Subject:Spit
Entries
Entry 2312
Well now, way tuh kill anothah man's luck in a game when yo' shootin' dice, kill any luck in de game, spit on de dice three times, see. Spit on de dice three times an' if yo' kin git one of 'em in de crack of yore butt, if yo kin [put] one of 'em right in de back of de crack of yo'butt, see, an' then git it out befo' he kin see it. Any time anything lak dat, ah has de breeches loose, see, 'fore he git de dice - lak yo' goin' move an' stan' up, yo' see, yo' git it back dere. Well, yo' git up an' say somepin bitin' yo', an' smack it in dere, den take it out an' den be sayin', "Name of de Father, Son, an' Holy Ghost, ah kill yo' speed." [This holy formula is sometimes said under strange circumstances - see No. 205, p.58.]
(And that will kill everybody's luck there?)
Dat will kill his luck.
Entry 4280
Dey take yuh watah an' stop it up an' YUH'LL NEVAH MAKE WATAH NO MORE IN DE WORL'. Put it intuh a bottle - if yuh don't spit intuh it, see. If yuh spit in yuh urinate, dat kill de urinate [and an enemy cannot use it to harm you]. An' dey dig a hole an' put it undah de step. Well, yuh don't make watah nO mo', an' DAT CUZ YUH TUH BE WATAH BOUND.
Entry 4282
Well, ah seen 'em spit in yuh pee, whut chew pee in. It wuz all took up an' put in a bottle. All dat wuz put in a bottle an' dey put cayenne peppah in dat. Dey put sugah in dat an' set it behin' de bed, an' let it stay 'hin' de bed fo' three days.
Entry 4824
Lak yuh got'a a gurl - or yore loved one or yore wife - an' dey fin'ly [finally] pull off from yuh an' leaves yuh. Yuh kin take any garment she wear nex' tuh 'er an' put it undah yore baid. Take an' spit on it an' put it undah yore baid. (What do you do with it first?) Spit on it, jis' spit all ovah it an' put it undah yore baid. Well, she'll come. Ah tried dat mahself. An' she'll come back tuh yuh. But chew have tuh have de one dat she wear nex' tuh 'er, lessen [unless (you have)] 'er hat or 'er socks or 'er stockin's. Yuh know, somepin lak dat. She comin' back tuh yuh.
Entry 6153
If dey braid yore hair an' spit in dere han' an' fix yore hair, ever' bit of it will come out, cuz mine came out. (Just spit in their hand and rub it in your hair?) If dey spit in dere han' an' fix yore hair. (Just rub their hands over your hair as if they were attempting to fix [arrange] it?) [Notice how I have repeated informant's dere (as their) and fix; this being a frequent practice of mine. Similarly, informants often repeat my words.] Yes, man or woman, don't make no diff'rence. Cuz ah know mine come out an' it nevah did come back no mo'.
Entry 6674
Ah tell yo', if yo' kin git a little of de watah or de spit from de terrapin - if yo' kin git de watah or eithah de spit from de terrapin, an' yo' kin use it in a person. Yo' kin put it in dere watah, anywhere yo' kin put it tuh git it in 'em. It will run 'em wild jis' lak a terrapin.
Entry 7252
Ah heard dat dey goes out an' gits incense an' dey burns incense. An' aftah usin' incense in dere house, dey goes tuh work an' dey git dem ademity cards - imadenithy. [At a guess I would say these are identity cards, cards containing pictures of people, which the rootman shuffles to increase the number of customers. This is a rite to increase business.] Why, dat's from de rootman. He'll go out an' he git dat an' he'll chew [it], an' evah time he chew dat way an' he'll spit. Evah time he chewin' an' he spit, why it draws a crowd mo' largah an' largah an'. dey content.
Entry 7905
[Before I turned on my recording machine I had asked about spitting.l Dey take dat yo' know [I interrupt]. (This saliva.) Yeah, dey took dat an' fixed it up an' call it by name, an' put dat wit a li'le red peppah. An' take dat an' bury dat at de feet of de - anywheres dere's a corpse, a dead body in de grave. An' dat cuz yo' tuh suffah a stroke. An' it cut de speech, too, yo' know; an' yo' kin drivel up.
Entry 8480
They say you can take that spittle [= spit] and take some sage, green sage, and mix that with it, and write the names of the Twelve Apostles on that sage [12 sage leaves]. And you mix it with it [spit with leaves] and then take that and hide it under a doorstep. Put it under a doorstep where it'll be covered, where it can't be seen. And that individual will begin to pine away and finally go into consumption [tuberculosis].
Entry 8718
Write de name [of the prospective renter] under your name. First you go to the Bible an' yo' take any chaptah out of it, jis' take yo' any word jis' like Peter, James or John, or anything like that, an' yo' write it down. All right. An' yo' know their names. Yo' want 'em to rent de house. Yo' write dere name down, see. Well, den yo' take anothah verse out de Bible. Write jis' de word yo' see an' den write your name again den. Well, all right. Aftah yo' do dat, den yo' take an' write dere name an' spit in dis bottle 3 times. As yo' roll dis up, take dese names an' roll 'em up right tight. Stick 'em down in dis bottle, stop it, an' bury it undah yore doorstep. Dey'll have to rent de room or yore house from yo'. Yo' call on de Lord [= don't forget to pray]. [This rite has special interest because my original first transcription, a first hearing of the cylinder, is attached here to the final manuscript. I had to transcribe by hand and pencil because my transcriber missed a number of the Hemphis cylinders.] Memphis Tenn., (767, professional and excellent), 1562:6.]
Entry 8719
(To get the job?)
Yo' write his name, de boss name, an' yore name, too, if yo' wants. If yo' don' want, yo' don' need tuh write chure name, but long as yo' git de boss name, yo' understan'. (You write his name down once?) Nine times. Yo' git chew cinna- mon [chewing cinnamon] an' yore sugah. An' git some cinnamon tuh chew [stick cinnamon] an' spit nine times goin' tuh 'im an' nine times when yo' git tuh 'im.
(After you have written this name, what do you do with this name?)
Yo' jis' keep dat name folded tuh yo' an' weah it in de bottom of yore shoe. Eithah shoe will do.
Entry 9073
[Before hearing the judge of the present rite, I must say something about our famous root, the most widely used root in hoodoo. Like the equally well-known term goofer dust, the meanings of these words have varied with place and time and individuals - especially in hoodoo shops, where instead of saying we are out of John de Conkah but have it on order, anything available is handed to the customer. Other examples of our root will be found scattered throughout Hoodoo especially on pages 455-457 and 593-595.] Say, "Yo'all niggahs come here sprinklin' down yer roots an' spittin' round me, goin' send yo'all tuh jail, evah las' one of yuh."
[Yo'all is an expression in the Southern States.]
(Who Was this judge?)
Judge Crutchfield. Used tuh be heah yeahs ago.
(I see. But he knew they were doing it.)
He said dat somebody had taught 'im dat.
(Somebody had taught him?)
Taught 'im tuh [know] but de vury [very] man dat had [taught him] he didn't send 'im tuh jail - discharged 'im.
(I see. He knew they were doing it though.)
Yeah, he use tuh tell 'em about it: "Yo'all niggahs comin' here chewin' yer roots an' spittin' yer powdah around chere," say, "ah'm goin' send evah one of yuh tuh jail, evah one of yuh." But he didn't done it.
Entry 9153
They got some pills they call spit pills. You can buy those in the same drug store, the Crackerjack. Yo' take those an' yo' take nine of 'em, an' if de judge is not lookin at yo' befo' he call yo', when yo' walkin' up de aisle to 'im, perhaps, well yo' spit dose nine pills at 'im. No yo' keep 'em in yore mouth, dey don't dissolve. Dey are something like a black [something] dey's don' dissolve in yore mouth. As yo' are walkin' up de aisle to 'im, yo' spit. Yo' still keep de seeds in yore mouth, yes sir.
Entry 10850
Well, if a person - dey's got good hair an' de othah one got bad hair, an' jes' keep on boastin', "Yes, yo' pick yo' hair. Let me pick yo' hair back, lak dis heah." "Well, now if it's a man, 'Well, ' he says, "ah'll fix yo' so's yores be's jes' lak mah hair, ' Dey'll go an' git dat buz- zard manure. Yes, an' dey cain't git to yo' deyself, but dey'll give it to yore friend. Dey'll pay yore fren' an' yore fren' will git to yo', be combin' yore hair, an' put dat in de hair. Lak, now, someone be combin' yore hair an' yo' spit in yore han' an' rub it on yore haid, an' yore hair'll go. (You mean spitting on your hand will take your hair out? The buzzard manure will do that also? And spitting on your hand will do it?) Jes' comb yore haid an' spit on yore han', be combin', an' take yore han' an' wipe down heah an' comb down. Dat take every bit out.
(Wipe your hand where?)
"Tween yore laigs. An' comb yore hair down. Take every bit out.
(That's two other ways of doing it. What do you do with that buzzard manure?)
Put it on yore haid.
(Then another way of doing it is to spit on your hand?)
Dat's right. (And another way of doing it is to rub your hand between your legs and put it on the person's head?) Dat's right. [See preceding rite for something similar.]
Entry 13224
Ah've heard of 'em taking sugar an' de spit from dere mouth, jes' lak de spit from mah mouth, an' take sugah an' mix it into a biscuit with buttah, an' put it undah yore arm an' wear it undah dere. At meal- time an' give it to a man, an' dat man will always love yo'. He'll give yo' 中 every penny he kin make, but chew gotta keep it up.
Entry 13225
Lak ah wus yore cook an' ah wanted tuh gain influence wit chew some way, ah would fix yore coffee or yore tea, or yore ice cream an' spit in it. Yo' gotta do dat nine times. Yo' go ahead, yo' done drink it. Yo' don't know whut ah'm doin' an' when yo' do, dat'll give me de influence of yo'.