Subject:Touch
Entries
Entry 831
Once ah had a very bad headache. Mah head hurt so bad until ah couldn't hardly see - had to put mah feet into warm water to bathe 'em and at de same time bathe mah head down, too. So ah went to a hoodoo doctor and ask him what's de trouble, and he look at mah head and said a piece of hair had been cut out of mah head and buried around de house, and if a storm come early an' wash it away it would help me, but if it didn't ah would go crazy.
(What happened - how did the story turn out?)
Ah tell yo' how de story turned out. Ah was a missionary - ah was going to a missionary meeting, and whilst ah was waiting fo' de people to get ready - ah was at a preacher's house an' whilst setting there ah could feel that headache coming on. I said - I grabbed both hands, I say, "Ooh, mah haid hurts so bad ah believe ah'm going have one dem terrible headaches. So de preacher asked me, said, "Do yo' believe in prayer." I say, "Yes sir." So he came an' he put his hand on de top of mah haid and he said, "Now, yo' pray whilst ah prays." An' he prayed secretly, and ah could feel that misery jest easily goin' away - jest easily goin' away. And after it had gone, seemed like ah had been off in a dream, an' ah never did have that headache again.
(Where did this experience happen - right here in Mobile?)
Yes sir.
(Just a few years ago?)
Yes.
Entry 832
Sometimes all they have to do is to touch you. I wanted to remember a boy and after he [a cunjure man] touched me I couldn't remember him. I didn't know what he [boy] looked like. This [spell] lasted over a year. I couldn't see [remember] this boy. I was in a family way. His mother got this cunjure man to make me forget him. He came to my house, I was in this condition, and he put his hand on my stomach and thinking of the boy when he did it, and after he removed his hand I couldn't think about him [boy]. I would see his pitchure but I couldn't think of anything of him. When this [spell] work off [after a year] it turned back on this boy - he got so he was loving me. After this spell was broken this man [cunjure man] came to me and told me he did it. He told me to put it back on the boy, the boy was in New York and would come back. He came back. I didn't marry this boy. He also gave my mother a little bag to wear on her stocking. My mother's thinking of putting me in trouble [worrying about daughter's condition]. After he gave her this bag she seemed to forget all about me being in trouble. She didn't think of it until the year was up. He told her to wear this bag. He put it there himself, on her left stocking. It had a string on it. He tied it around [her] himself. It was a little black bag. It contained something that smelled like spice, like cinnamon. Whenever he come in contact with you he kinda hypnotized you. I don't know where the hoodoo man came from. This happened in Newport News [Virginia]. His [boy's] grandmother did most of it. She died about two years afterwards. The last time I seen her she had great big knots on her face like some animal. She died a horrible death. It must of went back on her, too. I thought it'd come out on the baby but it didn't take any effect. Only he has funny little spells. Ev'ry night when he goes to bed he'll holler in his sleep. He always did do that from a little baby on up, even now. He's eleven years old.
Entry 3285
She gotta go where he's at.
(Yes?)
[My (Yes?) means informant hesitated.]
Well, she's gotta have connection wit dis man. She gits dis [his] what-cha- call-it an' hers, an' be sure hit's gotta be a bran'-new han'chief or bran'-new cloth. An' she takes dat an' she puts sugah in an' cinnamon an' powdah [3 ingredients], an' put dat in a box an' she keep it all de time, weah it aroun' in 'er pocketbook or in 'er pocket. Don't let nobody put dere han's on it. An' he's comin' back.
(What kind of powder did you say she put in there?)
Sugah. [Informant probably misunderstood me. It would have been some kind of love powder.]
(What did she put the powder in?)
In a box. (End of 884 and end of my work in New Orleans, La. So-so. I'll try to get out tonight on the train [for New York City].) [Within the parenthesis I am speaking to the Telediphone. That So-so had to mean I had had a tremendous ex- perience: first my wife and I alone about the city, and after her departure, the hoodoo field work. I would return to New Orleans later.]
Entry 3673
Lockin' de bowels, well ah tell yo' ah don' really know much about dat, but it's one thing ah do know. Yo' kin stop a woman or a man from havin' intah- co'se wit anothah fellah, if yo' want to. Well yo' go an' git chew a house snail, dese ole snails crawl aroun' de house. Yo' take yore dishrag dat chew been usin' in de kitchen an' yo' washes it out. When dis snail starts tuh crawlin', yo' take de rag an' put it ovah 'im dataway [demonstrates]. Well, yo' know he's bound tuh melt.
(You just drop that rag over him and pick him up that way?)
Dat's right. Den put 'im back down. Do dat fo' about fo' times. Yo' take dat rag an' fold it up nice in yore pocket, or yore towel - whatevah it is. But it's best tuh be wit a dishrag. Yo' take dat dishrag an fold it up an' yo' go somewhere an' have intahco'se wit 'er. Well, she say, "Ah got sompin." Yo' say, "No, yo' take dis'un [this one], ah got sompin heah, mah ole han'ke'chef" - sompin lak dat. Well, when she take dat - but don' chew use it yoreself, let 'er use it. An' cain't nobody in de worl' have nuthin tuh do wit 'er but chew. Cain't even give her a million dollahs. Ah kin give her a million dollahs, an' de min- ute ah starts it will be jes' lak dis cloth heah [on table holding recording machine between us]. (Well, is there any way that you can get rid of that, after you are fixed up that way? How can you get rid of that?) No Suh, YO' CAIN'T GIT RID OF DAT. YO' GOTTA DIE [TO] PASS AWAY DAT OFFA YO'.
Entry 5586
Well, if a man a long way from home an' he wanta come back - she have tuh do dis befo' he git off do [though]. Git 'is track from 'is right foot, from de toe back tuh de heel, an' sew hit up in a bran'-new piece of cloth, an' tote it in 'er pocket evahwhere she go. But she mustn't let nobody put dey han's on it. An' he come home back tuh 'er.
Entry 7056
Yo' have tuh git a young chile's urine. See, an' git some, lak if he loves tuh drink wine. Well, yo' know he loves tuh drink dat wine. When he comes home tuh dinnah - but it has tuh be a woman chile. See, a kid nine, six or seven yeahs ole. An' yo' make her urine in a bottle an' yo' take... [author interrupts].
(Must it be a girl?)
It must be a girl, an' yo' make her urine [urinate], yo' know, in a cup or somepin; but chew mustn't let yer fingahs touch nowhere. Yo' know whut ah mean, jis' [no] mo' den tuh po' it out in de bottle, yo' see. An' yo' give him some. Po' dat urine in dere an' den yo' git some likkah, wine, an' mix dat tuhgethah. See, an' when he drink dat, dat jis' make his stomic upset. An' evah time he go tuh drink dat, give him dat. Well finely it weahs off an' he cain't stan' it. See, it makes 'im sick. [Algiers, La., (1590), 2989:3.] [Informants call these rites tricks (Nos.7081, 7086, 7091). They are one of many methods for capturing a person's spirit, the very essence of hoodoo, always dangerous for the believer. Nowhere has a time limit been set to the spell, ex- cept the return of the spellcaster (almost all rites). Thus the sleeping victim could burn up, if the house caught fire (No.7086). Similar keeping-asleep rites scattered through the interviews of Hoodoo will add greater variety to the mate- rial presented here.]
Entry 9148
Well, if yo' go down befo' de jedge, it's a root chew git called de "Be 'shamed brier root," de "be 'shamed Brier Root."
(Be Ashamed? Well, why do they call it that?)
Well, becuz it's de conkah of all roots of de woods. It's conkah of all de roots in de woods. See, lak if yo' go in de woods tuh git dat an' jes' whatevah yo' wanta learn an' know, yo' see dat bush, de little leaves on it closes up. It says, "Be 'shamed of yo'self, be 'shamed of yo'- self, be 'shamed of yo'- self [he hits it]. Well, all dem leaves on dat closes up [because he touched, hit the plant].
(As soon as you touch it that way, then it closes up?)
Close up. Well, yo' dig down dere an' git dat root. Dig down dere an' git dat root out dere. Well, den yo' take dat root, see, an' carry it home. An' if yo' got a case in co't, yo' take dat an' hold it in yore mouth lak dat, an' yo' spit one time 'fore de jedge. Spit dat at his face. Well, when yo' do dat, lak ah'm lookin' at chew, yo' see, yo' lookin' at me an' he think yo' chewin' 'bacco or somepin. He won't know whut chew got in yore mouth. Yo' jes' spit one time 'fore his face. Well, an' den yo' go dere an' set down. Well, when yo' sets down an' he'll jes' - he'll call up evahbody in co't. He'll call up evahbody in co't an' yo'll be settin' ovah dere, an' he look ovah dere an' he say, "Well, whut chew want in heah? Git up an' go on outa heah." See, dat root done got his mind, he done got 'shamed of whut he got yo' 'cused [accused] of, say, "Yo' git up an' walk on out." [They fascinate me, those words near the beginning: git dat (shame brier) an' jes' whatevah yo' wanta learn an' know, yo' see dat bush. de little leaves on it closes up. This suggests to me that some persons at least, and in some way, used the shame brier as a divining device. This plant and the hole of the doodle-bug (ant-lion larva) must have puzzled believers in hoodoo at one time - for beliefs about the doodle-bug, see Folklore from Adams County Illinois, Nos.1398-1404, p.55, 2nd ed.]
Entry 9820
Latsa people dey take nine needles, bran'-new needles an' dey git a piece of lodestone an' put 'em in dis way an' dat-a-way [demonstrates].... (Now wait. [I try to repeat informant's demonstration.] Put in this way and that way?) [I am making a cross.] Yes sir, cross [demonstrates].
(Cross them all.)
An' den yo' go tuh a blacksmith shop an' git chew some anvil dust, de steel from de anvil where dey make de iron, an' put it in dere. An' git chew a piece of lodestone an' put ten cents [a silver dime] in it. It's lucky tuh yuh if yo' keep it an' let nobody touch it. Feed it wit whiskey. Yo'll always have silvah money. [Even during my collecting days back in 1938 the preceding anvil dust never saw an anvil; it came from ma- chine-shop filings. Anvil dust and steel dust were the same thing, depending upon age, size, color, etc.] [In the following comment I am not talking for informant's benefit, I am an- notating for the future.] (Now in putting these needles, you put one needle like that, and then you put another needle on there like that - like a cross, sort of like little squares, like tick-tack-toe.) Yes. [Everything is arranged or sprinkled into the form of a cross before the combined materials are put in the bag.]
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 9908
Yo' kin ketch a toadfrog an' yo' bur' 'im [bury him]. Dere's two or three ways about a frog. Yo' ketch a toadfrog an' yo' bur' 'im, an' put 'im in a ants baid an' de ants done pick 'im bad. An' den aftah dat, why yo' takes 'is bones. Don' want no flesh on 'is bones. An' weah it in yore pocket. An' den if it's a woman dat chew wanted tuh be wit, why yo' jes' tetch 'er wit dat frog [bones].
Entry 9969
Yo' take a frog and dry him. You take a frog and wrap him up and let hin die himself. Don't you kill him. Well, when he gets dry, you tote that in your pocket. You can take that and you can do anything you want with that frog. Just like if you a dice shooter, or anything I like that, you rub that [dried frog]. Jis' put it in your pocket and take and put your hand on that [frog] and go to work and shoot dice. Be lucky. Jes' like if you had one game, and if you don't have success with that, turn your back on that game. And select you a card place, if you play cards, and you'll lose one or two games and you know that you ought to win, turn your back on that game.
(How do you mean turn your back on it?)
What I mean, walk away from that game and go to the next game.
(I see, if you have this frog in your pocket.)
Entry 11108
Now, if a man likes a woman and she don't like him. All he have to do is go down to the drug store and get him some Oil of Clover. They got a per- fume they call Oil of clo- ver. And get some powder they call Love Powder, and mix that together, you un- derstand. And put it on him, and go out in the woods and get him - pass anywheres they grows up on the [something? bayous?] some weeds they call bloodweeds. [Bloodweed can be a number of plants.] You understand? Take these bloodweeds and cut him four pieces off of it. See? And put 'em in his pocket, and pour all this stuff on there. You umderstand? This powder, put it on there. And every time he pass her, he have some on his hands. You understand? And he'd hit - you know, just touch her and put it [on her]. Well, she go anywhere he want her to go. Tame her right down to him.
Entry 12714
Ah say yo' kin take a rabbit if a person - jes' like if it's a man or a woman, yo' kin take de lef' hin' feet [foot] of a rabbit after yo' done killed him. Yo' take dat lef' hin' feet of dat rabbit an' if yo' wear it in yore pocket or yore purse or sompin [MAY BE ONLY MENTION OF PULLING TENDON - TO IMPRESS?] like that, whoever yo' Want tuh [be] round or sompin, well yo' jes' take that if yo' keep that rabbit foot bathed in dis heah Hearts Perfume - if yo' keep it bathed in Hearts Perfume and git chew some dragons blood and sprin- kle on it, and wherevah yo' go, yo' know it's a little cord in dat rabbit's feet, yo' kin pull it an' it seem like it's alive. [Pulling tendon of rabbit foot is rare in rites.] And if yo' go round wherevah yo' go, if yo' take dat piece of root out of yo' pocket or either yore pocketbook, and if yo' jes' touch de person whoevah yo' want or sompin like dat, yo' kin get 'em. With the lef' feet of de rabbit. (Do you touch them with your hand or must you touch them with the rabbit foot?) With de rabbit foot. (And what do you do with that cord [tendon]? Yo' pull it.
(When do you pull it?)
Whenever yo' git aroun' 'em. See dat [tendon] work duh foot.
(Oh, you must pull it when you touch them, you mean?)
Yeah, see, when yo' go in yo' jes' pull it, see. That means yore workin', yo' know, de rabbit's foot - dat little piece of cord dat's in it, yo' know - little stringlike yo' could put it and: it will work. It come out of de feet chew know, piece of de flesh - whatevah it is - when yo' cut it off. Dat's de lef' hin' foot of de rabbit.
Entry 13455
An' if ah have a enemy that's botherin' me, ah supposed tuh git - yo' know somebody coml' tuh me an' jis' botherin' me all de time an' ah wanted tuh run 'em away. Ah kin run 'em at twelve a'clock in de night. Ah'd buy me a jug of wine an' put a dime jar of mustard in a jug of vine, an' po' that jug of wine right at de hour of twelve a'clock right at de do'step, but be sho' [sure] not tuh let de wine, tetch me. [There are numberous varnings in HOODOO by professional workers not to let any of the in- gredients used touch you.]