use mockin'bird eggs an' yo' kin separate a couple wit mockin'bird aigs. (How can you do that?) Yo' cook dem aigs. See, dey'll git hard. Under- stand. Cook 'em an' yo' powder dem aigs up, an' den yo' kin sprinkle dat round a person's house or inside dey house, an' dat'll separate dem. Dey always said dat mockin'birds would be - he would make his nest but he would soon tear it down. He wouldn't nevah stay. An' dat's de reason why dey could take dat an' yo' [dey] kin sprinkle it round yore house an' in de house, an' dat'll shore make a couple spearate, fuss, yo' know, have argu- ments an' all like dat.
Entry 12450
Take a mockin'bird nest an' put undah bridge, if yo' wanta break up a boy an' a girl, or yo' know, keep someone from a place. Den yo' take it an' put it where dey kin step ovah it or walk ovah it an dey won't go dere no mo'. (Like some boy and girl are going together, and I would want to separate them?) Separate dem. Go put dat nest, jes' put de nest some place where dey'll go walk ovah it chew know - him or her, either one. Dat will separate dem. [Suml ter, S. Car. (1365), 2411:8.]
Entry 12529
Dey said dat chew take a red onion an' split it in half, when it partways growin'. Split it lak dat an' sprinkle some sugah in it, an' carry it to a person's step an' bury it. An' dat will separate dem an' it will run dem away from dere - separate 'em or run de party out de house. Make 'em move.
Entry 12759
Yo' see lak yo' wanta break up a man an' his wife, why yo' kin git some of dis red shank root. Ah don't [use] it but ah'd know de bush, but ah know what root it is. See. Yo' git dat red shank an' dey tell me, if yo' cut it up fine... Yo' git up every morning befo' day an' jes' go up an' slip [stealthily leave] some of it on de porch. Long as yo' do dat, dey never git 'long and so finally jest have to [leave each other]. [Red shank root appears in several other rites but I am unable to identify the plant. It may be several different plants in different parts of the country.]
Entry 12932
Ah knows dat's all right about de shoes. Jes' say if yo' an' a woman wus in love tuhgether, an' by some means dat chew think dat dis woman is not de right woman fo' yo', an' yo' wants tuh git loose from her, yo' put on yore shoes an' jes' git out an' valk. Walk fast. Yo' know dat chure feet will perspire but not smelly. Pull den shoe off an' po' some wine in 'em an' drink dat wine. Dat'll separate yo' an' her. [For another drinking-out-of-shoe rite, see 12896, p.4412.
Entry 13232
All right, ah'm gonna tell yo'. Yo' take de sock, de dirty sock. Yo' take de seven steak. Yo' git a little seven steak wit a number seven on it. [A seven steak or 7 steak is a T-bone steak, its bone shaped something like a 7!]
[It took me some time to identify the steak!]
(Where do you get that?)
[I must have thought this was a stake with No.7 on it, something from a hoo- doo shop!] At de market. Yo' git de raw meat. Git a box of salt an' a box of Epsom salts, red peppah. Git a spool of black thread. [Don't forget] cookin' salt, cayenne peppah. [Informant does not complete this holding two-persons-together rite. These articles are put in man's soiled sock and tied with a piece of the new black thread. We now come to the separating-two-persons rite.1 Yo' wanta break this person's footsteps [that is, separate two persons but using their footsteps] or break 'em up with that person an' - yo' write their names nine times across [you write his name down 9 times and then cross them with her names 9 times] an' yo' put it. An' then you'll bury it in yore yard, yo' see.
(That heals them up.)
Entry 216
This story that I am about to tell happened in New York [City] about two years ago [1934]. There was a black cat came to a lady and followed her home. She tried to keep him out. He followed her on into the house. To begin with she intended to get rid of him, but after he stayed for a day and a night, she liked him and she kept him. He was there about four weeks. The woman went away to Chicago to the big fair that was there and she took the cat, she carried it over, to another woman's house to spend the ten days she was away. They took care of him over there. When she came back home, she sent and got this cat and brought it back. This woman's house she carried it to, her brother-in-law was living with her. Three days after the cat was carried back, this woman's brother-in-law - he had heart trouble - that had kept it ten days, started upstairs. He got to the third floor, he lived on the fourth, dropped down with his cigarette in his mouth and died right there. People came up the stairs and found him with the cigarette still in his mouth and had to take it out to keep it from burning him. They took him back up to the apartment and he was buried from there. One week after, the woman that the cat had followed home, she went to work. She didn't work all the time, but this was a special day she went out to do some- thing. She kissed everybody goodby, went downtown to do some little housework. She did what she had to do on the first floor, went up the stairs, got to the top of the stairs, gave one little sigh. Someone came to her and when they got there she could not speak. She died. The black cat was still at her house. They huddled him out from there because no one wanted to see that cat because some people was watching the effects wherever he had been. They took him to another apartment on Grant Avenue. That family was demolished. Trouble came up and they separated. So they got someone to take the cat out in the country and I heard no more of him.
Entry 3888
Go to the fork of the road - people go there specifically for this reason: They go there for matrimony more than they do anything else. And for matrimonial trouble, they go there mostly for that - to unite or to separate somebody in matrimony. (How do they do that, do you know?) Now, if you got a person that's married, and you wants to separate that particular individual. Now, the best way you do, you've got t get a close piece on the woman. You've got to get a menistration piece that she has used, and bury that there. And she have - there is no way on earth she could stay with her husband 'cuz she have no sexual nature that give satisfaction to him. [This is perhaps the only example of the word nature preceded by the word sexual.] It would almost take her nature from her completely. And after that is achieved, you can even take that up if you want to do so; and if they went back together again, use the same thing again - bury that against her. That's one thing about a woman, if you take that and bury that in that particular way where it's passed over by anything, even a horse, or a person, or any way, it takes the natural sex power over her through her nature.
Entry 4952
Dey tell me dat yuh kin take a woman's stockin' - take a woman's stock- in', carry hit an' tie it undah a baidspring wit three hard knot in it, until de third mawnin'. An' de third mawnin' git up an' take de stockin', an' if yuh got a straight path go from yuh do' out - out chure back do' where yuh travel de mos', an' bury it in de earth. Dat'll run a woman distracted. If yuh care anythin' fo' her an' don't care fo' no one else tuh have her, an' keep dem from havin' 'er, dat'll keep 'er, drive dem away from dere.
(Now, do you tie those knots one on each day or three at once.)
[This could be a leading question but see one knot each morning - No.4961.]
Tie one - like jis' if yuh put it in dere tuhday, one today; one tomorrah an' one de nex' day. De fo'th mawnin', loosen it. An' de fifth mawnin' bury it in de track yuh travel de most.
Entry 9356
Make a man an' 'is wife separate. Bust 'em up, yes, sir.
(How will they do that?)
Take a rotten aig an' do dat.
(How?)
Take a rotten aig an' - jis' lak ah go tuh yuh house an' ah want yuh wife tuh put chew out. Take dis rotten aig an' ah'm settin' aroun' an' prob'ly yo'all eatin' or somepin. [I'd] git outa de room an' I'd slip it in de baid an' tuh- night when yo'all go tuh baid an' lay on dere - yo' wouldn't know it was indere - an' bust it. An' when yuh bust it, why dat cuse [cause] confusion.
Entry 559
I was married quite a spell and I met this woman, as I was lodging wit her. Well, she seemed to have been my best friend before she knowin' dat my husband was goin' tuh marry me. At de time we was gettin' ready to get married she attempted, no doubt, to separate us. And she got very special pieces and cut 'em into pieces. Well, I found 'em after goin' to see dis man.
(Well, tell me about going to see that man again.)
I went to see de man and he says to me, he says, "Dis woman is your worst enemy." Said, "Dis woman means to separate you and your husband." (And he was looking into a crystal or something like that wasn't he?) [She is retelling the beginning of the story because I had failed to start machine.] Yes - you want me to tell dat again?
(Yes.)
He said, "Well, I will show you dis woman as your enemy, and I wants to see whether you know her." The crystal was as big as a - great big round crystal and just as clear as a crystal - that's why I thought it was a crystal - must have been a: crystal ball.
(You actually could see her in there with her arms spread out?)
I seen her spreaded and when he put de crystal, he said, "Now, look in here - it tells you. I says, 1 "All right." "All right." Dis woman was standing between me and my husband like this. He say, "Now, dat's to keep you apart."
(Well, how did it happen that you went to see this man?)
I went home. I had something it effected [affected] me like the rheumatism - that what she had done it effected me just like a rheumatism. I had on my knees something de shape of a egg, dat you would bury you finger in - you know, it would give. (Was it a bump - a big bump?) [I am trying to prevent her from omitting details previously told.] Yes, it was right in this place and it just like you would bury a egg in sand; you know how de egg is an oval - something like dat and it would be half buried - and if you stick your finger in it in de morning it wouldn't come up through de day. And so he examined it and he had to give me a bath. He put de feet just in a bath and he - course I didn't want him to go dat far, but he said that he were my best friend. Then I begin to know it wasn't rheumatism, when he told me about de woman. So, well, I said, "I don't believe what you say." He say, '"Certainly, you don't believe it but I want to show you." And when I seen de woman I believe there was something that wasn't so. So, she was just between us - she trembled just like a leaf - just like that [demonstrates]. [How he agitated the concealed photograph depends upon whether the crystal was in his hands or on a permanent base. More important than the how is the clever- ness of the why.] I says to him, I says, "Well, why is that [trembling]?" He says, "She is very nervous - I'm sending it, turning it back to her." He said, "Now, when you go into your home" - I were leaving in a day or so - "you go to walk." I had to be carried upstairs and brought down. He say, "You go to walk and when you go in, you just say, "Take it off of me and put it on her."
(You say that as you went in the door?)
I was to say that as I go up de steps, and he give me something to sprinkle as I passed - "Take it off of me and put it on Julia" - her name was Julia - ''take it off me and put it on Julia." [He said] "In a few days Julia will become just like she wanted you to become."
(How many times did you have to say that?)
Right as I was goin' up de steps.
(Was there any number of times you had to say it?)
Right on as I goin' up the stairs - till I landed upstairs. I lived over her. And in a few days, he said, she'll become just like she intend me to become, and that was that she'd be sore - all of her private parts would be very, very sore and she'd be so - just effected nobody wanted to have her round. Well, she did. And he said that she'll ask you to wash for her. He said, "Don't fail to do it." Well, dat scared me to death and I wanted to get - you see he said, "Dat's your only savior - that's your only savior." So I went downstairs that morning - she asked me - and she was in a bad condition, and "Don't let dis woman get to your back." Well, it would be every five minutes she could be in dere, and I had to get up, you know, and turn my face to her, and I washed de clothes and I hung dem out. And when I get to my landing up de stairs again, he says, say de same thing, "Take it off of me and put it on Julia." Well, dat woman was taken down so nobody - her husband left her and nobody stayed in dere, all de lodgers left. She was just so offensive - de house and everything. And she stayed that- a-way, I reckon, about three months in de house all alone, nobody paying no attention. And she died all alone. And they found dis package dat belonged to me where she had - and - because I knew de things - and some of my dress and it was something - I said it was red pepper and dis man said it was. And he said that these things were put together to separate us through living very much like two cats or dogs, see, and they'd make me fight. [See No. 78 in which a woman becomes a drunkard because another woman put a spell on her.] Well, while he were treating me, he put me in dis bath and over here he had a table dat he mixed up all kinds of stuff - he had that table full of everything. So this solution that he give me to keep up de bath was something like bluestone, and he had bluestone - as I think it was, and - I was looking right at him - and he had sulphur and he had some kind of a white stuff looking just like salts, I guess.
(Any kind of salts - like Epsom salts.)
Epsom salts - very much like Epsom salts - and he would mix it - he'd do like that [demonstrates] - mix it.
(He would cross his arms.)
Yes. [She continues demonstration.]
(Then he would do like that - fold his arms.)
I - here - that - yes, just like that. [Demonstration continues.] (Then he would move his hands out like that - and he would bring his arms back again - and fold them again - and they would keep going out - hands going out.) Yes, six times.
(Six times - while he was mixing it over the water - after it or what?)
He had de water now, it was just like spring water - it was just so clear and. [She stopped here while I changed to cylinder 429 and as usual I talked to distract attention.]
(He mixed it for you - he put it in a bottle, this medicine?)
Yes, and I was to drop that, which - he said it was two drops or something - looked like blood.
(After it was all mixed up it looked like blood?)
Yeah - no, he just put three drops in dere - very much like blood.
(Oh, he put three drops of [something looking like] blood in there?)
Yes, and he told me to take this and bathe that leg down with mah feet settin' propped square and flat in de basin or in a tub, any place that I would get, and I was to pray and ask de Lord to uproot that. Sure enough I did - in about four days I was ready to run upstairs, and that place gone.
(Was it on the side of your knee or just above your knee?)
Just above - right up on top of de knee - not on de cap but right in de - like in de lap-like of de knee. (Oh, in the lap - I see - one on each side?) [I evidently thought I saw then what I do not see now.] Yes, one on each side, and they were to go all over me and I was to break out so my people would have left me like her people left her. Well, after she died, why I got on splendid and my health improved and every- thing seemed to be going on nicely, and this husband and I got back friendly again, and we live together now.
(Where did this happen - up here in Petersburg, you say?)
Yes - no, no - in Norfolk. Now, Petersburg is mah home. [Now - at the interview - she lived in Norfolk.]
(Oh, Petersburg is your home, I see.)
Yes, and they took me to Petersburg to this doctor.
(Oh, this doctor was in Petersburg?)
Yes, de doctor was in Petersburg.
(What was his name - is he still alive up there?)
Now? I don't think he is, because I tried to look for him for another friend and I don't believe dat he is alive. De last dat dey say dat he was in Richmond. But nobody over there kin tell anything about him no more than he were there, and nobody in Petersburg kin tell no more 'en he was there - lived over in Pocahontas in two huts - there were dirt floors and roughly fixed as a bed - you might say a bunk - that's the way he stayed. And it was a dirt floor in both of these bunks, these huts - and I went in both of 'em - send me first in one and den the other, and I stayed there all day. He ordinarily treated in those places - and when I come on there.
(He treated in one room once and then go and treat you in the other room?)
Yes, and each time I was in a different kind of a chair.
(Different kind of chairs.)
Yes - now one chair he screwed me up to be tall - you know, somepin like a office chair.
(Oh, like a office chair - I see.)
Yeah - a office chair brings you low and high, and he screwed me up. I didn't have to get down for anything until he got ready and then he would attend and do everything, but he used this medicine all de time, see.
(What you had to do at home, he did it in the office first?)
Yes. (Well what sort of - what did he have in that tub - did he have water in that tub or a special mixture in there?) He had water.
(Just plain water.)
Yes, first it was warm water, and then he put dis medicine in there.
(In the water that he had prepared?)
Yes, and then he told me what to repeat, when I went up de stairs, "Take it off of me and put it on Julia." 'Take it off me and put it on Julia." And it took me about six or ten times to say that going upstairs.
(How long ago did this happen?)
Well, that was - I was quite young.
(About how many years ago would you say that was?)
Oh - that would be thirty years - have to be thirty years and more, I think, too - yes, a long thirty years ago. And I see dis man, I think, twice after dat. After I had improved a little, I went to see him again and he says to me, he say, "Don't have anything to do with dat woman whatever - if you even correspond with her, it'll bother my work." And sure enough dat man was doing miracles round in Petersburg and I know people now that he attended, if they are alive.
(What was his name - do you know his name?)
He was named Skipper Tan - John Skippertan.
(John Skippertan?)
S-k-i-p-t-a-n.
(I see.)
A most peculiar name - and he looked very much like a cat. [This reminds me of Doghead whom I twice tried to find in his shack on an isolated public dump in or near Newport News, Virginia - see Introduction. While my machine was stopped I had evidently returned to the almost forgotten package.] My hair?
(Some of your hair was in that?)
Yes, my hair, and these pieces and this [what] looked like to be salt. They were all folded up in a neat little - you might [say] little papers, little piece of papers and there wasn't much of it, you know, but dey were in just little papers about a inch long and I reckon about a inch square - just folded 'em all in dere, and it seems dey were in something like tissue paper, and they were folded over, and when I got dem dey were under my bed. {Her words do not mean what they say - the reason for my following comment.]
(That's where they found them.)
That's where dey found 'em - under my bed. (How many were there of these little things folded up that way? Did they count them or anything like that, these little pieces of paper folded up inside of that cloth?) No, he didn't count dem.
[The doctor found them.]
They were a powder like and de other pieces in dere and my dress - piece of my goods, I knew it by dat, you see. Well, now, how anybody got it but her, I don't know. So, that's why I know when he told me dat this was the woman -Id seen de woman [in crystal ball] - he said, "Dis is de woman dat did dis to you."
(You say your mother took you down there the first time?)
Yes, mother took me.
(Well, what did she think about it?)
Well, my mother thought it was rheumatism and she took me. This friend of hers didn't believe it was rheumatism, but she didn't tell my mother - she just said it was a doctor that would cure me, and I went over there - just married, you know, and couldn't walk, so they tried everything they could to see whether it would do any good.
(How soon did this affect you after you were married?)
About three months.
(About three months after you were married?)
Yes - I was married from her house - I lodged with her. (Well, what did it feel like when it first started to come on - how did it come on you, I mean?) It come on just like, you might say, pains in mah feet and laigs, and ah complained about it for three weeks - I think it was about three weeks coming.
(Did you have a headache or backache or anything of that sort with it?)
De laigs pained and then it affected me in my back, which I never had backache since or before, and I couldn't get up and down de steps - these knees and this back wouldn't allow me. I didn't think anybody was tryin' to do anything because I didn't believe in such things. (You just gradually started to get pains in your feet and your legs and it kept getting worse?) Yes.
(And in three weeks, you said, you couldn't walk at all?)
I couldn't walk at all - I couldn't get up unless somebody helped me. Well, ah thought I was going home as I didn't have any people heah. I was going to leave and go home until I got well, and I did. When I got up there, a friend of my mother's said she knew a man that would cure me, and she believe all de time what it - what she was going to do - she went with us. Now, my mother didn't know this man, but she knew him and she took us over there, and I thought I was going to a doctor. (Well, when you first went there - what did you say to the man - did your mother speak to him or who spoke to him?) The minute I come into the hut, to the place - nobody spoke. He said, "Good morning," he says, "and what are you here for?" He didn't give me a chance to say what I was there for. He says, You're painful - you're sick - it's good dat you come." Well, ah begin to be all funny-looking and feeling funny because why should he say I was feeling bad. I was feeling awfully bad. And he says, "Walk right in dis room and I'll wait on you right. away." He says, "Now, don't you be scared." Just like dat [she imitated his voice]. Well, ah suppose he knew he was comical looking, and I would be afraid. And he didn't let my mother stay in dis room. And - but I was so anxious to get well, as I had just left my home - married and left a home - all dat.
(You left your husband in Norfolk in other words.)
Yes, he had to stay on the job but I went to my mother because I thought I Was going to be real sick. So I sent for money and he sent me $25 and I had to pay him a part of the money when I went in, and then when I got through and got well for him to discharge me, I paid him the rest. But he said, if I was to take sick like that again I could come to him and he would give me every penny back. But I never felt it or seen it again - it went away just like de wind would blow a piece of paper away. I didn't realize it was going or nothing, but I realized that I didn't see it anymore and I continued to walk. I walked everywhere after dat and I didn't - I warn't no time married before I was sick and I just couldn't understand, but now, I believe more in it after he showed me dis woman. Well, if he hadn't showed me dis woman, it would be just like some throwed to east or west 'cause I wouldn't have believed in it. But I did believe in it afterward.
(You actually saw this woman in there, you say?)
I saw her like I'm looking at you, and she was standing between me and my husband, and he said, it was to separate us, and dat was her working to an end. But she died just like she intend me to die. I would have suffered just like she suffered.
(Did she have those bumps on her when she died?)
Ah don't think she had the bumps, but she was Just all over sores - she had very bad trouble and sores. She was sore just everywhere and the doctor pro- nounced it incurable, and dey couldn't do her no good.
(I see.)
Entry 1767
[Here is a device used by George Jackson, a well-known doctor on the Eastern Shore before his death about 1900. This rite was told me by an old man who met prospective clients at the railroad station and drove them out into the country to interview the doctor. For some interesting information about this remarkable doctor, see margin-title George Jackson.] Now, if a man want to break his wife from some man, he steals this dishcloth an' when that he fools with 'er he ketches her nachure in this dishcloth. After he ketches this nachure in a dishcloth, he takes it home an' wraps it up tight an' buries it at his doah - right down under his doah. Fer nine mornin's he must git up an' walk over it an' make his wish whut he wants - never man can't enter. That's [a remedy of] Uncle George's. [Many persons called Jackson Uncle George.] That's called, understand, put a man down that he can't raise up courage fer that Woman, don' care how hard or whut he do. An' he can't. He made all the married, single, go to him, [even] captuns - go off, you know, on drudgin' [dredging for oysters in the Chesapeake Bayl an' leave their wives home. Of course, no man wanted a man to bother his wife while he's gone. He'd have her crossed before he left. [Princess Anne, Md., (130), 34: l; informant Joshua Wilson, age 65.]
Entry 4281
Well, a lot of instan' [instances], like yuh's a man would have a wife, or she would have a husband, an' he would urinate yuh see. Now, if he spit in dere, it prakly [practically] kills it. If he don't, she takes dat an' she puts it in de bottle, nine pins an' nine needles, see, an' stops it up tight wit some cinnamon powdah, put it right where he passes at. By judge yuh can't git 'em apart regardless how she treat 'im.
(You mean she puts it where he can walk over it or under it?)
To walk ovah, like it be's a step tuh go upstairs, jis' put it right undah de step where he passes ovah.
Entry 9262
If yo' got a man an' he runs out, yo' kin take a chicken, hen aig, an' den yo' kin take an' write his name on it good as yo' kin. An' den yo' kin go tuh de graveyard tuh a wicked person's grave, an' dig as fur as yo' kin git chure han' down in dere, an' git some of dat dirt, an' yo' put a dime in dere. An' den yo' come back an' yo sprinkle dat dirt undah de do'steps. See. Den yo' take dat aig an' yo' throw it hard as yo' kin an' break it [against the door of the other woman]. Dat'll break dem up an' yo' won't have no mo' trouble at all. She'll have tuh leave town. (You throw that egg against the door under which you have buried this grave- yard dirt. That's the black hen egg.)
Entry 9269
Take graveyard dirt an' sulphah an' put people back tuhgethah, an' yo' kin take it an' part 'em. Well, yo' take dat sulphuh an' table salt an' grave~ yard dirt, take it an' break yo' a aig an' put jes' a lit- tle of it in a aig if yo' wanta run 'em now. An' den yo' stick nine pins in dat aig. Den yo' take dat aig an' write de name cross it an' den write de name straight up an' down dat aig. Den yo' take dat aig at twelve'clock in de night an' bust it up onto dere house. Dey gotta go.
(How do you get those pins into the egg?)
Jes' punch 'em in dere, jes' stick dem in dere till de haid go down.
Entry 10896
You take a black hen's egg, be sure it's a black hen's egg, and you boil it, and you doesn't get it completely done. Then you take and cut it in two, half in two, and if it's a woman and a man you want to break apart, separate, you get a male cat and a female dog, and give one half of the egg to the dog and the other half to the cat. And then they say after the dog and cat eat this egg, why, you make them fight. That's what separates them.
(Which half do you give to the dog and which half do you give to the cat?)
You take an indelible pencil and you write the man's name on one end and the woman's name on the other end of the egg. And you see, when it boiling, see, the name's right on through on the egg. And you see, you gave the man's name to the [male] cat and the woman's name to the [female] dog.
Entry 1234
An' if yo' Wanta miscarry a kid, ah know how tuh miscarry a kid - diff'rent things yo' kin take: calomel powders, an' yo' kin take nine buckshots, an' yo' kin take bluestone, an' yo' kin take pencil lead from a pencil, an' yo' kin take yore finger an' miscarry. Ah know how to do that wit that. An' if yo' ain't impregnant an' wanta git impregnant, yo' kin take devil's-shoe- string, blackroot, guinsy light[?], an' yo' kin take life ever lasting [cudweed], lowbush myrtle, redshank an' dog-tongue.
(Is dog's-tongue a weed?)
Yes suh, hit's a weed - it grows [cylinder changed]. Boil"it an' makes a tea out of it an' takes it - a wineglassful three times a day. Dat'll clear up yore system an' git all de silt an' stuff stir up, an' yo'll git impregnant like that. Den yo' kin take dog-tongue an' dry it an' put it de fo' corners of anybody's house. Now hit's good fo' medicine an' den it's good for squabbling. Yo' take dog-tongue an' put it in fo' corners of anybody's house an' crumble it up an' rub it round in de house, an' he'll be aridin' an' agrumblin' an' aguarrelin' an' afightin' dere until dey separate or dey move out or dey do something. Dey won't live together happy no mo' - jest quarrel an' grumble an' row jest long as dat dog-tongue in that house.
Entry 2106
If ah got silver money, ah counts mah silver, but ah hardly evah counts mah pennies - but ah keeps mah silver money specially separate from mah pennies. Well now, ah go tuh trade if ah got pennies. Why ah'll take mah pennies an' use 'em all as fur as ah has tuh go, but ah nevah mix mah pennies wit mah silver money.
Entry 4303
Dey take socks or stockin's an' put dis lump insaint [incense], dey chamber lye. Cut de bottom of it out, roll it an' put it in a bottle in de person's chamber lye, an' dey say dey kin keep 'em. Dey'll nevah separate from 'em.
Entry 4737
Now, if I got any of 'er undahweahs or anythin', well I takes dat an' I buries it. An' she ain't goin' tuh rest in peace until she come back tuh me. See, I takes it an' I mix it wit- git some cobweb. (Cobweb, spider web.) Yeah, dat's whut I mean. An' I gits me a white of a egg. I beats it up an' I mix dese up tuhgethah. Well, I takes dis - yo' know whut I mean - I mean 'er clothes, an' I folds dat tuh me an' I take an' I bury it right by de steps. An' she ain't goin' tuh be satis- fied until she come back.
(Comes back to you.)
She ain't goin' tuh git along wit no othah man. Den I kin take dat cloth, dat same cloth, an' git me some lodestone - git a live lodestone, got life in it - an' I makes a powdah wit it, an' I wraps dat up wit dat. See? I puts mah name on dis end an' 'er name here - goin' tuh make a separation, yo' see. An' I folds it so it be jis' dat much apart. See? An' I draw it tuhgethah. An' when I draw it tuhgethah dataway, well she comin' on back. No mattah where I'm at, she is comin' back.
Entry 5743
Or else yo' take his track - take de dust outen dey track an' put it tuhgethah an' separate 'em when yo' git where yo' goin' an' put it down. Dem party bound to separate, dey cain't stay tuhgethah. (How do you mean, take the dust from their track?) Jis' lak yo' take de dust outen dat toe an' carry it on back if yo' don't want 'em 'gethah. Take it at de toe an' carry it all de way back tuh de heel. Pick it up. Dat'll separate 'em. An' take his dust outen 'is shoe track an' put it one place an' hers in anothah. Dat'll sep- arate 'em. Dey cain't stay tuhgethah.
Entry 5747
This is to cross you. You take the right-foot track, you dig that out and turn it over, and fill the hole full of salt and pepper and quicksilver and sulphur and gunpowder. Then you put that foot track back in the hole upside down and tamp it down and make a wish. You do that the same both for a man and a woman, if you want to break them up.
[Berlin, Md., by Ediphone.]
Entry 5752
Take de dirt outa yore tracks an' put it in a tobacco sack, an' dey'll write on it an' stick it up. An' dey'll put urinate on dat, stick up dere, an' let it dry. An' dat'll cuz yo' tuh be jis' awandahin' an' leave. An' lak dat, dey could take yore tracks, take up yore tracks lak dat, an' persons dat wuz - lak two persons wuz goin' togethah. Dey ould separate two persons by takin' de dirt outa yore track lak dat.
(And what would they do with that dirt that they took up like that?)
Dey'd make watah on it an' tie it up. Let it dry an' den scattah it about. Dey would scattah an' dey would jis' leave.
Entry 5910
De graveyard dirt dey said take it an' throw it in de rivah, mix it wit yore hair an' throw it in de rivah. Dat's whut dey said, dat's if a woman wanta git away from a man or a man wanta git away from a woman. Well, ah know dat cuz ah know a woman done mah uncle dataway. She got rid of 'im, see.
Entry 6160
Ah wuz goin' wit a girl oncest an' ah quit dis girl, an' dis girl didn't Want me tuh quit 'er at de time. But den, yuh see, ah stayin' [with] anothah girl dat ah feel tuh mo' den ah did 'er. An' evah time ah'd go wit dis othah girl, well ah'd have trouble wit dis girl dat ah'd guitted. So ah went tuh a doctor, a 'erb doctor, an' inquirewhut could ah do tuh git rid of 'er. He tole me tuh go back [to quitted girl] an' bring 'im jis' as much of 'er hair as ah could git. So ah, ah do dat. Ah went back an' played wit 'er until ah got a chance - ah had me a ole Jem City razor blade - until ah got a chance tuh clip dat hair off. Jis' cut it off so she wouldn't miss it, cut it off jis' here [demonstrates].
(Above the ear.)
Ah give it tuh 'im. He got a peg six inches long. It wuz jis' a lil ole ash peg. He give me de peg an' tole me tuh go down by a creek, down dere aside of a sweet gum tree, an' stick dis peg in de groun', an' take two stran's of 'er hair an' throw in de watah. An' evah mawnin' - he tole me tuh keep enough of de hair- so evah mawnin' ah go dere fo' nine mawnin's tuh throw two stran's of hair in dis watah, an' drive dis peg jis' a lil evah mawnin'. An' evah mawnin' - ah went down fo' nine mawnin's - ah throwed two stran's of de hair in de watah an' driv de peg, an' jis' driv it fer enough so on de ninth mawnin' yuh kin driv it down [completely]. I did dat fo' de nine mawnin's. On de ninth mawnin' - an' ah smack de peg [all the way in]. From den on ah didn't have no mo' trouble wit 'er. He say dat would divide us. He say dat watah wuz runnin', he say dat would divide us. [Wilmington, N. Car., (283), 198: l; this happening at Whiteville, N. Car., in 1929, the doctor's fee being $15.]
Entry 6266
Yo' git a Adam-an'-Eve [root] an' put it in a bottle, an' git a stran' off de haid, [or] down below - mostly [they get] de hair de bes' [best] way dey kin, if dey have any con- nection wit it, dey'll git a piece. An' dey'll put dat in a bottle an' urinate a li'le in dere. Den dey stop dat up an' put dat undah de fron' step. Dat'll make dem part.
Entry 7260
Tuh separate a man an' 'is wife, yuh git dis oil dat dey call de Wizard Oil [demonstrates].
(Take this Wizard Oil and wipe your hand with it.)
No, dere hand wit hit an' rub it on 'is face, see an' hair. An' when he git in conversation wit de woman, if he kin git 'er tuh yield tuh 'im - he come tuh kiss 'er, hold 'er by de hand, he kin git 'er so dat she hate her husband an' be where he is all de time. See, cuz dat jis' draws de woman from 'er husban' tuh 'im. Ah've been tole dat. (Where do you get this Hizard Oil?) Well, some people makes it. Ah've been tole dat some people know how tuh make it. An' some gits it from diff'ren' places. [Washington, D. C., (638), 826:1.] [Until 1936, the year following the publication of my first edition of Folklore from Adams County Illinois (2nd ed., 1965), I neither knew nor suspect- ed there was a folklore about murder. In the first edition of FACI - abbrevia- tion used in present Hoodoo for preceding book - the act of murder occurs 8 times: (1) in a dream, No.6305; (2) omen of future murder from wedding dress, 7268; (3) site of murder an unlucky place for playing cards, 8931; (4) a black informant had heard about bringing back murderer by writing a letter, but could not explain how it was done, 9176; (5) dropping umbrella on floor a sign of fu- ture murder in that house, 10174; (6) murderer revisits scene of crime, 10279; (7) murderer unable to sleep facing the east, the sun [Son], 10280; and (8) if you talk about murder every day for 6 months [a folkway of saying if murder be- comes an obsession], you'll be hanged for murder, 10650. The Index in FACI (1st ed.) under Murder also says: see bloodstain, hoodoo and witchcraft, spirits. I will divide MURDER into 2 PartS: HOW MURDERER CAN ESCAPE, and HOW MURDERER CAN BE CAUGHT. This separation of course can not be absolute, because some inform- ants will give both escape and caught aspects of murder in the same statement. The final aspect of MURDER, the TRIAL, is reserved for COURT CASES later. [Obviously a murderer will use any method he has ever heard of to escape cap- ture by the law. If he has time and knows about one, he may stop at the house of a wise woman or witchcrafter or hoodoo for aid, but usually such professional assistance is not called in until the trial. Some doctors, especially the cele- brated Doctor Buzzard (p.891), specialized in all types of criminal work. Here, however, follow a few of the magic devices supposed to help a murderer in flight.]
Entry 7556
Well, yuh could take graveyard dirt an' make anothah separation, keep confusion. Jis' lak somebody livin' nex' do' tuh yuh. Well, yuh go out in de graveyard an' git some evil - if yuh know someone died evil. Yuh know whut ah mean. Yuh drop dat [dirt] an' sprinkle it an' wish 'em bad luck tuh move 'em.
Entry 7570
Dey go tuh de cemetery - now listen, accordin' tuh de Bible, some people believe dey got a God an' some don't. Well de man or woman dat die dat don' believe dey got a God [is] an' infidn [infidel]. Or a man dat gambles prak'ly practically] all 'is life, an' he dies, dey figure dat he is gone tuh hell. He don' dwell where de good dwells at, see. Well, dey go up at twelve a'clock at night an' take a knife an' take some of dat mud, see. Dey take dat mud, dey bring it on back an' dey leave it dry well. Dey git some hot red peppah, dey mix dat up tuhgethah, an' if dey wan'a disturb here, dey jis' sprinkle dat here. An' de two parties, ah guarantee dey won't be tuhgethah long.
Entry 7980
I've heard whut it'll do, dat little coffin. But jis' like I tellin' yo' a few minutes ago, dat stuff about makin' a little coffin. Put 'em undah de step, yo' see, wit de people's photo in dat coffin, de party. Dat why plenty people won't take dere photos yo' see. Put it in dat coffin wit some pins, some needles, yo' see, an' some steel dust and lodestone. See. An' dat draw dose people outa dat house, yo' undahstan', an' fix 'em so dey will nevah wan' tuh see one anothah no mo'.
Entry 8520
Take a coconut an' put a person name in it, an' if yo' wanta throw it in de rivah, an' dey go. If yo' don' wanta, yo' don' have tuh; yo' could take it in yore home an' kick it aroun', but yo' have tuh have two. Yo' take one an' put it in de rivah, throw it in de Missi'ppi Rivah, an' yo' keep de othah one. Dat's separation, dat's a separation between two people.
(How do you do that?)
Yo' see, yo' put de names in each coconut, yo' see. Yo' undahstan', jis' lak yo' wanta separate somebody. See, lak somebody got chure girl fren'. Well, yo' put one name - yo' undahstan' whut ah mean, de pair of 'em in dere [coconut]. Den yo' keep one [coconut] at de house. Yo' take de names an' put 'em in de coconut.
(You put this man's name and this woman's name in the same coconut?)
In de same coconut in each one of 'em. An' yo' throw one in de rivah. An' yo' keep one home an' yo' keep rowin' wit it, beatin' it an' cursin' it an' goin' on. [The preceding to row (not rō but rou), a colloquialism, means to assail roughly; here, as already stated, to kick the coconut about the house while also verbally abusing it.] (JUST TO BE SURE THAT I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TAKING ABOUT. Here's the cOCOnut. I put his name and her name in there, both names in that one coconut. Here's another coconut and I put his name and her name in that coconut?) In that coconut.
Entry 8636
Well, you can take a lemon and put your name and his name - not his, but jes' like he got some woman; yo' understand [and you, a woman, want] to separate them. Well, yo' write it [her name] down nine times all kinda ways, and then you put aloes. Yo' can put cayenne peppah an' salt, some dat have never been used, a fresh box of each - that have never been used. An' yo' take that an' yo' put it in de lemon, an' yo' put it [lemon] in a vinegar, in a bottle of vinegar. [To put lemon in bottle, cut it in 4 parts - see No.8632.] An' yo' shake it like that, an' kick it all around de floor, like yo' dog it. AN' JES' LIKE YO' "DOG" THAT BOTTLE [TREAT IT LIKE A DOG] THAT JES' DE WAY HE'LL "DOG" HER and [they will] break up. Jes' like yo' kick de bottle, yo' know, knock it around - jes' take your feet, yo' see, an' kick it an' curse it - that is the way he'll do to her. An' then they'll separate.
Entry 8819
Cut de cornahs off of it, all fo' cornahs off of it, an' yo' kin do somepin wit 'em dataway. Well, yo' kin take 'em jes' lak anybody writin' yo' a love lettah. Jes' lak yo' git a lettah - jes' lak ah got a fren' boy [boy friend] an' he got anothah fren' girl [girl friend]. Well, jes' lak he goin' wit her an' goin' wit me but ah don't know nuthin 'bout it. Well, suppose she goin' write 'im a lettah. Well, if ah happen tuh git de lettah an' read it, an' don't lak whut she say on it, don't even know he wuz goin' wit 'er, well ah take dat lettah an' burn all fo' cornahs. All fo' cornahs off dat lettah an' singe it wit chure hair. Yo' know, not [don't singe it] on yore haid, but yo' singe it wit dat, an' wrap it up an' sleep wit it evah night. An' dat'll soon make 'i an' dis girl break up. Yeah, jes' lak yo' take a match an' jes' stick a fire tuh de hair an' singe it an' burn all fo' cornahs off it, de lettah, an' den yo' seal dis hair up in de lettah. An' yo' take it an' put it undah yore pillah an' sleep wit it undah dere evah night. An' dat'll make him an' dis girl soon break up. (You take some of your own hair an' burn this hair over that letter and let this dust fall on that letter. Then you fold that dust in that letter and sleep on it?) Yes.
Entry 9256
[A frizzly hen egg] take it an' write de name on de egg an' bust it in front of de person's do', will cuz a separation in de home.
(That has to be a egg from a...?)
From a frizzly hen. Only one ah was evah tole dey could use. Ah don't know about othahs.
Entry 9266
Dey tell me dey take a black hen aig, if yo' wanta run a person. Ah'm using mah seriance [experience] 'bout dis. Ah believe dat dis graveyard dirt an' gunpowdah dey puts in dat egg, dat black hen's egg, bust it in yore do'. Jis' throw it ag'inst yore do' an' bust it. Dat'll bust yo' an' dat woman up.
Entry 9690
Now, if yuh wife runnin' aroun' an' yo' wanta stop 'er, yo' git chew some sugah, table salt an' sulphuh an' put it in - take a saucah an' mix it up, lak dat, an' evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's - yo' got a woman an' she got a man, an' yo' wanta break 'em up. Yo' take an' put dat in de cornah of yuh house. Jes' take a pinch of it an' put it, In de Name of de Lord, ah wish yo'd quit runnin' round. Evah time yo' put it down in de cornah of de house.
(Put it in the four corners?)
Yassuh, de fo' cornahs of de house, put it in dere, an' dat'll stop 'er from runnin' roun'.
Entry 9728
Ah hear'd dat dey takes three sixtypenny nails.
(What size is that?)
Jes' 'bout lak dat - jes' about dat long, yo' see [demonstrates].
(Oh, long as your hand.)
About seven inches. (About seven [actually six] inches long. Three sixtypenny nails. I never heard of a sixtypenny nail.) Yeah, dere's plenty of 'em. An' drive it down at de steps, yo' undahstan', kinda in a fo'kway [forkway]: one dis way, one dat way, an' one dat way [demon- strates].
(Like a "v": one here, one each end like a "v.") Yeah. (Which way would that "v" point now at the steps?)
East. (What I mean, would these two ends point away from the house or to the house?) Way from de house.
[They point away from the house.]
(And do they point in any particular direction?)
An' de ''v' points tuh de house. [Informant means small end of "v", but actually the stem of the "Y" points to the house.]
(You mean the ends of the "v"?)
Kinda "x" yeah. [Informant is actually talking about a "Y", my "v" having caused the confusion.] Dere's one, dere's one, an' here's one ovah dere, see. Well [that last one, the stem of the "Y"] dat's nex' tuh de steps. Dat's de way.
(Then what happens?)
Den yo' jes' walks on, goes on 'way from dat backwards an' nevah looks back at dem [after once turning round]. An' dat's all dat ah know of tuh be done. Dat de way dey tell me.
(What will that do?)
Well, dat make yo' move or git chew sep'rated of whatsomevah it is fo'. [The two persons inside the house walk out on a single road, soon come to the "Y" fork where they separate, one going to the right, the other to the left.
Entry 9777
Ah've heard dem say if yo' wanted tuh - say if yo' wanted tuh grow tuh be smart an' wanted tuh keep yuh enemy away from yo', why of cus [course] yo' give yuh enemy a needle wit de point tuhwar' de enemy, tuhwar' de person dat yo' believe dat wuz yuh enemy. Han' dem de needle pointed toward 'im, or a scissahs wit de point tuhward 'im. An' dat would break dat enemy off from yuh. Dey would stop comin' aroun or stop being in yuh company, stay away from yuh.
Entry 9911
Well, now, yo' take a frog. Hit's a bone in dat frog lak a fishhook an' dere's anothah one in dere's a scale. Yo' see a man an' yo' wanta use him jis' lak yo' wanta. Yo' ketch yo' a toadfrog an' yo' lay 'im up on de shelf. Well, yo' turn 'im on 'is back. Lay him ovah on de shelf where he cannot turn ovah an' he perish tuh death an' he rotten. An' yo' go dere an' yo' fin' dis fishhook an' yo' fin' dis scale. Well, yo' take dis scale an' yo' keep dis scale. De fishhook, yo' hook it intuh de man's coat, an' as long as he tote dat he stay wit yo'. An' when yo' git ready fo' him tuh go, yo' take dat fish- book out dere an' strike it on de back of dis scale an' he'll go.
Entry 10828
It's like my husband and I is separated. I would take four straws of the broom and he came home, I put 'em before the door. He comes in [over the 4 broomstraws] and he'll never leave. (All you got to do, just take four straws from the broom?) Four straws of the broom, before [in front of] the door. (And he won't leave any more. I see.)
Entry 11317
(What's that?)
(Bull dog manure?)
Bull dog manure. They'll take bull dog manure and wasp nest. Parch them down to a powder. It'll 'come pulverized like powder. Put them together and mix them. Come to your home where you and your wife been getting along nice and smooth Walk right in that home and talk with your old woman, just come right in the house and throw it around.
(Just sprinkle it around?)
Yes. You begin to squabble and fight and the next thing you know, why one of you is gone away from there.
(I see.) I see.)
Entry 11656
Ah heard yo' take a fo'k an' put it in yore bed mattress an' sleep on de fo'k three days, an' dey say that'll separate yo' an' yore sweetie. (Well, who would put that in there, under that?) Yo' put it in there yo'self yes, tuh git rid of yore man. Yo' see, yo' take that fo'k an' yo' put it in yore bed mat- tress, yo' see, an' yo' turn it towards him all de time. See, de sharpest parts [tines]. See. Yo' turn it towards him yo' see an' yo' sleep on that, three nights straight, an' that breaks yo'all up completely. An' tuh keep him away aftah he git gone, yo' git chew some table salt. See, an' sprinkle it jes' lak this [gets up and demonstrates]. Sweep it on out. He gotta stay out. Jes' do it gradually all de time, aftah he leaves [for work], when he walks out dis mawnin'.
Entry 11749
You can take graveyard dirt, you can run people crazy with it. You can keep a man and his wife together and you can separate them with it, because if they fuss and fight and almost kill one another, of qourse they have to separate. Now, you go to the graveyard and you get it [graveyard dirt in] a bucket, for a bucketful is all that you need at one time. And you try to find one of those skeleton bones, and take that skeleton bone and that basket of graveyard dirt, and catch them when they are away from home and wobody there. And bury that bone and that dirt under their step, if they have 3 dirt step; if not, they got bricks, and you can pry that brick up, but you got wo be sure where they pass in and out of their door all the time. And when you get that dirt down there, of course, you put it [soil or brick] back so they roa't detect it, see. It will cause them to fight and almost kill one another. They have to separate.
Entry 12567
Take a dauber nest.
(Just take one dauber's nest?)
And seven peanut hulls.
(And seven peanut hulls.)
And seven pods of red pepper.
(And seven pods of red pepper.)
And parch all that together and crumble it up. And then sprinkle it around a person's door if you - like if your husband is going over there. And sprinkle it around her door, and the path, anywhere where she goes in and out at. And it will bust them up. But you have to crumble it up fine after parching it, and just sprinkle it all up and down there. See, and it bust 'em up. They will bust up - and they goes - just drift from place to place.
(This will bust them up?)
He will quit her. You use one dauber nest and seven pods.
(And seven pods.)
Oh, I should have said that that dauber nest was to be filled with a certain kind of mud, what is used to tear down. (The dauber nest is to be filled with a certain kind of mud, I see.)
Entry 9190
Jes' lak if yo' an' a person sep- arate an' yo' want dat pusson tuh come back tuh yo'. Yo' take a aig an' take a needle an' jug it in yore fingah until it bleeds. An' write chure name on dis aig an' his name [with this blood] an' bury it undah de do'step an' dat'll bring him back tuh yo'.
Entry 9417
Now, if yo' constantly come tuh mah house, an' maybe ah'm carryin' on somepin dat ah wouldn't Want chew tuh come in mah house, ah wouldn't wan' tuh be bothahed wit chew. Ah wan' tuh make yo' leave an' don' come back. Ah go an' borrah two eggs from yuh, says, "Ah jes' gotta have some aigs. Will yo' loan me two until ah gits some more? Ah'll give dem back tuh yuh tuh- morrah or such a day." If yo' go past dere house at night, at six or twelve...
[I interrupt.]
(In the morning or night?)
In de morning or night, at six or twelve. Ah dig a hole dere an' ah put de eggs down dere an' ah say, "Now dis is tuh divide yo' an' me." An' ah put an inch space between de aigs. "Ah don' want chew tuh cross ovah heah no mo'." Ah Say dat when ah put 'em down. "Now ah wan' chew tuh stay on dis side an' ah'm gon'a stay ovah here." Don' let yo' cross, yo' see.
Entry 10212
Tuh separate 'em. Yo' take dis man when he deal wit yo'. Yo' wanta break dem [man and other woman] up. Yo' take dis man when he deals wit yo' an' yo' take dat towel dat yo' an' him uses, see. An' yo' take dis towel tuh dis woman's house - if yo' kin locate where she live at - dis woman he's runnin' roun' wit. Den yo' bury dis towel down right at her do'step, where she have tuh come out at. Yo' bury dat towel dere an' den yo' take some bluein' - Purity Bluein', see. See, yo' takes bluein' an' ink an' mix it up combined. Yo' kin jis' sprinkle dat towel, on dere, an' den yo' bury dat towel right up undah- neath whah she have tuh walk at. Dat'll break it up. Dat break it up, too.
Entry 10881
Well, jes' lak dis, if ah wus de type of dis kind, dat ah wouldn't wanta see a woman an' a man gittin' along, see, an' ah wanted tuh part dem. Listen good - an' when dis dog an' ket. Yo' know kets an' dogs will quarrel some- time. Well, when dis dog make dis ket kinda angry, dis cat will bring up her fur on her back. Well, an' de same time yo' take a knife or scissors - shears, at least yo' should call 'em, an' cut a little piece of dat.
(Cut a little piece of what?)
De hair out de ket's back. Listen, an' a little of de dog, when dey in dat angry nood [mood] - jes' lak dey would be angry, yo' know. An' yo' take dat an' sew it up in piece of black cloth, whut chew would call broadcloth. An' bury it under de steps, an' dey couldn't git along nohow in de world.
Entry 12547
Well, lak if yo' want - see, a man an' a woman's been together a long time an' someone tries tuh separate 'em. See. Well, yo' kin git chew a red onion an' git de stockin' from offa her left feet, see. An' take dat red onion an' write her name on it. Take dat red on- ion, see, an' de red on- ion be round - it must be a red onion, see. An' write her name disaway [demonstrates] an' nine times dis- away. An' den take her name an' write it nine times disaway [across first 9]. Yo' cross dose names jis' right down [names slant down and cross]. An' yo' take dat an' yo' bury it. See, either where she gotta pass at - lak she gotta pass on de steps. Well, jis' put dat tuh de bottom, yo' see. An' leave it stay dere. See. Well dat run her an' him tuhgether. She begin tuh love yo' mo' an' mo'. See, dat makes her love come back, even if someone wuz tryin' tuh break yo'all up.
(That is, if the man and woman - if somebody was trying to break them up?)
Yes.
(The man could do that?)
De man would do dat yo' see tuh de woman.
(Or the woman could do it to the man?)
Well, either one. Jis' lak yo' see, if she wants de man, yo' know someone try tuh break her an' her husban' up, she kin do de same thing, yo' see, but it gotta be dose big ole red onions where yo' kin write on it nine times disaway an' nine times disaway right in a cross. See, an' bury it dere.
Entry 12831
To separate man and woman, mix black pepper and salt and put it in her window sill. [Norfolk 494:2.]
Entry 1945
Co'se ah did have 'em but ah haven't got 'em now - de little flower dat grows. It's a white flower, yo' git it out de graveyard.
(What is the name of the flower?)
Ah don't know whut de name of dat flower, but chew kin go to de graveyard an' git it. It grows jes' about dat high.
(About a foot high?)
Yes, sir. An' it's all loaded wit - yo' find it in most any cemetery about dis time. Dey bloomin' now. It's a flower dat de whole place is white wit dem flowers, an' yo' go dere an' pick dem flowers, an' set dem flowers in some watah an' jes' go dere an' throw it [the water] right roun' in dere. It will separate 'em, git dem from roun' dere. Co'se ah kin git de flower all right. An' you say] "Ah want chew all tuh separate - raise hell." See.
(That will break up this man and this woman.)
Shore.
(You throw this water into that house.)
Throw it right at de steps.
The informant says the preparation will separate unnamed targets. The interviewer supplies a man-and-woman paraphrase; flower identity and the nearby say] text remain unresolved.