Subject:Sock/Dirty sock
Entries
Entry 3115
Ah heard yuh could take a man's sock an' weah it between yore laigs an keep 'im down, an' yuh kin go an' he would not be jealous of yuh. (You use either sock?) Eithah sock, eithah one, jis' since he have worn it. An' a man kin take a woman's stockin' an' weah it undah 'is lef' arm wit de feet turned up, an' he'll ketch 'er in evahthin' dat she start at. If she go tuh slip on 'im an' have othah men, he'll walk right up on 'er.
Entry 3899
Dey said dat a person take yore hair. Dey could take yore hair an' put it in a bottle of Hearts Cologne an' keep it an' yo'll always think swell of 'em. An' ah heard dat a person could take yore hair an', or part of yore ministration rag, an' put it togethah an' one yore dirty socks, an' throw it ovahbo'd an' yo'll go crazy.
(Now somebody would do that to a woman. Take her hair and what else?)
Her ministration rag.
(And her sock. All these things [three things] belong to her?)
Yeah. Yore dirty socks definitely belongs to the woman; the man not adding his own sock to her hair and blood. He would also have driven himself away!]
Entry 3900
If a man got a woman an' he wanta keep her down, ah heard dat he'd take a piece of 'er ministration rag, an' de hair from underneat' 'er ahm [arm], an' a dirty sock, an' a piece outa huh haid, an' sew it up in a bag an' nail it 'cross de do', an' she could nevah go 'way.
(Could never leave.)
Entry 4358
I've seen this experimented to get rid of a man. I mean to make him leave town. Get a little of his urine, be sure it's all his, put it in a bottle, get a cigar box, put it in that, and one of his socks, just one of his socks, in the box, let it be dirty, wrap that box up, wrap it just the same as a piece of paper, throw it in running water so it'll go down the stream, it will not sink, and he'll leave town. Both the bottle and sock in there.
Entry 4596
Git de bow of 'ls hat, de toe [toes] of 'is dirty socks, see. Put it in a bottle. Git dis Hearts Cologne an' stop it up, see; an' turn it on its haid. Well, it wouldn't be long 'fore he'd be back home an' acknowledge he did wrong.
Entry 4677
De bow an' a dirty sock - out de hat an' 'is dirty sock, lef' foot sock. An' git some Eve-an'-Adam [Adam-and-Eve], some High John de Conkah, some love powdahs, an' roll 'em to yuh. Make yore wishes as yuh roll 'em. Den yuh take it an' put it in yore pillah or in yore mattress, de woman, an' sleep on it an' he'll stay dere.
Entry 4911
A dirty sock or eithah a dirty stockin' an' bury it on de right-han' side of 'er do'step an' [that] yuh gotta come in an' out. Or eithah in de gate where yuh gotta walk. An' dat'll keep yuh down. Dat'll always keep you down where yuh have no energy about yoreself, yuh know, tuh care 'bout goin' nowhere. An' yuh bring all yore earnin's home.
(How many socks do you bury?)
One, de right foot. (The right-hand side [of the doorstep] as you are going out of the house or coming in?) Going out, all de time going out.
Entry 4923
Yuh kin take his dirty socks an' put both of 'em tuhgethah an' fold 'em back in de do' lak yuh comin' in de do'. De do's disaway [demonstrates]. Yuh take dat foot an' fold it back, back intuh de house. Dat will keep 'i dere. If he leaves he will come back, he has tuh come back.
(Where do you put these socks then?)
Yuh put 'em undah de carpet. Yuh put 'em undah de carpet. If he leaves he'll have tuh come back.
Entry 4932
Now, if yuh wanta take an' kill a man, yuh take one [of] 'is dirty socks an' dirty undersuit an' carry 'em tuh de graveyard an' bury it. Dat's tuh kill 'im.
Entry 4933
Now, if you leave your own home an' you got a par [pair] of dirty socks, but dey's got tuh be a par of yore dirty socks dat dey ain't been wash. Put [in these socks] red peppah, grave- yard dirt, an' six needles. An' yuh turn de needle points, when yuh bury it, to- wards de house, right towards yore do'. Bury it in yore yard or eithah in yore back yard, but let de points be [pointing towards] de do'. Aftah dose socks o' 'hisen is buried, yuh go out dere fuh five mawnin's, straight mawnin's, take yer dirt offa dis sock, turn yore back tuh de house [an' pick upl jis' [as] much as yuh kin throw, an throw it across yore right shouldah tuh de house. Wharevah he is, if he's way way from home, if he evah go on a train or anything, he'll come back - he'll come back home. An' he'll stay dere as long as yuh handle dose dirty socks.
predicted single absent man’s return and staying, with sock ownership unresolved. No husband inferred claimed continued residence conditional on handling the dirty socks. Keep the condition as long as yuh handle dose dirty socks; no permanent retention or observed success. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 4936
If a woman would take a man's sock, jis' when he take it off, an' take it an' wear it in 'er hat, say dat would make him wan'a be wit 'er. Jis' lak if a man, yuh know, didn't care nuthin about 'er, an' she wanted dis man. Den if she would git hold of one of 'is socks, she would take his sock an' put it in 'er hat; an' as long as she keeps dis sock in 'er hat, well den dis man would wan' tuh be wit dis woman. But dey say yuh had tuh spe- cially have a dirty sock.
(Either sock, it doesn't make any difference?)
No.
Entry 4961
Ah'll tell yuh whut ah know 'bout dat - tain't whut ah heered. Ah got a sistah an' 'er husban' lef' 'er. He wuz atter [after] othah wimmins an' he jis' got so fur gone till he went off from 'er. An' she took eithah of 'is socks jis' lak he pulled 'em off, an' she pulled a thread out from de hollah of 'is foot. An' she tied it in nine knots, tied it fo' nine mawnin's.
(Nine knots each morning or one knot a morning?)
One knot a mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's, an' de ninth mawnin' he come home dat night.
(She took a thread out of both of them or one of them?)
One, jis' 'is right stockin'.
Entry 5025
Yuh kin take his name an' yore name tuhgethah. Dat's to keep 'im wit yuh right on. Yuh write his name on some brown papah lak dat brown wrappin' papah. Yuh write his name on [with] indelicate [indelible] pencil - new indelicate pencil. An' yuh put it [name] between 'is socks an' yuh sew it up wit No.8 black thread - de man's dirty socks. Yuh take dat brown papah an' yuh cut it jis' lak seat [bottom or sole] of dat sock. Yuh write his name on dat paper [cut in the shape of a sole]. Yuh write jore name on dat nine times, but joo write yore name on top of 'is fer nine times. Yuh put it between dem socks. Yuh sew dat up wit No.8 black thread. Yuh take drawin' powdah, yuh take steel dust, an' roll it up through dem socks; an' put it [socks] in yer mattress, an' he sleeps on dat. Dat'll keep 'im from goin' away from yeh.
Entry 5043
Says yuh take a man's ole dirty stockin' an' yuh take it an' pinch out de toe, clip a li'le piece outen de toe an' wear it. An' take de sock an' turn it towards de back of de house - jis' puts in de do' an' let de foot go inside, an' de top of de stockin' go outside. An' de toe whut yo' wear, wear hit wit Heart Cologne.
(What will that do?)
Dat will keep 'im home.
(You put this sock in the doorway?)
In de middle of de do' undah de rug, where nobody cain't see it.
Entry 5052
Take his sock an' if it's dirty, why yuh kin nail dat tuh a tree an' it will cause him tuh walk away: [Ordinarily a sock nailed to a tree keeps a man stationary, and the sundown side later means lingering or slow death, but intention here demands that he walk away. The big nail suggests urgency and determination - also painful walking.]
(All you have to do is to take a dirty sock and nail it up?)
Jis' take a dirty sock - cut de bottom out de dirty sock, fold dat dirty sock up an' carry it tuh a green pine tree, an' nail a big nail in de centah tuh de sundown. He'll leave an' won't come back.
Entry 5053
Take a man's sock befo' he wash it - yuh know, he git de scent of it. An' yuh kin take dat sock an' yuh kin take an' sew it up inside a little bag or somepin lak dat. Take an' carry it an' nail it on a pine tree on de sundown side, but be sure yuh got it tied in de bag. Yuh kin bring 'im tuh yuh tuh any- where yuh want. (You just take these socks and put them in a bag?) An' take dat bag an' nail it in a pine tree at de sundown side, an' make a wish, an' dat man supposed tuh be de one man tuh yuh.
Entry 5083
Take de sock dat he done wored an' put it undah where - stretch it out on de side dat she lays on In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost an' sleep on it. Den he will stop runnin' roun'. (Stretch it out where?) Undahneat' 'er bed, which an' why. Put it undah de sheet on de bed an' lay on it, an' make her wish In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost dat she means tuh stop 'im from runnin' roun'. Dat will stop 'i. [Florence, S. Car. (1314), 2510:4.]
Entry 5155
Ah know a case in Beaver Falls, Pa., dat a incident of dat kind hap- pened a year ago [1936]. Wus a woman whut lived dere, an' 'er husban' wure very cruel tuh 'er. An' he begin tuh stay out all night, an' he beat 'er an' knock 'er out. So she begin tuh study de Sixth an' de Seventh Book of Moses. An' wit- in studyin' dat, she found out jis' whut tuh do tuh send 'im away from 'er. An' she tole me dat she'd taken 'is lef' shoe, an' cut 'is 'nitial on de inside of it in de instep. An' taken 'is - one of 'is lef' dirty socks, an' put nine brass pins in it, an' nailed [pinned] it tuh de instep of 'is shoe, an' threw it ovah 'er lef' shouldah at sundown. Ah know he left dere an' he hadn't been back a month or so ago.
Entry 5650
Well, ah'll tell yuh whut dey do. Dey takes dere track an' den dey pats some kinda stuff wit it, see. An' dey take dat track an' den dey take it an' dey'll throw it eithah ovahbo'd or dey buries it, see. Or dey put it in a dirty sock an' dey'll bury it, see. An' dat will prohibit yuh from goin' if yuh vanta go some place.
(Keep you from going where?)
Wherevah yuh wanta go. Jis' like providin' if yuh got somebody an' dey love yuh, see. An' dey kin prevent yuh from goin', why dey takes dat track, see. An' dey'll fix it an' dey bury it. An' dat will keep yuh from goin' away.
(What sort of powder did they put in that track, did you say?)
Dey puts some ingredients in it, see.
(What do they put in it?)
Dey puts spice, sugar, or salt, eithah one, an' dey bury it.
Entry 7161
Well, dey always say, dat if a man asleep an' yo' wan' 'im tuh sleep till yo' come back, take yore [his] dirty socks an' hang 'em ovah de head of 'is bed an' he sleep till yo' git back. Take one of 'is dirty socks, de right foot, as neah as yo' kin see. Yo' kin see how de toe is printed in de sock. Yo' take dat sock an' yo' hang it ovah de head of de bed.an if he sleepin', he sleep till yo' come back.
Entry 4876
Yuh take de socks when dey are soiled. Yuh git a person's soiled socks from dere feet when dey are real dirty. Yuh know how dey git when dey are dirty. Yuh git de sock an' yuh git de seats of dere undahweah, knitted undahweah. Or should dey wear any kind of one- piece undahweah, yuh git de seats of dis undahweah an'( dese socks. An' yuh roll 'em up tuhgethah wit de inside soles of de shoes, an' yuh bury dat undah yore steps or eithah put it in some secret place where dis person won't disturb it. Some people put it in de cornah of a mattress. But it's somepin dat chew know yuh are goin' tuh keep becuz, in moving, if yuh don' take dat up, yuh see, dat breaks a person up.
(Now, you take botn the socks.)
Both de socks. Yuh cut de sock off de foot. Den also de seats of de undah- weah. Co'se if dey have long sleeves yuh git de undaharms too. But yuh mus' nevah wash it. Yuh supposed tuh keep de perspiration in it.
relocating while preserving concealed soiled-clothing materials. Keep breaks a person up unresolved; do not invent death, relationship breakup or another precise result. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 3293
Yo' take de dirty socks an' de dirty undahwear an' wash 'em, an' take dat watah an' put it in an airtight containah [usually a bottle] wit dere name an' seal it up, an' it makes a man lose nature fer any othah woman except de person dat put it dere.
Entry 4900
Ah've heard dat yuh could take dat dirty sock dat he weared an' bury it undah de do'steps an' he'll come back if he's gone.
Entry 11070
If a woman is got a man an' she don' want him tuh leave her, she takes one of his dirty socks - de same as ah said about her stockin'. Well, ah take one of his dirty socks - she takes it, an' she ties it up in a knot an' she keeps dat sock tied dere fo' fifteen days. An' wherevah he be's he gotta come back tuh her. He cain't leave her, an' if he done left her he's comin' back aftah she have dat sock. He's comin' back tuh her. She could take a string an' she wear dat [sock] round her waist fo' nine days, an' nine knots in it. He cain't have nobody. See, all of dat is in de way of hoodooin' somebody tuh keep 'em from doin' right.
Entry 13188
Take your dirty sock and bury it underneath de step, that will make you stay home. [Charleston 623:5.]
Entry 13174
Dirty left sock and dirty left stocking, sprinkle red pepper over, put names of each in, roll tight, bury together: "makes 'em get that much closer to you." [Mobile 876:5.]
Entry 2934
When yore ole man is gone away an' yo' wanta bring him back, if he left any ole dirty socks - if yo' kin git any of his ole socks, git de left sock. It Wants tuh be dirty though, not clean. An' yo' take it an' yo' go out in front of yore do'. Well, yo' do it 'bout between three an' fo' a'clock in de mawnin'. Go out in front of yo' do' an' dig a hole an' bury dat sock an' cover it up. Yo' go in de house an' yo' git chew a piece of tablet an' yo' write his name nine times on dat tablet. Den yo' git chew a black candle, put dat piece of papah down an' set de candle on it.
(Just a moment. Do you put the names up or down?)
Put the names right across.
(No. Do you put the names up so that you can see them, or down?)
Put the names [face] down. Then set the candle on it an' burn that candle, an' in three days dey'll return. Dat's whut ah know 'bout dat.
(But you must leave that sock out there?)
Yo' leave that sock out there until dey return. Ah've heard of men takin' a woman's stockin's an' makin' her come back. Ah've heard of men takin' 'em an' do em in de same manner.
Entry 4982
An' yo' kin take his sock, take one of 'is lef' socks; one dat he's been weahin'. Yo' know, if yo' weah dat, it gits dirty. Don't wash it if it's dirty. Jis' take it an' take a li'le thumb tack, an' right up in de corner undah de baid, take a hammah an' jis' tack it down a li'le bit, to keep dat sock undah dere. Yo' kin sweep all aroun' dat sock, but jis' don't sweep de sock out. An' dat'll keep 'im. Or eithah yo' kin go undah de house an' nail it up [against the floor] lak dat, so he won' find it. If yo' think he kin find it, yo' put it inside. An' dat'll keep 'im wit cheh.
Entry 5076
If it's possible dey kin git intuh yore room an' git one of yore socks, dey kin easily have yuh go away. It's GOTTA BE DIRTY, though - GOTTA HAVE SOME OF DE MOISTURE FROM YORE BODY IN IT. An' dey take it an' fold it an' put it in a cloth, sew it up an' put it intuh a runnin' stream of watah an' dat will carry yuh away.
(That would send me out of the house.)
Entry 2750
[Here is another example of the glove-shaped hand, but unlike the former rite (1990, p.584) we now have one in a candle atmosphere - New Orleans is near. More important, the following story shows some of the listening prob- lems of collecting, among them - speedy talker, confusing pro- nouns and references to persons, delayed explanation, all sorts of things.] Well, they say if you were living here and they wanted tuh move you and run you away - well ah know of a lady, she fo' every morning fo' 'bout nine mornings - she bought a bran'-new box of salt and she took dis salt and cayenne pepper and she would sprinkle it, yo' know, from de front to de back and fo' that reason it would cause a confusion, you know, in the house and they all wouldn't live so good, you know. An' so she would take it and she would sprinkle all over when everyone, say, Wouldn't be noticing, you know. She would do that and then when they all would leave, she would take. She went out to the graveyard early one morning and she got some graveyard dust offa someone's grave, and she brought this dirt back, yo' know, and she'd taken it and where this landlady lived, slept, she unraveled [took out a few stitches of] her pillah and she put it [graveyard dust] in dis pillah. And she had a glove - [look] like it was a han' - and it [the graveyard dust] was in this. And she stuffed it with this graveyard dirt. And she says she mixed it [the graveyard dust] with a - wherever she got dis rattlesnake dust from, ah don't know, but she musta got it from a rattlesnake or something, and she mixed it with somethin' and she stuffed, sewed it in dis pillah while de landlady was gone. [She starts to say the graveyard dust was mixed with rattlesnake dust. Was it? For snake dust, see No. 690, p.230; also No. 1433, p.468 - "an original and brilliant piece of therapeutic thinking."] So after, for about a couple of weeks this lady suffered from her head laying on dis pillah. She suffered severely from her head, you know, and she didn't know what it was, you know. She begin to git dizzy and feel bad, and so she said she was going to see what caused dese headaches. And everything she could take Wouldn't do her any good and so she went tuh a couple of fortunetellers. And so finally a ole lady tole her, fortuneteller told her, said, "Well, yo' ought to look about yore bed," say, "it look like you can't get along in de house, there's always a confusion and everything." And so she said, "You go look up in your mattress, your pillahs or something." So she didn't pay any attention to it all [atall = at all]. So finally she made up her mind to do that. Took her pillahs out and she un- raveled de pillah and she found dis glove stiff like a hand, yo' hand, and so she opened it and she found all de stuff in dere, those different things. An' she didn't know what de cause of it, you see. And so she was afraid and she got someone to look after it fo' her. Well, she'd taken it to dis lady and ast her, and de lady tole her it was graveyard dust and rattlesnake dust and she wanted tuh - someone wanted to make her move or either kill her or something like that. [The preceding account is one of our many examples of that important element in hoodoo theory and practice - the doctor's ability to analyze and identify immediately the nature and cause of an ailment. To look at a handful of dirt and say that it is a mixture of graveyard dust and rattlesnake dust is quite a trick. Only our former doctor-druggist-chemist could have done as well (see No. 1593, p.498). To say these two dusts in a glove in a pillow caused the headache is quite a - well, even doctors admit this knowledge is a gift. At least, though on a lower level, we can now answer our former question - "Was it?"] An' so dis lady [roomer] in de house, you see, she would every morning [for 9 mornings] she would sprinkle dis here cayenne pepper and dis salt all ovah de house. And so after a while they [landlady] asked - cause dey [landlady and roomer]didn't 'gree, yo' know, 'count de fuss and everything - after while they asked her to move out and she [roomer] said she was going to return it back to this person [landlady].
(Was that here in Alabama?)
Yes.
(Well now, go right ahead.)
Well, after she did that - yo' know, she [landlady] did that to make 'em [her] move or to keep her [landlady's] husband, you see. So she [landlady] kept her
[own] husband. And so this other hoodoo lady [roomer because she used hoodoo]
tole her [landlady] that she would return it back. So she [evicted roomer] comes and gits dis hen's aig - a black hen laid dis egg, and she wrote the name [see later] on it. They were living in a house kinda lak dis [house in which I was interviewing] wit a glass do' in de front, chew know, in de house. So soon, early one mawnin' she comes an' throws dis aig up side de door and broke de glass, yo' know - throw de black hen's aig up there. So when he [landlady's husband] goes out - get up dat mawnin' soon - he didn't know - so when he looked all de egg spattered in front of de do' and de glass was out, yo' see, and he walked ovah it befo' he knew it, yo' see, so he looked on de shell and saw where de name was wrote chew know - her [his wife's] name and his name was wrote on dere. And so she said, "Well, dey did dat to break us up - broke dat aig up side de do' to break us up." So she said - an' so she got lye and swept - yo' know, swept it all out an' cleaned it up, yo' know. An' so dis lady [roomer] wrote her a letter and tole her that "Seven years wouldn't be too long for a raccoon to weah a ruffle-bosomed shirt. That's the way she spoke. (Wait, will you talk a little bit slowly. "Seven years wouldn't be too long for a raccoon to wear a ruffle-bosom shirt?") That means she would get her, yo' know. An' so dat was de words she wrote to her. [I know nothing about this stylish raccoon. He sounds like early American ruffled shirts, but the saying or proverb may come from the stage or radio.l An' so finally she would - yo' know, she would burn candles on dis man. She went got - an' got a candle and every time on a certain hour, noonday an' like dat, she would burn dese candles wit his name wrote on it. Black candles, yo' know, and she wrote it on dere. Well, he couldn't stay here and he couldn't stay there, yo' know. He was jest kept, yo' know, like he was, yo' know, de mind up- set all de time, yo' see. And so he got so that he didn't [live] peacefully wit dis woman, because every morning fo' nine mornings, she would come there and had something like - ah don't know whut kind of dust it was - but it was - when you look at it, it looked something like black peppah, yo' know, powdered peppah. She'd sprinkle it all roun' dere do'step, yo' know, fo' nine mawnings. An' he came there and so she took one little piece of his hair out de top of his head while he was asleep, and she sewed that up, and had that fixed with something and put it in a little red bag and sewed dis little red bag up, an' taken a cord string like and put nine knots in dis cord string and she wore it around her waist.
(What else did she do with that string first? Anything else?)
When she took dat string she rolled it in something, yo' know, in some kinda dust, yo' know. She rolled dis string in some kind of a dust, dipped it in dis dust and jest as yo' tie those knots, jest like dat dust would be in dose knots, too, yo' see, because it would wear off, you know, say, just straight round her Waist, but it would be in dat knot, yo' see. An' nine knots she tied it around her waist wit dis little red bag wit his hair in it. An' she took one of his socks - yo' know, one his left socks, and she carried it and had dis sock dressed, vo' know, and she buried dis sock at de foot of her steps, underneath her steps, she buried his sock so he couldn't stay 'way from there, yo' see. Said that she had him so that he had tuh come there. See. And so yo' see, well, he would get so he wouldn't give her any money and some- thin' like that, and so dis ole hoodoo lady tole her to get him to give her one silver dime, yo' know, of his money. And so he didn't know what she wanted him to give her dis dime fo', but she got a dime out of him. And she went an' she had dis dime dressed until it turn almost black like a penny, and she put a hole in it and she wore it around her laig, yo' know. And that's where so she could git his money, you see. She was trying to git him away from dis yere woman [his wife], yo'see. An' so, see, she didn't know that this other woman had his sock buried at her do'step. She had his sock buried there and she was still continuously burning dose candles. And every time she'd come roun' she had some kind a powder tied up in her hans'cuff that she would sprinkle. He thought it was jest powder whut chew powder yore face. It smelled sweet but it was some kin' of love powder yo see. An' she had a little somethin' like a tablet. She'd offer him meals. She would [drop] that in his tea or his coffee.
(Like a tablet?)
Like a little tablet, yes. It would dissolve, you know, an' you couldn't see the mixture in there. You couldn't see the mixture, you know, and you couldn't taste it, see. Well, he would drink this, see. Well, he would drink this and therefo' he couldn't stay away for she had that in him, yo' see. Well, see, she wanted to git dis other woman [wife] out de way, and that's [the reason] she went there and broke dis aig up side her do'. An' she give him those little tablets in his coffee or tea to drink, see, and he begin to suffer wit his stomach badly, an' all like that, and he began to look frail, and look bad, yo' know, because she said if she didn't have him, he could not do her [his wife] no good. See. An' he begin to look frail and bad, an' so no doctor's medicine didn't do him any good. Every time he'd go tuh a doctor, it would make him worser. Yo' know, when you've hoodooed anybody, doctor's medicine not good fo' you, you know. An' so he went - and every time he'd take a doctor's medicine, it would make him worser. And so an' ole lady came by one day and tole him dat he was fixed, chew know, that he was hoodooed, see, because he never would git well, yo' know. And on a certain kinda moon he would git like - git in a fit chew know, kinda rave. And so the ole lady told him that if he'd pay her a sum of money, she could cure him - yo' know, she could git him outa dis kinda fix: An' so, he finally jest scuffled up de money some kind of way. And so she'd taken and brought some saltpeter an' tole him fo' 'bout nine or ten mawnin's to take a bath every mawnin', every day, in dat saltpeter - bathe in that. An' she went out and got some roots out of de woods, some kin'a calomel roots and every- thing and he had to chew dose roots, yo' know - calomel roots, like white-look- ing roots, and she tole him to chew a piece of dat, chew know. An' he had to chew dose roots and he had to take a bath in saltpeter fo' nine mawnings. She made him up a mixture of medicine, chew know. She put so much of turpentine - looked like coffee, somethin', where you see it would settle at de bottom. Well, he had to shake it up and yo' know he would take that, chew know. And after he would bathe in dat saltpeter, he had to take dat medicine and then chew dat root, chew see. An' den she told him at certain time - if he would chew it often - that would pass from him. See, when he chews dose roots, dat calomel yo' know worked up in him. Well, yo' see, after he'd taken that and she tole him that ninth or de tenth day something would pass from him, yo' see - but sure enuff it did. When hit pass from him, yo' know, like de calomel worked him yo' know, it passed somethin' looked like little worms - passed from him little bita worms. An' she tole him that if those worms hada stayed [in] him, it would form like little frogs, and things like that was goin' form in his intestines, inside, chew know. And it pass from him like little worms. And when it passed out, she showed it to him, iThis whut pass from yo', this whut they was puttin' in yo'." [There is one strange feature about so many of these passages of worms, snakes, or lizards. The patient does not see them until the doctor has made an examination and then shows them, or sometimes merely tells about them. No doc- tor has ever gone so far as to say, "If you see them you will die." For further accounts, see Live Things In You, Pp.227-239, and Index.] See, that would kill him slowly, yo' know, and so he was pinin' up and every- thing. So he passed little worms from him in de tenth day - little worms and little somethin' she said was gon'a form frogs. Whatever this was dis woman put in his coffee for him, yo' see, that was forming in him - that would form in him, see, because she got these little tablets and she got this rattlesnake dust - some dust from under a rattlesnake, wherever she got it from and say - and put it in dere, put it in him, fix him so he would stay with her. [Choppy place in cylinder. The old hoodoo woman told wife] if she could get holt of him, she say, if she could get a holt of him and git a little piece of his shirt, she could, yo' know, could stop dis fit on him. See, every change of moon he'd have these spells. [Here are four similar beliefs about fits from general folklore: (1) "Epilep- tic fits...more frequent and...severe during the increase of the moon...." (2) "If anyone has fits, take off their shirt...while having it, cut out the piece over their chest and boil...when cool...give to the person to drink...." (3) "He was having one of these fits. She pull his shirt off over his head, put it on a pan and set it on fire...took the ashes...to feed him a spoonful before each meal...." (4) "Remove the person's undershirt...after an attack, let it smolder on live coals, mix a teaspoonful of these ashes in a glass of holy water, and say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost...must be administered three times a day." From FACI, 2ed., p.248.] Well, this ole lady, finally this ole lady died, see - dis ole lady whut was fixing him, yo' know. Well, she died. Well, yo' see, dey found all kinds of stuff, different hoodoo stuff in her place, where dey went tuh see, yo' know, when she died, an' everything. [For finding spells at hoodoo woman's home when she dies, see No. 239, p.66.] Well, this lady, every change of de moon, she still havin' fits. Yo' know, when de person die and fixed yuh, yo' know, yo' don't nevah git ovah it, yo' see. Yo' see, because dey died befo' dey could take it off dem. See. An' she still had those fits after and nobody couldn't take it off because dis was de woman dat put de spell on, see. [See If Evildoer Dies Spell Incurable, p.396.] And so everytime de moon would change she would go crazy-like and see dis man. See. And then when she seen, she didn't want him. Well, finally, this woman went crazy and nobody couldn't do anything for her because she was de one put de spell on her, yo' see, and after she went crazy, well, dey sent her to asylum and after she went tuh de 'sylum, den she died, you see. But de spell was still on dis man, yo' see, after she died. Yo' see, she never did git her mind back. An' so dis man, yo' see - after he come back - he was already heah, and so after she died, it was still on him. He couldn't git it off him because dis ole lady was de one had buried his socks fo' him and he didn't know where. Differ- ent fortunetellers had tole him that she had somethin' of his'n buried somewhere and if he could find it and dig it up, why that could git him bettah, yo' see, because she had got the worms out of him. See. So she had his left sock buried, took his left dirty sock. She fixed it an' buried it underneath de step. And so he would dig all in de yard to try to find where she had buried it. Well, finally, he jest - seemed like he said he had a dream one night to look under his step: They something tole him to look under his steps. [For spirits warning in dreams, see pp.27,116, and Index.] An' so he got up early hisself one morning and went out there an' was digging around under his steps. And when he dug aroun' he struck something like a little can, and when he opened de little can - de top of dat little can, de dust jest flew out, and when he pulled it out he saw one his dirty sock had been buried under there. And in that sock, he opened it, it had some kind of powder and a little rag, and it had nine needles and nine pins sticking in it - nine wit de heads down and nine needles wit de head up. See - in dat sock and so it was sewed up in dat little rag in his sock. And he'd taken dis sock, de whole thing and he carried it tuh a ole man. Yo' see, he carried it tuh a fortuneteller and tole him, say, "Well, dat's whut she had buried, yo' see - why you couldn't stay away from her." An' so, when he'd taken dat and dose little needles - dose needles been in dere so long dey was rusty. An' sos he'd taken dat herself and she washed it in saltpeter - see, she washed dat in saltpeter and he thought she was curing him, but she was making him worser fo' it - 'cause he wanted tuh go back to his wife, yo' see. De woman died dat broke him from his wife. Dat's de one made him move out de house and break up his home, yo' see. An' so he went back then to his wife and try to live with her, see, an' everything. Well, he couldn't live with her because they both died and de spell was on him, yo' see.
(This happened right here in Mobile?)
Yes.
(All right, go right ahead now.)
Well, he'd gone back to his wife, yo' see, after a certain length of time - so many years, yo' see. An', yo' know, he begged her pardon for the way he did her and de woman. She knew dis woman had broke up her home, yo' know, what she did, because afterwards she found out what she had sprinkled all around in her home, yo' know, fo' de confusion and fo' him tuh mistreat her, yo' see. Well, he'd gone back to try to live with her again, yo' see. And so his wife was afraid and so she thought she would have him fixed her- self. After this woman had him that way, she thought she would go an' git some- one to do him the same way, see. So she goes to a fortuneteller and dey tell her that the only way she could do anything with him was to have him dressed. See, was to have him dressed so that - if she don't, he would leave her again because dis spell was still on him and de woman was dead and every change of de moon, he would leave her. See, he had dis spell on him, and said de woman was dead and she was de one had to git it off him. Well, sure enough, every change of de moon he would leave her but she wanted tuh have him dressed. So this fortuneteller wouldn't tell her whut to do, but she sent her to some- body else. So she went - say she jest tell de fortune but de lady had to go to an ole hoodoo. So she goes out in de woods to an ole hoodoo lady and dis ole lady tole her that yes, she could dress him and fix him so that he couldn't leave her. He would have to stay right there, you know, he couldn't leave her. And so she tole her to git her a sum of money and bring it back and she would dress it. [In the preceding paragraph: (1) Some fortunetellers do all types of hoodoo work, or put another way, some hoodoos and doctors tell fortunes; other fortune- tellers, like this one, refer patients to a hoodoo doctor or a specialist. Even I the, Author Becomes a Specialist, on page 278. Is there another example of hoodoos imitating modern medical practice? Yes and no. Specialization in heal- ing is as old as primitive medicine-man and witch-doctor. Temple incubation Was a speciality of early Greek healers, ancestors of present-day Doctors of Medi- cine. (2) "out in de woods." Here is the old witch of fairy tales and reality. For this isolation as well as personal appearance, see pp.294-301, especially Nos. 849 and 859. (3) For dressing the money, see one man's remarkable version of this rite - Trickery by Doctor. Cast it into Oblivion, p.268. However, not all dressing of money is trickery.] Well, she did that. She went to this ole lady, and dis ole lady tole her that every three hours - she give her some kind of something like incense to burn. Tole her to burn this incense every three hours, and sulphur. Tole her to burn incense and sulphur and write his name on a white candle and roll it in some sugar. See, she said sugar, seemed like that would make everything sweet fo' him, yo' see. Salt is for confusion, chew know and sugar is for sweet. See, that's the way it works. Tole her to roll dis candle in sugar and write his name backwards on dere, yo' see, and stick it in a little saucer and put it in de cor- ner of her room. See. And jest 'bout time de spell come on him, fo' her to burn it. See. An' dat would make it sweet and de spell wouldn't be on him. An' so tole her to take dat candle and burn it and then to burn dis here sulphur every three hours in her home - this here sulphur and this incense. The incense is sweet too. That makes a sweet smell in yore home. Well, she did that. An' she tole her whenever he take a bath - see, next time he'd take a bath - tuh bring a little of his bathwater. Put it in a little cup or something, stop it up and bring it tuh her - what he bathe in. Well, she fixed his water. He didn't know, yo' know, she was goin' tuh pore de water out after he'd taken a bath. She took some water in de cup, some of his dirty water, and she carried it to dis lady. She stopped it up in a little bottle and carried dis dirty water to dis ole woman. Well, dis ole woman, she took his bathwater that he bathed in and she mixed it with something else in a bottle and shook it up and tole her to take dis bottle and bring it back and stand it up in de corner of her room where ain't no one kin see, and everytime he'd go out de do', she goes an' watch his feet and git his left track and bring de dirt back to her. Yo' know, jest take her han' and rake dat track back and wrap it up in some paper and keep it in her purse. Well, every time he would leave dat would make him come back. See, when you git his tracks dat'll make him come back. Well, whenever he would leave out, sure enough she went and got his track. See, she got dat track and she wrapped it up in de paper and had it in her purse and she had dis water in her room, yo' know. An' so, every three hours in de day she would burn dis here stuff, yo' know [this candle and incense and sulphur]. It acted all right for a good long while but see, every once a while, it would die down - it would die down and den she had to go an' do it again. Dis acted all right for a little while, till he begin to git in a rage agin, yo' see. So dis lady tole her that on the way she had to get something in him. See, she had to fix him in that way. Yo' see. [The preceding paragraph reveals one of the great principles of magic, perhaps the greatest after intention - magic power is not permanent. Our best examples of this are those magic objects closest to the believer's heart and mind - the hands. Among their many characteristics, these helpers: (1) have degrees of power (p.576), (2), observe a time limit (p.577), (3) must be fed (p.578f.), and (4) need recharging, which sometimes requires a doctor or a specialist, a hand- maker. A hand lives and helps only because a spirit dwells in it. Even when all amenities and regulations have been kept and the indwelling spirit is contended, it can be killed - chased from its temporary home - by the spirit of a stronger hand. Killing happens often in a gambling game where every man carries a hand. So, here is another rule of magic - a weaker spirit cannot function in the presence of a stronger spirit. But the owner of the weaker hand can kill the spirit or power of the stronger hand - page 641 and Index.] Well, she thought she was fixing hi - instead of fixing him fo' good, she was fixing him fo' bad looked like, don't you see, because whut dis woman give her, de mixture in his food, see. She wouldn't eat what he eat, yo' see, because she Was putting it in his stuff and sprinkling it on his meat. You see she would put it on de meat that he would eat. An' so when he taste it - de different taste in de meal yo' know and wanted her to taste, she proclaimed that she didn't like that kind of meat. Yo' know, she'd make excuse to keep from eatin' it herself. See. And see, every time he'd eat dis meat hit would make him sicker, see. But she put it on his meat. Dis woman give it to her and told her to put it on there and so he found dis here dirt in her purse, yo' see. He opened de pa- per - he went in her purse and he found dis dirt in dere, see, but she didn't know that he found the dirt. He kept the dirt fo' to carry it tuh see what it was. See. An' so he carried dis dirt to see whut it was. And dey told him it was his tracks - one dem hoodoos, another one, tole him it was his tracks, and says, this woman is giving him something in his food. Well, see, he would eat this food, yo' see, and he got so that he would dry up - dried up jest as little as he could be. It was whut she was feeding him off of.
(Put them [his foot tracks] in the grave?)
Yes. An' she tole him - dis hoodoo lady tole him that it wouldn't be long 'fore dey be burying her by she burying dese tracks. And so dis hoodoo woman gave him something. Yo' know, he didn't know that this woman was dressing dis other one fo' him, see, an' so when he goes back to her, something she puts on him, well he got it on her, see, by being close together, got it on her and she come with something like a itch, yo' know, all over her. [For an amazing example of this common trick, see No. 10, p.7.] She had an itch all over her and she'd go to doctors an' everything and de more they would treat her fo' dis itch, de worser it would git. And so it kept itching till all between her fingers got sore - see, all between her fingers become broke out like you would have pellegra yo' know, all that itch. But it would git between her fingers and all her nails and it got between her toenails. See. An' she broke out in sores, sores all be- tween her nails an' everything tull they had to bathe her hands and wrap 'em up in a piece yo' know. And all between her body - all down there between her body, she broke out in sores and everything, yo' see. And so she thought about this letter dis woman wrote an' tole her that seven years wouldn't be too long for a raccoon to wear a ruffled-bosom shirt. See, that whut she meant, she was goin' tuh kill her - see, tuh get dis man, see. An' she had dis man dressed fo' her. See. Well, after she broke out in sores and everything like dat, well, see, he had done buried her tracks to de graveyard, you see. Well, finally dey couldn't cure her and she broke dese sores all out and it come on de inside eatin' her up. Whut she had got inside her, it would just ete her on through, ete her up. An' she died. Finally she did bury her. See. An' so this woman told her dat, see, and dey all remembered whut she said - that she would do that to get her. An' after she do that - after she [roomer] got this man, yo' see, then this man disliked her. After he had done killed his wife and hoodooed her, well, he disliked her, see. He turned against her then, and so after he turned against her, he say, jest like she killed his wife, he would turn that right back on her and do her de same way, and she told him that he couldn't do it. See. An' so he said, "Surely could." Well, after dis man tried to fix her she would go an' git cured, see, bathing in dat saltpeter and salt, see, and that would keep everything off of her. And she wouldn't eat anything from him, see. An' so finally, he brought her some ice cream and she ate the ice cream. She didn't think anything Would hurt her, see. An' she ate de ice cream and after she ate de ice cream, dis man tole her he would get her. See, 'cause he had done went back to dis ole [hoodoo] lady dat killed his wife, to fix her. An' dat ole lady put de stuff in de ice cream - gave it to him and he put it in de ice cream.... [The hoodoo woman told the wife to] "Get a piece of his shirt-tail and his bathwater." Yo' got whut she got, yo' know, from him. She had tole her to take that bathwater and she put dat piece of shirt-tail in dis bottle, see, and she sticks nine needles and pins in it and shook it up and told her to take that and go in one fo' corner of de house and bury that.
(One of the four corners of her house.)
Outside - not under the steps - de fourth corner of her house and bury it and then jest, as she burying it, she had to say some kind of hoodoo and put a evil curse on. Cause she knew that the water had him fixed - his bathwater - and he had to go cross de water. So finally he takes a notion to leave - to leave her, see. And so she said, well, to cross water - well, that would make all that go back [on person fixing his bathwater]. So he left here and so he went an' got on a ship and went away cross de water. He was leaving across de water to git dat off him. Said that this woman know that he was going away, said she'd rather fo' him to leave and not come back. The one he went back to - de woman died.
(The woman killed his wife and then he killed this woman. That the idea?)
No, de woman got killed - dat de one he was running around wit. He couldn't git de spell off him an' so he goes back and makes up with his wife. See. This woman was living in the house and broke his wife and him up, yo' see, and tore up de home and the wife left and that give her a chance. See, she put dis stuff in her pillah, and so then after the woman got out, de wife turned it back on her. See. An' so she [roomer] lost her mind an' everything and de ole woman dat fixed de wife, she died, see, and dey couldn't git de spell off [the wife]. See. And dis woman [roomer] went crazy and dey sent her away and she died. Then he finally makes up his mind to go back to his wife, yo' see, to git a reconcilia- tion with her, yo' know, tuh beg her pardon, after so many years. Well, you see after he went back with his wife - she knew that this woman had done her that and broke up her home - well she didn't care for him much. But he wanted - but he had dis spell on him - dey both [women - roomer and hoodoo woman] died and dey couldn't git de spell off him. And every change of de moon he'd have these spells, see, because dis woman throwed dis egg and put dis spell on him. He had these spells and so the wife said that she would go have him fixed so she could keep him. So she goes tuh have his fixed, yo' see, and dis woman tole his wife to git his bathwater, see; and then git dis candle and roll it in sugar - see, that was to make him sweet.
(Well, now, whose track was buried out in the grave?)
Oh, it was this woman's track that was buried out in de grave.
(Which woman, the first one?)
The first woman - she was de one.
(There are only two women in the story?)
That was all - one man - two womens and one man. De wife and de woman and dis man. (The woman who was trying to take him away died in the asylum. Then the wife died too, didn't she?) Well, later - after - but he went back to the wife. See. And after de wife didn't care fo' him, see, then she fixed him so he wouldn't have these spells - she tried to git these spells off him, so she would git de candle and roll it in sugar an' everything. An' so then she seen she didn't care for him and then [he] goes and has her tracks buried in de graveyard, see. Dis man fixed her.
(What was he fixing her for?)
Cause she didn't want him. (Was she trying to kill him or was he trying to kill her? Or was he trying to make her take him back or what?) Well, he wanted her to take him back. Well, after she took him back, you see he would git dem spells on the change of de moon and he would leave again. He wouldn't act right. See.
(When did he cross water?)
Well, he crossed water when de woman tole him dat de only way he would git dis spell off him, he would have to cross de water. See.
(The spell his wife put on him or the spell the other woman put on him?)
It's de spell the other woman put on him.
(The part that was in the beginning of the story?)
Yes, that goes in the beginning of it. You see, de wife is de one that burned de candles on him and tried to git de spell off him. So he goes and gits his wife track - he's de one - de hoodoo woman told him to bury it in de graveyard, and he went and buried it out dere like she told him.
(That's what killed her?)
That whut killed her and that's whut made her think of de letter that she re- ceived a long time ago. See, dis ole lady was working on 'em both. See, she was pretending to be friends to each one of 'em, but she wasn't. [For doctor "pretending to be friends to each one of 'em," see two excellent examples, No. 780, p.257, and No. 782, p.258.] See, dis same ole lady died, yo' see, who was pretending to be friends to both of them, but she wasn't. Yeah, he had to cross water to git rid of his sins, because she had his water and everything buried in de fourth corner of her house. So, that itch when she broke out like that, that whut killed her. And he couldn't git those spells off at de change of de moon - he would go crazy and everything. They both [women] got out of dere [died] and dat's when dis [hoodoo] woman [told] him he would cross water. See, he took a voyage away cross water - see, he left to get rid of this. And de last that they heard from him, dey said he was gittin' better of those spells.
intended household discord attributed to salt/cayenne sprinkling. No clinical diagnosis, proven causation or definite aggressor/victim identity is inferred. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
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Entry 4307
Now ah tell yo' whut yo' kin do wit de chamber lye dat keeps a person at home. Now, if a person husban' - sompin lak dat - or wife is runnin' aroun', let 'em make dere chamber lye tuh demself. Well, de nex' mawnin' yo' take some of dat an' po' some intuh a little vial, an' put nine pods of red peppah in it an' de dirty heel of dat person's sock, an' stop it up real tight an' bury it down undah de front do'step where dey gotta walk down. An' dat will change dere min'.
(You just get the one dirty heel or both dirty heels?)
One of de lef' sock, one off de lef' side, de dirty heel.
Entry 4894
An' yuh kin take his sock, take one of 'is lef' socks, one dat he's been wearin'. Yuh know, if yuh wear dat, it gits dirty. Don't wash it if it's dirty. Jis' take it an' take a little thumbtack, an' right up in de cornah undah de baid, take a hammah an' jis' tack it down a little bit tuh keep dat sock undah dere. Yuh kin sweep all aroun' dat sock, but jis' don't sweep de sock out an' dat'll keep 'im. Or eithah yuh kin go undah de house an' nail it like dat so he won't find it. If yuh think he kin find it, yuh put it inside. An dat'll keep 'im wid jeh.
Entry 4898
[Door rites, which also include doorstep rites, are almost endless. They will be found every- where, even among the preceding beliefs of this subsection on socks and stockings. Here in this margin title I have included material not readily classifiable else- where.] Yuh kin take a man's socks, if yuh wan' 'im tuh stay at home - yuh kin take his socks an' bury it undah de do'steps, an' he commence [to] care, too. Well, it have tuh be a dirty sock anyway, not a clean one.
Entry 4909
Git yuh a man's sock. Yuh kin take a man's sock, but it's got tuh be dirty, not clean. Yuh takes a dirty sock an' yuh take an' takes a tack, yuh see.
(A what?)
A tack.
(Like a little tack?)
Uh huh, an' yuh git at de back do', jis' like de man's comin' in de house. Well, yuh lets de foot, de toe part be comin' in de house, an' de part dat yuh put yore feet in, yuh let dat be out in de street. An' yuh tack one tack here, an' yuh tack anothah dere [demonstrates as I show later]. Well, dat brings, dat makes 'im stay home, yuh see, 'cuz dat dirty sock wit 'is sweat an' all [is] dere, an' dat makes 'im stay right at dat one spot. De onliest way he don't stay, he'll have tuh take dat up. But yuh see, by 'im not knowin' dat dat goin' tuh make him stay home, he don't nevah have no feelin' tuh go nowhere.
(I see. You put a tack at the top of that sock and a tack at the bottom.)
At de toe.
(And just where do you tack it now under the door?)
At de back step - see, at yore back do'.
(Is it under the step or what?)
Undah de step. Yuh jis' dig a little hole right up undah de step, yuh know, jis' push dat little bo'd right back where nobody can't see it. [For a good picture of back steps and their usual condition, see photograph at end of HOODOO, vol.1.]
(I see.)
An' yuh tack it right dere an' den covahs it up.
Entry 4927
Take yore dirty socks an' make yuh love 'em an' keep yuh. Nobody can't git chew away from 'em. Wash de stuff out - wash de filth out an' carry it an' put it in a cake. Cook dat in dere an' give dat to 'em, tuh de individual dat dey want tuh have it. (That is, somebody would take my socks, or I would take my socks and put it in the cake for some other person to eat.) Yessuh.
Entry 4937
Ef she has any dealin's wit dis man an' he leaves home, of co'se she kin take his socks or anythin' dat he wears nex' tuh 'im an' take de sweat from 'is thin's, see. All right, she would take 'is dirty sock an' fill it wit salt, an' lay it intuh de chimley hearth an' put a brick on it, see. An' ef she leaves it dere, he may be gone for some days; but he won' stay away, he'll come back.
Entry 4938
Take a sock, take yore lef' sock an' put it up in de middle of a - take a brick up in de middle of a hearth an' put chure sock down. An' yuh urinate on dat sock fo' nine mawnin's an' yuh stop it up. Yuh take it up an' den stop it up. Dat's fo' a man dat's runnin' aroun'. Yuh take dat an' git a dirty sock - have tuh have de sock dirty - an' put it in dis hearth, put it down dere an' yuh urinate on dat fo' nine mawn- in's, an' it will turn 'im aroun' all de way diff'ren'. He'll be a diff'ren' man in de home.
Entry 4950
Well, if a woman git holt of yore socks, she kin take it an' tie it in a knot, an' put it up over de do'; an' as long as she let it stay up dere, she will rule yuh. Yuh see, yuh an' 'er git along fine.
(One sock, does she take, or both of them?)
Take de left-foot sock.
(A clean one, or a new one?)
No, sir, a dirty one. Yuh wife wanted tuh keep yuh and yuh wanted tuh leave, she'd take yore sock an' tie it in three knots, an' put it up ovah de do'; an' as long as hit dere, yuh won' leave her.
(What sock would she take? Either one?)
De left-foot sock.
(A clean one?)
A dirty sock.
Entry 4955
Take de man dirty socks, or de woman's dirty socks, an' makes 'em tuh stay home if dey have de habit of runnin' out. Takin' sugah, cinnamon, a snail, an' puttin' it in dat socks, an' tyin' three knots in de socks, an' puttin' it in a closed place, where he won' find it. An' if he's a man accustom tuh spendin' 'is money 'fore he come home, finally, in a couple of days he'll start tuh stayin' home an' he don' know anythin' about it.
Entry 4984
Yuh take nine rusty nails an' yuh git 'is socks. Let it be real soiled - one, it don't diff'rence, jis' so it's a dirty sock. An' put dose nails intuh it an' bear [bury] it in de back yard. An' a... Well, YUH HAVE TUH EXCUSE ME, YUH 'URINATE OVAH DIS PLACE an' covah it up. See, dat will fix it so nobody cain't take 'im away from yuh.
Entry 5004
Dey kin take yore socks or stockin's an' jis' make yuh do anythin' dat dey wan'a do, aftah dey are dirty; but if dey clean, dey cain't do yuh nuthin. (Now how - what would they do with that?) Well, fo' a instant [instance]; jis' lak mah husban' treat [mistreat] me. All right. Now, mah husban' go on away an' wants 'im back. Take dose socks, de lef' one - or if yuh cain't git it, take de bow from 'is hat, or de stockin', an' put some sugah in it an' urinate on dere. Bury dat. An' evah three time a day read de 23rd Psalm.
(Three times a day. At different hours?)
In de mawnin' about six, twelve, an' six in the evenin' [formula 6-12-6, see p.830]; nine day.
Entry 5005
(What do you do with those nine tacks?)
[I ask about 9 tacks informant mentioned while recording machine turned off.]
Well, yuh take a sock, one of a man's dirty socks, an' yuh nail it down anl put nine tacks in it - nine bran'-new tacks. An' dat keeps 'im tuh yuh.
(Do you put those nails or tacks in there in any particu- lar way?)
No, yuh jis', yuh raise de mattin' up [demonstrates]. (You raise the matting up. Oh, the diagonal of the floor.) [See comment later.] Put it on de flo' an' put dem tacks - nine tacks in it. Put dat mattin' back ovah it.
(I see. Either one of his socks?)
Either one.
(I see. And what will that do to him, then?)
Dat will keep 'im fo' yuh an' nobody else. [The preceding word matting my transcriber could not understand the first time, leaving the space blank. The second and third times she concluded that informant meant mattress. Mattress in front of the door! Later when I checked original recording on cylinder, I penciled in the correct word matting for the first blank space and for the second, mattress. The first mattress I temporarily eliminated by lightly penciling out the first sentence of my comment, which I considered a confusing repetition of informant's words. This is the reason why the second matting, the one in my comment, now appears inked in. Only 30 years later (Sept.1971) do I realize that informant was demonstrating and that I should have given a better description of the demonstration. We have here a small mat or matting, of straw or similar material, formerly used in summertime in front of door or bed. I saw many of them during my boyhood. Informant folds back one corner of the mat - my word diagonal shows this - laid the sock along the diag- onal of the fold, tacked down the sock, and let the fold return to the floor. Here again we have the magic quincunx so frequently mentioned in HooDoO. An examination of this page in the original manuscript will substantiate my explan- ation of the rite.]
Entry 5018
An' now lak it wuz a woman an' her an' her husban', or her an' her man frien' has had a fallin' out. He has quit 'er, taken up wit someone else. An' she gits a pair of 'is dirty socks. She takes dose dirty socks an' she will roll 'em up, yuh see, an' put wit de toe tuh toe an' roll 'em tuhwards 'er.
(Begin at the toe?)
Yeah, yuh begin at de toes - gotta be 'is dirty socks an' don't wash 'em, an' roll 'em lak dis.
(Rolling them towards her.)
An' yuh'll roll 'em lak dis, an' yuh'll ask de Lord tuh let 'im come back tuh yuh. An' each word [each time you say], "Lord, bring 'im back," say good things about 'im - not fuss. Say good things until yuh git 'em all rolled up. An' den, when yuh roll 'em up, yuh'll sew 'em up wit white thread, an' each stitch come tuhwards yuh. Yuh'll take dem socks an' yuh'll put 'em in yore pillah or in de cornah of de mattress on de side dat yuh sleeps, direct undah yore haid.
Entry 5036
Well, ah know dis tuh be a fac'. Yo' kin take a man's dirty sock dat he done wore an' run 'im off wit it. Or yo' kin tie a man up wit dat. (Well, how would you run a man off with that dirty sock? How would you do that?) Well, yo'd have tuh throw it in de rivah. Yeah. But now, if a woman wanta tie dis man wit dis sock, jis' lak he's leavin' 'er goin' wit anothah woman an' don't wanta harm 'er [him] no othah way. Take de sock, de dirty sock, an' cut de toe out, see, de heel an' de bottom. Well, now she cut 'er fingahnails an' toe- nails an' scrape dis ole dead skin heah on de bottom of yore foot - jis' scrape dat off. An' yo' wrap it all up in dat sock an' put chew a little [what?], an' den take yo' some thread an' tie it up, an' yo' put dat ovah de do'. Dat's tyin' de man at home. He cain't leave home an' go nowhere else. All yo' gotta do is stick it dere, see. Dat's all yo' gotta do wit dat.
Entry 5065
Yuh got a man an' he gittin' away from yuh. Don' act so he gon'a come back an' talk tuh yuh. Yuh git a pair 'is dirty socks an' wash dem socks out. An' take de watah an' put it in a milk jah [jar], or yuh kin put it in a pint bottle or whatevah, [according to] how much watah yuh has. Turn dat bottle - bury dat bottle down [upside down] an' let it stay dere nine days an' nine nights. Don' move it, don't touch it. See if yo' don' [get] him back.
(You turn that bottle upside down?)
Dat's right, upside down. Yuh kin bury it in de house, where he won' come or somebody won' fin' dit. Yuh know where it is.
Entry 6085
Make them come back? I don't know about the track [foot track to bring a person back], I jes' know about de sock.
[I turn off machine but decided to hear about the sock.]
About de sock? Take a sock, a dirty sock, an' take it an' put hair from undah is arn, 'is head, an' on 'is private, in de toe of it, an' take an' roll it to yo', an' roll it an' roll it 皿til yo' git to de end. Aftah yo' git to de end, why mke yore wish. Wish he'd come back or wish he'd stay dere, an' bury it undahde foot of yore steps. Dat'll make 'im come back an' he'll stay.
(Either sock is all right?)
Eithah sock is all right.
Entry 7162
Well, she could take her undahweah an' jis' put it up ovah de head of de bed. Or eithah take a sock - her stockin', yo' know, a dirty stockin' an' tie three knots around it - like he's layin' in de bed, see, an' jis' lay it right cross 'is neck. AH (She takes her dirty stocking, and it has three knots in it, and puts it right around his neck?) Jis' lay it right ovah 'is neck [demonstrates]. (She puts the three knots right on his throat, and just lays it right over his neck. And he won't wake up until she gets back?) Until she gits back an' unloose de stockin'.
Entry 7903
Jes' lak ah told yo' 'bout de [grave- yard] dirt. Dey put dat in it or dey put de salt in dat sock, dat dirty sock, an' dey'll also bury it. An' dat also will keep yo' away, a wife from goin' off anywhere.
Entry 10278
Whut chew kin do with a dirty sock, least dat is tuh keep a man with a woman, dat is she's about tuh go or he's about tuh go from her, is dis: His urine is his nature. Yo' understan' dat. Yo' git de bottle an' git de urine an' yo' git de he lodestone, steel dust, cinnamon, sugah, drawin' oil, mind oil. Write de name nine times, nine needles an' nine pins. An' yo' put dat ingrediment [ingredients] together, yo' understan', an' yo' shake it well an' put it undah de do'step. Be shure dat it crosses ovah it three times, an' den aftah yo' take it an' put it anywheres in yore place. Yes, ah kin guarantee yo' it bring de woman dat ah did de work fo' dat ah he'ped [helped] out with it, an' through prayers, goin' to de chapel an' makin' prayers.
(That'll hold the man?)
Listen, dat'll hold him an' yo'll nevah git, but don' evah - dat means a man'll kill yuh if he gits holt of dat, yo' see. Dat means death. An' it really will hold him.
Entry 13138
Well, dere's a boy an' a girl dat's goin' tuhgethah. See. Dey got in good love. Yo' know, she got tuh lovin' him an' he got tuh lovin' her. Dey got big ages [they were grown up] yo' see. "Oh, ah got him so ah want him [to] stay wit me," an' "ah don't want him [to go nowhere." [Notice incomplete infinitives.] Well, he come tuh stayin' dere at night, see jes' lak man an' wife. Jes' stay an' stay an' stay. Well, somebody else got betwixt dat, "Ah want [to] tear dat up, ah don' lak dat. He ain't ma'ed tuh her. He ain't a much right man. He ain't much good. Ah'm goin' tear dat up." Undahstand. Well, so dey got mad an' so decided dey want tear hit up. So dey throws baa luck in dey way. So she says, Cora says, "Well, yo' know, he wuz so good tuh me an' all at once he's got bad. Ah don' know whut in de worl' mattah wit him." Say, "Ah cain't undahstand it." "Well, maybe somebody else is got a bettah haid den yo' are an' to' [tore] it up." "Well, ah'll find out." Says, "Ah knows a thing or two mahself. Ah'll take ca' of dat. Ah'll take ca' of dat." Okay, all right. She goes an' she takes his sock - de sock he weahs - de dirty sock he been Weahin'. She takes dat sock an' washes it, washes dat sock, yo' know, in jes' a leetle bit of watah, yo' know. Well, yo' might say, in a boil [water just coming to a boil]. Yo' take dat sock an' yo' boil it, yo' know, an' git dat dirt off whut he's been weahin'. An' take dat watah an' jah it up [put it in a jar] an' yo' put - ah dunno whut chew call dat kin'a powdah, it wuz a lucky powdah, she [hoodoo woman] put in dere an' 9 drops of Hearts Cologne. Yo' put dat tuhgethah. Yo' know, yo' boil dat lil' watah down right low, yo' know till it be jes' a lil' bit. Den yo' put nine drops of Heart Cologne in dat. Den yo' put it in a lil' bottle an' yo' stop it up. An' fo' 9 mawnin's yo' take dat an' yo' daubs yo'self wit dat fo' 9 mawnin's. Yo' all right. Yo' won't have no mo' trouble.
Entry 13139
Yo' kin put a man tuh walkin' wit his socks, if yo' kin git dem when dere [dey + are] dirty. Take a man's stockin' when it's dirty an' wash it out, an' put dat watah in a bot- tle. An' take it an' bury it where he has tuh travel ovah, an' he'll start tuh walkin'. His feet git hot, he hot-footed den. He cain't stay nowhere.
(You bury it out in the road somewhere?)
Bury it somewhere whah he transfah at - goes on.
Entry 13162
Wash dirty socks an' in this water put bluestone, pepper, sulphur; throw over shoulder into running water and say, "Go," an' don't look back.
[Richmond 303:3.]
Entry 13198
Bury man's left dirty sock in walk, throw urine and salt on; 'he'll leave home and he won't come back any more." [Mobile 961:3.]
Entry 13204
They could do sompin with a dirty sock, turn it wrongside out and put it under the steps, make him stay home. [Vicksburg 987:13.]
Entry 13232
All right, ah'm gonna tell yo'. Yo' take de sock, de dirty sock. Yo' take de seven steak. Yo' git a little seven steak wit a number seven on it. [A seven steak or 7 steak is a T-bone steak, its bone shaped something like a 7!]
[It took me some time to identify the steak!]
(Where do you get that?)
[I must have thought this was a stake with No.7 on it, something from a hoo- doo shop!] At de market. Yo' git de raw meat. Git a box of salt an' a box of Epsom salts, red peppah. Git a spool of black thread. [Don't forget] cookin' salt, cayenne peppah. [Informant does not complete this holding two-persons-together rite. These articles are put in man's soiled sock and tied with a piece of the new black thread. We now come to the separating-two-persons rite.1 Yo' wanta break this person's footsteps [that is, separate two persons but using their footsteps] or break 'em up with that person an' - yo' write their names nine times across [you write his name down 9 times and then cross them with her names 9 times] an' yo' put it. An' then you'll bury it in yore yard, yo' see.
(That heals them up.)
Entry 11589
His foot track in his dirty sock, into running water, he'll leave.
[Vicksburg 1031:4.]
The source prints this as a short instruction. Its opening notes assign unbracketed text to informants; a verbatim recording is not established.
Entry 13145
A woman keeps a man home by putting two of his dirty socks in the form of a cross under the mattress. [New Orleans 1364:13.]
The source presents this as a short statement. Its opening notes attribute unbracketed text to informants; verbatim wording is not established.
Entry 13152
If man and woman are getting along badly, she should put his dirty socks under the sheet and let him sleep on them. [Memphis 1545:9.]
The source presents this as a short statement. Its opening notes attribute unbracketed text to informants; verbatim wording is not established.
Entry 13158
Bury soiled sock or stocking in bottle under house, "cause yo' to linger or cause your legs or limbs to swell." [Mobile 979:6.]
The material evidence comes from the unquoted instruction; the quoted consequence remains separate context with unresolved attribution.
Entry 13171
If you want your husband to stay at home, you get a pair of his dirty socks, take it [the right] by the toe an' fold it up, fold it to you, and bury under your step. [Wilmington 116:8+85.]
The source mentions a pair; the later bracketed specification remains separate editorial context.
Entry 13182
A dirty sock, don't wash it, wears it around her waist and he does jes' what you [woman] want him to do. [Norfolk 492:12.]
The source presents this as a short statement. Its opening notes attribute unbracketed text to informants; verbatim wording is not established.