Subject:Stake
Entries
Entry 4867
Dey tell me dat if yuh wanta drive a person away wit dey own clothes, dat yuh kin take an' care it tuh a runnin' stream. An' take a stave an' stob
[or stahb] it up through de [mud]
an' let it stay down on de mud at de bottom wheresomevah dat it hit. An' whensomevah dat it stay dere an' rot, an' keep afraging away, dat dey will jis' be walkin' - driftin' de balance of yuh days.
(They drive that down into the mud with the stave.)
Entry 4935
[Hanging can be a magic rite as here, but this action is not always recognized in indices.] Takes yore socks an' dress it wit de same thin' an' take it tuh de cemetery an' bury it. Drive a stake down an' hang dat stockin' on dere an' jis' yuh done dressed it wit dat stuff. [A woman buries a man's sock or socks, dressed with the following 4 ingredients, in the graveyard. She then drives a stake as a headboard over this simulated grave, and hangs on it her stocking or stockings. He is now beneath, ruled; she above, the ruler. A man may perform this rite against a woman.]
(What stuff?)
Dat brimstone, bluestone, cayenne peppah an' gunpowdah. Jis' rub it all in dat sock an' hang up dat stocking. Yuh done sweated in yore sock, or de woman sweated in de stockin'. An' jis' as dat rain come in dat stockin' [and] de socks molt away, dat's de way yuh'll molt away.
Entry 7889
Dey tell me yo' take an' git yuh sock, an' dere's somepin or othah yo' kin do an' run yo' crazy. Dey take dat sock an' dey git some graveyard dirt. An'. if dey want, dey kin git - choo know, dere's a scorpion in de woods dey call de wood- bitch. Yo' kin git 'im an' cut 'is haid off an' let it dry. When 'is haid been dried, come an' powdah dat up. Yo' take dat [wood-bitch powder] an' take dat graveyard dirt an' mix it [and put it in or on the sock] yo' see. An' yo' take dat [sock] an' yo' kin care [carry] it on de nō'theast side of a pine tree. Yo' bear [bury] it down dere an' drive a stäve down in it, yo' see [demonstrates].
(Hit an imaginary stäve or stake 6 times.)
Dat settles it. [This is one of many mock burials. The victim if unnamed is always intended by name. Here the victim is buried in the shade of a pine tree, so that he will gradually pine away. North instead of northeast side would probably have meant a quicker death.]
Entry 7966
Dey say dat yo' do dat, dey say dat will kill a person. (Will you explain how it's done. Do you know how it's done?) Well, dey say yo' make it jes' lak yo' makin' a grave an' yo' put de haidbo'd an' de footbo'd an' evahthing like dat. An' yo' put a stob [stake] in de centah of it lak dat [demonstrates] - a li'le stick, a stob in de centah of it lak dat. An' dey say yo' go dere evah mawnin' befō' sunrise an' knock dat peg, hit it one lick fo' nine mawnin's. When dat peg git on down in dere, dey tells me dat settles it. (You dig a little hole like a grave and put a headboard and a footboard to it?) Fix it jes' lak a grave. (Then you put that stick in the middle, that you drive down in. What is that stick supposed to be, that stick in the middle?) Dat stick in de middle, dat supposed tuh give yo' heart failure, dey say. Go dere nine mawnin's befo' de sun rise.
Entry 9876
Dey have used frogs wit de hard lumps on dem [toads?].
(How would they do that?)
Let 'em dry an' throw it undah de house. Yo'll nevah go an' neithah come.
(How would you get rid of that?)
Well, all yo' got'a do, jes' take de frog an' pays 'im a [silver] dime. An' when yo' pays 'im a dime, yo' ketch 'im alive an' yo' stick im on yo' do's. Stay wit chew a length'a time an' den he goin'a run dem out de house. (You do what?) Stick 'im alive on de backa yo' do'. Yo' ketch 'im an' take 'im swallah a dime. An' take a picket [stake] an' put a picket in 'is haid two han's [feet], bottom 'ands [back legs], until he come tuh be dry. When yo' want 'im tuh go out dere, den yo' go out dere an' den throw im dat same distance [direction] where dey is. Den he do yo' work.
(He'll [second toad will] throw off the other frog.)
[Two toads are used here, the first one thrown under victim's house so that he can nevah go and neither come. To counteract this spell, victim or his doctor catches and pays another live toad to work for him.] Yeah.
Entry 11683
Dey go tuh de fo'ks of de road. Dey calls yore name an' de' drives a stäb [stake] in de fo'ks of de road. Well, dat jes' keep yo' goin'. Yo' can't stay in one place, jes' keep agoin' - goin' all de time.
Entry 11684
Ah says, dey'll - sometimes dey'll go dere [forks of road] an' drive a stäve [stake] down in groun' where yo' can't see it, and pull green grass and put on top of it. When yo' git dere yo' won't know it. Yo' can't cross dat road. (You can't cross that road? Where do they put that stake?) In de middle, right in de middle of de road. Dey'll drive it down so yo' can't see it, even wit de groun', yo' know.
(You do that out at the forks of the road. Well, what do they do that for?)
Well, if you walk over it, you'll have pains de balance of yore days in yore laigs, dey begin tuh git so stiff.
Entry 11685
Ah've heard dat yo' go to de fo'k of a road, somewheres roun' where fo' fo'ks run dis way, one dis way, one dis way an' den dis way - de crossroads, yessuh. At fo' fo'ks. An' make a round ring dis way [demonstrates circle on ground] an' drive a stick [stake] right into de center of de ring - drive it to 70 degrees - an' de stick probably is nine inches or twelve inches [long]. An' drive it clean down to twelve inches. It shouldn't be ovah twelve inches long. [This means stick is level with ground.] An' dat takes great effect when a per- son walkin' along dere. Sometime a person will stumble [but he does not stumble over stick!] an' dey don't know whut cause 'em tuh stumble. Ah've heard of dat, too, an' it taken great effect. (You do that against some of your enemies or some- thing?) Yes. If yo' have a enemy, yo' know, an' dat's de way yo' want to git 'em. Cause 'em to have a [physical] downfall.
(Does he just fall down or what?)
He fall down an' git full of pain or somepin lak dat.
Entry 13218
Dat's done dis Way. Say, fo' ninstan' now, dat a spirit is worryin yo', maybe yo' done perhaps kill somebody maybe yeahs ago, an' dey spirit keep worryin' yo'. Yo' go to a small stream where it's a bridge an' yo' git a lighter [fat-lighter stick] an' peg, an' drive it down at chure left toe, den yo' walk backwards cross dat stream an' drive an- othah peg down at chure right toe, an' yo' tie dat spirit betwixt dere - cross de water an' dey won' follow yo' no mo'. (What do you mean you tie it across the water?) Well, yo' see, when yo' drive de peg down, an' yo' call de person's name three times, den yo' know he's wit chew, dat de spirit is. Den when yo walk backwards, cross de bridge, he still following yo' in front, but when yo' stoop down an' drive anothah peg at chure toe, yo've got him. In othah words, dat's whut chew might call dat chew bury de spirits. [As I say in margin title, our doctor here is a law unto himself, since a spirit cannot cross running water; but here doctor pegs sprit across running water so that his client can return to his own side of the stream. Nice Work!]
Entry 13229
A man kin go tuh work jes' like yo' workin' fo' a man. He kin go tuh dat man house where yo' handle roun' an' drive a spear down fo' yo' sharp - sharpen at both ends an' drive it down, it's not - it's sorta flat yo' see. See, den yo' sit dere an' dig a hole round it enough tuh take his knife an' whittle it up sharp. Den cover it ovah where yo' can't find nuthin. An' yo' ain't goin' stay dere, yo've gotta go. Yo'll be on pins all de time. Dat's whut chew call settin' 'em on pins.
(You put this piece of wood down in the ground around his house?)
Yes sir, sharpen it tuh de end an' sharpen it tuh de top but chew drive it down befo' yo' sharpen it. Den yo' take yore knife an' sharpen de top part. Den cover it up.