Subject:Soda
Entries
Entry 3846
Yo' take de firs' fingah from de lef' han' an' yo' take a new needle an' yo' stick dis fingah [demonstrates].
(The index finger of the left hand.) Yes, an' yo' git three drops of blood an' it will bring love. (What do you do with that blood after you get it?)
Entry 4278
Put soda in it. (Put soda in the chamber lye?) Yes sir, put soda in it. Jis' lak if yuh wuz layin' down tuh sleep, or me, an' when we git up through de night, someone ease [into] our room an' git dat stuff an' bottle it up an' put some soda or somepin in it an' dey bury it. An' de nex' time yuh git ready tuh do dat, it will stop on yuh an' give yuh pain.
(You mean some man or woman will get it?)
No, de man kin be alone.
(Or the woman alone.)
Yes.
(They only do this with your own chamber lye?)
Yes. (They put the soda or something in it and then they bury this.)
Entry 4279
Yuh take dis chamber lye an' put it in a bag [bottle] an' git some soda an' put in dat. An' break de walls, de plastahin' in de house, anywhere in de house, an' keep it dere in dat, keep it stopped up. Dat will keep )'im an' make him love yuh an' stay roun' home.
Entry 4664
Git de little bow from yore hat. An' dey supposed tuh take an' put - prob'ly yuh may say a little black [pepper] or eithah a little salt an' soda, an put it in a little small rag, jis' small as it kin git. An' take yore right shoe off, put it in yore shoe an' take a little piece of thin, yuh may say a cigarette papah, an' plas- tah dat in de bottom of yore shoe. An' dey claim dat supposed tuh make love - bring fo'th luck lak dat [in love]. [Cigarette paper - dating this rite - 1s used because shoe is so old it does not have an insole!]
Entry 4916
Yuh wanta break it up, yuh git 'is socks an' put chew a little salt an' cook- in' soda, see, in it an' bury dat at 'is step. Dat will bring 'im back home, if he's gone off. Dat will bring 'im right back home an' he stay home, too. (Both socks did you say?) No, one - one, eithah one, right or lef', jis' since yuh git one.
Entry 5300
Yo' take de lef'-foot shoe at twelve a'clock at night an' yo' make yore wish tuh de fo' cornahs of de world an' pray - jes' a prayah child-lak, in yore own mannahs, see. Yore own way of prayin', see. Den if yo' got anybody dat's gone, why dey'll come tuh yo'. Do dat nine times, pray dat prayer. Co'se yo' burn de shoe once, but yo' pray dat same prayah fo' nine times at de same hour. Yo' pray it an' dat's tuh bring 'em home.
(Do you pray nine times that same night you burn the shoe or afterwards?)
Afterwards. Yo' pray it one prayah dat night an' jes' pray it till nine nights. But yo' only burn de shoe once.
(But you only burn the shoe once.)
One shoe at twelve a'clock.
[A separate rite is now added to preceding one:]
Take dat shoe an' yo' kin put some sugah an' soda an' sulphur. Put it in de heel an' shake it tuh de toe, an' push de shoe in de burnah, stove or heatah. Put de toe in first an' let it burn. Yo' do dat about twelve a'clock at night. Now, dat's good. Dat's de same thing. See, yo' don' have tuh pray no nine times ovah dat. Jes' do dat. An' dat's tuh bring people.
(You use either shoe?)
De right foot.
Entry 6810
(What do they use garlic for?) Dat's, dey poun' dat up, too. Dey poun' dat up an' use dat fo' - jis' lak now, if yo' sick, dere's somepin in yo' an' yo' cain't git it out, yo' know. Yo' take dat garlic pound it up an' take it - jis' pound it up, pound it up, pound it up, an' mix it wit a teaspoon sodee.
(Soda?)
Yeah cookin' sodee. Swallah it down, see. An' dat knocks it out.
(I see.)
Entry 7873
Dey kin git jis' some plain bakin' soda wit salt, an' use dat wit a li'le graveyard dirt, an' dat will usely [usually] run a person away. (How would they use that?) Well, yo' use it - jis' take de salt an' de bakin' powdah [soda?] an' graveyard dust, make it in a bag an' hang it by dere do' where dey have tuh pass in an' out, an' dat will cuz dem tuh be wondahin' [wandering] from den on. (You just hang it near their door, where they'd have to pass under.)
Entry 7936
Get dey socks an' fill 'em fulla dirt, an' sulphur an' soda - furse [first] one thing anothah an' bury 'em like yo' do a person. Let it be a secret, don't let nobody see yo', an' dat person dey say will die. [Here we have an unusual combination for So few words: sock, used as a mock coffin, representing feet, to keep a person down uder your feet, and also odor, the smell of death; ordinary dirt is mock grave- yard dirt; sulphur signifies the devil or hell; and soda, its effervescence, suggest body decay. Secrecy covers everything with the added power of ritual silence.]
Entry 9144
Ah said if yo' wanta throw out a case, why yo' kin git a box of soda [see also No.91491 an' yo' kin put a tablespoonful of salt in dat soda. An' don} let nobody use none out of it. An' take an' carry it in a lavatory an' throw it - yo' know, empty evah bit of it in dere an' throw de box away. An' in nine days yo'll heah nuthin else from it, becuz dey would have tuh throw it [court case] out, cuz ah seen dat done. (Well, when you throw this stuff into the lavatory, is there anything you do or say or anything of that sort?) Don't say anythin'. Jes' don' let nobody see yo' when yo' do it. Yo' do it complete tuh yoreself.
(But you have the case in mind while you are doing it?)
Dat's right. (That is to throw the case out of court. All you use is just ordinary salt with just ordinary soda?) A tablespoonful of cookin' salt inside de box of soda, an' don' let nobody use any out of it. Jes' throw it away. An' throw it, yo' know, make it de sun- rise side [throw to the east].
Entry 9149
Buy yo' a box of cookin' soda an' take dat cookin' soda an' carry it wit chew... (When you go down to the court. That's all you have to do?) Dat's all... (To get a light sentence or a fine.) Yes. [For cooking soda and court, see also 9144.]
Entry 9616
Den if yo' - if somebody wus in some business, got a lotta trade-like, an' yo' wanta break it up. Well, yo' could git some soda an' salt an' red peppah an' put it togethah. Mix it up togethah. An' when yo' go into dis place where dey are at - where de business is goin' on at - yo' could sprinkle it round in dere on de flo'. An' ah know fo' a fact dat it is good.
(It will break up their business.)
Break up their business.
Entry 9682
You take some salt, get you some soda and some rainwater. You understand, that's about the best. All right, you get up there and you mop good, and anywhere those people wants to make you move, then they cn't make you move.
(You do that so that they can't make you move?)
Sure, ah knows that positively.
Entry 9683
They say that if a person doesn't like you, they'll draw a ring in the road right at your house and they'll sprinkle salt, soda, ashes, lime, other chemicals, sulphur. That will keep you from being an enemy against him. SPRINKLE IN IT: ASHES - LIME - SALT - SODA - SULPHUR
Entry 9686
Tuh keep de policemens away from de house ag'in, yo' kin git chew some sulphuh an' git chew some salt an' soda an' mix it all tuhgethah. An' git up evah mawnin' about five a'clock an' put it in each cornah of yuh house, each cornah fo' nine mawnin's, an' dat will shore keep 'em away from yuh house.
Entry 10189
Bottle oil of bergamine [bergamot], box cooking soda, teaspoon salt- peter, take bath in that. Break a candle, make a wish, light [same] candle, let candle burn out. Then get brimstone, burn brimstone Monday, Wednes- day and Friday and make wish. Put sugar in it [brimstone], throw into fire. Can make money. [This is a rite for business.]
Entry 12159
Dey put somepin in de shoes. It's a mixture of this ground up - they call it hog-hoof. Yes, dey grind it up lak meal an' dey mix soda an vinegah an' salt, but it's gotta be ground up very fine, jes' lak flaxseed meal, in a powder, so it won't be notice- able. An' jes' powder de shoe aroun' wit dat. Dat will keep him from goin' off. [A note of mine reads: this keeps the man from being hoodooed away by another woman.]
Entry 12388
Yo' kin take a box of soda, jes' [as] ah tole yo' - said about de co't [court]. Yo' take de box of soda, an' yo' could take dat soda an' tote it along wit chew. Yo' could bury some undah yore back steps, an' some undah yore front steps. Den yo' kin take three boxes of Red Devil Lye an' yo' kin bury each one of them at chure - yo' know, each [front] corner of de house, an' bury one of 'em at de gate. But be shō [sure] yo' bury de soda from [at] de back steps to [at] de front steps. Dey could come by dere but dey nevah could stop. (They bury one of those Red Devil Lye's at the gate and the other two at the front corners. And one at the gate?) That's right.
Entry 13211
Sprinkle soda at door and sprinkle hot water over it so that it will sink down into the ground. [This is done for protection against harm of any kind. Today [1977] baking soda is put into refrigerators to absorb odors, these latter originally being caused by the devil and his imps said popular be- lief. In my time Red Seal Lye, a can or package bearing a red seal, has taken over the task of keeping evil away. The original of the belief is under SALT - SODA - SULPHUR list.
Entry 11418
Left footskin in bottle with soda or salt or sulphur, throw into a creek "on a high spring current" and "always after dat you'll roam about de world." [Creek here is an inlet from the sea, in the British sense, and not the American creek = brook.] [Charleston 572:3.]
Entry 1539
One time I was poisoned an' I taken with a pain in my stomic an' head- ache. Well, I taken real sick. I begin to throw up an' ev'rything I throw up was jis' as green as grass an' bitter as gall. Well, they sent fer de doctor. The doctor came. He give me a 'scription of doctor medicine. Well, I taken a dose of de medicine an' de medicine stayed in me I guess about two minutes. An' de medicine made me awfully sick, made me worser than I was. An' I threw it right back up. Well, we had twelve doctors[il!]. [Twelve doctors like every doctor in town is an exaggerated expression not mean to be taken literally - a hyperbole.] They didn't any do me any good. They did me worser instead of good. De medicine would do me worser all de time. So after that, they said, "Well, dere must be something to do." So I sent my sister to the store an' got a box of Squibbs soda an' a box of sulphur. I taken a teaspoonful of that. And that stayed in me. It gave me a little relief. After that I got nine silver dimes. I boiled them dimes good. Then I let the water cool. I drink nine swallows for nine mornin's. An' I improved an' began to get better. Then I got some Eve- an'-Adam [Adam-and-Eve] - that's a little roots. I boiled de Eve-an'-Adam an I drinked de tea of that an' I got better.
Entry 2339
[A toby is a hand. The following informant uses these two terms as synonyms. Toby belongs to the New Orleans area and is little known along the Atlantic coast - unknown in the country districts.] If yo' wanta make a han', yo' kin make a han' fo' fellah tuh carry in his pocket or if he wanta wear it roun' his neck. Yo' git chew a piece of John de Conker vine. Dat's used often in a lot of dese cases. Yo' take yo' some soda, cookin' soda, an' yo' take yo' some lodestone, a she an' a he, an' sew dat together. Don't have tuh take a great big piece - jis' a small piece. Yo' sew dat up, dat soda, John de Conker vine an' oil of clover. Yo' wet [feed] it wit oil of clover - yo' buy yo' some oil of clover an' yo' wet it. That brings luck. Yo' buy yo' a bottle of Jockey Club Perfume. Wash an' scrub yore han's. Wit dat toby yo' bound tuh win.
Entry 2770
An' then der'e's somethin' else dat chew kin do if you wanta move 'em from dere - to make trouble fo' dem - is dis. You git their name, you under- stan', an' de lan'lord's name, an' you write it back- wards nine times. You understan' dat. (You write this person's name - that is in the house - you write his name backwards nine times. And you get the landlord's name and write his name backwards nine times.) On top. An' then you say, you do it this way, "Son-of-bitch, ah want chew tuh vacate" - whichevah way it is. You understan', you git very angry. You don't have the good spirit with you, you'd have the mean one with you. All right. Well, you do that nine times an' you git double-strength war watah - double- strength war watah you understan', an' you git wal-wal powder. [For War Water, see p.663.] You understan' dat. You git cayenne red peppah, an' you git black peppah, but it has tuh all be fresh. You git Epsom salts an' you git soda. An' den you put these ingrediments into a bottle, de amount dat chew kin git it into, an' remember wit dat yo're not pleased, lak you talkin' to me, listenin' an' shakin' - yo're very angry, you see. You want them tuh git out an' you tell 'em that they must, an' the whole while dat chure doin' that you concentrate wit that mean spirit that chew want them tuh git out. Then you mix the ingrediments to- gether an' you shake it an' you say the same thing an' as often as you shake it, an' you tell 'em, "You must go, you shall an' you must," an' you stomp, an' den you roll it [bottle] an' you put it down. You roll it down [under your foot]. Dat puts 'em undah yore feet, you see. An' if yo evah work wit lights, yo' work wit lights.
(What do you do with this bottle now?)
Yo' keep dis bottle, yo' understand. Yo' see, yo' shake it as often as yo' kin an' den yo' use lights if yo' want 'em tuh go quick, if yo' evah use lights. You wash yore han's. Dat's devil work you doin'. All right. You see, you understan'.
(Well, what do you do with that bottle then?)
Listen, if you kin git anywheres tuh throw it - you git chureself some rattle- snake dust. You know whut that is - rattlesnake dust. Graveyard dirt, you know whut dat is. An' you mix it in dat ingrediment, you understan', an' you sprinkle it with that cayenne peppah, an' at de same time you throw it, 'Son-of-bitch, yo must vacate." But throw it wit a mean spirit. An' if you kin git aroun', you keep it sprinkle. An' dat wal-wal powder is shure tuh make 'em move, as ah set in dis chair. Yo' see. (After you get all these things in this bottle, you throw the bottle at their house?) No, nol You don't throw that bottle at their house, you keep that bottle. No, nol You kin bury that bottle, if you wanta. Co'se it'll take a little time. You kin hasten it if yo've got a place dat chew kin burn dese lights. But be shure that chew don't burn the lights in yore home. You know dat's de devil, don't chew? You know each one of the ingrediment don't mean anything good. All right. Now, if you wanta use the light - if you would wanta use the light, you go to de graveyard. All right. You gits de graveyard dirt, a lump. Understan' dat. You gits de Epsom salts. Yo' gits de cayenne peppah. Yo' git the black peppah. You git the salt. Yo' understan' that. You git chureself St. Michael - yo' understan', his picture. An' de red lights. You write dere name de same way in puttin' dat down. You understan'. You use the nine lights, you know whut time tuh use it - at midnight, while de spirit is 'sleep, you ketch it, an' you do it for nine, an' then you repeats, you see, until it do. But it guaranteed tuh do it. See.
(You burn this thing in front of St. Michael's picture?)
Listen. Take St. Michael's picture an' you put it in de east corner an' call it, you understan'. An' you put chure light down but don't put it out underneath dere. He'll do yore work quicker, you understan'. An' yo'll keep him there an' yo'll burn it fo' twelve - you understan', every half hour. You see. An' you wanta draw him? All right. You git chew parchment papah. You under- stan' dat you please - you see, you want a sweet spirit [therefore you use parch- ment paper]. One, two, three (knocking). [Parenthesis is by transcriber because 3 knocks can be heard.j You call him. He'll come. He's lookin'. "Why did joo leave her? Whut did she do? Why don't chew come back?" [You knock for the spirit again.] One, two, three. He's lookin' agin, an' you tell him, "Now, ah Wants you James, tuh come back to me, Louella. James come back to Louella, James come back to Louella, James come back to Louella." Yo' continue an' yo' knock. Well now, you got his spirit to yo' into that house, fo' with papah yo' write on goin' dat way, yo' have goodness into you, an' while you writin' his name you tell him, "Ah want chew tuh come back to Louella. Ah want chew tuh come back to Louella. Ah want chew tuh come back to Louella." Whatevah name that is. See? Now, you git chew nine lumps of sugah - you know dat lump sugah. All right, you git chure money. All right, yo' git chure drawin' oil. All right, yo' git chure mind on him an' yo' git chew steel dust. You understan' dat. You git chew pink lights, cinnamon - you work wit pink. First you use yore lights. Dat is to make peace. Now, maybe he's all you have left in de worl'. Den, you understan', dat white [not pink] light is fo' peace. Den yo' use yore pink. Yo' understan'. Well, ah mostly use mine an' git results through de Sacred Heart of Jesus. He first united you together an' you use Him as a patron saint an' ask Him. Den you take St. Anthony an' you give him de brown lights, an' he brings him back. Den there's anothah remedy you wanta have. Co'se ah dunno if you would wanta give it tuh her. You know whut ah mean. You would like tuh keep it or you could give it to her, you see, tuh make money, because when dey git wise to yore reme- dies, yo cain't do anything. You git chew a choice apple, you understan' whut that is, an' you do de same thing. You know de remedies dat ah tole you into this, an' you put it into that apple, an' de same way yo'll dress that apple - you really dresses it. You kin git holy water an' you bless it wit chure Our Father ovah it. Den you wipe it [apple] with yore holy watah an' you cores dat apple an' you use the names an' you talk to him while yo're doin' it. Den yo' put the ingrediments - de same - you remembah de same ingrediments dat ah tole you dat chew do. An' you want him tuh reason with her in dis remedy an' you take nine raisins [because the English word raisin looks and sounds something like French word raison meaning reason]. You know whut that is, an' you put it into that. Well, you put that ingrediment in there - all de ingrediments dat ah told you to. An' you git chew first a white light, an' you light 'em into that. An' den you burn one pink light an' in burnin' it you put his name on each one of the pink lights an' hers on de top. Yo' first wipe it [apple] off undah yore faucet. Yo' don't know whut han' an' yo' don't know whut crossin' has been on it, an' yo wipe it dry an' yo' bless it wit chure holy watah. Den you take an' shet it up an' you stan' it up an' you wipe that off on a clean piece of papah, but you use parchment papah with their names. Yo' understan' that. An' yo' dress it - you dress it with that mind oil - dat's to keep his mind to 'em. An' dat dryin' oil, you put that on dere. You see, when you dressin' that mind oil, you put that steel dust - everything is tuh draw him. An' yo'll burn [one candle] one time into de apple. When that one light - that's the name on de light, it isn't lak ah told chew. Then you shet chure apple up, an' if it's de 23rd of that, you dress it every 23rd an' it don't bring him dere, he won't be brought back. Ah'm tellin' yo' remedies that ah used an' that have helped an' de lady dat recommend me, know that these things are really good because ah have been with her an' he'ped her in some things.
Entry 9036
(That's for bottlegging?)
Yeah. He took - dis [root] woman was workin' on it, had powdah, two kindza [kinds of] powdah, Hearts Cologne powdah ah think an' some kinda body powdah, black peppah, an' two strands of 'is hair. An' taken it, when de judge was talkin' tuh 'er, yo' know, askin' 'er questions about: 'im. She wanted tuh talk tuh 'im an' she slipped dat in 'is inside coat pocket. An' dey tried it [his case] first, an' dey turned dat ovah [postponed it] until de nex' time. De nex' time dey decided - de judge jis' couldn't git hisself tuhgethah, yo' know, an' all dat. [For trying a case like this first and postponing it, See Doctor Washington of Charleston, working on a bootlegging case, No.9024.] Well, she put all dat whut wuz in dere tuhgethah. Well, she went an' she fixed it all again [see Washington again!]. An'.she took it dis time an' she put de hair an' de black peppah, an' dis heah soda in dere. An' she went an' saw de judge comin' out de do', yo' know, an' taken de ink out of a bottle an' dropped three drops of dat in his track an' picked it up an [put] dat intuh it, an' den slipped dat in dere. An' dey wuz fixin' tuh give 'im light time, an' he come completely cleah.
(This fellow was bootlegging when they arrested him?)
An' he wuz bootleggin'.
(And some root woman did this for him?)
Yes.
Entry 40
De spirit like - yo' kin ketch dere voice. Yo' kin ketch a person's voice - jes' lak if yo' in love wit someone an' somebody else is.after 'em an' yo' wants 'em - yo' call 'em. Yo' gits yo' a black soda watah bottle - it jes' be a dark brown beer bottle, an' yo put dat chamber lye in dat; put dey chamber lye, not yores, an' yo' call 'em. An' after yo' call 'em an' dey answer, yo stop it up an' yo' keep it on it's haid all de time. Ah don't care where dey is, yo' kin make 'em come to yo'.
(You keep this bottle on it's head all the time.)
An' when yo' git ready fo' 'em - jes' lak if dey out an' yo' want 'em tuh come on home, make haste, yo' jes' shake it an' call 'em - call dere name three time an' dey'll come to yo' five minutes after yo' do it.
Entry 245
(All right - suppose you tell me that?)
See, year before last, I had a fence round my house and I had vent cross to the store, and when I come back and I put my hand on the gate. Well something hit me in that finger [demonstrates] just like it was a - had stuck it with a pin or something.
(The little finger of the left hand.)
The little finger. So, I didn't pay no attention, and the next day I looked on my arm, right along up there and it was a long black mark like that and like a cross. Well, when I seen it, I know it was something wrong. Well, I got up and went got me some of this fish brine; you know, what come off a mackerel fish. I put me some saltpeter in it and I put me some salt in it and heated it, and I put some soda in it - heated it right hot and I bathed in it. Well, then after I bathed it, in a day or so it was gone off - I bathed it but once or twice, but- it left a little sign of it there. So I went to a kind of a fortune teller woman when I was here in town and she told me just what I used was the right thing. Well, I told her I sure was glad, I didn't know that because, I said, if anything else happened to me I'd know exactly what to do. So she told me that it was where somebody had had a painted snake and dressed my gate with it.
(What kind of a snake?)
A painted - some kind of a painted snake.
(A painted snake?)
Yes sir.
(Well, what do you mean - was it a live snake? What kind of a snake?)
I guess it was. And they must have painted him with something what they had, and just laid it on the gate, and I caught it on my hand and arm.
(You mean they painted the paint on the snake?)
Yes sir - some kind of old poison stuff. See. And see, when I went to the gate and caught holt of it, it got on my hand. (I see.) [This snake was dressed with a poison and sent out to smear it on the gate.]
Entry 5932
I say, dey say dey kin take yore hair, see, jes' a clip of yore hair Octa yore head - I think it's on de lef' side, see - an' take it an' bury it wit some soda an' table salt fo' nine days. An' den dig it up an' sew it in a bag an' wear it. An' what- eah dey say dey wanta to it [whatever they tell the bag they want done], why yo lin be wishin' it. Dey say it'll come true - if dey run yo' crazy or make love Tvhatevah dey desire.
Entry 8927
If a person come in here an' steal somepin from yo', he may steal five dollars or he may steal ten dollars. Well, now yo' go to bed. Yo' wanta go down an' put de law behin' [the thief], but don' chew do dat. Yo' ain't gotta put de law behin' 'em. Den go to work an' lay down in yore bed at night an' de fust thing yo' dream yo' git up. De fust thing yo' have in yore dreams, yo' git up. Yo' go an' take up yo' right-footed shoe. An' take it an' put it at de head of yo' bed, underneath chure head. Well, de fust thing yo' dream after yo' put it underneath chew head, yo' come downstairs an' take some soda, cookin' soda, in yo' hand. An' take some table salt an' put it in yo' hand, an' a little bit of red pepper an' put it in yore hand. Go to de do' an' call three names of de ones dat been to yore house. An' dat man will come back dat night an' bring dat back an' say he got it.