Subject:Stove
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Entry 3253
Well, ah tell yo' whut chew kin do tuh break a man up wit a woman. Yo' buy a bran'-new pocket han'chuf, if yo' wanta break up 'im from intahco'se wit 'er. Take yo' a bran'-new pocket han'chuff an' have intahco'se wit 'im. See, ketch it [semen] all in dis new pocket han'chuff an' take it home wit chew. Yo' take dat han'chuff jis' lak dis [demonstrates] an' roll dis to yo'. See dis, evah time. Yo' turn it roun' an' yo' roll it right back to yo'. Den yo' turn an' yo' roll it ag'in. Fold it up, see. Take yo' nine pods of red peppah [9 dried finger peppers - hot peppers] an' put it on dere an' two spoonsfulla table salt. Dig yo' a hole in de fiahplace or cookin' stove. Do dis at twelve a'clock in de night, zackly twelve, an' don't talk tuh nobody, be by yo'self. Dig dat hole an' put it in dere. An' whosomevah build a fire - yo' don' have tuh build no fiah [if there is a fire, use it; if not] build a fiah dere an' burn dat up an' don't even look back, an' if yo' don't do whut chew wan'a do, dat's yorn [man or woman]. Ah had a man ah vuz re'lly crazy about. Ah re'lly loved 'im an' he done rid- ded [got rid of me] me fo' anothah woman. A Mistah John Cook [Mistah indicates a white doctor], ah nevah will fo'git, he tole me fis' whut tuh do an' ah tried it. Ah thought he wuz jis' lyin'. So ah went home an' ah tried it. He quit dis woman. He moved up dere wit Miz Wallace. He worked fo' dem [Wallace family] a long time in de garden. He said, "Honey, ah jis' don' feel satisfied if ah ain't wit chew." An' ah went off an' left 'im mahself, come ovah heah [to Little Rock]. He lef' [the Wallace family] an' he come home tuh me [followed me to Lit- tle Rock] an' he stayed dere.
Entry 3339
If he wus runnin' aroun' wit othah wimmin an' she wanted tuh stop 'im, all she'd have tuh do, she would have connection wit 'im 'erself an' instead of usin' a towel, she would use her dishrag. An' aftah usin' de dishrag, she would put dis dishrag in de stove an' bake it. Well, she wouldn't bake it to a powdah, she would jes' bake it so she could keep it - hold it 'erself. Well, dis man, he wouldn't know anythin' about it. Whenevah he'd go out to see whatevah woman he wanted tuh see, why he wouldn't be any good. He would rise befo' he git to dis woman an' soon as he touch 'er, he would fall. Well, den, if he'd go back to his wife, why he would be de same as he was befo'. He'd nevah fail wit 'er but he would wit othah wim- nn. An' aftah so many times he'd do dat, why he would see dat he couldn't be wit no othah wimmin an' it would stop 'im from runnin' out. {Fayetteville, N. Car., (1390), 2492:9.]
Entry 5341
Yo' put 'em tuh ramblin', see. Well, now, heah's whut ah mean by dat. Yo' takes a fresh hen aig see, an' hit will be jes' fresh laid. An' wheresom- evah yo' transfah [walk] at on de natchal [natural] groun', yo' take dat an' bury it in de hollah of dere track. See. An' yo'd be sho' [sure] not tuh bury it mo' den three inches deep, an' in place of rakin' de dirt ovah lak dat, yo' rake it ovah back tuhwards home, where yo' wan' 'em tuh come. See. See, yo' rake it back de way yo' wan' 'em tuh come. An' den yo' take dat an' yo' git chew cleah watah an' put it in nine bottles at chure home. An' yo' take dem bottles an' put 'em on a grate or heatah or whatsomevah yo' have, one at de time. An' have a co'k stoppah in dat [bottle] so it wouldn't burn out, an' dat would bust in dat fiah, see. An' dat will break dat trouble an' draw 'em back. (The woman, when he leaves home, she would get one of his foot tracks and put that egg in that foot track. Bury taht egg in that foot track. And after she does that, carries it back toward the house. Then she gets her nine bottles of clear water and puts one on the hearth...) Puts 'em dere one at de time.
(And each one must break.)
Each one must bust, explode, jes' pops.
(And after she has done nine of them, then he'll come back to her.)
Will come back. If he knew dat she wuz doin' dat an' he still wanta stay 'way an' not go, well he'd have a way tuh keep from doin' dat. Well, now, he'd do dat wit de same thing - salt. He'd burn dat salt and put it in a little bag, see, an' keep dat in his pocket. Dat would break dat.
Entry 8140
Take dey photograph an' git dis gunpowdah out of a shell, wit sulphuh an' salt, an' go out in de field or in de house, wherevah yo' want to. Co'se de gunpowdah makes sech a noise. Yo' kin put dis pichure face down on dis an' make a fiah undah it. (Face down on what?) On de fiah. See, yo' make a fiah an' den yo' put dis pichure face down on a piece of papah wit de gunpowdah an' sulphuh, an' salt an' graveyard dirt. Tell it dat, "Ah want chew tuh run dis person away. Ah want chew tuh kill 'em." But mos'ly tuh kill de person. When de fiah ketch on de pichure, it will kill de person.
Entry 8246
(If a man leaves his wife, how would she make him come back?) Make him come back?
(How would the woman make him come back?)
Well, dey kin go buy a box of salt an' take his pichure. Take dat pichure an' de box of salt an' put dat pichure head foremost - put de head down an' feet up - dat [feet] on top, de top of 'is feet in dere. See, dis side up. An' aftah it set in dere nine days, yo' take dat salt off. Take dat pichure, aftah he come - soon as he come home - take dat pichure an' put it up. If yo' wan' tuh make him come quick, take dat pichure an' put it in a li'le frame, an' put it close tuh de stove, an' keep a fiah in dat stove. An' den, if yo' want's it hot, den yo' sprinkle peppah on de bottom part of dat pichure. I heah sometime dey put....
Entry 8549
A rock, not a brick, but a rock - yo' kin take a brick too, either one of 'em, so it's hard, sompin won't bust to pieces when one of 'em is throwed in de fire or in de stove, an' let it stay in dere. An' yo'll leave my house, yo' won't be there many days. Leave my house, love de town, an' yo' keep goin'. (That's all you do, just throw that rock or brick in the fire?) Just put it in de fire an' name it yo'. (Oh! Name it you.) Like your name is - name it yo' an' put it in de fire, an' let it stay in dere. An' yo'll leave an' yo' won't come back dere.
Entry 8575
Ah heard that you could put sugar on the stove nine mawnin's an' after nine mawnin's, yo' write his name on a piece of paper an' stick it in de keyhole.
(In the keyhole?)
Yes, an' call 'im.
(Well, what do you do with this sugar on the stove?)
Burn dat nine mawnin's, dat's all.
(Just one of his shoes?)
No, sugar, SUGAR. (Oh, sugar. You burn sugar for nine mornings. And after that you write this name on this paper and put it in the keyhole.) Jes' write his name over it an' fold it to yo', an' hang it right over de key- hole. [Don't tell me the man is coming back through the keyhole! His spirit rather. The keyhole is the entrance for witches.]
(And you call his name?)
An' yo' call 'is name.
(Just once?)
Just as many times as yo' wanta.
(And he will come back.)
Yeah.
Entry 9171
Leave the hydrant running slowly, turn all the "stove eyes" up [lids of old-fashioned kitchen stove burning coal or wood]. You turn your "back pock- ets" [= hip pockets] wrongside outwards. You carry a "Indian head penny. [As I said somewhere in the text, water coming from a faucet is considered running water. Even the pipe carry- ing water from street into house has been called running water. There are a nun ber of these rites scattered through the text to support this statement.]
Entry 9460
If a woman had a man an' she wanta git rid of him, she would first start a argument wit him, an' de minute dat he'd begin tuh walk out, de same as ah'd walk out de do' dere [door of interviewing room] dat she would take a han'fulla salt an' throw it behin' him, an' throw some on de stove or in de fy'place [fireplace] - out de do' behin' him, an' if she got a fiah in de stove, throw some on dat. An' she would use a cuss. Den he stay away. In othah words dey would sweep yo' track out de do' as yo' go out. (Would she also sweep after - she would throw this salt after you and throw it into the fire. And throw it behind you, and she would put some in the fire and curse. That would make you stay away?) Yes.
Entry 9624
Sulphah an' red peppah an' put nine teaspoonsful of salt in it, an' bary it to de back do' an' to yore front do', an' dey couldn't stay dere tuh ave dere life. Dey may stay two or three weeks but dey won' stay. (You mean in the house or around the house?) No, yo' jes' bury it right undah yore back steps. An' den go to yore front step an' bury it 'bout de same place - under de front steps. An' dey couldn't stay dere to save dere life.
Entry 9640
Ah heard dat chew take yore chamber lye an' dis salt an' peppah, an' throu it evah mawnin' befo' sunrise at chure do'. Dat'll keep de laws from run- nin' on yo' an' all fren's will come to yo'. An' don't sweep no, none of de dust out chure house, out chure front do'. Don' nevah throw none out; throw it in de fiahplace. Dat always brings in luck. But nevah carries out any [sweepings]. (If you are in business of any kind, especially bootlegging?) Yes, bootleggin' an' gamblin'. Savannah, Ga., (1279), 2176:3.]
Entry 9672
In cookin' an' usin' onion, take de onion an' put salt on it an' put it in de stove. It bring good luck tuh de house. (How do you mean put this onion in the stove?) See, yo' cookin' a pastry or soipin an' yo' use de onion, an' de outah peel yo' cut off de onion. Yo' take dat an' sprinkle salt ovah dat, an' wrap it up in a papah, an' put it in de stove an' burn it.
(What is that supposed to do?)
Bring luck to de house.
(Just any kind of a house?)
Yeah, jes' any house. Don't be any particular house.
Entry 9689
Well, you take that and say: Sugar, you is de sweetening of all things. I want you to sweeten dis man for me. Salt, [you] gives peace of all things. I want you to keep this man for me personally free from any other woman. Then you mix it all up together and take it like that in nine pinches. Then put it on the red-hot stove and burn it. And your home will be happy. (That is, you burn both the salt and the sugar together.)
Entry 11025
Dey use chicken feathers dey say fo' bad luck. Probably if yo' got some chickens or sompin lak dat an' ah wanta make yo' have bad luck, ah kin take de feathers from yore chick- ens and burn 'em in mah stove. See, an' use de ashes an' dese chicken fea- thers an' take 'em an' sprinkle 'em all round yore house. Dat will cause all yore chickens tuh die, or someone in yore family to die, or sompin lak dat. Dat's whut de' call a re- buke to a family. Or either if ah should happen to have tuh buy a chicken or sompin lak dat, ah kin git some of yore dirt from roun' in yore yard where yo' have travel on, an' use it an' burn it an' cause yo' tuh have bad luck to some of yore family or either probably to yo'.
Entry 11712
Well, garlic's for luck for skinning.
(For what?)
Any kind of card games. You take garlic and antiphigestin. They have a' 'nointment, a salve-like they calls aniphigestine. People use it for sores. Well, you take garlic - take those little buttons of garlic - take one of 'em and cut it up into nine pieces. (Nine pieces.) Nine pieces of it. Take this - a whole tube of anamjestine... (Ana - anamajestine?) Anamajestine. Yes, sir. (All right.) Then you take it and wrap it up in a nice clean ohite cloth - just so the cloth is nice and clean. Then you take and take a piece of white - red flannel and wrap it up in that. And take this stove coal - hard, hard, you know, and beat it up just like a powder.
(Black coal?)
Black coal, yes, sir. And take some vinegar and put this coal in some vinegar, nalf a glass of vinegar. And put about a teaspoonful of that coal dust in that and steel dust - a small amount of steel dust. And put it on and boil it down i real low. And then you take and soak that garlic and anamajestine in it. That akes a toby.
(What's a toby?)
For cards - that tells you when your cards is on the table, when to turn 'em D. Tell you when to set.
(How will it tell you that?)
Well, when it's....it'll jump in your pocket.
(Do what?)
It'll jump.
(It'll jump to tell you to do that.)
Entry 11733
He'd git dis green grass an' take that grass an' put it in the stove an' let it git real dry. An' after it git real dry, he'll take it an' ball it like that [demonstrated by balling an imaginary handful of grass in his hands]. An' yo' kin take that, an' at twelve o'clock at nighttime, jis' put it in front of your door. An' do that evrey [every] night at twelve o'clock, and the Law [police] won't bother you.
Entry 12603
Take red peppah, jis' take it an' sprinkle it ovah de stove where yo' cook at, sprinkle red peppah in de stove or eithah throw it in de fiah.
(What will that do then?) Dey won' come neah dere. (That will keep the law away?) Sho'.
Entry 13250
I stayed at a place up north. Every morning when I kindled de fire- I gen'a'ly made de fire - they had a package of sulphur there on that stove. When it was hot, they would sprinkle de sulphur on it, to fumigate de house with sulphur. They said that kept off the evil spirits and give it luck. (Every morning?) Every morning they'd sat- urate dat stove, when ft. got hot, you know, so that sulphur Would burn, they would sprinkle some of that sulphur on the stove. Said that kept off the evil spirits and give them luck. Druv [drove] the evil spirits out of the house, which, you know yourself, that there are more evil spirits than there are good ones. We are told by the Bible that many's the soul to walks this earth, visible or invisible. What they meant visible ones is the ones that we want to get rid of, don't want to be bothered with 'em. Well, now, we'll go back to de sulphur question. When you go to dig money, you make a circle around, all de way around de place yo' goin' to dig. Now a fellah tole me this to be a fact. Ah never seen it. An' sprinkle sulphur all around it [circle], an' yo' dig inside de ring of sulphur. When de evil spirit comes up there, he can't get inside that ring over that sulphur.