Subject:Sugar/Brown
Entries
Entry 3277
Sech as, yo' know, havin' a intahco'se wit a man - yo' know, yo' wanta keep 'im an' have 'im tuh bring all 'is money home lak dat. Yo' have a intah- co'se wit 'im. Yo' git some brown sugah, yo' know, an' put it up lak yo's goin' take a douche. Yeah, put it up yo'self, yo' see. Jis' lak yo' goin' have him dat night, why yo'd put it up dat evenin', yo' see. An' den yo'd have Intahco'se wit 'im dat night.
(What will that do then?)
Dat would make him bring all 'is money home. But yo'd have tuh use dat as often as yo' have him, see. If yo'd have him twicet a week, yo'd have to do dat twicet a week.
(You put this powdered sugar itself?)
Yes - no, dis gradulated [granulated] brown sugah - don't mix it wit nuthin. Jis' take yore fingah, yo' see, an' run as fur as yo' kin up yo'. [SHE USES BROWN SUGAR BECAUSE: fo' colored [[person]] yo' git brown; an' white [[person]] yo' git white sugah, says Nahnee, a master of color symbolism, p.1351, line 22.]
Entry 4621
Dey take dat bow out of a man's hat an' dress dat an' wear it aroun' dere waist, an' it keeps 'Im undah hypnotic [something] or hypnotic powah.
(What do they do with the bow, now?)
Take dat bow out, out of de back of yuh hat, but don't - don't cut it loose, jes' cut de hat loose an' let de bow work out of dere as it is. An' wrap it up in flannel, an' write his name across a piece of pa- pah an' write his name in four ways across de piece of papah. An' wrap dat bow up an' a little piece of bluestone an' brown sugah an' wear it nex' tuh dere waist, an' dey'll almos' have him undah powah dat dey kin make him do anythin' dey wants 'im.
(What do you mean write his name in four ways?)
See, write de name jes' like dis [demonstrates]. Write it dis way, den dis Way, den dis Way, an' den dis Way. Make two squares out of it, cross it like [demonstrates].
(Like, as if you were playing tick-tack-toe.)
Yeah, dat's it.
(Two lines up and two across?)
Dat's right. [Somewhere I have called his tick-tack-toe design a double double-cross. Split this design vertically down the center and you will see what I mean # = ± ‡.]
(I see.)
Entry 4924
(How can you keep this man home?)
Why ah take his dirty sock an' git me some brown sugah an' some sulphuh an' lay 'em down an' turn de foots part up, an' sprinkle dat brown sugah on dere an' de sulphur. Roll 'em up [to you] an' tie an' bury 'em undah mah do'step or in mah bed, in mah mattress. Sew 'em up in mah mattress. (Here's the sock, there's the toe, and there's the heel. How would I roll that up now?) Dis is de toe. Yuh lay 'em bottomside up, de dirty part up, an' yuh take yuh brown sugah an' yuh sprinkle ovah dere on de bottom of de stockin'. Sprinkle yore sulphur on top of dat. An' have yuh a spool of black thread an' yuh roll 'em dis Way [to you]. Roll yore toe up tuh de heel. When yuh git tuh rollin', take yore brown thread [I mean] use black thread an' tie it. Well if yuh haven't got a do'step, lak yore [you are] upstairs [put in mattress].
Entry 5476
Takes dey tracks an' weah it in dey shoes.
(What will that do then?)
AH DON' WAN'A TELL NO STORY. Yes, yo' kin take dere tracks an' weah it in yore shoe. An' den yo' kin take brown sugah an' yo' kin take graveyard dirt, an' write his name an' yore name on a bran'-new envelope has nevah been used, an' put it undahneat' yore bed mattress. An' he's supposed tuh come back tuh yo' in three days.
(You put all this stuff into the envelope?)
Uh-huh.
Entry 8496
Well, yo' git dat boss - try tuh git holt of some one of de mens dat works dere, an' git aroun' dem an' ast 'im what de boss name. Well yo' git 'is name an' yo' weah dat boss name. Yo' take it an' write it nine times goin' an' comin' towards yuh, an' put it in yuh shoe; but be sure dat yo' put some sugah in it. An' dat's gotta be brown sugah yo' undahstand.
(Why brown?)
It jis' have tuh be brown sugah.
(All right.)
Entry 8542
I will.
(All right.)
Well, the things that have been used to do such things as that is take a couple of things what is called bluestone, brown sugar, write the name of a per- son nine times on a piece of paper, wrap that to- gether. If by any chance you can hide or bury that under the steps of that person, sort of in a position where it can face with the name reading from east to west, where the sun rise and go down, place it under the steps of the people and face it from east to west. And you then will be able to take a power over them people by using that in that way.
(I mean just what kind of power do you want to have over them?)
A power, the person not being [stationary] at no certain place, and the per- son not being able to stop as long as you have that stuff under his steps that they lives in. But wrap it in red flannel.
(I see. Will that make them move or it just gives you the power over them?)
Give you the power over them that will keep them on the move.
(Oh, I see.)
Entry 8582
Sho', ah kin show yo' somepin dat make 'em come back. Yo' take nuthin but a brown papah an' write her name nine times. Wrap it up wit brown sugah, not dis regular sugah we git. Yo' git de brown undryed [old- fashioned crude] sugah an' yo' wrap it up in dat name, aftah yo' write it nine times an' den cross it once. Dat'll make ten. If yo' got 'lectric [lamp] yo'll have tuh git a [coal oil] lamp an put dat name down in dat coal oil. Put it down in dere an' let de lamp burn. Let it burn fo' 24 hours an' in 48 hours she'll be back or tryin' tuh git in tech wit chew. If she don' be back, she'll try tuh git in tech wit chew. Yo jes' take her name on dat brown sugah, bag papah, not no papah yo' buy: Jes' lak yo' got sompin wit brown papah. Write her name on it nine time an' den write yores once 'cross dere. Fold it up an' put it down in de lamp, an' let dat lamp burn 24 hours; an' if she don't be back in de 24 hours, she'll be tryin' tuh git in tech wit chew.
Entry 8613
Yo' git chew some honey an' some sugah, some brown sugah - gotta be brown sugah. An' yo' write dat person's name nine time, yore landlord name nine times, an' yo' puts it in a bot- tle. Put enough on it, in sugah, where it will ovahflow it, yo' see. An' stick it in de left corner of yore bed. See, lak yore bed's at de left way, yo' take it an' stick it right behin' dere where no one wouldn't see it. But don' put de bottle dis way [demonstrates] turn it upside down an' leave it stay dere. An' yo'll stay dere fo' a long time an' yo'll nevah worry about movin'. Nevah Worry about money dat chew got. He'll nevah worry yo' about it.
Entry 8913
Take de white of an aig an' beat it, an' if yo' know which way dey come in yore house, providin' if yo' wasn't dere - see, if yo' knew which way dey come in, yo' take dat white of a aig an' beat it. Take yo' some brown sugah an' lay it on de stove. Burn dat sugah an' take de white of dat aig an' put it where he came in de do'way. An' he will be de second one or de first. Yo' cooks de yellah but don' eat it. An' he'll be de nex' one come back to yore house, de one dat stole it from yo'.
(What do you mean you put that white of the egg where he came in?)
Yo' takes de white of dat aig.an' if yo' kin find his track, puts it in his track an' takes it up. Yo' takes up his track an' ties it up in a cloth an' put it up ovah yore do'. Quite natural he will come back [for his track which is a part of him].
(What do you do with that yellow of the egg if you don't eat it?)
Yo' takes de yellah of dat aig an' cooks it, dries it up. Yo' cooks it hard an' let it dry lak. Yo' boil it an' grind it up in de palm of yore han' lak dat, until it come to a dust. Yo' takes de dust of dat an' mix it wit dat whut yo' have taken up from his feet, an' dat would draw him back. Wit dat alum dat would draw him back. Yo' takes de alum an' put it in it. Dat alum is a drawin' somepin. See, ALUM WILL DRAW ANYTHIN DAT CHEW PUT IT ON MOSTLY. YO' take N put it on dere an' it will draw him back. [It is a common belief in hoodoo that alum draws, draws up, but I wonder about alum being used here. Is informant confusing the albumen of egg white with alum? Is he calling egg white alum?]
Entry 11182
Yo' kin git chew some lodestone [see later], it's sompin dat's lak a incense.
(Lodestone?)
Yes. All right. Yo' take dat an' yo' take some brown sugah an' yo' take some bluein' an' Redbird Epsom Salts an' devil's-shoestring, an' yo' mix allah [all of] dat up tuhgethah, an yo' sprinkle dat aroun' de house. Dat's tuh make dem move. [There appears to be at least three types of what is called lodestone: ground particles or a lump that can be pulverized, both at- tracting iron; and a third substance that is merely an incense.]
Entry 11651
You git that brown sugar, an' you git that flaxseed, an' you git some steel dus' [3 ingredients] an' mix it up. An' jis' like I'm livin' on this - you livin' on this corner an' you bootleggin'. All right. You take an' you sprinkle it both sides of the street on each corner. The law ain't gon'a bother you.
Entry 12295
A person did you somepin, and you take a lemon and you put some parsley in it, and you put some cinnamon in it and brown sugar in that lemon. [Brown sugar for a black person, white sugar for vhite person. Many examples in HOODOO of color scheme.]
(You put parsley, cinnamon and brown sugar. All right.)
Yeah, brown sugar, into the lemon, and you take that lemon and you go put it right under your step - under there - right under the middle part of your step, and bury it. They say that will move what they done did to you.
(Take it away.)
Yes.
Entry 12540
Take dat red onion peelin' an' yo' take some nice clean pot, an' sulphur, brown sugah fo' colored an' white sugah for white - whoevah yo' workin' it on. An' put it on a shovel on some red coals, de fiah, yo' know, an' yo' let dat burn. Go to each cornah of yore house at five a'clock in de evenin' an' make yore wish, an' whatevah yore wishes is dey'll come true.
(What would you wish, for example?)
Well, jes' whatevah yo' wish fo', yo' know, jes' de main thing whut yo' wish fo' - anything.
Entry 12610
Dis pepper and salt, it'll work two or three ways. At sunrise, see, you throw it going out de house; at sunset, throw it coming in de house, and bootleggers will never bother you.
(You mean the law, if you are bootleggers?)
Yes, I mean the law will never bother you. I did dat in February right dere on Henry street.
(Well, now, how would you use that pepper now?)
Jes' take de grain [whole] pepper and bit it in two with your teeth - in half with your teeth and mix it, as much as you want of it, with a pound box. See, if it's a pound box, a pound of dat [whole black pepper] and a pound of de brown sugar. When you bit dis grain pepper half in two, well you mix it together. Well, if you don't want de law to bother you, at sunrise see, you throw it com- ing out of de house; at sunset, throw it coming in de house. An' de laws will never bother you.
(That will make the law stay away.)
Entry 12611
And get you a pound of brown sugar and a pound of black pepper and - there's somepin else goes with it - and a pound of salt. And you gets that pound of grain [whole] black pepper and you chew it - bites it up. Goes through the house and mix it all together and spread some in your house every morning and night and he won't come dere.
(What is that supposed to do then?)
Keep the law away from the house.
Entry 12885
Now, if you bottleggin', you want trade. Now you go to your drug store. You buy you a pound of that brown sugah, you understand. You get choo a codfish ball - you know what dat codfish, big O [ole] codfish! You get that and get you a nickel's worth of pahsley [parsley]. Now, you gona take dat pahsley, codfish ball, the sugar. You take your water, about 2 quarts or quart an' a half. Fix what you want, any kind of water. An' yo' put it in a pot or bucket, or whatsomever will hold it. And put all that stuff into the water and let it boil. Let it boil down to one quart [the magic of diminishing amount]. An' use your pot every morning, like Friday's, that myst be your busy day for Saturday. Like Wednesday you wan'a take that day for cleaning up. Well, you take that water and git you someone to go out to clean up your place for you - just sprinkle that water - go to the front - come to the front like this [demon- strates], you see, an' come right on in [from the front door, leading future customers in]. Now, I don't tell you that people will spend their money there, but I'll guarantee you'll have a crowd there an' you won't have standing room. But somebody will spend money. You understand how that is? That'll square you. I do that.
Entry 13239
You go to a job, you have never been dere an' yo' look, yo' don't know de man when yo' walk in dere. Yo' have a little sugah in your pocket. Let it be brown sugah [if you are a black man]. An' ast 'em, if somebody [standing about], whoevah recommend to you [tell you], who is he [the boss] - de one dis [dat] de boss. An' sprinkle dat sugah [on the ground near the boss], say, De Name of de Father, de Son an' Holy Ghost, I guar'tee you git job.
Entry 13255
You take sulphur, they tell me and mix it together in pure lard and rub with it. You kin move it [poison or cunjure] 股中 away. Sulphur and pure lard, cream it together and rub with it. They say that choo kin get it out choo by that. And [in addition] you take so much sulphur, don' choo understand, with brown sugar. You take it [inwardly]. Well, that purges you, you know, and git all dat bad stuff out.