Subject:Towel
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Entry 3344
Well, if a man wuz runnin' aroun' wit anothah woman - if mah husban' wuz runnin' aroun' wit anothah woman, why when he have an intahco'se wit me, why ah'd git mah DISH TOWEL an' use dat on 'im. An' dat would cuz 'im not to have any nature, dat would make his nature bad. Ah know dat.
(How would you use the dish towel then?)
Well, yo' would take de dish towel an' yo' would bury de dish towel an' dat buries 'is nature. [Dish towel is rare compared to dishrag.]
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 3689
So far as I know, ah kin tell yo' on dat part, too. So now, yo' take a woman - jis' lak ah'm got a ole lady mahself an' she don't want me runnin' out wit nobody but 'er. Ah seed [saw] 'er do it mahself. Dey take a snail, a live snail dat crawls aroun' - lotta people say yo' kin take yore han'. She take 'er han' an' she will run it across dis snail an' rub it on 'er stomick. Well, yo' kin do it a diff'- ren way dan dat. Yo' kin take a snail an' put it in a clean towel, see, dat yo' use to dry off or somepin. An' where dat snail greasin' dat towel - yo' don't kill 'im or nothin - jis' let 'im crawl across it or somepin an' he makes a mark across it each way he comes. [The crawling snail makes an X-mark.] An' dat towel will be folded right back up some place an' be hung right on de - or prob'ly at de foot of de baid. An' whilst de man have intahco'se wit 'er or somepin, why she han's 'im dat towel. Well, she han's 'im dat an' as long as he uses dat, why he can't do no good wit no one else.
(I see.)
Entry 5080
(Get a piece of the garment?)
De sock.
(Of the person who is gone?)
Yes, an' he takes it NOT LARGAH DEN A POCKET HAN'KE'CH'EF. Taken dat piece not largah den a pocket han'ke'ch'ef an' take it tuh a runnin' stream of watah, tuh where rock run ovah - a stream from nature, earth, dat run ovah rocks. Wash it three times an' fold it up when it's wet, an' po'l vinegah ovah it, an' go tuh de graveyard an' git some li'le clay. Wrap it tight, real tight, an' put it in brown papah, three layahs of brown papah, an' turn it, twist it, an' den put news- papah round it, an' burn de newspapah off it an' let de brown papah covah it. An' den take it aftah dat an' wrap it up in a flesh [soft] towel lak dat. A towellak dat, one dose turkish towels. Take an' bury it in red clay an' let it stay dere seven days, an' den move it. Aftah seven days yuh'll move it. An' when yuh move it, den go an' bury it right by de rock, by dat stream, an' let it stay dere 21 hours, an' den move it - throw it away. She'll be back in 21 days.
(Where would you throw that away?)
Anywhere.
Entry 7178
If she has connection wit 'im an' take her a towel - use a towel an' hang it ovah de baid an' she kin go an' he'll sleep dere till she comes back.
(But she has connection with him first though? Then she hangs that towel over his head?)
Yes.
Entry 8806
It's one thing they do to you. (What's that?) Dey kin take yore handwritin'. Dey'll take a plate or saucer or somepin an' burn it jes' lak yo' did dat othah a while ago, an' den get somepin - jes' a face towel or pocket han'ke'ch'ef - somepin yo' use about yore face, an' tie dat up in it, an' take it to a runnin' stream an' run yo' crazy.
(How will it run you crazy? You mean they throw that into the running stream?)
Yes, sir.
(And that will run you crazy, I see.)
Yes, sir. [See also later margin title WATER-RUNNING.]
Entry 10212
Tuh separate 'em. Yo' take dis man when he deal wit yo'. Yo' wanta break dem [man and other woman] up. Yo' take dis man when he deals wit yo' an' yo' take dat towel dat yo' an' him uses, see. An' yo' take dis towel tuh dis woman's house - if yo' kin locate where she live at - dis woman he's runnin' roun' wit. Den yo' bury dis towel down right at her do'step, where she have tuh come out at. Yo' bury dat towel dere an' den yo' take some bluein' - Purity Bluein', see. See, yo' takes bluein' an' ink an' mix it up combined. Yo' kin jis' sprinkle dat towel, on dere, an' den yo' bury dat towel right up undah- neath whah she have tuh walk at. Dat'll break it up. Dat break it up, too.
Entry 10258
Yo' take yore towel whut chew use in interco'sin' wit a man, yo' take it an' tear it in nine strands an' tie nine knots in it, an' sew it up in de mattress in de place where he lay. He can't mess wit no othah woman but his wife [with you]. (You take this towel that you wipe with and you tie it in nine strips. Nine knots in the whole or the whole thing together?) Tie it together in nine knots.
(You tie all these strips together in nine knots?)
Yes sir, an' sew it in de mattress under de place where he sleeps.
Entry 10779
Take a broom an' turn dat broom bottom upward - de part dat chew sweep wit, turn it upwards, an' git chew a clean towel an' put ovah dat broom an' call dere name. Call de person name an' dey cain't cross de sill of yo' door. Dey kin stay outside an' wanta come in, but dey cain't come in. (You leave this towel right over the broom?) Right ovah de broom. An' yo' call de name just once. Call it mine times. Anything yo' do in dat line yo' supposed to use nine or seven.
Entry 13285
Den if he leaves, dat is, if he's tryin' tuh leave yo' - if he's talkin' about leavin' yo', he's already talkin' about leavin' yo'. Yo' kin take yore towel whut chew wash yore face with an' keep dat towel wet all de time an' wipe be- aeen yore laigs an' keep him washin' his face with dat towel all de time. Dat sill keep him from leavin' yo'.
Entry 1550
They took some of her underclothes and bury 'em under de front step. We had to send to South Carolina to git a fellah to work on her mind. He said she walk over it nine mornings, dat was the cause of her be like dat. So he told us to git her some siZkroot and boil it with some money, silver money, and let her drink de liquid; and take a brand-new towel, dat nobody ever used, and wear it aroun' 'er waist next to the skin and dat would cure 'er. [Wilmington, N. Car., (226), 220:1; Savannah, Ga.,1929.]
Entry 2050
Ah heard agin if yo' got a man an' yo' love him - see, yo' could take an' mess wit him an' tie him up in nine knots an' he couldn't mess wit no one else but chew.
(What would you tie the nine knots in?)
In a towel or a new piece of yellah homespun.
Entry 3121
Dey say when yo' have sexual intahco'se, dey say yo' take de towel an' put it undah de bed in which yo' sleeps, in a dark place, an' he doesn't have any courage fah anyone else.
Entry 3180
Den yo' kin take de towel, yo' undahstan' whut ah'm talkin' about now, an' use dat an' yo' take a fat-lightah chip about so high, 'bout a foot hight, an' wrap dat towel up on dat chip, an' git a piece of new homespun cloth an' band on dat, an' dig a deep hole up undahneat' de front do'step. See, dat's de way yo' want 'im tuh go in. An' stob it down dere an' covah it up. An' evah time yo' go on in an' out dat house yo' go right ovah dat, an' yo'll nevah go wit nobody but dat one woman. Dat's a one-woman man an' yo' ain't goin' have no courage fo' no one but dat one woman.
Entry 3287
An' den if yo' wanta git a woman, or anybody in de family, why yo' kin a - de rag dat dey use, de towel rathah, an' go in de woods an' bo' a augah hole in a hick'ry tree an' put it in dere, an' stop it tight an' drive a peg in it tight, an' dat 11 carry 'em away.
(What did you put in that hole?)
De towel dat dey use.
(After they have been together?)
Dat's it, aftah dey have been togethah. Jes' a hole in a hick'ry tree jes' about one inch an' stop it up in dere tight, an' drive it in dere tight.
(What will that do?)
Dat will perish 'em away.
(Do you mean that monthly rag the woman has?)
No, de one whut dey use aftah dey git through.
(The one that she has wiped with?)
Yessuh.
Entry 10291
Woman wipes man with towel, buries under her doorstep where he must walk over, draws him back [Washington, D. C., 800:5].
Entry 848
[Among other doctors with special names are: Dog Face or Dog Head (I describe in Introduction my efforts to find him in his tin-can-covered shed on a public dump) - Humpadee [= Humpty-Dumpty] of Richmond - Ready Money - Turkey Gobbler - Zorro - Doctor Buzzard - and others. "Mama Mary on Bowling Green Road [[north out of Richmond either helped or defended]] woman killed man - cut from under left arm, underwear - 5 or 6 needles and some cotton and part of towel they had used in intercourse - needles stuck in this underclothes and towel - put in bottle - and hair from privates - hole in cork - drips out - he died - Richmond, Va., (389), 336:3. Informant described as: "389 - b. Richmond - gum chewer" - gum chewer perhaps reason why I did not transcribe story - Numbers Book 340-442.]
Entry 3224
Jes' lak dey have a man an' yo' don't want 'im tuh go out wit anybody else. Well, yo' a, yo' know, an' yo' kin take a new han'chuf an' use dat. Iron it an' fold it up - eithah a little towel - fold it up roun' an' sew it up tight as yo' kin an' stick dat in de mattress, an' he cain't go out wit nobody else. Yo' kin take an' eithah use his pocket han'chuf an' use it - iron it an' put it under yore rug an' dat will cause him tuh bring in 'is money an' stay home. (You would use this the same as you use the handkerchief you mean. You mean wipe him with that and then iron it and put it under the rug to make him bring his money home.)
Entry 3206
Jes' lak yo' have a intahco'se wlt a man - a woman would, see, an' she wanta make dis man love her. Well, when she use dis towel tuh wipe wit, see, she wipe her han's on dis towel an' take her han's an' run 'em through dis man's hair - run it ovah his haid, see, jes' lak dat. An' dat will make a man love yo'. (Well, how does that affect you, you say?) Wal, ah figured it must - in 'is haid ah guess - jes' goes to 'is braln or sompin. But ah guess it in 'is haid - whut a person study, quite nat- urally it is in dere haid.
Entry 3122
[Informant is repeating at my request.] Jes' lak if yo' had a sweetheart an' yo' wanted tuh quit 'er or she wanted tuh guit chew. Ah said, yo' could take de rag, de towel dat chew all wipe wit, an' yo' kin take dat towel an' yo' kin roll it up an' put it undahneat' yore baid. An' if she goes she'll come back.
Entry 3132
Jes' lak dey go tuh bed at night, well her an' 'er husban' always - yo' know, she got it in fo' him but he don't know nuthin 'bout it, an' so she tie him - lak he doin' [running about with other women]. So she goes when dey have intahco'se an' evahthin', she gits out de baid maybe early dat mawnin' 'fo' he do an' she steals away, yo' know, an' hurries ahead an' goes on tuh huhself an' she have a bottle an' evahthin' prepared. Well, she ketches it an' by some means she puts some in a bottle.
(What does she put in the bottle?)
Well, it's.
(Something from her or him?)
From him.
(Where did she get it?)
It from both of 'em ah 'magine, somehow.
(How did she get it from him?)
Well, see when she go tuh - when he go tuh use de towel tuh dry off wit, she dry 'im an' pulls kinda hard - squeeze, gits evahthin' jes' lak she pullin' on sompin. She'd git it all out lak dat. Dat's how she become tuh have it.
(What does she do with that stuff when she puts it in the bottle?)
She puts it in de bottle see, an' when she put it in dis bottle, takes de bottle an' stop it up airtight an' she put it away. Well, long as she keeps de bottle - ah mean, an' keep it airtight - well she got 'i. But if she evah lets it git away.
(What does that do to the man?)
Well, dat 'fect 'im so he cain't raise no kinda heart fo' no othah woman.
Entry 3150
An' jes' lak now, yo' fool wit a woman, yo' know, well she'll give yo' a towel. An' she won't use dat towel, but she'll bury dat towel. An' when she done bury dat towel, yo' won't have no feelin' fer no othah woman but she.
Entry 3184
Maybe, say yo' had a woman an' yo' wuz jealous. Yo' couldn't do lak yo' wanted tuh do wit 'er. Evahwhere yo'd go, somewhere she'd squabble an' fuss. Well, now, de way yo' wanta do dat. Jes' lak yo'd have a intahco'se wit 'er or sompin, yo' git a bran'-new towel an' den when yo'all wipe, wipe in de middle of dat towel an' den fold it.
[Informant evidently produced a handkerchief.]
(Show me with the handkerchief.)
Take de towel jes' lak dis, jes' de centah dat chew wipe wit, an' take dat towel an' fold it dis way [demonstrates]. (You fold one-fourth of it [oblong towel] to the middle, away from you; then a fourth of it away from you, bring it to you to the center.) Yes, dis way; to yo' ag'in dis way.
(Then you fold it over again, fold it three times.)
[The towel is folded into 5 oblongs.]
Yes. Well, dat keeps de air from it, see. Well, now yo' take dat an' pin it right aroun' yore wais' dis way, see. Wear dat aroun' yore wais', an' when yo' goin' take a bath or at night take it off, put it where nobody cain't find it or git to it. Put dat aroun' yore wais' an' wear it fo' five days. At de end of dat five days yo' kin bring de woman in de house an' yo' kin do anythin' yo' wanta an' he won't say anythin'.
Entry 3220
Lak yo' loves a man an' wanted 'im, yo' know, alone fo' yo'self, why yo' an' 'im - yo' have intahco'se wit 'im. Why don't chew wipe wit de towel, yo' let 'im wipe wit it, see. An' den yo' take dat towel an' bury it down in de dirt undah de steps somewhere. Why he couldn't raise a holler wit nobody but chew, undahstand. He'd try tuh be wit othah women but when he git dere, he'll fall. He might raise up, but he'll fall. [This raise a holler will also be found later among the opening expressions of subsubsection DISHRAG.]
Entry 3236
Jis' lak if yo', yo' know, take yo' a little small towel. All right, an' yo' an' 'im do business togethah - at least [I mean] yo' don't do no business wit 'im yo' undahstan', he do de business, see. Well, if yo' goin' do de busi- ness, yo' do it aftah he do it. Undahstan', don't do it wit 'im. Well, yo' take dat towel an' yo' takes it an' ROLL IT TO YO' NINE TIMES, jis' lak yo' do a snake [demonstrates], yo' know [see later]. An' aftah dat, all right, yo' take nine needleS an' yo' PIN DEM NINE NEEDLES IN [IT], YO' KNOW, COMIN' TO YO'. An' den aftah yo' pin de nine needles in it, well yo' take it den an' roll it roun' nine times lak dat an' den git chew a fruit jar.
(You mean you would roll it around like you would coil a snake.)
Yes sir.
(The first time you roll it towards you nine times?)
Yassuh. An' git chew a package of brand-new needles [demonstrates]. (And after you get these needles in it, then you take that roll like a jelly roll, a cake, and you make it like the coil of a rope [or lak yo' do a snake].) Den yo' take an' git.chew a fruit jar an' put chew jis' enough watah in dere to covah dis heah towel, yo' undahstan', an' den take an' put chew a little sugah in dere an' airtight it, an' take an' bear [bury] it undah yore steps. He goin come back home - bring dat money.
Entry 3393
Well, ah tell yo', it's very simple - it's nuthin very much to do. If yore husban' - if a woman's husban' have anothah woman an' she kin jis' fix 'i, he can't bothah no woman but 'er, cuz a ole lady tole me dat years ago when ah were quite young. An' she said, "Any time yo' wants yore husban' tuh stop goin' wit othah women an' stay home more, '' she say, "yo' take yore dishrag." Yo' know yore dishrag'll git right greasy, if yo' don't change 'em offten. An' she said, "Yo' take yore dishrag." She said, "Don't wash it, leave it git right greasy - whut yo' wash dishes wit." An' she say, "Any time he have - always carry dis dishrag to bed." She said, "Don't leave it in yore kitchen any more, " she said, "but yo' carry it to bed an keep it by yore bed where he won't see it." An' she say, "An' when he have a connection wit yo', " she say, "yo' always use it yoreself an' bring [wipe] it to yo'. Yo' dry 'im yoreself. An', " she say, "when yo' dry 'im, bring it to yo
(Oh! bring it out to you?)
Uh-hmm, bring it to yo' dat way. "An', ' she sayed, '"den if yo' have a towel or somepin, give it to 'im an' let 'im take to 'imself, " she said, "but yo' always do dat [wiping] first." An' she sayed, "He can't bothah no othah woman but choo." Well, I know dat by experience becuz when I married my second husban' he wuz awfully - yo' know, he wuz much older dan me an' he quite natchly he had othah womens befo' he evah met me. But he got where it seemed dat he got so careless, he wouldn't stay home like he ought to, an' ah loved 'im dearly. An' he would go away an' stay an' stay. An' one night ah wuz cryin' an' all dis come to me, as dis ole lady tole me dat, when ah had my first husban' an' ah wuz in my teens. An' ah did dat thing. An' so finally, he [second husband] wuz named John Jen- kins. An' finally John commen' [commense] tuh stayin' home. Sometimes ah said, "Why don't yo' go on out" - jis' tryin' 'im, yo' know. Ah say, "Yo' don't nevah stay home, " ah said, "Ah'm surprised at yo' bein' home." He said, "Well, ah don't care to go out any more much an' ah thought ah'd try to: stay here at home." He say, "Ah want to stay here an' watch yo'." Ah said, "Well, stay here an' watch me den." We jis' pass it off dat way. An' finally one night he tole me, he say, "Ulah." I say, "Huh?" He say, "Yo' always aftah me 'bout othah wimmins." He say, "Yo' all ought not to bothah me 'bout othah wimmins." He say, "Ah used to would run aroun' bad, ' he said, "but ah tell yo', '' he says, "here of late, " he says, "ah got where, "' he say, "ah want to tell yo' de truth." He say, "Ah've tried, '' he said, "but ah can't bothah no woman in de world but yo'.' He say, "Ah have tried - all my old friends ah used to be roun' wit, ah can't do anythin' to dem.' He say, "But when ah git to yo', " he said, "ah'm all right." Ah said, "Well, maybe dat's de way God intends it." An' ah know fer myself an' ah'll nevah forgit dat. Co'se ah ain't got no husban', no friends, nuthin now, but ah won't forgit dat.
(What did you do with the dishrag then?)
Take de dishrag aftah yo' use it wit 'im fer nine times an' bury it undah de do'step.
(And after that, then he's no good?)
Ain't no good. He's no good. [Why? See informant's remarkable story about his biting her, 888, p.319.]
Entry 3626
Say fo' instance, if a woman is havin' intahco'ses wit a man an' she don't want anybody else tuh bothah wit de man. Well, now, one of de towels dat she might use, she takes 'is urine an' she take dis towel an' she wash it in dis urine - de same towel dat de two of dem use. An' den she tear a string offa de towel an' den she make nine knots in dat string, an' if it's not large enough tuh go roun' 'er body she'll make a 'ddition [an addition] tuh it jis' since she make nine knots. An' dat's supposed tuh keep 'im tuh de place where he cain't have any nature fo' anybody but 'er. Dat's whut yo' call a cross [or crossing up a man]. Dere people dat could take dat away, but ah have tuh give yo' mah best knowledge of it.
Entry 3751
Ah've been did lak dat. Yo' kin take a man an' he kin have intahco'se wit a woman, say at night, an' prob'ly yo's a man dat look aftah deyself [your- self] [but] don't pay attention to yoreself lak yo' should all arnun' peoples yo' undahstan'. Yo' kin have intahco'se wit a woman but dey not bad. Well, now, prob'ly she might have a wet towel layin' up dere, see. Well, yo' prob'ly done seen it. Well, she wipe yo' off. An' yo' figure she'd use dat towel. Well, she got a dishrag, undahstan'. Well, now she take dat dishrag an' wipe off yore privates an' jes' fold it - wrap it up in a piece of papah or sompin lak dat an' put it up Ovah de do'. An' jes' AS LONG AS IT STAY DERE AN' YO' DON'T WAKE UP TO DE INSIDE DOPE, well, yo' can't have no othah woman but 'er. Well now, yo' kin take dat - jes' yo' yoreself, not de woman dat did it - yo' kin take dat rag down. An' den fo' nine mawnin's wash dat rag in sweet milk, an when yo' wash de rag in sweet milk, bath [not bathe] yo'self in it, yore privates, an' throw it sunrise fo' nine mawnin's. (You wash this rag in sweet milk, and then you take this sweet milk and bathe yourself.) An' bath yore privates wit it, an' when yo' git through why jes' put de rag right back up, an' throw it sunrise.
(Throw the milk to the sunrise.)
Fo' nine mawnin's.
(What will that do?)
Takes it off. It go away den.
Entry 3779
De same as dey would have a connection wit 'i, an' take dat cloth an tie it into nine knots, an' wear it in de toe of dere shoe, but now whut else dey would do wit it ah don't know.
(That is to take away a man's nature?) Take his nature from him. [Informant continues but I turn off machine until he begins something of promise:] (You went to a fellow, you say?) Yes. (Was he one of these wise people?) Yes sir, an' he tole me some things tuh do. (What did he tell you to do?)
He tole me tuh go on back an' evah mawnin' when ah rise from de bed, go on an' git me a towel. In othah words tuh buy me nine new towels an' evah mawnin' take one dose towels an' wash good wit it, an' when ah git through wit it, throw it away an' don't use it any mo'. Fo' nine mawnin's. So ah did dat an' it kinda brought me back.
(You did that and it brought back your nature?)
Yes sir.
(Well, now, you didn't wash with anything special? You just dry with that?)
Jes' a common towel. (And you think that this woman fixed you up by tying those knots in that towel?) Yes sir.
Entry 3783
Wal, if yo' run aroun' wit a woman an' yore wife didn't want chew to go out dere, she kin take, when yo' have communication wit chure wife, she kin jis' only go git a dish towel an' wipe yo' wit it. Yo' can't go wit no othah woman but 'er. (Is there any way I can get rid of that?) Yes sir. Wal, yo'd have to go to work an' git chew some Hearts Cologne, an' some dis powdah called love powdah, an' some pure olive oil, an' dis heah pure lard, an' mix it togethah an' jis' saturate yoreself. An' yo'll come to where yo' kin go out; but not dat [if you don't do that], yo'll nevah will bothah wit no othah woman but dat one. Evah time yo' start to covah 'er, why yo'll fall.
Entry 3807
She takes like - like when yo' have intahco'se wit 'er, yo' know. All women always has a towel or something in dere bed what dey use. If yo' want to - if yo' want to run aroun' wit othah women, yo' take dis woman an' new- ah allow 'er to wipe yoreself. Always watch yoreself. If she takes yo' an' measure yo', takes a string an' ties nine knots in it an' wear on 'er laig or aroun' 'er waist. I don't care how much pep yo' have in yo', yo won't have pep fo' no othah woman.
(Well, can you get rid of that?)
Yeah, yo' kin git rid of it, but de onliest: way dat chew kin git rid of dat, yo' gotta steal dat - yo' gotta git dat string from 'er.
Entry 3358
Yo' know, jes' lak if a woman got a hus- ban' an' he runnin' aroun' an' won't stay at home. She can't keep 'im home, worried wit 'im all de time. Jes' lak when dey have intahco'se yo' know togethah, she take an' use de dishrag instead of a towel, or sompin. She use dat an' take it an' bury it undah de step aftah she use it, an' den dat holds 'im home.
intercourse as the stated context preceding dishrag use. No specific sexual act beyond the source term, bodily-fluid identity or personally performed event is inferred. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified. The source says to use the dishrag instead of a towel. Towel is a rejected alternative; the subsequent use and burial refer to the dishrag. The comparison continues across the two linked pages.
Read full source (printed page 2396) · Read full source (printed page 2397)
Entry 10949
We call dem "charity root" [see later]. An' dey go dere and dig: piece to [from] de sunrise an' piece to [from] de sundown [sides]. Take dat and put 'em in a towel, in a piece of cloth. Jest put de both together - in 'em in 'tween de cloth. Put dat in yore pocket and you be lucky if yo' git a job most anyway. [What he says here is not what he means.] Dat's de way dat I heard it. [I had trouble understanding some informants in Charleston. My informant called the root charity root, thought my transcriber; to me the root sounded like cherrytree or Cherokee root.]
Entry 11234
If she have a husban' or either a fren', a man or sompin lak dat an' he runs around, she kin [take] any piece of his garment an' use it. Take an' wash any part of her body jes' lak she want to. Maybe use her dishtowels tuh wash any part of her body, an' wash it in de watah where she gotta wash her dishes, an' dat'll keep him home. Let him eat out of any pan or any pot, or sompin lak dat, an' dat'll keep him from runnin' roun' outside.
Entry 12892
I've heard of a case of that kind, where he runs around and she don't want him to run around. You go to the drug store and get you some sterile cot- ton. When you go to bed at night, and if you have connection With him, you give him a towel to use on himself, and after you have connection with him, let him do everything, don't you do nothing. And when you have finished, you use that cotton, and give him a towel to use. You take that and get you a man's pocket handkerchief. You take and tie it up in the middle of that handkerchief, the cotton that I've used. [A quincunx rite, the center of 4 corners ] I've used the cotton myself. He'll never know the difference you see. I'll tie it up in that handkerchief like this [demonstrates]. Be sure it's linen. Get a brand-new handkerchief and tie in there, and cut the ends of that handkerchief off, open my mattress and put it in that mattress, and he'll never run around no more.