Subject:Skin
Entries
Entry 1862
If a woman got a runnin'-'bout spell, you go to work an' wash your feet of a nights from your toe back to de hollow of your left foot - it don't make no diff'rence if's right or de left. Take de same water dat you wash de feet in, take it an' pour back into another bucket, an' let her drink a swallow or two dat water for nine mornin's. Dat'll take de runnin'-'bout spells off of her. [Cf. Bathwater, p.522f.]
Entry 2482
As good a way as any if yo' was selling something - jes' lak a fellah dat wus sellin' some moonshine or somepin an' he wanted to git in trade. Well, now ah heared dat chew could sit down an' take yore foot, wet it, scrape it an' all dat dead skin on it. Soak it [scraped skin] in whiskey or soak it in some water, either one. Anoint de whiskey wit it an' dat would draw customers to you. [Dead foot skin in food or drink is alsd used in love rites.]
Entry 4107
An' den put eithah a man or a woman chamber lye in tea or coffee or whiskey or whichsomevah it is, jis' feeds it tuh 'em - a teaspoonful at de time evah mawnin'. An' take a man - an' cut chure fingahnails, an' cut chure toenails, an' soak yuh feet in warm watah. An' take a razor blade or somepin an' shave dat dead skin from undah de bottom of yuh feet, an' yuh could put it on a little pan an' parch it on de stove. Yuh kin put dat in sompin, tea or coffee, an' dat will hold 'em togethah. AH KNOWS ALL DEM THIN'S CUZ AH'VE TRIED 'EM.
Entry 4484
Take dat where yuh take a bath an' put it in a hole. (What kind of a hole?) Any roun' hole. (Where is this hole made?) Yuh put it in yuh backyard. (Oh, a hole in the ground.) Yeah, see he'd come out an' hafta [have to] walk ovah it, an' dat will strip 'em [him] up, peel 'em up - yeah, jes' like dey have de measles or sompin like dat.
[Walking over his bath water is walking over a part of himself.]
(I see, make this skin - give them skin trouble.)
Yeah, skin trouble call it.
Entry 4669
A woman kin take dat bow if she wants de man tuh be crazy 'bout 'er, an' don't want 'im tuh mess wit no mo' wimmins - jis' follah her. She kin take dat bow an' sew it up in a little rag an' wear it nex' tuh her meat an' he nevah will follah no one but 'er.
Entry 5240
Dey kin take - if yo've wore yore shoes an' got 'em good an' sweaty, dey git chure feet dirt from it an' de scent of yore feet lak dat. An' dey kin take dat an' weah it aroun' 'neath of dere waist an' thing lak dat, an' put some of dis oil of cedah in it, an' make de person follah dem an' ca' [care] mō' [more] fō' dem den dey do any- body else. Jis' lak dey would take dere hair outa dere haid... (You mean they wear it around their waist?). Right nex' tuh dere skin lak dis. An' dey puts it in a bandage an' puts it nex' tuh dere skin, an' put dat oil of cedah tuh it, an' weah it night an' day aroun' dere waist nex' tuh yore skin.
Entry 5735
Dey take dat foot track up an' dey take a piece yo' weah nex' tuh yore skin. An' take dat dirt an' tie it up in dat piece an' let it stay fo' nine mawnin's. An' den take it an' untie it, an' spread it back out, an' turn it whichevah way dey wan'cha to go. Untie de piece an' spread de dirt out lak it wuz.
Entry 6095
An' ah could take yore hair an' ah could ketch me a rabbit, git any Hinda rabbit, an' clip dat rabbit back open an' put chure hair in dat rabbit back, an' ah sew dat rabbit back up, an' yo' nevah will quit'walkin'. Yo' jis' walk till yo' die. If nobody nevah kills dat rabbit, yo'll jis' nevah quit walkin'.
Entry 6096
Now along de hair line. Yo' kin take de hair outa de top if any in- dividual's hair, say if yo' wanta send 'em away. Dis is mo' from sperience ah'm tellin' yo' dat. [Now follows a good example of giving a rite and then illustrating it with a personal ex- perience.] Yo' take dat hair an' ketch a rabbit den, an' split 'is skin right in de fo'head dere, an' place dat hair in dere an' sew it up. Jes' turn 'im loose. Well, who- Cvah hair den dat yo' put in dere, if yo' want 'em tuh leave, when yo' turn dat rabbit loose dey can't stay. [We lived] cross town togethah. I an' 'im were good frien's, too. Well, he bad a right clevah wife. So ah nevah said nuthin tuh anyone heah 'bout dese things jes' like yo' talkin' tuh me now, 'bout runnin' off people. So ah says, "Well," says, "ah kin take de hair outa anybody's head, outa de zole [mold or mould] of de haid an' ketch me a rabbit," ah said, "an' ah kin nm a off quickly." She said, "How do yo' do dat?" Ah said, "Well, yo' git de hair out de mole of dere haid an' ketch chew a rab- bit an' split 'im right in de fo'haid," say, "an' put dat hair in dere an' sew it Turn de rabbit loose. She say, "Shuah 'nuff?" Well, ah didn't pay no mo' 'tenshun tuh it. Two-three days latah ah wus out in de woods cuttin' crossties. [Railroad rails are laid on and spiked to crossties.] All of a sudden he pulls off 'is clothes, all but 'is top-shirt. Ah nevah bothah. Ah reckon about fifty yards distance betveen us - us dere a log-cuttin'. An' when 'is cuttin' stopped, ah stopped aattin', looked tuh see whut wus he doin', weren't thinkin' about nuthin. So chen ah looked he wus standin' up on de log lookin' right straight off tuhwards de cypress pond. He got down off de log an' he walked right straight on off de Way, de direction he wus lookin' tuhward dat pond. He walked on off down dere an' he walked on it. Well, ah nevah pay any 'tenshun, ah went on back cuttin'. Ah say, "Maybe prob'ly got hot an' he's about gone [to] cool off." Dat's whut ah thought tuh mahself. So ah worked on about a hour an' he hadn't came back yet. Ah jes' worked on, hadn't nevah give it a thought. Well, it's about three hours he hadn't come back, so ah thought ah'd go down tuh de pond. Ah went on down tuh de pond where it wus muddy goin' in jes' 'fore yo' git tuh de water. Ah tracked 'im on tuh de watah. Ah whistled an' whistled an' called an' called. Aftah ah couldn't [find] 'im, ah went on aroun' de pond, an' when ah got on de othah [side] de back of de pond - ah seed where he come out. Still ah couldn't git no hearin', ah called an' whistled. So ah went on back, ah said, "Maybe he jes' went off tuh look fo' some [something]." But still he wus in his shirt, nuthin but 'is shirt. Ah went on back an' ah worked on till time tuh knock off. He hadn't came back yet. Time tuh knock off, ah couldn't call 'im up, couldn't whistle 'im. So ah went on back home. So ah went on down tuh his house aftah ah got suppah. He hadn't showed up yet. His wife couldn't tell nuthin about 'im atall. De nex' mawnin' he hadn't showed up. So ah went back out in de woods where his clothes still hangin' dere where he lef' 'em. Well, ah come back tuh de house den tuh tell 'er about it. He git plenty time to git 'rested [arrested for being in his unclothed condition.] Some- body mdght search fo' 'im. Well, de people dat know 'im - de law, dey took 'imup an' dey look fo' 'im dem two weeks. Dey nevah did find 'im. So' 'bout six-eight weeks latah dey got ahearin' from 'im. He wus in de 'sylum. So, I an' 'is wife wus talkin' dere one day aftah he had gone on an' she say, "Yo' know one thing?" "Whut?" Say, "Yo' know whut chew tole 'bout dat rabbit?" Said, "'Yes?" She says, "Ah tried dat. Ah thought yo' wus roun' devilin'," say, "an' dat's whut run mah husban' off from heah."
Entry 6391
De bottom of de feet, dat didn't happen tuh me once, but.it happen by dem people though. Yo' take de bottom of yore feet an' yo' take yore toenails an' yore fingahnails off. Yo' trims 'em yo' know wit de scissors. An' yo' takes dat an' yo' burys dat, see. An' when dey burys dat, dat keeps yo': aroun' home - keeps yo' from goin' away. An' dat makes de woman keeps yo' all de time undah huh control.
(I see, I see.)
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 6563
You skin the frog, dry the hide out, parch it, an' then you kin put that into somepin to drink to give a person. That'll make frogs come in them.
Entry 6613
Git a snake an' put a snake in yo'. Dey kin go ketch a snake an' kill it, cut 'is head off an' hang 'im on de limb [of a tree] by de tail. Tie a string aroun' 'is tail an' hang 'im up an' put a tin cup or tin plate undah 'im an' ketch 'is blood. Let 'im bleed in dat tin plate or tin cup, whutevah it is. Now dey take dat blood an' dey kin put dat blood intuh yore food or somepin tuh drink; or dey kin let dat blood dry until it comes jis' tuh a hard powdah. Dey kin sprinkle it in yore shoes. An' de perspiration from yore feet will such up de strength of dat blood an' cuz yore body tuh attract dat, an' it will go all through de body an' kill de body. An' it will be crawlin' jis' undah de skin, all about, mostly from de point where dey entered. Depends upon how long it is when it gits in de stomic an' come on up. An' he'll choke yo' tryin' tuh come on up.
Entry 6845
Ah hear'd dat vinegah an' salt - take vinegah an' boil it, see, an' a li'le cayenne peppah, a [new] box of cayenne peppah, a five-cent box of cayenne peppah. Put a li'le lahd [lard] in it. Put a li'le, any kinda liniment in it, an' boil it tuhgethah an' strain it. Anint: [anoint] choreself [yourself] wit it. An' IT'S CALLED GRANDPAH LINI- MENT, LINIMENT MADE BY DE IN- DIANS, DE OLDEST LINIMENT EVAH BEEN. CURE RHEUMATISM, ANYTHIN' EVAH SUPPOSE DEY EvAH HAD. It's name is grandpa liniment, de oldest liniment out. An' it's made by a ole puson, an' it's good today. An' AH'VE SEEN DEY TAKEN SCALES OFF PEOPLE FEET LOOK LAK FISH SCALES WHERE PEOPLE HAVE DRAGGED DEM THROUGH FISH BONES AN' GIVE DEM WHISKEY TUH DRINK AN' CUZ SCALES TO COME [IN] DE BODY.
(How do they do that?)
Well, dey take de scales an' grin' dem up, see. Dey put it in whu' choo drink. If yo' lak coffee or tea, or even if yo' lak bread, yo' can't tell it when it look lak powdah. Dey sift it. An' it's in yuh body in a co'se [course] of time when de fish commence tuh 'eelin' [peeling] scales, yuh 'eel [peel] scales on yo' feet - 'eels [peels] de scales on dere body. Yo' know fish shed scales, an' when dey git ready tuh shed scales, yo' shed dem scales on yuh body.
(How did you say you take those scales off?)
Wit grandpah's liniment. [Grandpa's liniment could be the product of a hoodoo drug store or some hoodoo doctor.]
Entry 6886
De woman might be Impregnant, chew know. Somebody might wan' 'em tuh die in dat state, chew know. Dey [some woman] gits jealous, chew know. An' den dey git tuh a, go tuh a oak tree an' measure nine inches from de bottom, an' skin de bä'k up an' boil dat tuhgethah [with] anythin' whut de woman would eat, chew know. Suppose dey could give 'er dat tuh eat, chew know. Dat child nevah come down, yo' see. (The child will never come down. This child will stay right in her. It will kill her then.)
Entry 8677
Yo' kin take a pencil an' write a man's name nine times an' whoevah yo' is, if yo' want 'im, yo' write 'is name on a piece of papah nine times an' write her name on de top of dat papah - on top de line dat his'n is wrote on. Write it on dere an' take an' let 'er wear it nex' tuh 'er skin on 'er princess slip, an' he will always have 'er on his mind.
Entry 9032
De nex' thing, tuh mah idea, whut's good, take some of yore fingah- nails. Trim yore fingahnails off. Go tuh some watah an' git dat daid skin undah yore feet. Scrape it down. Put it in sompin an' let it dissolve fo' nine days. Den take dat an' strain it. Have it in watah, an' jes' lak de jedge would have a sep'rate pitcher he drink out of, put dat ovah dere in his pitcher. Jes' lak yo' de jedge of de co't, put dat in yore pitcher. See, de chance is de co't goes up dere soon an' dey have evah-thing lined up, de jedge an' de jury. Put sompin in [the pitchers of] both of 'em. Ah'm de crim'nal. Ah'm de crim'nal, yo' know, an' yo' goin' try tuh send me tuh de chain gang. Git tuh arguin' on dat thing. Aftah while dey gits sorry fo' yuh. Things is workin' mah way. Whut chew want 'em tuh [do, that will do it]. Yo' couldn't do it. Simple things whut ah learnt wit de business [of being a hoodoo doctor].
Entry 9250
Yo' can take yore fingahnails an' cut nine pieces - cut off nine fin- gahnails - an' get nine pieces of yore toenails, an' put it into a little bag put some asafetida in there with it. Then you bust a hen egg an' get de thread [the skin in the end] of it an' put in there, an' that'll be all right fo' de purpose. Yo' take an' carry it an' put it at or undah de house. Dat'll make dem leave, put dem to walkin'. [Out in country from Suffolk, Nansemond Co., Va., (Doctor Frank Hall) by hand.1
Entry 9967
Yo' kin take a frog an' put 'im in yuh pocket alive an' yo' kin go tuh a skin game an' yo' kin win all night long. Yo' kin keep dat frog, put 'im in a papah sack an' keep 'im till he dies, continue tuh keep 'im, an' yo' kin make any woman in de world do jes' lak yo' wan' 'em. (How do you do that?) Wal, yo' jes' keep dat frog - yo' see, yo' ketch 'im when he's live an' yo' gamble by 'im. An' den, if yo' keep 'im until he dies an' jes' put yuh hand on dat - he'll dry up tuh a powdah. He ain't nuthin but a powdah. Ah know yo've seen 'em layin' out in de road some- vberes daid. An' yo' kin jes' put yuh hand on 'em an' jes' lay it [hand] up on a woman, on 'er haid or face, anywhere, an' yo' can't run away from 'er. She'll do anythin' in de world dat yo' say.
Entry 10100
Now, dis is not mah personal experience. Dey take a black cat down by a stream of runnin' watah an' a pot, piece of glass an' so forth. An' put de cat in dis pot full of watah. Aftah yo' build a fire an' de watah begin gittin' warm, put dis cat in dere an' have a top on it. Now, yo' must hol' dis cat in a certain way an' slip 'im in dis pot, an' git dat lid down befo he hollahs as yo' do dat. An' den let 'im boil den until he's thoroughly [done] an' de meat absolutely floatin' aroun' in de pot. Den yo' take dat glass an' look through it [it is a piece of glass and not a mirror] an' jis' take up each bone in dere an' bite it. Bite de meat offa it umntil yo' come tuh de right bone. An' yo' git dat bone an' de glass will dis- appeah from befo' yuh. Then yo' take...
(Then you get the right bone. How do you know it's the right bone?)
Well, at de disappearance of de glass. Den yo' take dat bone an' do certain articles wit it. Ah don' know jis' zac'ly what dat is. An' it will enable yo' tuh become in de knowledge of how tuh slip out of dere hide. [I turn off machine too soon.]
(Whom do you say does this? Do the witches do this?)
Yes, den dey become de witch when dey become so dat dey kin slip outa dere hide. An' yo' can't ketch 'em. Yo' know what ah mean.
(You can catch them?)
Yo' know what ah mean. Lak if he'd kill somebody out dere. He come in de store an' steal somepin or othah lak dat. Yo' can't run 'im down an' ketch 'im. So law kin ketch 'im. If dey ketch 'im an' put 'im in jail - dey locks 'im up in dere - an' den walk down de street an' he's standin' aside of 'im pattin' 'im an de shouldah. Walk along an' say "Hello' all dose kinda things. Now dat's vbat chew call tuh mah knowledge witchcraft.
Entry 10126
The way I heard of that, you get the lucky bone of a black cat. You get the bone out of his left hind leg. You have to kill him and skin him and get this out, and you wear that. [Fredericks- burg, Va., Ediphone 39.]
Entry 10286
Get a red-skin onion, rub juice on penis until burns; let dry, do not wipe. [Since onion is a witch deterrent, the cause of impotence here was witch- craft. Shape and color of this vegetable also added to its magic power.] [Richmond, 341:1.]
Entry 10455
Sprinkle red pepper [on their skin]. Why dey can't go back in de skin. Put it [red pepper] in de keyhole of de door and sprinkle a little all down on de floor. Red pepper will keep dem from goin' back in de skin. Yo' see, dey gits out de skin when dey rides yuh.
Entry 10939
Wal, ah'm goin' tell you dis now, 'gin [again]. Now, in cases a per- son was treatin' yo' dirty, ag'in, an' interferin' wit yore family, what would yo' do. Yo' wanta learn dat?
[I evidently nod yes.]
All right. Well, yo' go ahead and write dere names nine times - write it nine times.
(On what?)
On a piece of paper - on a piece of Bliss [trade name] paper.
(Bliss tablet paper?)
Dat's right. An' write it and den when yo' write dat, roll it under. See, any kinda bad words yo' wanta use on dat, yo' do dat. Wal, den yo' go tuh de river - understand me good now. Go tuh de rivah an' ketch yo' a catfish. See, dis is a catfish yo' ketchin', see. Yo' know he's gotta skin, yo' know. (You catch this catfish and you have this name written on this piece of paper.) Yo' write dis party's name on a piece of paper whut have done yo' dirty, whut chew wanta git rid of 'em at once.
(Now, what do you do with the catfish?)
See, yo' take dis fish, reach and git his skin now lak dis [demonstrates]. See, he's gotta skin. Yo' skins 'im. See, yo' lift up his skin. Yo' know, lift his skin up an' roll dat tight a little space; yo' know, jes' a little space tight as yo' kin, an' stick it [name] in dere up undah his skin an' put him back in de rivah. Well, when he [fish] gone - an' he's gone wit dat message yo' see - well, when he go, dis party jumps in de rivah. And de farther dey go, den dey's tryin' ketch dat fish an' dey jes' drown demselves - fall ov'bo'd an' drown.
(Do you cut this skin on the fish and put it under there?)
Jes' cut his skin an' lif' his skin up. Gotta stick a knife in dere - yo' know jes' a little bit - an' stick it [name] up undah dere, see, an' go to de rivah wit it.
(And turn the catfish loose again?)
He's gone.
Entry 11041
Take a gizzard of black hen, a black pullet, an' dat thin skin inside, take an' sew it up in a sack. Den yo' kin go an' ask a man fo' a job an' he'll nevah turn yo' down.
Entry 11111
But they's got to have more to go with that skin to do you harm, besides just the skin off you feet. They can take the skin off the bottom of your feet and if they can get some of your hair, take that skin and some of your hair, and take a coconut, or either a bottle, and fill it up with vinegar, and throw it in the water where it will run and you start going and you'll never go back home again. In a bot- tle or coconut, but you gotta stop it up so it don't come out.
Entry 11281
An experience of my own self. I tell you about it. Few years ago - a few years ago, just I came to Virginia. Well, I came here with some kind of spell or something on me, and I would suffer so in a way, you know, would break out with those fine spots [bumps?] and then they would dry up and when they would dry, I could peel it. I had days at a time when it would turn right rough- like and peel it out to my fingers - both arms. And usually my hands, anywhere about my face, it would turn dark. Well, I never had been my natural color since, and I come to be all splotchy and everything like I am. But after my husband came here, there was a man told him, say, "you take her to Berkley [the hoodoo cen- ter near Norfolk] and she can get cured." Say, "There is a woman there." Her name was Jenny Bridge and she died four years ago in Ber- ley, Virginia, on Berkley Avenut. And she gave me some medicine. I seen her making something. I didn't know the odor, but I knowed the [something] cuttlebone and I knowed the [some- thing].
(What was the first part of that medicine you mentioned?)
Cuttleburr [Cocklebur]. You know in the field it's sticky, stick in you. And King of the World [this the second preceding "Something"] - it's a wood, and she had some black [surely black draft or draught, a laxative]. I knew that. And she say that would kill effect [of] the poison. And she had green [something]. And she boiled that all together and she had some kind of other powders, but she wouldn't say what that was and I didn't know what it was, but it seems some kind- like alum. It must have been alum, the way it would [feel?] on my flesh, you know, kind of sharp. And then she gave me one big old halfa gallon glass jug full of it. And it make me awfully sick when I take it, but I'd taken it because I wanted to get well, because I was just a walking skeleton. I whar in a bad fix, but she told me, she say, "Well, you take this now, but what pass from you," she say, "don't you empty your bucket or slop jar." She say, "Let your husband empty it because it be's about him." And I use it and he tell me to leave it. He was running a store you see, a grocery business, and I leave it fer him to come in. And one morning he got up, he said, "Now I will empty the slop jar before ah leave." And he opened this jar and he just cried like a baby. He say, "Oh, you, just come look." And all that, you know, was big-like, bloated. And on top of it it was like skipples [skippers]. You see skipples come out of meat? [Yes! Out of country-cured hams. Skippers in Southern U. S. A., any maggot in- festing meat. Those in ham can jump 50 times own length upward into air! Some- where in HOODOO I describe my experience with them.] It was just as full of skipples as it could be. The skipples just branching out. They coming from worrying. They come from me. And you see I ask her the next time I went for another jug of medicine, I say, "Miss Bridge, what is the trouble with me?" She say, "Why you was hurt with a blacksnake in a stale melon." She say, "That's why my body would get st........ [steaming = fever?]." You know I was terrified all the time. [Our doctor, saying patient's ailment had been caused by a black snake, may have had herpes [snake] or shingles, in mind; but surely much of the skin trouble in HOODOO came from pellagra, disease caused by deficient diet.]
Entry 12291
Wal, say yo' tie twelve knots in a cotton string an' wear dat string right on - next to yore flesh. Quite natural yo' dresses dat string wit not a thing in de world but Hearts Own Perfume an' wear it right nex' to yore skin.
(What do you wear that for?)
Well, yo' see dat give yo' luck - keep hard luck away from yo' an' bring good luck to yo'.
Entry 12299
You can take lemons. Well, that makes you - if you going up the street right now and you got a big transaction on with a person. You take a lemon, just take a lemon and take all the peeling off the lemon. Don't break the white part of that lem- on. See, just take all that yellow peel off the lemon and take that lemon and sew it up. Rub it over good. Just rub it over good in your pockets in your hands. And ball that lemon up and put it in your inside coat pocket. Wrap it up in pure white paper with no marks or nothing on it - pure white paper. Wrap that lemon up. And on your Way down [to business transaction] just take the lemon and pass it through your hands, rub it over your hands good and put it in your inside [pocket]. Wear it on your right side, in your inside coat pocket, or your right side of your right pants pocket. But if you peel that lemon and break that white - that white skin on the inside of that yellow skin - well that lemon is no good to you. Get you a lemon and don't break that skin. Peel it off careful, but don't break through it so the juice will run off. But take that yellow peel off the outside and wrap that lemon up. Wipe that lemon off good with sugar. Rub it over good with sugar and wrap it up good in a piece of red flannel and rub it through your hands. And when you go there [place of business transaction] go in the lavatory or any private place and take that lemon out of that flannel again and rub it. Or take plain white paper. If you don't use red flannel, use plain white paper. Don't use no paper with no marks or nothing on it. No yellow or no colored paper at all. If you don't use white paper, get you a piece of red flannel and wrap it in there and go down the street with it. And as you go to the lavatory take that flannel or that paper off and just rub it over your hand again - before you go on with any business transaction - with the lemon. (What do you go and do that in the lavatory for?) [Informant has me going around in circles!] Well, you just freshen your hands up. Freshen your hands up with this. Con- tinually rub your hands, keep awashing that lemon against your hands.
(Well, what do you do that for?)
Well, that gives you a power over the man that you got a business deal with.
(Oh! I see. You do that until you get his....)
Keep awashing that lemon on your hands - like you get - like you know, you going to the next corner here, and you coming to the place, or you are in a bar, or any private place.
(You do it in secret so he can't see you.)
Yeah, you just do it in secret - just any place for secrecy. That's all.
Entry 12305
There was a girl, that I heerd [about], she was poison by a leeper [leopard] [her skin was spotted like a leopard's] an' she went to de fortune- teller an' she got some lepeer' skin an' keep it aroun' her body an' that cured her. ["Like cures like!" What did this patient wear? Perhaps a piece of polka-dot cloth worn as a waistband. Remem- ber always, we do not know whether there was a cure. I almost forgot. This is Dy original pencil transcription, now attached to the final manuscript. Here are two more original comments written at the time: "Retranscribe before using' and "the person who poisoned her got the poison from another fortuneteller!!!]
Entry 12530
Yo' take de red hull [skin] of de onion - de red onion now, not de white onion. Yo' take dem an' yo' parch 'em, chip 'em fine an' yo' parch 'em. An' yo' makes a dust out of 'em, yo' makes a dust wit dese onions. All right. An' jes' like if yo' wants tuh dress a place. Jes' lak yo' come in dis room an' ah come in here tuh see yo'. Ah jes' have a little dust in mah pocket an' as ah come in ah jes' sprinkle jes' de least bit of dat in dere. Well, yo' goin' tuh smell it. It may be a little while befo' yo' smell it because dey gotta mighty high odor. All right, yo' ain't goin' pay no 'tenshun tuh what- somever ah ask yo'. If yo' tell me, says, "Come back, ah'll see yo'." Well, ah'd druther fo' yo' tuh say, "Come back." Well, yo' could git de scent of dat. When ah come back if ah said ah would like tuh borrow five dollars, ah would like tuh borrow two of whatsomever yo' may bring dere fo' me.
(With this red onion.)
Entry 12531
Well, yo' kin use red onions for a whole lotta diff'rent things. (Well, what do you use a red onion for in connection with [good] luck or bad luck?) Yo' use red onions fo' luck. Well, jes' say now, yo's goin' to a skin game tonight, well yo' take yo' two solid [= fresh] red onions an' cut 'em up an' put 'em in a spider [a skil- let with legs] put a lit- tle sugah to 'em an' yo' boil 'em till dey come to a sugah. An' when it come to a sugah yo' po' it out into a bottle. An' go in dere [to a game] tonight an' yo' take yo' one or two drinks, an' yo' carry yore [liquor] bottle wit chew - jes' as lucky as it kin be. See, 'cause dey kin smell dat onions on yore breath, yo' know, an' people - a whole lotta folks don't like de smell of onions an' dat jes' draws de 'tenshun from de cards to yore onions. Yo' win up every dime in dere. [Informant does not understand why a red onion is lucky in a card game. The onion does not draw de 'tenshun from de cards to yore onions; the onion pro- tects you against the other man's hand or luck piece, or prevents you yourself from being hoodooed in the game. Nevertheless, if informant, a small-time root Worker believes in his own interpretation, the rite is valid from him.]
Entry 12535
(What do you do with the red onion?)
Well, dey say if yo' break de skin of it an' jes' carry it in yore pocket, some of it, or either throw it away, jes' throw it away, dey say dat's lucky. If yo' boil it, boil yo' three dimes in it an' den drink de watah, dat's lucky fo' yo' - yore in- come will be good.
Entry 12538
Dey used tuh use dem red onion a long time ago. See... [turned off machine and turn it on again]. But people take a red onion, see. Dey take parsley as ah said a few minutes ago, red onion an' parsley an' dey'll git dis stuff dey call mustard, hot mustard. Dey put dat together an' dey'll leave dat onion dry an' dey'll grind it up good. Dey'll leave dry dere good. Yo' seen people to de [old-fashioned outdoor] toilet. It de custom to set on dere. Jes' spread it [this mixture] on de seat dataway. It supposed tuh give 'em some kind of a itch. Ah dunno. Ah see 'em all right. It'll [itch or skin trouble will] come between dere finger an' it'll come on de side an' in de bath dataway. [I have no idea what these 3 ingredients will do but at an earlier date this sort of thing was HOODOO.]
Entry 13087
Belts have roots in 'em fo' luck. Or yo' kin git a blacksnake-skin belt an' dey say dey fix it in a way - grease it - grease it with...an' yo' kin git up in de morning day- light an' do anything yo' wanta do. Can't no man hole [hold] yo' - slick
[you are too slippery].
Entry 13284
If yo' girl fren' happen to leave yo' lak dat, yo' jest follow her fo' a couple of days - follow her up, den yo' go to de drug store an' git chew some of dis heah Beechnut Gum [trade name chewing-gum]. Get some Beechnut Gum an' take it. Yo' take dat gum an' roll it up in yore hand jest lak dis heah [demonstrates]. Roll it up an' wear it to yo' - close to yore skin. Wear it dere an' jest sometime yo' be talkin' - talk- in' 'long wit her. Well yo' say, "Well, have some of dis heah." Break it off a piece an' jest give her a piece of it. An' den yo' natchly [naturally] goin' tuh co't her an' yo' git her back in a minute.
Entry 465
An old lady one time, her husband had give her a gold ring. She use to go out every night witch-riding. So that night when she went out and when she got out of her skin, she left her skin laying on the floor. So while she was gone her husband came home and he saw this skin on the floor. And he picked it up and he recognized the ring on it. So he took the ring off and put it away. So when she came that night and was in bed - no, he didn't say anything to her that night. So the next morning when he got up he asked her where was the ring. She said she had put it away. He told her to go and get it. She never did go and get the ring. So finally he asked her at midday to get the ring again. And she wouldn't get it. So the next night he asked her again where was her ring. And she wouldn't get it. So then he took the ring out of his pocket and asked her what was it doing on there with her skin. So he found out that she was a hag-rider. So then he burnt her up.
Entry 1000
It kinda makes me feel funny to tell it. It was at Norfolk [Virginia]. That was in 1917. This woman had been sick for quite some time. The doctors did not seem to understand what was the trouble with her. They did everything they could for her but nuthin seemed to do her no good. Finally they got a different kind of doctor. It was a woman who was supposed to understand all about it. When she came she looked at her and she said, "Can't you see this snake?" She meant she was tricked by a snake. "Why, the time is past when she should die. She should have been dead a month ago. It is only her vitality that kept her alive." She said she would try to do what she could for her. She [the sick woman] said she didn't want to make nobody else in the condition she was in. [She did not want her condition turned back on the person who had caused it.] So she [the doctor] got a chicken she could throw this disease on instead of throwing it on to a person. They kept it upstairs in the room next to the woman. "Keep it well fed [said the doctor]." She didn't want the chicken to die. "Don't let no one touch the chicken [said the doctor]." If anyone got a hold of that chicken they would kill it. They didn't want the people downstairs to kill it, for they knew what it was there for. They thought these people were causing that sickness. After they got this chicken, sure enough the girl began to get better. At that time they use to get at least a quart of bran every day from that bed. It came off of her skin. It looked like - you seen husks of the meal after corn [maize] is ground. After they used to take that up from the sheet they used to put it in a paper bag and carry it and throw it into the river. They said that would help to get her well. It came off of her body each day - the skin rubbed off. You have seen the scales rubbed off of a fish. Her skin looked just like that, just like people begin to peel around the nails in scarlet fever. The woman told her she would have to cross water. The doctors they didn't want them to bring her away. They didn't have a case like that. They wanted to follow the case to the end. She came on here [to New York City]. She didn't live long after she got here, her condition was so weak. I guess it was the change of climate, too. I don't know what happen after I left. home to the chicken. That chicken walking around, I tell you what it was like - it got on my nerves. The stuff from the bowels of that chicken would be just as green as grass - poison. [The doctor correctly diagnosed this severe case of desquamation as caused by a snake; correctly, hoodooically speaking. Doesn't a snake shed it's skin? Much more is involved. We have here a rare situation. A snake tricked into a patient fails to create; that is, fails to develop into a snake from a swallowed snake egg, or to reform the original snake body from dead-snake powder. Had the snake egg or powder created a body, the living body of this snake within the patient could have been removed easily (see margin-title Live Things in You, p.227, and Index). Instead of a living snake we have a snake spirit. How does a snake spirit display itself? A patient will act like a snake: crawl, dart out tongue or run it round lips [as a snake is supposed to do), have long sleep periods (hibernation), and peel off skin (ecdysis). Our doctor combines three rites, the magic three: if the healthy chicken fails to attract the snake spirit from the patient, the fish scales (snake scales) when thrown into running water will carry away a part of the snake spirit (Part of Spirit Equals Whole of Spirit, p.21); and if these two fail, the patient crossing water will loose the snake spirit - spirit cannot cross water.]
Entry 1242
Jes' take a dry piece of eelskin an' put it on yore wrist, if any pain in dere or somepin.
Entry 1244
Well, if a person kin be sufferin' with rheumatism, if he kin git a eel an' skin him an' dry the skin an' wear it - make a brace of that an' it will carry away the rheumatism.
Entry 2247
[Red flannel frequently encloses substances and the completed object is called a hand, but here the material itself is a hand. Flannel is often called flannin or flannen.] Like if somebody gon'a hurt chah an' yah wan' tah perteck yerself to keep from hurtin' yah. Well, de onlies' t'ing [thing] 商 like dat zhah kin do to keep from hurtin' yah is tah wure dat red flannel aroun' yah. Yah see, yah take zit an' jis' fole [fold] de red flannel - jes' like, yah know, yah take za bandage an' wrahp aroun' yore han's. Well, yah wrahp dat righ' tah yore skin.
Entry 2387
Well, I know of a fellah here, he used to sell bolita - that's like de numbers. Well, they used to ketch him a lot of times. So they caught him with free stuff one time and he was on a $500 bail. So he had a - there was a fellah they used to call witch doctor around here. I don't know whether he was or not, but he used to go around here and he used to help a lot of people out of trouble. So he tole dis heah fellah if he would ketch one of dese here black house rats, one of dese big rats dat run around de house - you ketch one of dem and kill him and skin him jest befo' he gits cold, see, an' take dat skin and wrap it up tight inside of a silk han'kerchief and take it an' tote it next to his heart. Said dat when he's go down befo' de judge, dat no matter how strong de judge wanta give him a sentence, de judge would always send dat sentence on him. He tried dat. I don't know whether it'll work out but he always would be lucky enough to come out of it.
Entry 4670
If any individual take dat, dis little bow right dah outa yore hat - take dat out an' wear dat anywheres nex' tuh 'em. Put it in sompin othah an wear It nex' tuh dere skin. Prob'ly be in dere pocket right nex' tuh dere skin. An' dat brings 'em controllin' poWah ovah yuh. DEY HAS DE DISADVANTAGE OF YUH all de time.
Entry 6564
A live toadfrog - eithah yo' kin take a DAID FROGGY'S SKIN, rubs it up while it's dry, an' put it in anybody's food or whiskey or anything, an' dey'll drink it, why dey subject tuh havin' dese toadfrog.
(You said if a person was poisoned. What did you do with the frog?)
IF HE'S LIVE, TAKE DIS LIVE FROG AN' LIE HIM ON DE MISERY.
(What will that do?)
Dat WILL DRAW IT FROM YO' IF HE'S LIVE.
(If the person has been tricked or anything?)
Yes.
Entry 6684
chamber lye or 'is urine - well, dey kin take dat an' dey'll [a woman vill] mix dat wit yo' [a man's] food. Dat comes tuh yo' be vury weak. Normal [normally] yo'll have haidaches, yo'll have all kinda pains. Dat's when dey take an' dey'll go out an' git some earthworms. Dey take de earthworms an' den mix dat wit fresh lahd [lard], an' fry it up an' make a salve. An' dey rub dat intuh de man's skin. Dat'll form 'im tuh have earthworms in de skin. He is no good fer nobody an' den de woman leaves 'im den.
Entry 10481
: They say that the only way to keep her from getting back into her skin is to put a sifter down at the door where she comes in and she will have to go through every hole in that sifter and that will make it day and she can't get back in her skin. [Hampton, Va., Ediphone 30.]
Entry 512
Dey claim if a witch ride joo it's a person dat's living.
(A person that is living - what about it?)
Dey say - now it's a ole story - dey come outa dere skin and comes in through a keyhole. Dat's de ole story - course it's almost impossible fo' yo' to believe it. Dey say dey comes outa dere skin and den comes in through de keyhole an' comes in only whilst yo' sleep an' rides yo' - usually be a ole woman - be a witch - turns to a witch - she be's a witch.
(How do you get rid of her?)
Well, nail a horseshoe up ovah yore do' an' she won't come in.
(Is there any way you can catch her?)
Well, dey say, de way yo' kin ketch her, say yo' kin take a handful of mustard seed and put it down right on de floor right round your bed, an' she got'a count dose seeds befo' she leaves an' dey say yo' ketch [her] dere counting de seeds.
Entry 977
" [Several years ago [1936?] my sister and I [[Harry Middleton Hyatt, the author]] while in the country heard of an erysipelas cure that had been worked with an Indian arrowhead by an old woman formerly well known as a healer. Our informant, who was related to the healer's family, did not know any details, but said two of the old woman's sons, elderly men, were still alive - the one, a nearby farmer, professionally engaged in the healing tradition of the family; the other, a business man, the owner of a hardware store in the small town a few miles away. I decided to visit the business man first. The purchase of a dipper, which I actually wanted, served as an excuse. After the usual talk about things in general - the weather (it was about ninety-five in the shade), people on relief, business conditions, prospects from the approaching harvest - I told the man who I was, explained my work, and offered what credentials I could muster. Fortunately, he knew a boyhood friend of mine who at that time lived on a farm in the neighborhood, and he had also known my father. He became quite friendly. Our conversation ended something like this: "So you're going over to see my brother about that old cure of my mother's." He seemed amused. "Wait a minute." He went over to his desk, opened a drower, took out two implements, held them up and asked, "what do you think of them?" One of the objects was an Indian arrowhead; the other was a piece of steel shaped like this - u-shaped - two prongs sticking out from a handle. "Wonderful! May I hold them?" "Sure." "Your mother's?" "No, mine. Fact is, I've done that cure for years. Not so much recently. Just do it as a favor. Only cure I know. But that's good for any kind of skin trouble; not only erysipelas." "Why is the steel in a shape like this?" "No reason. I had it made like that years ago by a blacksmith. Easier to hold. See, I put my hand through here and let these two prongs stick out. Just like a handle. Those prongs are like a guard. No danger of skinning your hand." "Must you use an arrowhead?" "No, any kind of flint will do. But my mother used an arrowhead. I found this one myself." "Have you ever told anyone how you use these?" "No." "Could you?" "Yes, but I couldn't tell you. Have to tell a woman. And I have to tell a woman younger than myself. And she could only tell a man, and he would have to be younger than her. If you don't, you'll lose your power." "Suppose you gave this secret to a woman younger than yourself and she abused your trust, say, by telling it to another woman or to a man older than herself?" "That wouldn't hurt me. She would lose her power, I wouldn't." "Would you be willing to give the secret to a woman younger than yourself?" "I might." "How old are you?" "I'm x. years old." "See that automobile out in front? see that woman in it? that's my sister. She's younger than you and older than I. Suppose I go out, send her in, and you explain everything to her?" After some hesitation he agreed to the plan. So I went out, explained the hocus pocus to my sister, and she went into the store while I stayed in the car. In about a half hour my sister came out. We had the cure. Wrote down the details immediately. Here they are. You must hold a piece of steel in your right hand and strike dowmwards on a flint held by your left hand - our informant called this striking fire - as you go through the following four actions of the complete rite: (1) Start at the top of the patient's head, in the center, begin to strike down on the flint, making sparks; then, come down, slowly, continuing the sparks, over the right ear, shoulder and arm, to the finger tips; and, while striking these sparks from the top of the head down to the finger tips of the right hand, you must repeat three times: "While fire flies away; Tame fire devours you." This whole act must be done three times; hence, the incantation is repeated nine times. (2) Start at the top of the patient's head, in the center, and strike sparks down to the left finger tips while repeating the incantation three times. This whole act must be done three times. (3) Start at the top of the patient's head, in the center, and strike sparks down over the face, nose, mouth, center of the body as far as there is pain or the disease can be seen, even if it extends to the toes. The incantation must be said three times and the whole act repeated three times. (4) Start at the top of the patient's head, in the center, and strike sparks down the back of the head, down the middle of the back, and as far as the pain or disease extends, even to the heels if necessary. Repeat the incantation three times and the whole act three times. The complete rite - containing the four separate acts, each of which, as already stated, is repeated three times - must be performed after sunset or before sunrise, and it must be repeated on three different occasions as follows: if you commence after sunset, perform the complete rite at that time, then again just before the following sunrise, and then again after the next sunset; if you comnence before sunrise, perform the complete rite at that time, then again just after the following sunset, and then again just before the next sunrise. Now, if the complete rite performed on three separate occasions fails to cure the patient, wait awhile, three days or a muiltiple of three, and perform the rite again; then wait once more, and perform the rite for the third time. Therefore, in this extreme case, the complete rite is performed 9 times and each of the 4 acts 27 times - which means going down the body 128 times and repeating the incantation 324 times. And if this fails to cure the patient, I do not know what happens. Probably the healer will need a healer for himself. This remedy, which has been worked in the community since about 1850, was brought over from Germany by the informant's grandmother. With our arrowhead cure safely bestowed, and with high hopes, we next went out to see the other brother, the professional healer. He refused to tell us anything. It was another of the hundreds of disappointments and failures one meets while collecting foZklore.] [From FACI,2ed., No. 5826, Pp.264-265 - see comment at end of No.975, p.372.]
Entry 1359
Take any ole snake dust that is dry or lizard dust or any kinda ole creeping, yo' know, a snake lak that. Take that dust an' place it up undah the lettah an' as yo' open that lettah an' git that on yore han's, natch'ral yo' rub it on yore skin an' it will create. It take yo' in yore han's right immediately. May be a little while befo' those han's goes tuh eetchin' but it will go through an' through. Dose are black art works.
(What happens to my hands?)
Whut happens tuh yore han's? Yore han's start tuh eetching an' burnin' an' if yo' don't take care of 'em with that snake dust or that lizard dust, those bumps will fin'lly graj'ly grow, an' aftah while why that snake or that ole scorpion will grow roun', yo' know, in yore skin. Yo' see people dat have snakes in dey laigs. Dey eithah gits it from sweepin' or not takin' a bath when de had things lak that. Dat whut it comes from. If yo' git it in yore laigs, yo' be sweepin' yore flo' - dat's when it gits on yore laigs, yo' see. Dat rattlesnake dust is on de flo' an' when yo' sweep it gits in de pores of yore skin an' by not takin' an' washin' it off, it'll jis' grow an' graj'ly that little bump will come an' that snake will fin'lly grow.
(Is there any way of getting them out?)
Yes, dere's a way tuh git it out, but yo' have tuh take herbs. Yo' have tuh take jimson weeds an' John de Conker, lodestones. Either git John de Conker an' give it to yo' three times a day in a pint of boilin' watah - a teaspoonful, or a tablespoonful is bettah, an' he will gradually die.
Entry 7204
See, it's been about a month maybe. He had a girl he wus goin' wit 'er an' she fixed 'im. Aftah he went tuh sleep - when he went tuh sleep, he said dat he dreamt about dis bottle dat she had fo' him, an' he'd gotten right up an' went an' got it. An' he'd fell off an' he looked so bad as if he was about tuh die. HE'D GOTTEN A AWFUL SMALL LOOK, terrible small, bone 'bout tuh come through 'is skin. An' he went tuh sleep an' he dreamt about dis bottle an' co'se [of course] he got up den an' went right in de bathroom an' found it. An' dis bottle had red flannel in it an' a couple of pins an' needles, an' he'd taken it an' broke it. He brought it an' showed it tuh me, an' ah don' know whut could a been in it, but it smelled lak evahthing wus in it, ah guess. Ah reckon it wus urine in it - guess was in it. An' aftah he found 'at bottle he begin tuh git bettah.
Entry 443
I often hear people say a witch will ride yo'. Well, some people say, "Oh, dat's' [fogyism] - all right. So she goes in de room one night an' put her some salt right down by dis boy's bed. All right, an' she takes a little salt an' sprinkle it round, yo' know, at de side of de bed lak right along heah where yo' got'a git in de bed. An' say dis witch come - when dey git on yo', why dey pull off dere skin, yo' know an' git on yo'. See, de witch throwed de skin down on de flo' an' when it throwed it down why it got salt on it. When it jumped back in de skin, why it make a noise - de salt be burning yo' see an' it couldn't git back in de skin. So dey caught dat witch. Said it was a Woman right dere in town. Said dey caught dis lady an' said de white folks got her an' took her out an' burned her. Dat's a real fact. She [who?] tole me about it - dey took her out an' dey said dey burned dis lady.
Entry 445
Now, yo' take whut dey used to call de witches - yo' take a grease an dey'll grease deyselves all ovah, jes' like dey goin' out tuh do somepin an' git clean out dere skin. Well, when dey git clean out dere skin dey'd be in de house; dey has a word dey say, "Round an' about - out de keyhole go." Right out de keyhole dey'll go. Well, dey go on out an' do whut dey's gon'a do an' come back. And when dey come back, dey'd say de same thing, "Round an' about de key- hole - out de do' we go." Well, dey'd come back in. When dey'd come back in dey'd git back into dey skin, git in - walk up to de skin, say, "skinny, don't chew know me?" An' dey'd jump an' if - now, if a person be lucky 'nuff, dey'd git dere befo' dey git in dere skin an' take dat skin, den dey couldn't git back in it.
(What did the witches do - what did the witches used to do?)
Well, dey say now, witches, dey used to ride hosses. Dey go to a cowpen an' milk cows an' go in a smokehouse an' take meat an' things. Well, dey all jes' carry dat back to dey homes - dey nevah did do nuthin' but jes' practice dat.
(Were these men or women?)
Mens an' wimmin.
(Did the witches do any conjuration at all - or not?)
Well, dey done a whole lot'a dis cunjuration. Dey claim dat dat's where de cunjuration come from - de witch crowd.
(Were you born here in Georgia?)
Yes suh, born in Georgia.
Entry 446
There was a witch that used to go out every night. She would ride different people. Anyhow, she kept on riding different people. After awhile someone Was smart enough to go to work and ketch up with her. They caught her as she come out of her skin and they sprinkled salt into her skin. And when she came in and goes to work to put her skin on, the salt had drawn her skin up And her words was, "Do witch! Do come! Come on skin!" She couldn't get in her skin and died.
Entry 447
This is a story I used to hear my grandmother tell. There was once an old witch who used to go out every night. So one night she went out and jumped out of her skin and left it hanging on the door. So some of the folks in her house salted it and the next morning she came in late and jumped into her skin and it stung her so she jumped out and say, "Lookee here, old skin, don't you know me?" And she jumped in again and out again and say, "Lookee here, old skin, don't you know me?" So at last it worried her so she died.
Entry 449
It was suppose to happen there home in the country. She was suppose to be a witch. That was years ago. My father used to tell us about it to scare us. I used to be a-scared to look out of the door at night, thought I would see her standing there out of her skin. At a certain time in the evening she would go about what they called witch-riding. Dem days witch-riding is what we call these days stagnation of the blood. Why I said that - when I came out of a operation in the hospital I saw about one thousand cats. The cats just clawed me. I woke up trying to get away from them cats. This witch would get out of her skin and go to somebody's place at night when they were asleep and ride dem. They would see things, just lak dem cats I told you about. She did that every night. Some- body said to find out where she lived and go where she lived and put salt in their skin. They leave their skin behind when dey go out, get right out of it. I don't know how they found out where she lived. When she came back to go into this skin she couldn't get in it. They must never let the light [dawn] catch dem without being in their skin - they will die sure. She couldn't get into the skin and dey say she went down [to the river] and jumped overboard.
Entry 450
There was a old witch. She said, "I'm gon'a get out of my skin and when I come back I will get in my skin." She lifted it right off like this [informant demonstrates, putting her hands to her shoulders and taking hold of the skin, lifted it off as she would her nightgown]. If you haven't anybody wise enough, she can go and stir up trouble. One time when she was out of her skin they put salt in it and when she got back she said, "Oop! My skin doesn't know me." She couldn't get in it. She died.
Entry 451
I've hear'n about one getting out of his skin and couldn't get back in. That had been going on for a long time. They had been missing some of the food, so they decided they would really watch to see. So this old man came in. They said he commenced to shake and shake like that [twisting his shoulders]. They said they were a-watching of him and they said he got out of his skin. They said he looked to be putting something [grease] on himself. I don't know what he put on. And they said when they came to look at him, sure enough, he pull it off and laid it aside, then he commenced going all over the place and getting ever what he wanted. In the meantime some of them said to put pepper and salt in that skin. They said he couldn't get back in. The last they saw of him he Was saying, "SkinI Skin! Don't you know me?" That's the last they saw of him. Then they left. They were scared to hang around for fear he might do them some harm. That's the end of it as far as I know. I was a small child when I hear'n that. That was seventy years ago [1866].
Entry 454
Once upon a time dey said there was an old woman and there was a certain family that was always pestered with what they called nightmares or hags. They called it hags in those days. Some people would get 'em. It seems it would bear on 'em so hard until they would just holler in their sleep. It was called a hag. And so, once upon a time, an old woman came and she said to the other woman, "You know what you do? You sprinkle salt all around your bed and later on you'll find out what that is that's bothering you." So that night the woman sprinkled salt all around her bed. She got in her bed. At the usual hour this thing came and she got all overpowered with it. She jumped up in her sleep and when she jumped up there was a man standing there. And he said, "Skin! skin! You don't know me! Skinl Skin! You don't know me!" So the woman caught him. And it was some man that she knew that was a witch. And he pulled his skin off and laid it down, then torment her. When he got ready to put it back on that night, it had salt on it and he could not put it back on. They said they caught him and tortured him and really destroyed him, because this other witch instructed them how to catch him.
Entry 455
(Did you ever hear that story about the old witch that got out of her skin - some old witch got out of her skin or something?) Well, yes, I heerd of dat. They tell me once that a witch used to go through the keyhole, get out and go to riding people. They'd get out of dere skin and they'd turn round in de room and say, "Round about, round about, and out you go. Well, they'd go through de keyhole. And they tell me once that a ole man was laying dere - it was chilly, you know, and he happen to watch dis witch. When she'd get out of her skin, he slips dere and takes salt and pepper and peppered dis skin; you know, filled it full of pepper as he could get it. And after he filled it full of pepper, why dis witch come back and went to get in dis skin, dis skin would burn her. Well, she was running round dere and she was hollering, "Skinny, don't choo know me! Skinny, don't choo know me!" Finally she couldn't stand it to get back in her hide, and finally she died.
Entry 649
She was goin' with a woman's husband. She asked her to give him up, but she wouldn't do it. She talked to her three times and told her. She wouldn't, you know. And she says, "I'll make you leave." This woman told us after she [woman going with husband] was dead. She [wife] said she taken a penny and taken the skin off of a red onion. She rubbed it all together. You know a penny is poison. And she put that penny up and she let it dry right dry and make a powder of it. She dressed her husband with it - dusted his clothes. And when he went back [to the other woman] - see, it got on her. And it turnt her jis' as wrong side out. No doctor couldn't git it back. It turnt her wrong side outwards. She died. Jis' turnt her whole womb and everything. It came out. That's what I call trickin' 'em. [Cf. No. 10, p.7.]
Entry 1043
They use snails jes' like they use wood lice to hurt people. Now you take, you get a snail, a wood lice and you take those things and cook 'em till they're jes' all to pieces. You put 'em in somepin and jes' rub 'em up, you know, through a cloth till they're jes' mush. Then you put 'em in some rainwater, jes' a small amount of rainwater and let it set there till - you know rainwater - those things will come when it sets there long enough. Then you take that stuff and strain it out and put it in either milk or whiskey and that'll make that person - they're supposed to after a period of time that scales will come in [on] their haid and they scratch it and those scales become little live things, either wood lice or little min'ature snails. [See Live Things in You, p.227; also Index.] They're so small you can't tell what they look like but you can discern the little shell on their back. They come right out of the skin, just first start like tetter. It'll itch and as you scratch it and people are supposed to have wood lice or snails like that in their haid the way they do that. You can turn the spell right back on them and they'll automatically leave.
(Well, how would you turn the spell back on them?)
Well, just get somebody else to do the same thing to them they did to you. Cook those snails up and give them to him in a drink and when the snails come in his head they disappear out of your head. [See Like Cures Like, p.394.] That's why they say you can't cure a person that's hoodooed if the person that hoodooed them is dead. There never is no cure for them but as long as the person is alive it can be reversed. [For turning back spell, see pp.333-334 and Index.]
Entry 1201
And there was another fellow here. His wife had his skin, his urine, his action and everything, she had it all in a bottle and had it buried an' that poor fellow - he was all he could do to walk, he could not straighten up and he bend that way for eleven months. And he couldn't eat anything but a little crackers, a little sweet milk. He came down there one evening dragging - he came in. She [doctor] went back in there - she had been out in the country and she got a big old cow turd and she tied it up in a rag and made him a big cup of tea. He drank that - he drank it, ever bit of it. She said, "Now lay down." " And he slept for about three or four hours and when he got up from there could stand straight. She give him 15c worth of castor oil and about half of a bottle of Sal Hepatica. That is what he needed and it cleaned him out. And she gave him mounds [incense molded into small conical mounds] to take home and watch his wife to burn. [While he burned the mounds, his wife was burning.] And I mean it took every bit off him, put it right back on her. She gave him the brown and black mounds to burn. He burnt these while his wife was gone and threw it right back on her. Just lighted them and burn them in the house where him and her stayed and slept.
Entry 1432
I hear'd ole man settin' down tellin' dis - said dat she [an old woman] got anothah ole woman [root doctor] to doctor on 'er. She said dat she had a - she had sweated 'er. She said she had a somepin up 'er liver in 'er skin. It crawled all over. She fis' feel it crawlin' undah de skin. [For a live terrapin hanging on to a person's liver, see No. 10, p.7.] An' dis woman tol' der dat she wus hurt - she said she wus tricked. She goes an' git some ratban [ratsbane] roots, an' git a he ratban root - git some of dem - an' a she ratban root. A he is got streaks up it, white streaks on de leaf; an' de she is jis' a solid small green leaf. She boils a tea out of it separate, an' take de she ratban-root tea, give all of dat; an' jis' a half of de he. An' dat cured it. [It is quite likely that had the patient been a man, the doctor would have prescribed all the he tea and half the she tea. All of one and half of the other is a diminishing amount rite.] [The plant here is not the ratsbane of European witchcraft but an American substitute. Its identity? What a botanist and a root doctor who digs her own roots call ratsbane can be different things. Besides, she is surely using two separate plants; the one with "white streaks on de leaf," the other "jis' a solid small green leaf." The former, the "he ratban root," appears to be either the rattlesnake plantain (Peramium pubescene), an orchid with checked or mottled leaves supposed to resemble rattlesnake hide, or spotted wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata) with white-mottled leaves. The latter, the "she ratban root' - as a sheer guess I would say it was a. plant growing in the vicinity of the "he."]
[Baltimore, Md., (153), 62: l+85; this cure in Charlotte Co., Va.]
Entry 1457
A person dat has been tricked in de skin, it's something dat is buried for 'em or laid down on de steps for 'em - de house been dressed. You take nine teaspoonful of cooking salt, you take one dime of saltpeter, use dat, an' eight quarts of water, hot water - just like water for a bath. You pull off all of your clothes, ever'thing you got on, you get in there and take a bath in dat same water nine times.
(What do you mean nine times? All at once or different times?)
Dat same water - don't throw dat water away, you keep it in something like you take a bath in. Never rub upwards - always rub from here down [demonstrates].
(From your face right down.)
From there down. A person whut's been tricked in de skin, rub from here down and use dat water nine times, and de last time you use dat water, take it and throw it towards de sunrise, soon in de morning before de sun rise, so you get rid of dat complaint. Ah'm telling you whut's done happened 'to me.
Entry 1595
Ah heard that yo' could take chamber water, chamber lye - jes' lak yo' got sores anywhere on yore flesh or on yore skin, yo' kin take yore chamber watah an' 'noint 'em sores each day an' fin'lly at last yo'll git rid of 'em.
Entry 1596
If yo' got a bad cold an' yo' nostrils all stopped up - somepin lak dat, yo' kin jes' take yore chamber lye, yore own chamber lye an' wash yore face an' it will help yo'. Some people use it fo' rough skin, dey chamber lye.
Entry 1819
[In my earlier collecting days a hairball among white inform- ants was: "A cow licks her hair and that hair goes down in the left side of the pouch and that forms a ball, and if you have one of those in your hand you can bewitch anyone." This object is sometimes called a witch-ball: "One morning the cow didn't come up for milking and they went out to find the cow and found it dead. It had been shot in the thigh with a hair-ball.... You see, a witch always uses a silver bullet or a hair-ball to kill anything, and this man [witch] had shot the cow with one of those witch hair-balls." FACI, 2ed., Nos. 15884 & 15885, p.797; see also No. 16151, p.827.]
[In the following account we have a different hairbalZ:]
Now, dere's a hairball - dat's concernin' a lady, misfortune between yo' an' her. Now, yo' kin wear dis hairball tuh keep in contact with her an' yo' kin wear it dat chew may nevah git in contact with her no mo'.
(What kind of a hairbalZ do you mean?)
It's an ordinary hairball.
(Well, where do you get that hair?)
Well, it's hair dat's from ole dead people, yo' know, befo' it's event'lly decayed - it's spoiled. Put it in a thimble or somethin' round that chew may put it in a ball. Quite natural, by it gittin' air it will not, yo' know whut ah mean - fade away. Quite natural if yo' know de person that die - everythin' all right. Now, this hairball - it comes in a ball. To keep in contact with this party, yo must put this in a bag - yo' know, somethin' lak a Bull Durham sack. [The latter was a small cloth sack containing a cigarette mixture used in "rolling your own" - making your own cigarettes. The paper label on the sack had the picture of a bull.] Yo' make a small bag small enough fo' it tuh git in. Now, tuh keep in contact with this person, yo' must put this hairball in that bag an' sew it. Make nine stitches, an' dere's three words yo' must say while sewin', "With me Fo'evah." Yo' know, as yo' make a stitch, jes' say a word. Now at de end, when yo' git tuh de end of de bag, do not make a knot in it. Make three turns wit chure needle - yo' know, lak yo' be sewin' dis, jes pass it roun dere three times. Den yo git chew a string an' put nine knots in dis string an' de ninth knot, yo' take a needle an' attach it to dat bag an' wear that next to yore skin. Now, tuh git rid of dis lady event ally, wear dis hairbalZ jes' outright - don't put it nex' tuh yore skin. Fo' instant [instance], lak yo' got chure coat on dere, dis top pocket heah - jes' keep it in dat pocket, jes' outside from yo'. See. An' yo' wear it thataway yo'll nevah come in contact with her. That's all it is to the hairball.
Hyatt quotes earlier FACI material comparing a silver bullet with a hair-ball as alternatives. The quoted cow account uses the hair-ball. The following Algiers informant describes a different hair-ball; the quoted bullet is not part of that later recipe.
Read full source (printed page 544) · Read full source (printed page 545)
Entry 2052
A root doctor tole me dat if anybody was trying to harm you in any Way - like telling de police to come to yore house and different things or you in some kind of a business - you could go in de woods and ketch a black snake. Ketch him and yo' skin it - kill him and skin right there while he alive, and take that wet skin and you tie it in a bowknot and you take it home, and you sleep with it under yore pillah always. Don't ever move it from undah yore pillah. Even when you change beds let it stay right in the same spot - let it stay dere no matter how stinking it gits, let it stay dere. De law would even come at yo' doorstep but he never would wanta come in. [Jacksonville, Fla., (562), 699:5.]
[For more knots, see Spirit Caught in Knot, p.389f., and Index.]
Entry 3517
[When yo' at home at night, yo' an' yore wife or sweetheart, somepin lak dat. Well, she takes a string, see while yo' sleep, an' put it round yore thing; roun' dere, see, an' git de measure from it. An' dey say if she tie three knots in dat string an' wear it up undah her clothes, right nex' to her skin, say she have yo' tied up den where yo' can't have no discharge wit anothah woman.
Entry 3861
Ah know oncest it wus [a] woman hurted anothah girl wit some of 'er pah'tic'lah pieces in 'er coz [cloz = clothes]. She wus goin' wit dis woman husban'. An' she took dis coz befo' she washed 'em, an' stole 'em out de house, an' she took 'em an' bur-ried 'em. An' dis girl she goin' aroun', she went to feelin' bad. She didn't know whut wuz de mattah. She didn't pay no 'tention to huhself. An' dis woman she died. Yo' know IF ANYBODY HURT CHOO AN' DE PERSON DIE, YO'LL NEVAH GIT WELL. An' dis girl she jis' stayed sick, sick, sick. An' when dey did find out it wus too late, dat dey had some of huh cloz bur-ried, be- cuz de woman was done dead. An' dis girl she stayed sick, sick, sick. An' she dried to nuthin but jis' skin an' bones. An' she died.
Entry 4680
Yuh [she] take dat bow, an' applyin' oil of verbena wit dat bow, she kin put some sugah wit dat bow an' she kin put some sweet spirit of nitah wit dat bow. An' puttin' it in a little bag, see, an' wearin' it roun' 'er waist or anywhere near tuh her skin, an' she'll have him jis' lak she wanta. Ah mean anythin' dat she do, regardless of whut dey tell 'im, he will take her statement fo' it.
Entry 4712
Take dat bow an' yuh git chew rock sulphur [a molded cake of sulphur] an' yo' git some spice, spice an' rock sulphur, an' powdah it up togethah, an' yuh sew it up intuh a bag an' yuh feed it on red whiskey [not white moonshine]. Tote it anywhere 'bout chew or pin it tuh yore clothes nex' tuh yore skin. Dat keep dem home, dey Won't go. [Brunswick, Ga., (1224), 2080:6.] [Perhaps most hoodoo believers would say that clothing is a substitute for the human body only if it contains sweat - it must be dirty. On the other hand there are cases of a clean garment being stolen from the clothesline (p.92, lines 5-12) because it has merely touched the human body.]
Entry 4722
Anybody you love is away and you want to bring them back, just burn a piece of his clothes and he'll come back. You take some clothing next to his skin. [Newport News, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 4735
Git a piece of somepin whut chew wear nex' tuh yere skin an' dey kin cut a piece outa dat, but it's certain dat dey cut it fo' cornahs [a coffin or four corners of the world symbol], jis' a fo-cornah piece, an' dey take dat an' bury it. An' dey tell me dat will make yuh sick.
Entry 5149
Dey kin take de bindin' in de back right in where yore [a man's] heel rub, cut out a little of dat skin in dere, dat little place of skin. If a woman want a man, dat will keep him. (What will she do with that then, after she took it out of there?) She take dat an' mix it with Adam- an'-Eve root an' wear it with Heart Cologne an' nine grain of spice. Jes' wear it right next to her skin, an' she puts on it a perfume. An' when he be roun' dere an' smell it, yo' know, he don't know whut de contraction [attraction], but he jes' go roun' 'er.
Entry 6062
Take a man's hair an' cut it off an' put it in 'is hatband - an' put yore hair from offen yore stomach an' place it in de band of 'is hat, an' put 'is hair whut chew got from 'im an' sew it up in a cloth an' wear it vex' tuh yore skin. Well, dat would keep 'is mind always on yo', too. See, dat keep 'im always excited-minded 'bout chew - he cain't stay 'way from yo'.
Entry 6477
Yo' kin take jis' de dead skin. Yo' wash yore feet, soak yore feet ah mean tuh say, an' den yo' wash it, an' den yo' take dis dead skin an' scrape it off yore feet. An' den yo' wash de plate. Git chew a plate dat yore wife or sweetheart or who yo' got goin' eat. An' yo wash dat plate wit all dat dead skin, see. An yo' let it dry on dere, an' den yo' let 'em eat outa it, an' yo' nevah git shet of 'em.
Entry 6514
Yo' kin take an' put it in whiskey, or yo' know anythin' dey drink, amything lak dat an' make 'em wil' [wild] 'bout chew. Takes de skin, dead skin off de foots, scrape it an' put it in dere. Make 'em wil' 'bout chew.
Entry 6559
Git a frog an' kill 'im an' let 'im dry up tuh a powdah, an' cook it in bread or anything an' give it tuh yo' in medicine or whiskey or anything lak dat, an' event'ly [eventually] dat powdah will 'cumulate an' HE'LL COME BACK A LIVING FROG, AN' YO' KIN FEEL 'IM MOVIN' RIGHT UP AN' DOWN RIGHT UNDAH DE SKIN.
Entry 6583
Take a scorpion ag'in an' take some of dat same scorpion an' put it in whiskey or wine or sompin an' drink it. It will have scorpions runnin' all about in yore skin.
(Is there any way of getting those things out of you?)
Why ah don't know how yo' git it out, but dere's a man dat could git it out.
Entry 6585
Ah heard of 'em usin' a scorpion fo' makin' live things in people. Well, ah heard dat dey take 'im an' put 'im in a open SPIDER [FRYING PAN ON LEGS] one dese ole spidahs whut has a lid tuh it. An' jis' make fire enough in it where dat he'll jis' run aroun' in dere until he dies. An' let 'im bake till he gits where dey kin crumble him up an' make a powdah. An' den dey tell me dey kin put dat on a person an' hit'll go through de skin an' come de same thing 'live in de person.
Entry 6589
Lak if a person is sick an' dey wants tuh git rid of dis sick person. Bell, dey kin fix up a remedy fo' dem dat de maggots will eat 'em up. Dey kin take dese snails an' dey kin make a salve out dese snails an' dey rub wit dis salve an' dat'll bring maggots intuh dey skin. Well, dose maggots will eat dis person £P. DEY HAVE PLENTY CASES IN DIS CITY WHERE WOMEN HAVE FIXED MEN AN' DEY EVEN THROW UP MAGGoTS.
Entry 6652
Well, dey tell me dat if a person wanta poison anothah one, jis' lak - AH RECKON DEY CALL IT WITCHCRAFT. AH DON' KNOW WHUT DEY CALL WITCHCRAFT. AH DON' KNOW EVEN WHUT DAT IS. But anyway, ah'm talkin' 'bout whut ah have heard, whut folks tell me. Say, jis' lak yo' might wanta poison a man or woman, or somebody else ah didn't lak, ah would hunt a snake, de skin offa dat snake, dey shed. Ah take dat shed an' ah would carry dat an' pound it up an' put it intuh dis an' hang dat up in de chimley where it keep warm an' hot fo' nine days. Den yo' take dat aftah yo' let it stay nine days, take it down an' yo' kin - dere'll come live thin's in it from dat shed. An' yo' take dat den an' put it in othah whiskies an' give it tuh someone an' dere come live things in 'em.
Entry 6661
Yo' kin have a live snake in ahm [arm] or chicken feathahs, but how dey put dat in yeh is by a dus'. Dey give dat tuh yo' in somepin tuh drink, an' den by 'umanation [incubation]. It breeds in yore skin.
Entry 7018
If he's a drinkah, whut chew kin do tuh stop 'im from drinkin'. Yo' take de skin of a eel, a skinned eel, an' let de skin git dry. An' aftah it's dry, yo' beat it up intuh I powdah an' put it in some whiskey, an' give 'im dat. He'll nevah want any mo'.
Entry 7826
I have heard of them getting a hold of graveyard dust and putting it in a bag. And they wear that on the left side of the breast, in a woman; and if it is a man, they put that in his [left] pocket. They want to wear that next oo the skin and they will get them.
Entry 10462
If you put salt and red pepper in empty skin of witch, she or he will be unable to reenter the skin. [This was a common theme down the Atlant coast- line.]
Entry 10468
Well, dey tell me how tuh ketch 'em [hags] is [tol git a sifter yo see, an' dey'll come in dere roun' 'fore day, yo' see, an' dey count de holes dere an' right dere's where it be yo' ketch [her] countin' dem holes in de sifter. So dey caught a ole lady lak dat once. (What did she look like when they caught her?) Well, she looked lak sompin didn't have no skin on, jes' kinda like butter - not butter, jelly yo' know. So dey caught her an' dey beat her. De ole lady was staying dere herself [living in same house].
Entry 9850
Take de needles an' dey cross 'im lak dat.
(How many do you take?)
Twelve. Cross 'em lak dat. An' den dey takes dat piece of red flannen an' dey put it aroun' dem an' den dey dresses dat. Yo' see yo' gotta have one of dose needles points jis' lak dat [demonstrates], one dat way, an' one dis way - flannen aroun' dem. Yo' have 'em all de points out an' de haids out, de same way. (How do you dress that?) Well, yo' use Love Powdah, Hearts Cologne an' dis heah Cashmere Boquet; dose three things whut chew dress it wit. (Well, what did you make this thing for?) Well, yo' kin - jis' eithah way; if yo' wanta make a woman love yo', or wanta make it tuh make a woman stay away from yuh.
(Well, how would you use it if you wanted her to love you?)
Well, yo' puts eight of dem points one way an' fo' de othah way. An' den yo' take dat an' weah it right nex' tuh yore skin, right on yuh heart. But chew can't let nobody put dere han's on it. [Here is one of the fundamental laws of hoodoo, never let anyone touch your hand; its power for you will disappear.]
(And then if you don't want her, do you do something else with it?)
Yes sir, yo' change 'em. Instead of havin' fo' one way, yo'll have five one way an' seven de othah way.
(Then what do you do with that?)
Well, dat's fo' huh tuh stay away from yuh.
(Where will you wear that, then?)
When yo' wan' dem tuh stay away from yo'? Well, yo' weah it right in yub chest here, right in de middle of yuh chest. If yo' [want] her tuh love yuh, yuh weah it right ovah yore heart.
Entry 9948
Dey take dat ole toad- frog an' stew 'im up, take 'im an' stew 'im up. An' yo' know de people dat is dirty. Dey take dat"ole toad- frog an' stew 'in up an' put 'im intuh sompin tuh eat, what chew eat, but chew won't know anything about it. Ah have had 'em do dat tuh me, yes sir. Dey take dat ole toadfrog, yo' know, an' skin 'im an' dry 'im, an' mix it wit somepin tuh eat what dey cooks. Ah reckon dey done me dat way. An' yo' know when dey stew 'em - it lak stew, jes' lak dat - yo' take a ole bullfrog, ole long bullfrog, yo' know, an' skin 'im. He looks lak a chicken [after he is skinned]. Well, dey take de ole othah toadfrog an' stew 'im up. Cook 'im right along wit somepin tuh eat. An' yo'll take it all right. Yo' go dere an' eat at night. Den when yo' come in dat nex' day look lak yo' gonna jes' go fer 'er an' eat 'er up - jes' lak yo' wanta eat 'er up. Make yo' crazy about 'er.
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 10872
Take the fur. (Cut the fur?) From under the black cat's left leg or the left quarter. (From the front or behind?) Behind, and let it get right dry and you kin fix in a way. Clip it fine and you kin throw it over somebody, but you gotta make the black cat laugh. (I see, before you cut that hair. And then when you throw it over somebody, what will that do?) Well, that goes in your flesh - sticks in your flesh.
(I mean, what is it supposed to do to you?)
It works in your flesh, they say it'll work in you and it effect the flesh so that you taken with a certain disease in your skin and you'll die.
Entry 11348
Git eel hide.
(He wears the eel hide and then - what will that do for him then?)
Well, yo' see, jest lak eel - yo' know yo' kin ketch an eel an' yo' can't hold him to safe [save] yo' life. After yo' gits de hide from dat, yo' wear it next to yo' skin tight, an' if a person ketch yo' it's jest lak when yo' ketch a eel it's nuthin that he kin do wit yo'. Yo' kin jest do 'way wit him jest lak dat. Ah don't [know] how come, but....
(If you are wrestling they can't hold you.)
Dey can't throw yo'. [This eel belief is known everywhere.]
Entry 11616
A man is brought back by the woman wearing his foot track and hair, or a piece of his clothing, next to her skin. [Petersburg 422:4.]
Entry 11900
To keep man home, cut hair from mold of head, under the arms, and from privates, and wear these next to your skin. [Newport News 512:3.]
Entry 12173
Mostly they give them to gamblers. It's a little square bag of no particular color. And they tell them to wear it next to their skin and that you will win. They don't tell you what's in that. They tell you if you open it you'll have bad luck. [Fredericksburg, No.43 by Ediphone.]
Entry 12712
An' if dey wanta run yuh, dey take yore hair, cut hair out de mole [mold] of yore head. And sometime dey do be's fortunate enough to ketch a rab- bit live, split his hide, his skin, and put dat hair in dere. And sew it up in dere and turn him loose an' he [rabbit] run to briar. When dey fin' you [your hair in the rabbit], yo be having yo' head stuck in a briar patch.
Entry 12742
Dey kin take yore shoes dat chew wear every day, if dey kin git holt of it an' if dey kin git a rattlesnake. Git de haid. Git him mad an' git dat rattlesnake haid an' dry it. Let it come so yol kin jes' compound it up. Understand, compound it up good an' put it in somewhere - inside de linin' of his shoe. It got linin' in dere, an' it surely runs yo' off. Or yo' kin put it in de band of yore hat. Either one. Den yo' can't see. It will blind yo', cause yo' know yo' sheds yore skin, an' yo' kin git blind from it. Jes' as shure as....
Entry 12996
Jes' lak anybody, well, jes' say if a woman have a friend or sompin an' he is able tuh give her, an' can give her, an' hit look lak he don't wanta use her fo' convenience, why she kin git a dime from him an' she kin take dat dime an' put it in a brand- new piece of domestic an' fold it tuh her nine times, an' sew it an' wear it right next tuh her an' dat's good. Dat'll help out a whole lot in peace with him an he'll provide for her mo' bettah.
(Just wear it any place on her body?)
Yeah, jes' pin it right inside her on de right side, wear dat down dere.
(Next to the skin?)
Yes.
Entry 4400
Take a lizard. Ah've heard 'em say yo' take a lizard an' tuh split 'im open on 'is back. An' when yo' split 'im on 'is back, take an' hang 'im up where de sun will rise on 'im. An' when de sun rise on 'im, see, when de sun is goin' up, yo' hang'im wit 'is tail up an' 'is haid down; an' dey tell me dat will turn dey bowels up so dey can't be unlocked.
(Well, how do you know what person you are working on?)
Well, yo' take an' yo' git some of dere action, an' yo' put it in dere. Put it on dis lizard, inside of 'im, de fo'wards side nex' to de sun, wit cayenne peppah on it. Yo' know, cayenne peppah draws too, it draws up, an' three drops of turpentine. An' den when yo' git dat bone, den yo' hang it up dere. An' dat lizard will dry up to nuthin but jes' dat skin. An' as long as he's hangin' up dere, why dey can't have an action. Dat's whut ah heard on dat.
Entry 4485
They kin take the water that you bathe in and use it, and if properly used give you some kind of a ailments in your skin. If they take that water and put sulphur in it and put it in a bottle and stop it up, your skin will break out with some kind of disease - something like itch or nettZe- rash or something. It will always continue to be thataway. Of course, I don't know that you couldn't go to a doctor [M.D.] and get shots or somepin. [HERE IS A MEMORABLE STATEMENT! INFORMANT THINKS IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE TO GO TO A DOCTOR (M.D.) FOR SHOTS TO CURE AN ITCH CAUSED BY HOODOO! A hundred times or more in HOODOO a Doctor of Medicine is dismissed as useless for hoodoo; in fact for most ailments. FOR A GOOD ACCOUNT OF THIS SITUATION BACK IN 1938 AT MOBILE, DESCRIBED BY PROFESSIONAL ROOT SELLER, See 12, p.11f.]
Entry 4537
Ah have heard women say dat if dey git de bow out of a man's hat, dey takes dat bow an' dey wears it right next to dere skin. In othah words, dey put it undah dere arm somewheres. Well. dat man will always follah dem. He will be in love wit dem always.
Entry 4690
Dey tell me yuh take dat bow out dat hat an' puts Hearts Cologne on it an' a little of yore chamber lye. An' put it in a flannen rag an' wear it right nex' tuh yore flesh. Say dat will make a man love yuh.
Entry 13120
Take a blacksnake and skin him and take this skin and wear it as a belt, and they won't bother you as much. [Who are they? Usually the belt gives added strength meaning bullies won't annoy you. But it could mean other snakes.]
[Richmond 382:2.]
The item describes skin worn as a belt; the editor explicitly leaves who they refers to uncertain.
Entry 10461
Ah heard mah mother tell de story about a witch would come every night an' git in de girl's bed. When de girl went out [of room or away for evening] an' she [hag] come in an' would git out of her skin an' git in her bed. An' one night she came in an' de girl came in an' seen de skin dere an' she put [usually red] pepper an' salt on it. An' den when she come to git back in her skin it jes' runned her crazy. The witch left dere an' dey say never came back no mo'.
The narrator reports a mother's story involving discarded skin. Editorial glosses remain separate, and neither shedding, the alleged reaction nor later nonreturn is established.
Entry 429
Dey say a witch is a ole woman - say it's when a woman lives to be years old an' say she takes, gits to whare she'll come out 'er hide. She'll come out 'er skin, say at night when she gits ready to go out to do her devilment; say she'll git out 'er hide an' then she'll go out necked with dis heah skin off 'er. Say den, when she go out, say she kin go through yore keyhole anywhares - jump in de keyhole an' come in to whare yo' is. When she come in dey says she come in to yo' by night, and she's one of dese things then whut chew call - dey don't use a man at night. Make yo' have nightmares, yo' know. Sometime dey nature gits so high till dey jes' - at night, dey dreamin' yo' know. Dat's a witch - say dat's whut she's doin' at night when she comes into yore house.
The account explicitly mentions skin in its reported witch description; the events are unverified.
Entries from source headings
These entries are listed under the following headings in the source volume:
- SKIN - NEXT TO THEIR — Volume 3, entries 4669. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SWEAT → HAT - SWEATBAND - BOW → BOW FROM SWEATBAND OF HAT.
Source passage
continuous interview · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
MIFFIN
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
This is about two good frien's. An' mah cousin sta'ted co'tin'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
[started courting]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
this lady's husban'. An' this lady fin' out tuo ont's later tha' she
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
[cousin]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
wus co'tin"er husban' an' she had dis spell put on 'er. An de spell wus dese snakes an' some othah insex. Dat whut de doctor says.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
(How many years ago did this happen?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
Ooooh, Miz Carrie been dead - been about six yeahs now. No, it hasn't...yeah, about six.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see. Where did this happen, by the way?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
This happen in Savannah, Georgia.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Oh, in Savannah, Georgia.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
She came down
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[to Florida]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
when she got sick. Dey sent 'er down here to see 'er brothah.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Den 'er brothah taken 'er from here to a root doctor.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Where did he go to, do you know?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
I don't know where dey went - some part o' Florida.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Some part of Florida.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Uh huh. An' this main
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[man]
informant · Current interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
worked on 'er an' she went back 3 or 4 times an' dey got some snakes an' a lotta insex. An' 'er skin it turnt as black as de snake, as rough as de snake hide. An' all 'er hair, bald, completely bald.
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[Children can be heard in background.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
An' den she got so desp'rate an' less den two mont's time she died.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
But dey did git dese snakes an' things out, 'cause her brothah brought de jars back wid dese things, yo' know, in it.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see. Then what happened to the woman who put this...)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Well, de woman taken sick two mont's later an' she died.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Now this is the woman who put this spell on this other woman?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Uh huh. She got sick an' died sho'tly aftah mah cousin Carrie died.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see. Well when the brother took this woman there - this woman was your cousin wasn't she?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Uh huh.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(When he took her there, did the root doctor say anything when she came in or what?)
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
What some doctors say on first seeing you can be interesting: see CONSULTA- TION TECHNIQUE, pp.307-321, v.1.1
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Well she went back 2 or 3 times an' he had to keep workin' on 'er. Yo' know, to try to git it all out of 'er. But when they fin'ly didn' git it all out of 'er she had turnt so black an' it had poisoned her through an' through. An' so he tol' 'er he couldn't do her any mo' good an' she died sho'tly aftah.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see. And what did you say about her skin?)
informant · Current interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Her skin turnt as black an' rough, jis' like a snake. He said she had some- thin' like snakes, somethin' out of a poison snake into her system.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see.)
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Who turned the spell back on the woman?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
My cousin
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[husband of cousin, Carrie]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
did, he had it turnt back on 'er.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Did the same root doctor do that or...)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
No, not de same one, but de one she wus goin' to down here gave her de stuff dey put back on 'er up dere.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Oh, I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
She had to go back to Savannah but after dey taken her back up to Savannah, dey brought 'er back down here an' she got so sick an' den dey took 'er from here back up to dere an' she died.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
But now de woman did confess dat she had 'er fixed by
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[for]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
botherin' wid 'er husban' - bein' a good frien' to 'er now, she confessed dat.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Yes, she did.
Nested source context: reported doctor treatment and statement · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Well she went back 2 or 3 times an' he had to keep workin' on 'er. Yo' know, to try to git it all out of 'er. But when they fin'ly didn' git it all out of 'er she had turnt so black an' it had poisoned her through an' through. An' so he tol' 'er he couldn't do her any mo' good an' she died sho'tly aftah.
locally coherent subpassage
The editorial comment on printed page 4494 has an unclear closing mark. The following answer belongs to the interviewee.
Miffin’s self-correction about six years remains unresolved.
Doctor diagnoses, cousin relationships, return of the spell and confession are narrated claims, not additional live voices or established facts.
The editorial CONSULTATION TECHNIQUE bracket retains its printed closing glyph.
Children heard in the background are recording context, not participating testimony.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 5, p. 4492 · Vol. 5, p. 4493 · Vol. 5, p. 4494 · Vol. 5, p. 4495 · Vol. 5, p. 4496