Subject:Stone
Entries
Entry 5632
Ah heard a ole man say if yo' had a bad enemy, ah mean neighbor an' he come tuh be a enemy, he said, dat yo' could take his track. Take a track of 'is. An' he said yo' could take some black peppah an dis pulverize - yo' know yo' take peppah an' make it outa tobacco [pepper out of tobacco equals snuff]. An' he said yo' git some of dat [also] an' tie up 'is track. Tie it up good in a rag. An' take dat rag an' dey said tie it aroun' dere good an' tight. An' den take a stick an' put it down in de watah - runnin' watah. An' he said, when yo' do dat - an' leave it dere In de Name of de Lawd. An' fix it so it will be weighted down an' watah run ovah it. DEY GOIN' DOWN DAID. Now, dat's whut ah heard about it - a enemy.
(They put black pepper with that?)
Scuse me. Dey put black peppah an' salt, a tablespoonful, an' dey take de red peppah already ground an' put it.
(Cayenne pepper?)
Yessuh. An' put it in dere. An' den aftah yo' do dat, po' de salt all ovah dat, an' take an' tie it up In de Name of de Lawd. An' put nine knots in dis rag. An' den aftah yo' put dose nine knots, yo' take an' drive down de rag through a stick - drive through de rag de stick to hold it down dere. Den yo' lay a rock or somepin ovah it an' let de watah run ovah it. An' dat'll make 'em move from dat place. Dat's whut ah heard.
Entry 5660
Well dey have to git it while he's 'sleep, cut it while dey sleep.
(And how would they use those tracks?)
Jis' take de hollah of de right-foot track an' put it in a li'le bag, an' jis' take it an' bury it undah de steps. Put it undah a stone so de rain won' Wash it away. But chew see when yo' dig a place undah de steps an' bury it - git dat track an' bury it, yo' see, dat will make him come back.
Entry 9872
Now yo' kin cure disease wit a frog an' yo' kin make love wit a frog.
(How do you make love with a frog?)
Well, now yo' kin take dat frog an' cut dat frog open an' it's a li'l stone, a li'l rock, a li'l stone-lak dat's in dat frog. An' yo' kin take dat li'l stone an' any woman dat chew wanta git up tuh 'er dat yo' cain't git tuh, yo' wanta git up tuh 'er, yo' jis' take an' yo' have dat stone in yore hand - anywhere dat yo' could touch 'er. Yo' could shake hands wit 'er, er anywhere yo' kin touch 'er wit dat stone in yore han'. Yo' got 'er yore way. [Informant does not know that this stone-lak is supposed to come from a toad, not a frog: The foul Toad hath a fair stone in his head, from John Lyly, Euphues, p.53, (1579); an old belief made immortal by Shakespeare in As You Like It: Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head. Act ii, sc.1, L.12. (1599).]
Entry 12185
Dat's very easy. You can take some of this black stone [black lode- stone?] and Van Van and sweet oil. You take all that and you mix it together, and you put that in a lit- tle sack or in a little bottle. You hang that over your door, under a horseshoe. You put the horseshoe up and you hang your bottle under there, but you have the bottle so that no one can see the bottle, but they can see the horseshoe. This bottle be's behind the horseshoe. And no law in the world gon- na come in your place lessen they git permission. They kin come someone to see the proprietor before he [law] come in there. The horseshoe is in the right form just like it lays on the animal's foot [prongs or toes down] but the bot- tle is fixed [hidden] under there.
Entry 12341
[This stone] get it in the eagle nest. There's a white lodestone and there's a black lode- stone. Well, the white lodestone is the female and the black is the male. Well, the female is no good. But it's no hair grows on those stone. [Some rites speak about hair growing on lodestone.] The only thing it is, its FUZZ still grows on it, just [like] the beard on my face - it grow on the lodestone. [This is from Doctor Buzzard of Norfolk, Va., part of whose interview given Pp.1515-1517 and elsewhere.]
Entry 12348
They tole me tuh git - they had me tuh git a piece of - a piece of drawing lodestone an' dis same mineral oil. Ah cain't think of it [name]. They still use it as mineral oil. Dis lodestone, dis drawin' stone, you buy, see, an' dis mineral oil and de dust from a comb, ah believe it was - a head comb, de dust. An' yo' 'solve [dissolve] dis dust into dis - dis mineral oil and dust all together, and you dress dis dust and de mineral [oil] and de lodestone wit perfume an' you wears it. But ah was successful.
(That's in hunting a job.)
In hunting a job. Least how, it worked. But thinking about it, ah didn't hole [hold] de job very long. So dat's why ah didn't think dere's much to it. [To be able to buy head-comb dust indicates the catholicity of products sold by some hoodoo shops!]
Entry 12754
Ah heard dat chew could [take] a raven's aig. Go find his nest an' take de aigs outs his nest an' boil 'em. Say, cook 'em, an' return 'em back to dat nest, an' dat raven would go somevhere an' git a stone, an' bring it back an' jes' put it in dat nest. Den yo' go dere an' git dat stone, an' yo' have all de luck yo' wanta fo' anything. [This egg-substitution rite in various forms is told about different birds in HOODOO.]
Entry 13212
Solomon's Wise Stone whut chew find in de othah cities. [You take this] stone an' read de 121 Psalm an' say a prayer of earnest. Yo' ain't earnest fo' some things, an' yo' will obtain de job.
(What do you do with this stone?)
Wear it in yore purse. Solomon's Wise Stone.
(Where do you get that? Order it from some place?)
Yo' order it from dis company heah in Memphis, yo' order it from Chicago.
(What is the name of that company in Memphis?)
[Evidently no answer.]
Entry 13282
Well, yo' kin take a swallow's aig. Go to a swallow's nest. Yo' know in dat swallow's nest yo'll find a little stone. They always have a little stone in dere nest. An' yo' kin take dat stone - dere always be a stone in a swallow's nest - an' yo' kin go to a swallow's nest an' take out one dose aigs an' keep it out. Say a day or two days - long as yo' wanta an' return it back there. An' when yo' return it back dere, yo' git dat stone an' yo' tote that stone with yo', an' dat 'cumulate all kinda money. Dat's good fo' money matters.
Entry 1961
Well, 'twas two round here, root doctors, and they made stuff up. And we boys would all go to 'em and give 'em fifty cents and they'd give us a hand, they call it, to gamble with. And they tell us for three weeks to not use it inside of three weeks. And we found out when they was goin' away. They was goin' away about in two weeks and they told us not to use the hand inside of three weeks. And so in about two weeks we went and used it. And the more we'd gamble off it, you see, it looked like the worse luck we got. So we opened it and found it full of rocks. And we went back to 'em and give 'em the rocks back. So then they give us the fifty cents back.
Entry 3057
St. Rita, she don't like no man. Only one reason why she don't like a man, cause she had a man and he was very hard on her. And the man was so mean and cruel to her till he gave her a stone.
(He gave her what?)
He gave to her a stone.
(Yes.)
And he made her boil that stone until it got to be an Irish potato, and when that stone got to be an Irish potato, well then, that's where she got apart from this man, because now today she hates a man. Why does she hates a man? Cuz a man was such a cruel [person] to a woman. But she's good in a way and she ain't no good in this way - she'll take. If you make a novena to her that you don't want, that you wanta git rid of your husband, you'll git rid of the man; but there's a one in the family, such as your mother or your child or your grand- child, or someone like your father or cross-relative, she'll come in and step in and take her away from you, because you wanta git rid of him because she hates a man. And that's how she'll come in to do these things. She'll take that man away from you, but still and all she'll come right on in and take your mother or your child - the one that you love the best.
Entry 602
In case someone go to the penitent'ry, you goes to the four corners of the road [crossroad] and you dig up a little of that dirt from those four corners of the road, and you bring that home and you put a little sugar and a little of that steel [dust?] - or that white powder - they call it - let me see now, they call it -
(First you put in white sugar?)
Yes.
(And then what else?)
Pulverized white saltpeter. Well, you take all dat and you put it in a little bottle. Like you take a little piece of soft flannel, you tie it in a little bundle and the party what is in trouble, you have their name on a piece of paper in that, and you roll it to the - the day the case come up, you roll it nine days before the case come up and the day the case come up, you roll it seven times early in the morning.
(How do you mean roll it seven times?)
You got it in a little ball - you know, just take a little ball like that and you just roll it like that; roll it towards you, like that.
(Oh, it's a little ball and you roll it over seven times.)
Yes, seven times. And then when you rolls it, you rolls it more like this to you.
(You roll it to you?)
Yeah, so you can get discharged. (I see. And what do you do the nine days before the trial - what do you do with that ball?) Well, you just - you just handles it and moves it around and rolls it from one corner to the other, and be wishing from St. Agnes for them to come back home - put a good-luck light [candle].
(I see.)
And then you see, a rock I got - if a person got a hard case. See that? There's two rocks. I got a hard case to get discharged in court. Now, you see that?
(There are two rocks.)
There are the two rocks. Now you see, if you want to know whether you get discharged of this dangerous crime. Well, all I got to do - say to you, "Father, Son and Holy Ghost, hand me one of them rocks." See, keep your mind on - keep your mind on your business. "Hand me one of them rocks." Now, which one would you hand me? Which rock would you -
(You mean, pick up one of those?) [I must have hesitated!]
Pick it up, it won't harm you, any one you want. Which one would you hand me? (All right - this one.) [I must have picked it up despite germs - probably the only time I ever touched anything.] You'd get clear - you'd get cleared - get cleared of your case.
(Because of that white rock?)
It's a clear rock. (A clear rock, I see. Now, someone must pick up one of those rocks for you, or you yourself pick it up?) No, I don't pick it up. If you are in trouble and you want to know whether you will get discharged out of this trouble.
(Oh, I see - if I was in trouble and I would come to you?)
Yeah, and you come to me and say, "Will I get discharged?" I say, "Well, in the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, '' say 'pick meup one of them rocks and put it in my right hand." You pick up one and put it in my right hand and whilst you pick up that one, say, "No, you ain't going to be discharged, '' and if you pick up that one, "You going to be discharged." (I see. Now, one of these rocks is white like crystal and this is reddish brown - a dark rock. I see.) Yes. And then - now, watch. If this rock is there and then you come and say, "I wants to know the party what killed such-and-such a one. I'd like to know is it true that it is a relation of mine, or who - or is it a outsider - whether it is any relation of mine." Just take it like that - you want to know if it's an outsider. Look - I say, "Now, hand me that rock." You hand me that rock.
(All right - then I pick up this black rock?)
Yes.
(All right.)
Well, you see this light across it there?
(Oh, yes.)
Well, that's your relation - they going to get out and if you hand it to me this way, "They'll get discharged. But if you hand it to me in any way, like that - see what I mean - my hand like that - say, "No, no chance." (Now, let me put that rock down there again. Now, if it's like this - this rock is a little different - this is the big end and this is the small end - it makes a difference with that. end toward you?) Yes sir.
(Now, if I'd hand it to you this way - this way, then what would it be?)
If you hand it to me in this way, then there'd wouldn't be no chance of them getting out of trouble 'cause they got a heavy load on their back.
(Oh, a heavy load on their back. And suppose I handed it to you like this?)
Like this - it would be straightened but not great - you'd have a little trouble but not too much. If you hand right straight to me like this - straight out to me, well, there's no chance of coming out.
(I see. Well, what would happen with this little end to you?)
[I may have touched the rock once but I certainly did not play with it. These latter manipulations are surely by pointing.] You sure of - gittin' out of trouble.
(I see.)
Gittin' clear.
(I see - if I hand it to you with that large end, that means a heavy load.)
Yeah, that's it - a heavy load - that's trouble on 'em.
(I see.)
And then again, if somebody get arrested and you say, "Well, I got to go to court Monday. Do you reckon I'll get discharged Monday?" You know, they ast you, "Do you reckon I'll get discharged Monday, I've got to go to court Monday?" I'll say, "Well, let me see." Well, I'll take these two rocks again and if you hand me that light one, you'll get discharged.
(I see.)
Anything -
(And if I handed you the dark one, well you wouldn't get discharged?)
You wouldn't get discharged. (I see. You only use three rocks then - two for one thing and just one for the other?) That's all. You can use these three rocks for the - for the world [for any- thing in the world].
(Well, how would you do that?)
You could use 'em for anything - and I'll throw 'em around like this [demonstrates].
(You mix those three rocks up with your hand like that.)
If somebody come to see me that they don't know [what he is doing] - what any concern of his - don't know what my mind is.
(I see.)
Now, I'll say [demonstrates].
(You put those three rocks down.)
I'll say, "Hand me these - hand me one at a time In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." Well, you'll either hand me either one. (You say, "Hand me one of these - one at a time, In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost?") Yes sir. Well, whatever one they pick up and hand me, I look and put that down - I remember what that's for - and you hand me another one and I say, "Well, you are going to hand a little trouble - a relation of yours going to get in a little trouble." See, that's a blood kin to you, that's a relation of yours.
(Because it's a reddish rock?)
Yeah, but you say, "Well, will he get discharged?" [I say] "Well, hand me one and see if will he get discharged." [You hand me one and I say] "Yeah, he'll get discharged." (I see, I see. Now, who taught you that way of using these three rocks - did you learn that from someone?) In my mind.
(Oh, that - that a - )
That the spirit of my mind.
(I see - the spirit of your mind just told you how to do this?)
Yes, sir. And then again. I'll show you in another way. You hand me a cup of water and a glass of water - little plain cup that nobody uses - a cup of water and a glass of water. You set that there and you say, "Well, I come to see whether my son will get out of trouble or will I get out of trouble." Ah say, "All right. In the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost." Say, "Hand me one of those utensils with the water in it." Well, you hand me the cup, see.
(I hand you the cup.)
You hand me the cup and I say, "No, no chance of him getting out." [Why? Because], when [you] travel cross water you troubled. Well, hand me the glass of water. [I hand him the glass of water.] See all the way through - you can see all the way through the glass and you can't see through a cup. (Oh, I see. If I hand you the cup, you can get in trouble because you can't see through it at all; but if I hand you the glass, it's good, you get out of trouble because you can see through a glass.) Exactly. (I see, I see. You can use the rock because you don't want - don't care to use the cards.) Yes.
(About those cards?)
There are 52 cards in a deck.
(Yes.)
Well, clubs is drinks and noise and coming of plenty people. Spades is dis- appointments, sad dissension in your family.
(Sad dissension in your family.)
Yeah - spades. And hearts is love. And diamonds is money. (And how would you run those - I mean how could you tell that those things would happen to you?) Well - you got a deck of cards with you?
(No - just pretend that you got a deck of cards.)
[Several times I was asked for a deck of cards by an informant. I did not carry a deck because I did not want it found on me in case I was arrested.] Well now, there's a spade, there's a club and here's a heart and here's a diamond. Well, now what you want to know? What you say you want me to tell you? (Well, now suppose I'm in trouble and come to you - have you read the cards for me.) Well, you hand me one of the cards out of the deck.
(Well, I'll hand you this diamond - here.)
Uh huh - you going to get out of trouble but you got to pay plenty money.
(I see. All right - now, suppose I hand you that spade.)
No chance for good.
(No chance for good. Now, I'll hand you this club.)
The club. They going to be slow to speak against you, but if the nine of clubs is with - if you pull it out of the top and it turns up, you is overcome. (I see - if it happens to be the nine of clubs. I see. What would it be if I gave you the heart?) The hearts is love - friendship - everybody likes you - everybody's on your side.
(I don't have to worry.)
Don't have to worry about nothing.
(I see.)
Entry 896
I had a uncle, he went crazy and stayed crazy about, I reckon about three years. They kep' him home that long and then they sent him to Goldsboro [North Carolina, to the asylum] and he stayed up there a long time. And so a few years back they went and got him and brought him back home and he was still crazy. So they sent for a fellah from down South to come down here. He told 'em that he'd cure him for twenty-five dollars. So he taken and brought a big bottle of medicine there for him, root medicine, give him that. Then he put somepin under the steps for him so nobody couldn't git in there to do him no harm. He wouldn't let him take nothin' that nobody give him. He took a little bag and got some kind of sand, they say he went to the graveyard and got some sand, and put some more little stuff in that, some rocks he brought with him, and wrahpped it up right tight and put it under the steps. He had to go to the [Wrightville] Sound to git some salty water to soak it in, throwed it all over that stuff, he says, so nobody couldn't git it up. And then he give him somepin to wear. He give him a belt to wear right next to his meat and put a dime on each one of his legs. And he come to git all right.
Entry 1155
A buzzard lays twelve eggs, you see, just like twelve and - and all of the eggs hatches. Now, it got a buzzard test - that's for a man to do anything, but you gotta make the buzzard get the test. Now, the buzzard, she sets on her eggs and after she sets on her eggs, she goes off to feed exactly thirty minutes. You gotta go to the nest and take one of them eggs out of the nest when she go off the nest feeding. You know she feeds thirty minutes, [therefore] you boil the egg about fifteen minutes and then you slip back there and put that egg in the nest. Now she going to hatch all them buzzards but that one egg, and she going to sit on that one egg nine days. After she see that egg don't hatch, she going off and get something and put on [test] the egg. Then she see that egg was not good. And then, when she see that egg was not good, she going to take all her young ones away from there and she going to leave that test there. What she left there - a little rock or something and you going to get that little rock. You take that little rock and do anything in the world with it, but you gotta make the buzzard get it though.
(You mean she goes away to feed herself for thirty minutes?)
Yeah, goes feeds herself and that's the time you get the egg out of that nest and you get that buzzard test. If you get that, why you kin go any place without being seen.
(I see. They can't see you.)
They can't see you.
(This egg that isn't any good - it turns to a rock?)
No, the egg don't turn to a rock. She goes off and gets something - we li'ble be walking over it but you don't know what it is. She goes gets it. You gotta make her go get it. And she put it on her egg to see was the egg good, and after she find out the egg was no good and it didn't hatch, then she going to leave there, but [before the test] she going to sit on the egg nine days. (After she finds out that egg is no good with that rock - she tests that egg with the rock?) Yeah, she tests that - we call it a buzzard test.
(A buzzard test. And she finds out that that egg is no good.)
No good.
(Then she just goes on away.)
She go on away.
(And she leaves both the egg and the rock in the nest?)
Leaves the egg and the rock and you goes there and gets that.
(You just take the rock - you don't get the egg?)
You don't get the egg, just get the rock. [There are similar stories of the raven.]
Entry 1859
Dere's a fish he's got two stones in his head. Outa dem two stones, you wanta be sure when you open him to git de right-hand stone. Dere's two white stones. You'll take dat right-hand stone and you'll put it in yore pocket and put some red pepper with it - put red pepper with that right-hand stone. And take de left-hand stone and take a handful of sulphur, nothing but sulphur, and you'll wrap dat up good and hid it and put it down by yo' bed - on de left corner of yo' bed, de north corner of yo' bed inside of yo' mattress. But de right-hand stone, you wants to tote dat - gains everything you wants and everything you go after. Actually you got'a git it.
Entry 1993
Dey would go to a man fer to get good luck. So when dey go to dis guy, dis guy would tell 'em you know. It would be a little black bag, have a whole lot of little things in it. It would look somepin like little pieces of stone, and a little piece of dried leaf Would be all cut up, you know, in there. I seen 'em. I seen one of 'em and I tore de thing open, I didn't know what it was, fer to see what it was. It was a little fine pieces of stone and it looked like some little leaves was into it and some little gravels looked like offen de ground. So they said de fellah says fer to hold it tight, keep it in your pocket all de time; an' if you leave it to git loose, it would git away from you and go back to 'im and you wouldn't have no luck.
(What do they call this bag?)
A qood-luck bag. You kept it in your pocket where you keep de money. You know, it would be mos' fer a man. Well, if a woman would carry one, they would have to keep it in de pocketbook.
Entry 2021
Heard tell of 'em goin' tuh - well, dey don't be roun' heah, but dey takes de rock out of a jay bird's nest. Ah've heard tell of people takin' an goin' tuh de mountains an' gittin' a rock out a jay bird's nest an' bringin' it back heah, an' if dey want a job or wanta work any way, or don' wanta do nuthin, dey kin take dat rock an' keep it. It's a lil white rock look jes' lak a aig.
(Well, how do they get that rock?)
Dey go tuh dis bird's nest an' git it. De bird nest be's on de ground, see, in de rocks, kinda in a rock-lak. Well, de nest, it be's covered up an' dey take an' uncover dis nest an' git dis rock out of it an' put it in dere pocket an' bring it on back. [Cf. No. 1155, p.423.]
Entry 4163
Yuh kin take dere chamber lye an' stop it up in a bottle. Evah mawnin' hit de stoppah. It'll have yuh so yuh'll have gravel stones or can't pee - ruin yuh dataway. (Hit it for nine morn- ings.) Nine mawnin's. Jis' one little lick.
Entry 8202
Well, dere's a certain type of people dat believe in de wanishin' [van- ishing], dat yo' kin do away wit a person through an' by a photograph. Yo' could git de actual photograph of a person. Yo' take it an' on de first of de new moon, yo' carry it anywheres where dere's a tree or a stone, anything dat choo kin mark an' know it won't be moved. An' plant it face downward in de soil. An' dey claim dat when dat moon passes away, de nex' new moon will cuz some kinda affliction tuh ovahtake de person, an' dey will grajly [gradually] drift away tuh nuthin. Nuthin will relieve 'em. It impossible tuh cure 'em, until dey will fine'ly
[finally] jis' waste away de same way de photograph do.
Entry 11263
They tell me you git two rocks and you begin to work dat stuff. If you git this gold-finding hand that I spoke of, begin to walk backward and for- Ward from de front to the back door, and TALK TO DIS POT AND DEM ROCS WILL BOIL DE WATER IN DAT POT.
(You do what?)
You kin walk backwards from de front door to the back door, after you git dis gold-finding hand, and you kin boil water in de pot without a fire.
(Boil water in the pot without a fire?)
Boil it over. [Norfolk, Va., (Doctor Paul Bowes) 460:5; 462:2; 464:2.]
Entry 13306
Then you can fix what you call a scaft [scapular] to wear upon you to protect yourself.
(A what?)
A scafle.
(What kind? How do they fix that?)
You get frankincense, frankincense.
(What kind? Frankincense. All right.)
Yes. And myris [myrrh].
(And what? Muritch. All right.)
Muritch. And you puts it in white linen. See, you make a scaple [scapular] out of it to wear around your neck. And you feeds it with a oil of labena [verbena]. (Lavena?) Yes, you pours that upon it. That's to protect yourself. See that's what I knows about that.
(Now, what do you call this vanovitch?)
Muritch.
(What does it look like?)
It's a rock.
(A rock?)
Yes, it look just like that, but you can beat it up and make a powder out of it. (I see, muritch Yes, muritch and frankincense, they both look the same, but the frankincense is light looking and myrrh is brown. But they both is rocks, just come in pieces like that and larger pieces.
(Muritch or myrrh?)
Muritch 'er - ah myrrh.
(Is it myrrh?)
Yes, sir. That's it, myrrhs.
(I see. I got it.)
Entry 2316
[He and the girl are walking down the road.] Dey been on a quarrel an' he leave 'er [and runs down the road] an' de firs' stone he git to, he take a ole stick an' put underneat' dere an' turn it ovah, an' den he come on back up dere [to the girl] an' den she'll still love 'im. Dere won't be no quarrelin'. He roll de stone ovah on top de stick.