Subject:Smoke
Entries
Entry 619
[A holy candle] that the Cath'lics use.
(Get a holy candle?)
Yes. And the only way you kin git them is you go to some publishing house, you know, like where they makes those books, you know, Testaments and Bibles and things like that and Sunday school stuff. Well, that's whare you buy those candles - what they call de Christian Public House - Publishing House, where you buy those at.
(What do they call those candles?)
Holy candles. And 'tis a big white candle that is not no more larger 'en that but it is round like that.
(About this round?)
Yeah, and it looked more like stone - it don't look like wax, it look like it was stone.
(It's a short candle about that big?)
Yes. That's the only candle.
(Now, what would he do with that - will you tell me that again?)
Well, that has to be done at the ninth hour and you have to say good things because the candle supposed to be a holy candle; and whatsomever you want, you ask in the Name of the Lord - say good things. (Well now, you said something about a vision a moment ago - I didn't quite get all of that.) Well, you see, that candle will give that smoke.
(It smokes.)
And you watches de smoke, you see, and that's whare you'll see the things in the smoke.
(Oh, you see these things in the smoke.)
Really in the smoke - really and truly, you certainly will.
(Now, just what would a person burn this candle for?)
Now, I'll make - I will say, "Well, I certainly does want me some money; ah played a number today and ah want de cash." Well, inside of dat nine days I'm gon'a ketch dat number. If I'm gon'a ketch it, I'm gon'a see it in de smoke - I will see that number in the smoke. I say, "I wants to see such and such a man." Well, in that smoke ah could see his vision. Whatsomever you want, you'll see. And you ask de Lord, if you wanted to see if it's gon'a come true. If it's gon'a come true, you compelled to see it in that smoke. Yes, but if the smoke goes sudden, it's tough luck for yuh. If dat smoke comes from dat candle and whirls and whirls, go down to the floor, 'tis death in the family, or there's someone very near to yuh [going to die]. But if de smoke goes straight up, you just set there just like this - like this the candle - you sit right there and watch that smoke and you'll see.
(And you'll see these things. I see.)
Entry 2892
Git a white an' a black candle an' burn that. Jis' burn it soon every mawnin' 'bout five or six a'clock an' de same time at night. See. An' yo' hol yore han' ovah dat smoke an' make a wish, an' prob'bly no doubt yo' li'ble tuh be lucky an' den yo may not. Dat's in gamblin (You burn both these candles together?) Uh ah - yo' burn one at de time. If yo' burn a white one dis mawnin', yo' burn a black one dis evenin' [alternate magic]. See. Burn a black one now an' de white nex'.
(You just simply reach your hands over the smoke?)
Yeah. Jis' make a wish. [See margin-title Smoke 'Em, p.723f.] [Memphis, Tenn., (930), 1512:1.] '
Entry 3860
Now, yo' kin take - jes' lak if yo' wants tuh make 'em weak, weak- minded an' don' have no good health, jes' bad health all de time. Yo' kin take a rag an' yo' kin put it roun' de pot an' burn it. Put it roun' de pot or eithah put it in de chimley an' burn it. An' take de smoke, jes' lak if yo' ketch de smoke in a bottle an' stop de smoke up in de bottle, an' dat'll make dem weak- minded an' don' have real bright sense - an' bad health. (What do you do with that bottle then after this smoke is stopped up? What do you do with that bottle then?) Well, yo' take dat bottle an' yo' bury it right undah de center of yore house- lak de centah of de room heah. Well, yo' bury it right undah de center of de house by de middle block undah [supporting] de house. [Center of house makes a quincunx.] (Just that cloth, the woman's monthly cloth, get the smoke of it.)
Entry 7235
Dat would be whut de root man, dis hoodoo doctor - dat would be whut he would do.
(What will he do? Will you tell me that again? What would he do?)
Now in case dat yo' wus hurted by anyone an' yo' would go tuh a root doctor. Well, dis doctor, he would draw dis pichure of de individual who did dat tuh yo' an' den, aftah dat, he would build a fire an' in front of de smoke, yo' see, he'll hold de pichure up yo' undahstan'. Put it, yo' know, on a stick or somepin an' den yo' shoot [the picture drawn by the root doctor].
(Who does the shooting, you or he?)
Yo' do it. Yo' will do it yuhself.
(That keeps away trouble.)
Entry 8264
Yo' take a photograph an' go in de woods tuh a tree, an' yo' jis' lay it up from de ground up side de tree. Yo' kin go dat high from de ground, eight feet high. Ah'd take a ten- penny nail an' drive dat through de forehead ontuh de tree. An' git choo some splintahs - fat-lighter [pine] splintahs [here, split pieces of wood, not small splinters] - some people call 'em torches - an' make a smoke right down here [at the bottom of the tree]. Jis' make a fiah, an' de smoke goes right straight on up [over the photo]. An' yo' git choo a shotgun an' go back about twenty-five or thirty feet from de tree, an' shoot right through that smoke at dat pitchure. Dey tell me dat'll kill yuh. [Large pieces of fat-lighter pine (several pines so called) were used at night as outdoor hand torches. This is described some- where in the text by a woman, from Orangeburg, S. Car., whose grandmother de- scribed a slave burial at night - a limited number of torches, no singing, etc.]
Entry 8853
Well, ah knew dis much about it, dat dere mo' way 'sposed tuh be of usin' de smoke of nine matches. Dey use de smoke of nine matches intuh a bot- tle an' airtight it. Go tuh work an' git chew a han'writin' an' put it intuh a bottle, an' cut out nine matches an' git de smoke of dose nine matches intuh dat bottle an' airtight it. An' kin throw it intuh runnin' watah. Ah know dat's anothah thing dat will upset chew, block yore game in gamblin'. (HoW will that affect me if they took my handwriting and put in that bottle with that smoke? What would that do to me?) WELL, DAT WILL - DE REALLY FAC' 'BOUT IT, SUH, WILL PIZEN [POISON] YO' WITH ANYONE, 'SPOSED TUH BE DAT CHEW COULDN'T MAKE A TAP [OR TOUCH, PUT THE BITE ON ANYONE] COULDN'T GIT NO ENDS TUH MEET IN [COULD NOT MAKE ENDS MEET] NOWHERE. [I would be in a bad financial condition; could not mub two dimes together. That preceding expression cut out nine matches merely means, take 9 matches out of the matchbox, surely a new box of matches.]
Entry 11029
Cuz' if yo' do, it jis' move yo' away. Jis' lak de dust be goin', yo'll be goin'.
(What is this about now?)
If yo' burn chicken feathers in de yard an' jis' lak yo' burn 'em an' where de smoke go, yo'll be gittin' out dere an' yo'll go, too. (What do you do with chicken feathers, when you kill a chicken then?) Well, yo' take an' put 'em in a sack, dry 'em; put 'em in a sack an' dry 'em an' put 'em in our pillahs - make pillahs. Dat's all we do's. (How do you get rid of them? You don't keep all your chicken feathers. What do you do with them to get rid of them, then?) Ah keep all de chicken feathers. [These people I talked to, almost all of them living alone and poor, bought few live chickens.]
Entry 11122
Draw a coffin, draw the person image in the cof- fin they want to die, then call [victim], then write their name, burn under incense smoke.
Entry 12620
Red peppah, brimstone, sulphur an' burn it an' blow de smoke [towards house] nex' to 'em an' [if people there] don' be in dey house - but if yo' burn it, yo' kin burn it in yore own house an' name it an' blow it nex' their house. Or git some of de garments of de house or somepin othah out of de house jes' since it's been worn. Well, yo' git a garment an' then yo' wrop de brim- stone, sulphur an' red peppah, an' wrop up in de garment. Take de garments to de woods an' bury it undah an' ole rotten log, an' that'll tear de home up altogethah.
(You mean after this stuff is burnt?)
Yes, in dat ole garment, jes' since it somepin out de house. Den de people all in de house - de man or de woman - well, yo' jes' take it an' bury it in de woods undah a ole rotten log.
(That is after you burn all that stuff?)
Yes, put it in that garment.
Entry 13077
Jes' lak if a fellah wanta git a job, ah hear 'em, dey take an' kill a snake an' let him dry, yo' know. An' take him yo' know, jes' lak he git into ashes, yo' know an' put him inside of a bottle. An' take - jes' lak a cigaret smoke an' blow it in dat bottle an' stop it up. An' dey says dat every time yo' open dat bottle, a little sompin will come up out dat bottle lak a snake, yo' know. Say if yo' tote dat in yore pocket an' tote it in yore pocket bottom upwards, yo' know, dat chew could git a job. But ah ain't nevah tried it. Ah had a ole fellah tell me dat once but ah ain't nevah tried it.
Entry 343
Say, if yo' kin take a frog outa God an' put 'im in man - an' build yo' a brush heap an' stand in de smoke of it, say de devil will appear befo' yo' lak a nachur'l man, an' he'll talk wit chew, an' den he'll tell yo' whut chew kin do.
(You take a frog out of what did you say?)
Take him out God hide an' put him in man hide - now, ah don't know whut dey meant by dat.
(You take this frog out of God hide and put him in man hide.)
[Burning a frog takes the animal out of the hide God gave him and by means of the smoke puts him within man's hide. The smoke, as in ancient burnt offerings, is the spirit of the sacrificial gift. Once inside man, the spiritual smoke could become a frog. Usually, live things put in a person is done by using the blood or powdered body of the animal in a person's food or drink.] Yes, an' then build a brush heap an' set it afire an' git in de smoke of it.
(You put this frog in there alive.)
De devil will appear befo' yo' lak a nachur'l man an' talk wit yo' - tell yo' whut all yo' could do.
Entry 435
I know a woman once who was a famiZar hag. She got mad with me because I was going to see another woman and wouldn't look after her. So she told me one day, "I am going to get even with you." So I told 'er it was all right, that if she was to monk [monkey] with me I would shoot 'er. She told me that I couldn't shoot 'er. So I said, "All right, you just try it." So after I had been over to my girl's house, you know, I went over to my batch. And after going home I had a chain on my door. Just as I undressed and went to bed I heard de chain rattle on my door and I wasn't a bit sleepy at that minute. After I got my clothes off I sat on the bed, I lit my pipe and began to smoke. As I smoked I began to get drowsy. Den I saw the door open and I saw de form of dis woman walking in. She came to me and used the expression by saying, "Shish, shish." And when she got close to me I fell asleep. When I fell asleep she jumped right on top of me and she rode me perilous and it was all I could do to catch her by the thumb, but hold her I could not. And when she got away from me I woke up immediately and she was gone. [Hampton, Va., (27), Ed.; near Hampton,1918.]
Entry 1567
You git a bran' new [corn]cob pipe an' yo' fill dat wit sulphur. Yo' smoke dat an' yo' inhale dat through yore nostrils. Dey all tell me dat relieves a spell by de haid - yo' know, in case dere somepin wrong wit yore haid an' yo' ailin', why dey say yo' git a brand-new cob pipe an' yo' put sulphur in dat. (What kind of a spell do you mean - that you have in your head?) Well, yo' know, probably jes' lak somebody may be gone off wit yore hat 'bout somepin an' probably put somepin dat's not right in yore hat. Dat will cause yo' tuh have haid spells.
(This would cure it?)
Yes, dat would cure it.
Entry 2408
Why yo' git chew some sulphur an' some saltpeter an' some sugah. Well, yo' take a tablespoon an' a nutmeg an' some bluestone. Well, yo' take a rag an' yo' beat chure bluestone up an' beat up yore nutmeg and yo' takes a tablespoon fulla sulphur an' a tablespoon fulla sugah an' a tablespoon fulla saltpeter. Well, yo' take it an' put it in yore bathwatah an' some Heart's Perfruone put it in yore bathwatah, an' yo take a bath all ovah. Den yo' git up an' yo' mop all roun' de flo'. If yo' got a rug on, mop all roun' de woodwork an' all in yore do' an' wash yore do' down. Well, den yo' take some dat nutmeg an' bluestone an' sulphur an' some sugah - put it on yore shovel on a piece of papah. See, it burns hard. Light it undah de papah an' burn dat an' smoke yo'self in yore room. Do dat Mondays, Wednesdays an' Fridays.
(What do you do this for?)
Dat brings in trade an' makes yore luck good.
(That is if you are bootlegging or if you are a hustling woman?)
Dat's luck fo' yo' tuh do dat.
Entry 2657
Well, yo' kin git chew some garlic an' git chew some sulphur an' git chew some sugar. An' turn yore pan jis' befo' de sun rise - set it in yore do', set it afiah. Close all yore do's while it's burnin'. Yo' go out. Den when yo' git it blue wit smoke, open all yore do's an' de people will run ovah heah. Ah don't ca' whut chure doin', dey'll run ovah heah, comin' tuh see whut yo' got tuh drink. It'll draw 'em.
Entry 2698
You can take cinnamon and sugar and clear water and oil of verbena. See, like this is your front - well you start ascrubbing from the front, back in but not out. See, and sweep it back in. You see. Then you get what you call dragon's powder [dragon's blood]. See. You smoke the four corners up with that. [See margin-title Smoke 'em, p.723; also Incense, p.700.] Natch'ly you'll be successful in a business.
Entry 2746
Well, the trouble I had - first, the misery started in the thigh, the left, and this moved around to the right; then, something came on up and stopped in my throat. It choked me a great deal. I was troubled with that for about eighteen months. I couldn't lay on neither side. I could only lay flat on my back for eighteen months. There wasn't a doctor in Fredericksburg that could do me any good. So I met a fellow from Washington, [D. C.] and he was telling me how it was with him. From his talk he had the same complaint I had. He talked it in me for to go to Washington and see an old lady. So finally I decided to go. He taken me up there for to see this woman. When I got there now, this woman she came to the window and she says to this man, "You got Jim O. [informant] with you." She'd never seen me before. She says to me, "I know what you come for." She says, "Come on in and look around. I haven't got time to do any readin' for you today [magic delay]." So she says to Henry M. [man who took him to Washing- ton], "Bring him back Friday. So he taken me back. When I walked in she says to me, she says, "You've got a snake in your belly." She says, "Take a seat over there," and commenced then to read. When she commenced to read she brought out several people - she brought their photographs out. She showed me these pictures - she named them, she knowed them [see later]. The old lady had a glass of water in her hand and she passed me this glass of water. So I drank this glass of water. Then after awhile she passed me another glass of water - so I drank that. She said she [some woman in Fredericksburg] gave me something in a glass of water, that's why she [doctor] gave me a glass of water. And right from that I commenced to feeling bad. So she says to me, "You got a snake in you - I can't draw it from you alive." I says to her, "No, I wouldn't like to see it." So she gave me a certain glass of medicine to pass that snake the other way. She gave me a treatment in the hair [scalp treatment], then she put me in a tub of something that was black. She gave me a good bath, and while she was bathing me a lot of smoke came out of my flesh, and right from that I commenced getting better. "You is all right now - you can go back home now and do anything you are big enough to do." And while I was there she showed me a lizard in a jar that she took out of a girl's throat. She had that setting on the shelf in alcohol. It looked just like a lizard you see crawling up a log. She told me she had drawn several snakes from different people. The snake pass from me after I left there - I never did see it. I finally got better. I only spent ten days with her - she charged me $12. John N., he was tricked the very same way, so he came to me and I was telling him about this woman. Then I got it for him to go up and see her. And she cured him the same way. Her name was Mother Jones. She came from North Carolina. [These pictures - she named them - she knew them - were a new device to me; an effective one, more so than the similar and impersonal device of a deck of photographs rather than of cards. These pictures were supposedly photographs of persons she had brought out while reading the cards. Informant could not have known any of them; he was not expected to identify any of them. Henry M., man who took informant to Washington, looks like a man out in the bushes beating up trade for Mother Jones. She could not have known Jim O's name without a letter from Fredericksburg or a telephone call after his arrival in Washington. Her words look around are a most important part of the atmosphere - she wanted him to see her medical museum (see in Index).]
Entry 8979
(In this court case now.)
Now, if yo' got a case an' yo' know it's a bad case, well yo' go tuh de market an' git chew a beef tongue, an' aftah yo' git dat subpoenee. Den yo' git de iudge name an' yo' git chure witness name whut ag'inst yo'. An' yo' write all dat down on dat same subpoenee whut de judge name on it. Yo' git chew hot peppah tuh ketch 'em an' yo' put dat in yore lamp. Yo' burn dat until yo' go tuh co't., 'Fo' [before] yo' go yo' turn de chairs, mattress, bed, every- thing, upside down. De shoe, dat left-foot shoe, turn it upside down, whut chew ain't been wearin' fo' quite a while - turn dat upside down. An' yo' git chew a pink candle, a St. Raymond candle [St. Raymond's candle more likely to be green - see No.3042-3051, Pp.877-880] dat a pink candle. An' yo' leave somebody at de house an' dey'll burn it tuh keep it from ketchin' de house [afire] or anything. Yo' git dere an' yo' git chew some cinnamon, some ground cinnamon an' de brown sugah; an' yo' only have tuh have dat much in yore han', as yo' goin' up when de judge call yo'. Jis' have it lak dat an' jis' sprinkle it an' go ahead on up, sprinkle it aroun'. Den aftah evahthing is ovah, yo' come back an' yo' git dat tongue.
(After the case is all over?)
Aftah de case is all ovah, yo' come back an' git dat tongue an' yo' put it down in de ground an' yo' leave it stay in de ground three days. An' aftah dem three days, yo'll take it up an' let it stay up, a day an' a night, on top of de ground. Den yo' take it an' carry it tuh de graveyard an' bury it if yo' yanta. If not, yo' kin carry it tuh de rivah. BUT DE CASE IS OUT. IT'LL NEVAH BE CALL UP ANY MO' ON DIS SIDE OF JUDGMENT [DAY].
(Now, how is that pink candle burned while I am down at the court?)
Well, yo' have tuh have somebody dere tuh burn it all day - all day.
(Where is that tongue all this time? Where is that tongue?)
De tongue gonna be at de house in de smoke, in de smoke an' de needles - in de smoke of wood, papah, anything yo' kin keep it a-burnin' wit, until yo' git back.
(You keep it smoking and the candle is on a table burning?)
Well, de candle is jis' as good as de tongue. Let me tell yo' dat right now.
(Wait a minute! Are we using both the candle and the tongue or what?)
Yo' kin use both, both of 'em.
Entry 314
Well, ah heard dey ketch de black cat an' dey'll kill him an' dey take it outa his rib, de bone. An' dey'll smoke dat black cat bone an' dey'll wear it den. Dey'll smoke it an' wash it. Aftah dey washin' it dey gits some devil's [vinaigre?] out de drug sto'. Dey soak it in dat agin. Den dey'll take it an' dey'll wear it an' dey'll make lak a bag an' put it in dere an' wear it.
(What is that supposed to do?)
Dey would do anything dat dey wanta do. Dey'll come in heah an' yo' won't know it an' dey'll go out chere an' yo' won't know it. Dey'll do anything dey feel lak doin'.
(They just take this cat and they take one of his ribs out.)
Yeah, one his bones out.
Entry 819
Now, he takes dat dead man's head - jest like you go dere and say, "Ah Want So-and-So to go from roun', want him to leave town" - see - 'he give me trouble." So he say [ask] what de name and you tell him. He writes de name three times and he puts three rings around it and he take it and put it in that dead man's mouth - dat skeleton haid [informant does not know word skull], and he tell it, jest like he talkin' to somebody, tell it, say, "Ah want chew to run So-and-So-and-So clean out of town, ah want 'em to git clean from around heah," and stick a match to it and that thing smoke in dere and de smoke come out dat dead man eyes and nose - see, dat skeleton haid. Ah've seen dat workin'. Ah know of a woman did dat an' she left, she cain't nevah come back no mo' - she come round but she cain't stay a whole day. Dis person ah'm referrin' to is de man do dat.
Entry 1173
Kin take dem chicken feathers - oh, prob'bly six or eight, ah've been told and burn 'em together; see, an' enhale dat smoke and that will heal yore misery in de head.
Entry 1174
A black hen's feathah is good fo' dizziness, if a person has a fit. An' yo' git de feathahs off dat black hen an' yo' keep her in yore home, an' when he go tuh have one of these fits yo' git these feathahs an' yo' burn 'em. Jis' as yo' set 'em afire an' dey start tuh burn, yo' blow de fire out an' let de smoke escape up dere nose an' dat'll surely cure 'em.
Entry 1497
Yo' kin take a ole shoe sole or 'nothah an' anybody in de house havin' a toothache, an' yo' kin throw dat ole sole on de fiah an' let it bur an' it will kill de toothache.
(What will they do with that when it burns?)
Well, dey'll take de spread, yo' know, an' take de smoke in yore nostrils - see, of dis ole shoe sole to yore nostril. Take de smoke an' inhale it. (Oh, you inhale the smoke and that kills the toothache.) [Spread = spreading smoke.]
Entry 1509
Well, when yo' have a whole lotta trouble in de house - raisin' Sam, dey cain't git along - yo' kin take ole shoes wit sulphur an' cayenne peppah, yo' got fiah, jes' throw 'em in dere in de fiah lak dat, an' de fellah go to de do an' he stan' an' look at de smoke come out de chimley. Den after he go, yo' say, "Son-of-a-bitch, go." He'll nevah come in no mo' - won't come dere no mo'.
Entry 1584
Well, yo' - jes' lak yo' had germs in dis room heah, an' yo' wants tuh git shet of de germs, yo' take some tobacco an' put it into a pan or something an' set 'em afire, a slow fiah, an' let 'em smoke yo' see, but it will kill ever'thing in de world. If yo' ain't got no tobacco, take some ole shoes an' tear 'em up an' put 'em on top of sulphur - it kills. [Tobacco usually appears in compounds - No. 1551, p.491, and Index.]
Entry 2529
I understand that you get this high-graded incense. You use that, you smokes that up over your door. Course he'd come around, but he wouldn't never come for no kind of trouble. You understand? It keeps him quiet.
(I see. That's all you do - use that incense?)
That high-graded incense.
Entry 2596
Ah'm goin' tell yo' right quick now what ah did. Ah was bootleggin' down in Taylor County [Florida] and de sheriff was comin' on me - and ah'd taken some salt, jes' table salt, and dis here same cayenne pepper - jes' wropped it up in something, you know, and put it back of de heater - in a little ole heater stove - right back in dere where it couldn't burn up right quick - [in a place where I] jes' stored de wood - it was in de wintertime enyway - and den made de fire upon it and den when it go to burn, it would burn slow and den the ashes from dat - de smoke of dat goes out, chew see, and den as dat goes out it accumu- lates in de air and nobody dat comes dere do yo' no harm - do yo' no harm. If dey come dere, dey'll come dere, shake hands with yuh. "How do yuh do, Ed." "Jest fine. How a'yo'?"
Entry 2640
Well, dat supposed to bring luck in business - to bring luck in busi- ness an' yo' know tuh drive any evil spirit away, de cops. Well, now, yo' do this on a Friday at twelve a'clock. Yo' take sugah an' sulphur an' salt an' yo' sprinkle it on some ole shoes, an' den when de whistle is blowin' fo' twelve, why yo' have a good while to lay it on, put it in there an' yo' burn it an' let de smoke go out. See, de smoke, well it will go out de chimley an' it will light up good. Why den yo' lift it out in a shovel or somethin' an' yo' carry it roun' in yore place of business an' let dat smoke circulate aroun'. An' den yo' take an' put it back in de stove an' let it finish burnin' up. Do dat each Friday. Well, dat's all to dat fo' good luck. (That is for luck in business - to bring in customers and also keep the police away?) Bring customer an' keep policemen 'way.
Entry 2648
I had a saloon and there is another fellow had a saloon, and he was doing more business than I was and I want the business to come to my place. All right. I go get me some water, some perfume called lucky, lucky perfume you know, and I take some clear water and I put it in a bottle and I shake it up. [Water will make the perfume spread farther.] I do this 'fore day in the morning 'fore anybody sees me doing what I got to do. I go to this place that is in the same block my place is. I go to the corner, see, and I come back and when I get before his door I sprinkle. I go to my place of business and go inside and sprinkle. And I take and go to the next corner, not the same corner, and I sprinkle - behind my back, never look behind, and I sprinkle all along that street. And I go to my place and I go in again. And I go back to that [first] corner, the same corner that is left [left from my door], understand, and sprinkle the same way. Sprinkle before his door and go in my place and come out, see. Then I go to the next [second or right] corner. Do that three times you see, each way. [Informant on coming out his front door turns left and walks past competitor's house to first or left corner (= crossroad of city streets). Here he starts to sprinkle his watered down lucky perfume, turns back home, sprinkling past compet- itor's house and into his own home. Immediately leaving home again, he turns and walks right to the second or right corner (= crossroad of city streets). Here he starts to sprinkle his lucky perfume, turns back, again sprinkling into his own home. This sprinkling from the two corners into his own home is repeated three times. We must assume the cork in the bottle has a small hole through which the liquid slowly drips; the word sprinkle being somewhat generous.] After that, I go in my place and I take some sugar and I sprinkle it on my floor, some plain white granulated sugar. I take some sawdust and I put it over that stuff and I go and I get me this lump incense, see. Can I stand up and show you how I come? [I must have nodded yes.] See, I get some lump incense and I burn it. I burn it, take a lamp, light it and burn, put it in a saucer, this lump incense. Then I take my clothes and smoke my clothes, understand. And after I smoke my clothes, I make my wish [demonstrates].
(You fold your hands across your breast.)
Yes sir, and make my wishes. I make my wish and I be saying, "Lord, I hope I be lucky enough to be successful in all my enemies and all my income." I say that three times. And after that I take my pants this Way and I get my pants smoked good with that incense, open it up this way and let the smoke go up - smoke up my pants leg. Then I turn round and I open my door, after that smoke is got settled in my house. While it is burning in my house, there is nobody in the house but myself. While the incense is burning, if it sparks like a match throw sparks, you know what I mean, well, that will tell that's luck. And if the smoke spreads, that's luck; if the smoke goes straight up, the incense ain't much good to you. After you do that, you put that behind your counter - put that in- cense behind the counter. And you have sprinkled the sugar already. Then you open the door. Then you can talk. You cannot talk while you are doing your business, no sir. (Now when you first make the smoke, you have to take off your pants, then you put them back on - the first time?) Yes sir. [Perhaps I should say, informant did not take off pants during demonstration.]
Entry 2725
We going to scrub the house out first with that Red Seal Lye. That's if anything is crossed in the house - the building is crossed before you occupy it. After scrubbing with that Red Seal Lye, you get you some cinnamon powder, you get you some oil of verbena, then you get you some granulated sugar. If you wants white and colored trade, you get that white syrup and you get that red syrup, mixing well, scrubbing from the front porch on to the rear, throwing a glassful in each direction of the globe after scrubbing, and I guarantee you burning cinnamon powder and burning incense in the building when you in there alone, leaving it smoke well, open up the door, and you can't keep the gang out of there.
(I see.)
[After machine stopped, I ask about keeping law away.]
The same though.
(The same thing will keep the law away from there?)
Absolutely.
Entry 3708
The follow- ing informant gives 4 separate cures:] Dey say yo' kin take in measurin' a man - well now, in yore husban', if yo' don't want 'im tuh fool wit somebody, why yo' could take an' measure him when he's sleep, if yo' git a chance. Or eithah, yo' fix 'im to pay no 'tenshun - have connection wit 'im fo' a chance tuh measure 'im wit a piece of cord string, dis little cord string dat come off a wrappin'. An' take an' measure 'im wit dat - jes' de length of it. An' den yo' kin take an' tie nine knots in it, an' yo' kin wear it in yore shoe, or if yo' kin, put it down undah de innah sole of yore shoe, an' he can't have anythin' tuh do wit anybody else. Den yo' kin take a piece of new homespun. Jes' lak yo' be playin' an' yo' have a piece of new homespun about de bed, or sompin yo' wus sewin', an' dey kin use dat aftah dey git through. Put it undah yore mattress an' double it up in a piece of papah an' put it undah yore mattress an' he ain't goin' bothah 'bout anyone. An' den if a person gits where dey kin't bothah wit anybody an' wants it taken off dem, dey kin go an' steal a dishcloth - steal someone's dishcloth. An' if dey got greasy dishwatah dere, dey jis' skim off dat grease wit dat dishcloth an' squeeze it up in dere. An' den yo' kin take dat dishcloth an' use it an' wash it off yoreself an' dat will kill it out. An' den yo' kin take an' git some cedar - these cedar leaves. Don't chew know, yo've seen dese cedars in de cemetery. An' take sulphur an' sprinkle it ovah dem, an' put a little fiah undah it, an' yo' kin kinda stand ovah dat an' let dat smoke go ovah yo', an' dat'll kill it. (That will kill it, if his nature has been taken away from him - restore his nature. But you don't have to get that cedar from the cemetery, you can get it any place?) Yes, anywhere. Yo' ain't gotta git it from de cemetery. [Yet, informant prefers graveyard.]
Entry 3877
Ah heard of people takin' women's monthlies an' hide it - put it in a tree an' smoke.
(How do you mean smoke it?)
Well, dey build a fiah up undah it an' leave it stay dere. Well, de fiah gotta go out, but den ag'in dat'll kill de tree, an' den it will kill de person. (Where do they put that cloth?) Put it in de hollow of a tree, see. Dey put dat cloth in dere an' when dat rottens, it rotten de tree an' dey rots down an' dey dies.
(How do they smoke it?)
Well, dey smoked it first fo' a purpose.
Entry 5216
Dey take some cookin' salt an' sulphur an' mix it an' put it in a fire- place, 'nuff fo' de smoke tuh come out, an' burn it in yore chimley. Yo' kin take a shoe an' burn along wit it tuh make it mo' strong. An' burn it slowly in de chimley an' see dat'll smoke. Dey can't stand dat odor from dat smoke, an' it seems in a couple of week's time dey'll have tuh move. Dey couldn't stay roun' dere. [Burn] three time a day.
(That will cause the people next door to be moved.)
Entry 5967
Take a stran' of yore hair jes' as near de mole of yore head as yo' Kin, an' yo' kin take it an' take one stran' an' tie it into three knots. An crah mawnin' jes' at de dawn of daylight - de firs' mawnin' clip one dose knots out an' put it in de sweat of yore hatban' [sweat- bandl an' tote it arom' until de second morning. An' take dat stran' of hair out dere, dat first hot chew cut out, an' smoke it in yore cigaret right aroun' de forehead where de party [he or she] kin inhale de smoke of it. Well, dat is bringin' dere min' nearah towards yo'. An' de fo'th [second, see later] mawnin' clip de nex knot out. Yo' takes dat an' yo' take yo' a white piece of bran'-new homespun cloth an' ties it aroun' yore wais' an' keeps dat right nex' to yore skin. Dat nex' [third] morning take de nex' piece [knot] dat chew got clipped off from dose two piece [knots] an' yo' put it in yore pocketbook dat chew keep greenback [money] in dere. An' tote dem evahwhere yo' go. [Dem = smoke, waist, pocketbook]. An' jes' as long as a Woman dat yo' Wants - SHE'LL BE HANGIN' BY YO' UNTIL YO' MAKE OTHAH ARRANGEMENTS TO BREAK LOOSE FROM 'ER.
(You do that each morning?)
Each mawnin' until yo' use de last stran'.
(You do it the first morning, the second morning and then the third morning?)
Yes.
(And what did you say - you said, if you had something in your pocketbook?)
De las' piece - de las' stran' dat yo' cut off put in yore pocketbook an' keep it in dere if yo' got any greenback.
Entry 6169
"Bout dat hair proposition, ah hear dat dey take yore hair an' dey takes three Camel Cigarettes, an' takes a strand of yore hair, takes a straw an' push in dere. Push one strand of yore hair in dem cigarette apiece an' den smoke one of dem cigarettes a day, smoke de othahn de next day, an' de othahn de nex' day, an' dey say dey got de woman den tuk in [= took in = taken in = tricked].
(That takes the woman - gets the woman to love them.)
Entry 6629
Ketch a frog an' take a snake wit 'im an' yo' hang 'em up tuh de chim- ley. Let 'em stay until dey are, yo' know, dey are dry. Let 'em dry - snake, frogs an' lizards. Dat's what dey all puts in yo' dey tell me. Take 'em an' tie 'em up an' put 'em up in de chimley where dat smoke will dry 'em. An' den dey git tuh work an' powdah 'em up - jis' powdah 'em up soft an' fine. An' yo' takes dat - dey tell me dey take dat an' put it intuh whiskey or anythin' an' give tuh yo' tuh drink off it. An' yo'll drink it an' dey'll become live in yo'
Entry 6881
A horse is tied wit a rope an' she pass ovah de rope. She's crossed. An' if anyone have any of 'er pieces dat she had befo' she got dat way, yo' see, dey kin tie nine knots in dat piece an' hang it up in a place - not tuh burn in de chimley, not tuh burn; only tuh smoke, yo' see, dataway. De child have tuh be taken from 'er by a physicianah.
(I see.)
Entry 6978
Ah hear'd tell of wahps [hornet] nest - dat yo' take an' git a wahps nest on somepin, if yo' tooth ache, dat chew kin take an' smoke dat an' dat will cure it.
Entry 8906
See, jes' lak a person leavin' an' goin' tuh town, say: Well ah'm gona leave de house heah an' ah ain't got nobody tuh leave heah. Well, now dat's called, dey dressin' [magically preparing] it [the house]. Yo'll take a cow horn. Yo' take dat an' yo' scrape it - yo' scrape dat cow horn, an' put [scrap- ings] jes' on a piece of tin or sompin an' set it afire. Well, now, hit'll git tuh burnin'. Well when it git tuh burnin' an' it'll burn down tuh nuthin but ashes. When it burn tuh ashes, dat smoke commence tuh rollin' all roun' de house - goin' roun' all de house. Well, when it go all roun' de house, yo' kin go anywhere yo' wanta, leave de house, nobody bothah nuthin in dere. Evahthin' will be right dere.
Entry 8935
Yo' get yo' a old shoe somewhere, see, an' yo' take an' yo' cut it up good - jis' want de sole of it. An' cut it up good. An' yo' get yo' some brim- stone, see that's a powder, jis' like steel dust. See. An' yo' get yo' some sweet cinnamon an' yo' mix that up together. Yo' takes dat shoe sole an' yo' lights it. See, make a smoke out of it. An' get yo' a little bit of, small quantity of sul- phur, yo' see, an' sprinkle that on that shoe sole. That's to make it burn, yo' understand. All right, then yo' takes this other powder and sprinkle that on there, an' yo' wraps it up in a cloth, preventing it from burn- ing out so soon, yo' see. An' yo' lights it, yo' see. Well, that's goin' burn to a smoke, yo' see. Well, when that smoke starts to smoking, there's nobody gona fool 'round that house atall. See, ever'body comes there an' 'tempts [at- tempts] to go in there, it creates a fear on 'em. See, they losing no time in bothering 'round there atall. Yo' kin leave your house wide open, there ain't nobody goin' in, yo' see.
(That will keep the thieves away?)
Keep the thieves away - ain't nobody goin' in.
Entry 8959
If mah boy wuz in jail, ah would take a beef tongue an' ah would smoke it an' ah would keep it in dere [chimney]. An' ah would take de judge's name, de district attorney's name, an' take me nine needles an' put it in dere, an sew it up an' smoke dat beef tongue fo' nine days. An' ah would go tuh co't an' ah cross mah fingers, an' he Would git discharged. (How do you mean you would cross your fingers?) [Informant demonstrates.] (You would take the index finger of each hand and just cross them; each hand, like that. You would hold them crossed in court. Why do you use nine needles, any particular reason?) If dey got nine district attorneys [jurymen?] on dis case, yo' understand, if dey got nine of 'em, dem needles represent de district attorney [jurymen].
(If you have twelve jurymen then you would use the twelve.)
[Informant does not understand why 9 needles are used. We shall meet these 9 needles again and everywhere. This was the very first rite I collected on my second visit to New Orleans. Informant was the wlfe of one of my contact men, Peg Leg. She a professional worker had refused to see me two years before on my first visit. Her material, good, is scattered throughout the text.)
Entry 11027
[That is] bad luck around the place. That [is] the cross. Yo' just put them in an old pa d put them in the back yard, and smoke them around the place wherever they want the person to leave fro, or don't want them to get along.
(What kind of feathers do you put in the pan?)
Black feathers, black chicken feathers.
Entry 12284
Yo' kin git saltpetah, sage, alum, sugah an' salt - yo' know - stuff, yo' know, whut he nuse [use]. Yo' know, salt an' sugah an' stuff lak dat whut chew wanta know in dose strings. Yo' say, "In de Name of de Fathah, an' de Son, ah'm bringin' yo' back tuh me." Call his name, see, an' say, "Long as yo' eat sage, as long as yo' eat sugah, drink sugah in yore coffee" - sompin lak dat. An' call dose names, an' tie dose strings, an' tell him yo' want him tuh come back tuh yo'. Well, he'll come den. An' aftah yo' tie dose strings, put dose strings in a pile an' sprinkle dis saltpetah an' stuff ovah it, an' red peppah, an' yo' take kerosene. An' den yo' say, "In de Name of de Fathah an' de Son, ' an' burn it. An' put it out in de yard an' let it smoke.
Entry 1256
Well, you get you a fresh fish - you get the heart, the liver and the gall. You understand? And you lets it out in the sun and dry - see, till you can make a powder with it. Then you smoke yourself with that. You understand, you just stand over it and smoke yourself with it. Then you can use the gall - like someone done did you, put something in your hat like people say they do, steel dust or anything that fail your eyes. They can use this gall and anoint your eyes. [This cure is a variant of the one in Book of Tobit (in Apocrypha) 6:1-8; 11:10-14.]
Entry 2890
Get the rose incense, you know, and smoke your house up for luck and use dragon's blood. Have you ever heard talk of dragon's blood? [I must have nodded yes, because I mention dragon's blood in FACI, 1st ed.,1935, No.9379, p.501.] You take that [demonstrates] and scratch it like that on the stove, and like you Wanta wish for something at the time, you set your purple light and you know, use the dragon's blood. Like you got a stove or any hot oven, you know, just scratch it on the stove just like that - it smokes at the time, you know, and that's very, very lucky.
Entry 2897
The black candle is fo' evil. That black candle does all the harm in the world. Well, yo' jest - say, if yo' wanted to do someone harm, in the day at twelve a'clock, make it no later, yo' go into yore room, pull yore blinds down, set chew a dark candle behin' yo'. An' yo' set wit chure face pointin', say to the east an' yo' set there. Yo' set there until - if yo' haven't got their picture, yo' set there until yore mind jest kinda picture them. An' yo' take that picture, say if yo' wanta cause them to git killed some way - by running into a car, by running into a train, or land somewhere where de train kin run ovah them. Well, jest whut chew want, that one particular thing to do, why yo' jest call dat an' dat black candle will be burning behind yo', see. All right, chew call dat persons name nine times. Den yo' crosses - take yore fingers an' cross it like dat. Pull it, see like dat - pull the fingers together. (Pull your fingers together like that - these big index fingers.) [Crook index fingers and pull.] Uhmm. Say, "To hell, to hell, yo go. Drift forever. No content. There's no rest for the weary." And then turn, blow the candle out an' then kneel in front of the candle an' say, ask for six feet. Then that gives that candle time to cool off. See, ask for it slowly - s i x f e e t. Why den all de smoke from dat candle an' everything will go off. Take yore candle an' go on back about yore business.
Entry 2901
If yore loved one gone, yore man or yore husban' or whosomevah an' yo' want him back. Yo' git chew nine pink candles. First git chure parchment papah, yo' know dat white parchment papah, an' yo' write his name nine times on dis papah an' git chew nine wax candle. Dey say wax. Ah tried dat mahself. Whut ah'm tellin' yo' ah did dat mahself. So ah knows. An' set de candle on dis table an' every candle yo' sets, yo' moves it up a little. Yo' jis' move it up jisa speck. [This is the magic rite of diminishing distance similar to diminishing time, quantity, etc.]
(The first one you put down at the bottom of the paper?)
Yeah. Yo' see, yo' put it lak dat [demonstrates]. "Dat's de name, see - right there. See, dat's de name. Now, yo' done burned that one [candle], see. Now yo' moves it [next candle] up agin. [These candles are successively moved nearer to you.] Sometime it won't set if yo' put it at de end. Sometime yo' have tuh put it right direct in de center. [This candle in the center of a sheet of paper makes the magic quincunx - see No. 2799, p.802.] See, right in de center, fo' it tuh hold, cause sometime it'll creel ovah [probably means keel over]; but now when yo' light de candle, Wash it - yo' wash yore candle first. But chah turn it bottom upward so dat de wick won't git wet, an' yo' wash it off wit clean watah - jis' let de watah drip off it, lak that. Den yo' light chure candle. An' then yo' git that incense temple [temple incense] - dat goes wit dem can- dles. Yo' burn dat. Yo' put a little dribble - well, say it's a dram in anothah saucer. Den yo' put de candle ovah in dis saucer an' yo' burn dat light. See, dat makes de smoke dat goes with dis name an' dis candle. Now, sometime in burnin' dis candle it'll bring back 'fore nine days. An' he'll come unexpected. Yo' [when he appears at the door] gotta rush back an' pinch it out. Don't blow it out. Yo'll have tuh wet chure fingers an' pinch de light out. An' burn it in a tub lak a zinc, cause yo' know candles is somepin dat ketch fiah sometime when it fall ovah. An' yo' put it [candle saucer and perhaps incense saucer] in a tub an' yo' burn it in yore private room where yo' sleep. Dat means in yore bedroom - not in yore front [room], neight [right] in yore back [room]; neither in de sides [hall or side room if any]. Yo' gotta burn it right where yo' sleeps in yore bedroom tuh bring back yore loved one. It gotta be right dere where yo' at.