Subject:Water/Dirty water
Entries
Entry 7228
[I met a galaxy of doctors in Charleston, S. Car., before I had suffi- cient experience to handle them. Two years later I would have been better pre- pared. Moreover the weather was excessively hot and the hotel rooms noisy at night. There was little rest. The fol- lowing doctor, Maguin or San Mongain was rather strange. At that time I thought all of them were! This man has already appeared in: No.1221, p.434; No.1417, p.464; No.1638, p.507; and No.2209, p.629.] (Well, now, how would a person harm me if they got a hold of my foot track? How would they hurt me with that?) How would he hurt chew wit dat? He'd take yore foot track an' carry it tuh de graveyard. An' tuh take it back from de graveyard, yo' gotta throw dis dirty watah undah yore house. An' tuh kill de spell from dere an' [to] drive de evil spirit, den begin burnin' dragon blood at twelve o'clock at night in dat ole shoe [this rite partially given in No.1221, p.434, v.1.]. (What would he do with this track if he took it to the graveyard? What would he do with it out there?) When he take de track to de graveyard, he put it tuh de haid of de graveyard [grave] an' pay dem one cent, calls yore name an' tole 'em tuh mind 'im. An' durin' de time dat he done take it tuh de graveyard, yore foot track, yo' come back home an' throw it ovah [under]neath yore house. An' go an' git dis gum-bush an' let it stay in yore house fer three days an' burn it. An' de pusson will come back an' go back tuh de graveyard an' git dis track an' turn yo' loose.
Entry 1221
If a person got chure foot track - you live in de yard, de same yard an' he take yore foot track out - you go back in de house and de same dirty water you wash in de dishpan, you throw it in de bottom of yore shoes and throw it in yore track and back out de gate fer three mawnings. Den dat person will turn loose yore foot track.
(If a person has my foot track? I see, that's to get rid of the spell.)
That's to get rid of the spell.
Entry 4505
Well, now, dey kin take yuh watah whut chew bath in an' yuh kin take dat watah an' po' out jes' like de sediment - dey ketch de sediment, de bottom. Dey don't ketch de top, git de bottom part of de dirt. It's from, yuh know, what comes from de hide. Yuh undahstan' me, from yuh hide. See, de sediment goes into de bottom. De watah dirty on top, but chew kin take time an' po' it out an' ketch de drainin's. Ketch dat dust. All right. Yuh'll take dat an keep it fer twelve days, undahstan' me. Den aftah de twelve days, yuh'll take it an' yuh'll go tuh a creek, forward, an' don't nevah look back. Whilst yuh's goin' it's diff'run', yuh mind is on goin' to dat creek. Don't look back'tall fer nuthin. When yuh get to de creek - yuh gets tuh de creek or rivah or what- somevah it is an' throw it back like dat. Yuh take dis han' heah [demonstrates].
(Your left hand.)
Dis han' here, dis yore heart. Throw it ovah dere an' go on about chure business. Don't look back.
(You throw it over your right shoulder?)
Yes, take dat lef' han'
(What will that do then?)
Well, dat is - dat man dat yuh wants tuh do dat tuh, dat gives 'i, he cain't stay nowheres. He has tuh jes' - see, de creek is got dat goin', an' jes' like he is goin'. He be here an' aroun' tuhday an' tuhmorrah in anothah little town somewheres, an' on an' on, unless yuh save a little of dat watah an' yuh git tired of 'im goin'. Yuh save a little watah an' change it. Go tuh a creek an' take dis han' an' throw it ovah. An' aftah it gits far as yuh wanta - if it git fer enough from yuh, dere ain't no way fer 'im tuh git back, becuz he'll nevah have de mind tuh git back tuh yuh. (In other words, if you want him to stop roaming, you take the other hand, the right hand, and throw this stuff over the left shoulder.) Yes sir, ovah de right shouldah [see correction later]. Take yuh lef' han' an' throw it ovah yuh right shouldah [see correction later].
(That's to get rid of him?)
Yes. (What's to make him stop then, when you take that other piece of dirt? When you go back to the creek the second time?) Well, yuh save some of dat sediment an' throw it ovah yuh left-han' shouldah [here is the correction] but don't look back. Well dat stops 'im. (You take the right hand and throw it over the left shoulder. I see.)
Entry 4510
Dey git hold of yuh [bath] watah. Dey take dat watah, see. Well, if dey wanta drown yuh, if dey wanta make yuh drown, yuh see, dey take dat watah an' carry it tuh a well, sompin like dat, an' dey'll throw dat dirty watah into de good watah. Well, yuh know when yuh don' bath yuh dirt an' all will come up in dat watah, yuh see. Well, when yuh bath yuh mind is on nuthin else but dat bath, see. Yuh realize dat when yuh bath, ain't it? All right, yuh look all ovah yuhself. Yuh take a nice bath an', why yuh figah [figure] how ah'm nice an' clean. Well, yuh look at de watah an' say, "Well, dat watah mighty dirty. Well, dat sure is dirty." Like dat or sompin like dat. Well, if de watah was not soil much, yuh say, "Well, ah sure wasn't dirty, but ah take a bath anyhow an' now ah feel bettah." Dey'll [an enemy] take dat dirty watah an' dey will carry it tuh de well an' dey will throw it in de well, see. Dey will throw it in de well an' perhaps somebody might go dere an' fin' yuh dere in dat well drownded. [Charleston, S. Car., (511), 575:5.] [If hat as a whole does not appeal to the hoodoo believer, sweatband and especially sweatband bow do; the former as a place to hide cunjure, the latter as a small pliable object full of symbolism, easily concealed, and usually worn or kept for a love hand. The preceding title I have separated into three head- ingS: HAT AS A WHOLE, SWEATBAND OF HAT EXCLUDING BOW, and BOW FROM SWEATBAND OF HAT.]