Subject:Spiritualism
Entries
Entry 2757
[The following statements come from the interview with the girl men- tioned in the Introduction because of her youthful age for this kind of work. She - though familiar with usual hoodoo devices - is more interested in her own brand of spiritualism cen- tering around a special power rite. Two candles, one behind the other, are used - the forward blue candle named Uncle, the backward white candle named Master. Uncle or Unkas, a well-know spirit, we shall meet again (see, THE UNKAS MAN, in Interviews section). She does not say so, but any object upon which her candles rest - table, mantelpiece, bureau, box - must be called an altar. She operates a private shrine.] Well, yo' see, it's lak dis. Yo' take two candles an' yo' burn 'em. As yo' burn dese two candles, yo' tell 'em, say, "Well, Jesus, ah want chew tuh back me up. Ah want chew tuh back me up as ah go in back of mah spirit." An' as yo go, the man will tell yo', "Well, yo' come fo' a job. Well, ah kin give you a job." See, it be dat light is helpin' yo where yo' set dat light an' it burn itself. An as [before] yo' go dere yo' take an' git chew some bay rum an' yo' rub in yore han's. As yo' git dis bay rum, yo' take an' take yo' a piece of rag, an' as yo' take a piece of rag, yo' always keep dat rag movin' in yore han's, an'as yo' go in dis place when he begin' tuh ask yo' 'bout a job, well all yo' do yo remembah de light, an' if yo' say, "Lord, he'p me an' back mah light up," well, dat light will always give yo' power an' always help yo', an' yo' go dere an' dat person will give yo' a job. Maybe somebody's been dere a long time an' tryin' tuh git a job an' dey don't know how tuh git a job. All yo' do is set de light.
(What color of light? Any color?)
De bes' light is de white an' blue light, tuh git. De white one is Master an de blue one is Uncle. Yo' always say Master back of Uncle, an' yo' ast him tuh do sech-an'-sech a thing an' he'll do this thing. Yo' take a coconut but yo' must break it square. Yo' know a coconut is round but yo' must keep it square. Sometime yo' cain't break 'em - dey hard fo' yo tuh break 'em square, but it gotta be broke, yo' know, half in two in square. An' yo' take dat coconut an' yo' take de meat out of it an' yo' take a person name an' yo' write it down, but chew make a seal. Yo' evah saw a seal? [Evidently I nod, yes. I previously had seen at least one seal in St. Petersburg, Florida, see 2280, p.644.] Yo' makes a seal an' yo' take dat person's name an' yo' put it down in dat coconut an' dat Rabbit Syrup. Well, yo' take dat Rabbit Syrup an' dat cinnamon an' git chew some bay rum, an' yo' mix dat Rabbit Syrup an' dat pulverized sugah, dat fine, fine sugah whut chew buy in de box. Well, yo' sweeten it. Mix all dat together - de cayenne an' de Rabbit Syrup an' de cinnamon an' de bay rum. Yo' take his name an' yo' make a seal out dat papah, but chew must nuse brown Papah an' yo' put it down in dat coconut an' yo' take yo' a light. Yo' take yore light an' yo' put it - yo' see, yo' have dat seal made round, but chew have tuh cut it out round, yo' see, de brown papah, an' yo' put dat name, write it right in de middle of de seal.
(Just once?)
Yes, an' yo' put de light in de center of dat an' yo' burn it. Yo' make yore wish to dat light, whatsomevah yo' want, an' yo' burn it.
(What kind of light - any color?)
Well, yo' kin take Uncle light. It's a blue light, Uncle. Dat's a spirit. An' yo' kin take a lemon.
(Well, now what does that do? When you burn that in there?)
Well, yo' kin keep a person down - dey won't prosper, cain't git a job no way. Yo' understan' about dat. (To put the candle out [the candle someone is burning against you], every morning you say you get up and do what?) Yo' go to de hydrant befo' yo' say anything an' yo' let de hydrant run an' dat's tuh pray - dat's de way ah do's. Ah goes tuh de sun an' ah prays, an' whilst ah'm prayin' ah let de hydrant run an' ah take three drops - three glasses of watah, an' aftah de sun go down, yo' throw de watah tuh de sunset an' ast de spirit whatsomevah yo' dealin' with tuh give yo' power tuh put dat light out.
(What spirit would you deal with? Any spirit that you wanted to?)
Well, it's diff'rent people - de spirit contained wit yo', see. [Each person has a different or special spirit.] Yo' have a guide an' ah have a guide.
(It is your own spirit that you are getting?)
Yes. If a person tell yo', "Ah want chew tuh do sech-an'-sech a thing fo' me, '' an' [or] yo' want a person, a man. Lak yo' say, "Ah want dis man an' ah'm gon'a git dis man an' nobody have dis man." Well, yo' take a tub of watah an' yo' set dis tub ovah an' yo' take an' light a black candle. Yo' don't light dis candle, yo' put it in dis watah an' let dat watah trickle [from the faucet into the tub]. Put dis man name an' den yo' cut chew a coconut an' cut chew coconut an' put some dust [drops of melted wax] on it. Yo' evah heah dat? An' yo' let dat candle draw [drop] aroun' down in dis place heah. Dat be dat man name. [Melted wax from black candle drops on man's name written on brown paper at bottom of coconut.] Now, he's driftin' all aroun' an' aroun'. [Because his name under black candle in coconut is floating on the water in the tub; the dripping faucet makes it running Water.] He cain't nevah git a job. He nevah kin work. Every time he draw tuh yo', well he gittin' somewhere; but when he leave yo', look lak he driftin'; an' if he want any othah woman, yo' kin drift him away from dis woman - but nobody else, he's gotta have yo' an' nobody else. An' if yo' don't want give him nuthin, all yo' do, jis' put dat candle in dere an' let it drip an' so many hours. Yo' turn de chairs upside down. An' lak if a person goin' tuh co't an' dis person wanted tuh he'p yo' outa co't. All yo' take an' do, take St. Peter pit- chure an' turn it upside down, an' as yo' turn it upside down, dash some watah in [on] dat [picture] an' aftah yo' dash it, den dey come on outa jail. [See, BEER FOR ST. PETER - CIGAR FOR ST. ANTHONY, in InterviewS Section.] But chew de one he'p dem yo' see. Dat's de understandin' of luck. Yo' take an' do so many things with luck. See, den agin lak if yo' want a person - well, ah say, "Ah'm goin' make yo' drift." Well, yo' say, "Well, yo' cain't make me drift." Well, ah'll take an' take yore name, an' take a bottle of watah an' throw that bottle of watah undah mah laig or 'neath mah laig - mah left foot, an' throw it so [she demonstrates], an' tell it tuh go sech-an'-sech a place but don't nevah come back, an' as dat bottle go roun' an' jis work roun' an' roun' [under my foot], mah mind don't nevah come to me, but ah'm driftin' ever' day, goin' off an' off. Don't nevah see nobody, always thinkin' of things, always thinkin' things - diff'rent. [Her mind is faster than her words. My name is written on a piece of paper and stopped up in a bottle of water. She throws the bottle on the floor, puts her foot on it and begin to roll it back and forth. Sometimes, not here, the bottle is kicked about the room and cussed. At the last moment notice how she changes my name to her own. This is one of the many rolling rites in the New Orleans area - see margin-title St. John's Water, p.639, and Index.]