Subject:Water/Hot water
Entries
Entry 4040
Use some cloth dat yuh have, if de party don't wash fo' yuh. Nobody'll evah wash fo' yuh, dey can't make yuh move out, 'cept come tuh yuh do' roun' five a'clock in de mawnin' an' throw de night- watah roun' de do' see. An' dey put salt in de night-watah, yuh see. Dat's fer tuh make 'em move out - an' de smell of de watah. Den yuh go an' dig up some dust an' put on de watah in de back of de house, an' taken some turpentine an' throw it on top of it, an' yuh cannot go.
(That is, if you don't do it, it will make you move.)
Yes, [if] yuh leave it stan' out dere.
(I.see. But if you do that, they can't make you move. I see.)
An' if anybody comes tuh yuh an' tell yuh dey comin' tuh 'rest [arrest] yuh fer dat crime, [you] say, "Dey won't come here." Yuh take yuh a mouthful of cold watah, undahstan', an' take a mouthful of hot watah behind dat wit a little salt in it. Salt in de hot watah aftah drinkin' de cold watah an' walkin' in acircle. AH'M GIVIN' YUH FAX [facts].
Entry 4532
Dey kin git 'is sweatban' too an' give him anothah spell. Git 'is sweatban' outa his hat an' put it in a bottle. Yassuh [yes sir], take a bottle an' put it in a bottle, an' put a cork stoppah in dis heah bottle an' fasten it up an' keep dat ban'. Jes' roll dis heah ban' up real tight de way yuh fold it back double. Twist it real tight an' put it in a bottle. Put some hot watah in it. Let it be jes' hot enough not tuh break yuh bottle, an' let it set in dere. An' den dey go take dis heah den an' put it in de rivah, any kinda watah dat watah runs ovah. Dat'll give him anothah feeble mine [mind].
Entry 6105
If dey git holt of some of yore hair, dey kin take dat hair an' put it in some hot salty watah, yo' undahstan' an' bury it undah yore step wit de bot- tle neck turnt out from - yo' know, from de way yo' come out de house. Well, dat'll cuz yo' tuh have addle brains. If yo' don' fin' it - if it stay undah dere nine days, dat'll cuz yo' tuh have addle brains.
Entry 8417
Or yo' kin take yore pichure - ah heah mah ole grandmothah talk about dat often. Yo' kin take a pichure an' put it ovah a glass of hot boilin' watah an' - in othah words yo' sterilize it - an' den yo' go crazy. Dere isn't anything yo' kin do fo' dat. Aftah yo' git dat pichure sterilized see, when dat pichure fades away, well dey say den yo' crazy. Yo' be upset an' yo' be wantin' tuh go places all de time.
Entry 8698
Then you can git a bottle of vinegar an' write de name upon a piece of Venrick parchment.
(What kind of parchment?)
Venrick [a trade name?] parchment. An' they put this in this bottle of vine- gar with cayenne peppah, see. An' they roll this bottle aroun'. Go to de back door an' roll it all de Way tuh de front. (Just a moment. Do they roll it with their hands or feet?) De feet. Dey kick it wit de feet an' as dey kickin' it, dey use de words, "As dis bottle rō' [rolls] ah wan' choo to do de same." (I see.) An' they take it an' dey bury it on de science [signs of the Zodiac]. Dey will do this work by science, by de twelve science [signs].
(Well, what sign would they use on that?)
On de Balance.
(Oh, the sign of the Balance.)
Yes, on de Balance; yes, sir. See, dat's when de earth has power. An' dey buries dis bottle bottom upwards. An' de next mawnin' they get up before de sun rise an' dey pour dat hot water on dat an' de bottle busts [bursts]. Den dey move.
(I see, it will make them move.
Entry 303
Jes' lak yo' spot a cat, yo' know, a black cat in yore neighborhood. Perhaps, at twelve a'clock in de night, yo' go git dat cat. Yo'd have yore watah boilin' an' yo'd set down aftah it boil an' den git him 'mersed down. Yo'd first repeat de Lord's Prayer. Close yore eyes an' repeat the Lord's Prayers ovah that hot kittle of watah. Den yo' would take it off an' let it cool. Put it in some watah, yo' know, an' git it cool. Then yo'd set down an' right near dat pan. Yo' might say yo'd have a - yo'd set there aftah yo' repeat de Lord's Prayer an' yo' take bone by bone an' draw it across yore mouth an' yo' lay it down, bone by bone. Well, when yo' git to de right bone, yo'd lose sight on [of] 'em, an' den dat'd be de right bone. Yo' would take that bone then an' put it in yore han' or pocket, an' go in any othah place an' the people that are in there, they would lose sight on yo' as yo' are sighted.
Entry 1211
When a person is in labor with a baby an' dey don't have de baby, an' it seem dey can't have it, de ole lady dey had dey take de dirt dauber an' jes' throw de nest - de whole business in right hot boilin' watah an' den took it off an' let it steep. An' den give it to de woman an' dat makes de lil' one come right out. Dat's whut ah heard about dirt dauber.
Entry 1752
I heard my father tell about boxing hands, where they get bees, flies, ants, wasps, cow ants - the great big ants - hornets, thousand-legs, all that kind of stuff, and they put that in a bottle and fill it with hot water. And that was used to put on their fists - just a drop or two. And when they struck a man he had a great pain and swoll up, and he couldn't fight back he was hurting so. [Here again, a hand can be a liquid.] [St. James, a Negro community 5 miles from Pocomoke City, Md., (104), by hand; these hands of 1870 decade in Wicomico Co., Md.] [Cf. margin-title WrestZing Hand at end of this subsection.]
Entry 13211
Sprinkle soda at door and sprinkle hot water over it so that it will sink down into the ground. [This is done for protection against harm of any kind. Today [1977] baking soda is put into refrigerators to absorb odors, these latter originally being caused by the devil and his imps said popular be- lief. In my time Red Seal Lye, a can or package bearing a red seal, has taken over the task of keeping evil away. The original of the belief is under SALT - SODA - SULPHUR list.
Entry 1034
I had a - suffer with this myself. A lady went and got some - had a lizard and took the blood from this lizard and the boil of this lizard [the Water in which lizard was boiled] and took the boil of this lizard and mixed it with the blood.
(Mixed what with it?)
Of the boil - you see, had boiled the lizard low in hot water, and took the blood and put this in some whiskey and give to her by night - jes' like you was drinking liquor. And well, when she drink this liquor he took and had a lizard drin [drained into her] you might say. And she could feel somepin runnin' all through her head, jes' after taking a drink and well, when this would happen, she'd jes' get up and holler and she said somepin was runnin' all through her head. And this action was kept up for about - kept up for almost six months before they went to this - to my grand-daddy to see what was the matter with her. And so, well, they paid out a big doctor bill and the doctor couldn't - the more medicine they gave her, she just about go crazy. Well, he [qrand-daddy] told her what to do. He told her to actually take to go get a lizard and as many as she could and get the blood from those lizards and put some turpentine in and take some turpentine and salts - Epsom salts and drink this - actually drink it, and that stuff would run this out of her system. She actually done that and she got all right.
(She had to drink some of that lizard blood for that?)
She had to take that in order to get rid of it - to run it out of system.
Entry 2097
[You use] High John the Conker roots, you use Little John the Conker and use Master of the [Something].
(What is the other one?)
Master of the Woods. And you use Solomon Root. And you put it together in some hot water and you put it in a jar and put a little Hearts Perfume and little whiskey in it - rye whiskey. And you sprinkle it on the outside of your house and that will keep 'em [police] away, but chew gotta say what chew want done.
[See margin-title King Solomon Root.]
Entry 2702
In de mawnin' when yo' wake up lak dat - if yo' livin' a hustlin' Zife, git up early of a mawnin' an' take yore urinate an' don't let nobody else urinate in dat bucket an' scrub de po'ch with it. An' den on Fridays, well yo' kin git dis same stuff whut ah wus tellin' yo' 'bout - dis oil of bergamine [bergamot] an' put 'bout two or three drops of it in a bucket of hot watah an' mop de house on Friday with it, an' dat draws luck fo' bootleggin' and hustlin', too, but yo' mustn't speak to nobody until twelve a'clock. Don't have nuthin tuh say to no- body when yo' git up an' mop yore house. An' on Monday mawnin's don't let women folks come in yore house because it's bad luck to yo.
Entry 10156
A black ket, yo' take him tuh a place from yuh home at twelve o'clock at night an' would cook 'im alive. Jis' put 'im in a pota hot watah an' cook 'im alive. An' at twelve o'clock de nex' night, in twenty-fo' hours time, go back an' git 'im an' bring 'im back. An' what he [black cat] be tellin' yo' along [the way], which ah don' know, yo' keep dat tuh yuhself. An' dey say, yo' take dose bones an' suck 'em all, each one of 'em, until yo' git tuh a certain bone. An' when yo' git tuh dat bone yo' look in de glass, an' when yo' can't see yuh- self, well, which dat is de right bone.
(Then what do you do with that bone?)
Well, yo' take dat bone an' tote it aroun' jis' lak it's magic - disappeahin'.
(You can't see him?)
Yes. [Vicksburg, Miss., (744), 1014:1.] [Previous candle rites will be found principally in volume 1, pages 744-888, der division called ALTARS - CANDLES - SAINTS. Similiar material occurs among rhe interviews of volume 2 pages 933-1843, and volume 3 pages 1859-2339. The falogig beliefs have been divided into 5 subsections:]
Entry 6679
Ah know a girl dat wuz caught in some whiskey somehow or 'nothah. She ruz a frien' girl of mine, she stayed down heah. She wuz goin' wit a woman's husban' an' she [wife] didn't wan' 'im tuh go wit 'er. An' she [friend] drunk a lotta whiskey. An' so dis woman [wife], de way dis woman did tuh git dis snake in 'er - it wuz a li'le bit of snake jis' about lak a fishin' worm, an' she wuz poisoned wit it. She got dis snake inside a [of] dis girl. So dis girl commence tuh fallin' off. She commenced tuh gittin' po' an' it look lak dis snake would come right up tuh 'er [throat], come chokin' 'er or somepin lak dat. She couldn't eat nuthin; she pouldn't have no appetite or nuthin. So dey cared [carried] 'er tuh doctors an' de doctors couldn't do anythin' tuh [for] her. An' ah tole 'er, ah says, "Why don't chew go tuh dis root doctah in Orangeburg [S. Car.]? Prob'ly be might know whut tuh do." She said, "All right, ah'll go. Ah'll git mah mothah tuh take me." SHE HAD DONE FELL OFF TILL SHE WEIGHED ABOUT 80 OR 90 POUNDS - JES' NUTHIN BUT SHITCH. So she [mother] said, "Could ah [you] git someone tuh take mah daughtah up dere?" [She] said, "Ah'll pay yo' fo' gittin' 'im an' den ah'll pay 'im. Cos' dat's de only chile ah got an' ah'm crazy 'bout 'er an' ah jis' didn't want nuthin tuh happen tuh 'er." ". [She] say, "Ah believe [they] done somepin tuh 'er." So, well, we went attah [after] dis man, went on up dere. Dis man [owner?] said anybody could come in de house dat wan' tuh. So we went on in dis house an' dis man [doctor] wuz up dere [upstairs?]. He [doctor] tole us - de firs' thin' we set down. He went in dere an' he fixed up a hot - some hot boilin' watah, jis as hot as she [patient] could [stand it]. Said, "Pull down 'er [your] dress an' set ovah it." He said, "Yo' sit down on it." An' she set down on dis chambah of watah. An' he said, "Jis' set right dere till ah call yo'." An' he gone in de front. An' dis girl set down on dis chambah of hot steamin' watah, an' it wuz somepin she had in dis watah - she set on dis chambah of steamin' watah, she stayed in dere fo' fifteen or twenty minutes. An' he tole 'er. said, "Now. when yo' git up off dis watah, dere's goin' be a snake in dis chambah of watah." Says, "Don' be scared, don' git frightened."
Entry 577
Wal, ah'll tell yo' a incident 'bout where a cunjuration did good. Ah came heah and ah knew an ole party dat came from out in Ohio somewhere - moved right down in de same place called Hick's Bottom right heah in Richmond. An' those people - a man [old man from Ohio] an' his nephew came an' dey were nice to me when ah wus a boy an' ah nevah fo'got 'em. So when ah went in de Navy an' came back heah agin, why, ah found out that de old man wus very ill, an' mah grandmothah tole me dat de only trouble wit de old man wus dat he believed dat he wus cunjured. An' he stayed in de house, he didn't git any de fresh air, he didn't git any exercise. Now, she say, all he needed wus a bath, some exercise, fresh air an' some good food. So ah went tuh a friend of mine wus in de racket - wus a root doctor an' one thing anothah yo' know." But he knew dat ah'ad onlv but so much belief. vo' know, in it. So, he consented to come an' help de ole man out from it. But ah had tuh work on de old man's superstitions to do him any good. So ah tole him dat ah wus goin' bring him a papa loi - a good cunjure doctor, yo' understand. (A papa loi - it used to be down in Haiti they called them that, a papa loi or a mama loi?) Yeah.
(How did you get that word - have you been down in Haiti?)
Yes - ah been in Haiti but ah've been roun' wit so many West Indians in New Yawk, see, an' we all talk it ovah, yo' know, sometime. An' sometime ah kinda believe mahself, but - ah don' know. Anyway, we'll skip dat. So, dis ole man - we'll omit his name. An' aftah mama, mah grandmothah, tole me whut wus whut, ah talked to dis friend of mine who dabbled in de stuff, an' he say he had de han' an' all dat kinda stuff, see. An' he had a black cat bone himself, see, tied aroun' his neck. But, anyway, he goes tuh de ole man an' de ole man had confidence in me, so he put hisself in de han's of dis man - see, dis cunjure doctor. So when ah explain to dis cunjure doctor jes' whut wus whut.
(Did you tell the cunjure doctor that he wasn't hurt or that he was?)
Ah tole him jes' whut wus whut. Well, he tole me dat he wus goin' take de spell off him. Dis cunjure doctor had a gourd - yo' know whut a gourd is, a small gourd - dat yo' use tuh drink outa, but a small one. He had put a hole in his gourd an' he had put in dis gourd, woodbugs an' worms an' things lak dat, an' he sealed it back up again. Well, he tole de ole man dat he had tuh have a tub of hot watah, twelve 'clock at night but not at de full moon - when de moon wus goin' off. Well, dat's when yo' git de fifth moon - de [something?] moon. [His fifth moon = dark of the moon, the few days interval between full and new moon.] So he had tuh have dis hot watah at midnight an' it must be midnight when de Cycle is changin' - well, ever' man know whut a cycle means - an' dat he had tuh have moon soap: In dose days yo' sold soap called moon soap, but it jes dat Octagon soap [trade name] dat had a [picture of the] moon on it. An' it didn't have a full moon either - it had a moon jes' about de size of a moon when it's fulla watah. [Evidently I comment "a crescent while my machine is stopped.] Dat's it - a crescent. So, he had tuh have this soap. So, in de meantime he gits a pastebo'd pillbox - dat is de cunjure doctor - an' he puts a few grubworms an' bugs in dere, an' rock salt, an' so forth, an' he puts that in his pocket. Well, at sharp twelve a'clock he puts de ole man in de tin tub, yo' know, a regular washtub. See. An' he begin tuh give de ole man a bath. Well, plenty dirt wus comin' off. So, in de meantime, he put de gourd on de table. He puts his pipe near de gourd. So, he says, "Spirits, tell me, hokus-pocus or some kinda words or ritual he used, yo' know, an' he grabbed de ole man an' he pinch him [see Pinch in Index] - pinched de ole man. He says, Have ah got im, have ah got 'im, spirits, have ah got 'im?" But in de meantime he push his pipe close up tuh de gourd. Well, de heat from his pipe goes tuh de gourd an' dat makes de worms move - de heat makes de worms move. Well, de gourd would move. Well, den, de ole man's eyes would git big as dat [demonstrates with his eyes] yo' know. When he see de gourd he figured de spirits wus in dat gourd showin' off. Well, when he pinch him an' do dat, an' de gourd roll, he would reach in his pocket an' drop in de tub a bug or a worm, see. Well, he kept dat up - see, continuously an' he give de ole man a hot bath. He give him a good rubdown. It wus whut de ole man really needed, ah guess. He tole de ole man not to empty that tub until de sun wus directly ovahhead de next day, an' he wus tuh keep it covered, an' when he empty it out, empty it out so he see it an' he would see jes' whut was in it, that he had re'lly gotten it out of him. An' he tole de ole man dat he wus bein' hoodooed, yo' understan', between de hours of five an' six a'clock, an' fo' him tuh git out ever' mawnin' at quarter tuh five, so dat when dis cunjure person dat wus puttin' dis trick on 'im - when he sprinkle down dis goofer dust so it wud make him have itchin' fut an' run hisself tuh death - see, so dat he wouldn't be dere [in the house] an' it wouldn't work on 'im. An' then [after six o'clock when he reentered the house] he could keep his do' open. [See subsection Time.] So de next day at twelve noon when de sun wus ovahhead, de ole man empties his tub an' he finds dis rock salt, worms - grubworms an' bugs, an' de ole man swoah [swore] dat dis cunjure doctor had taken de spell off him. So de ole man would take his bath - he tole him tuh take his bath every Sunday befo' de week change, befo' de Sabbath change into de workday. De ole man had so much belief, he followed dem instructions. Every mawnin' at quartah tuh five yo' would fin' dat ole man goin' up de railroad track, walkin' - an' he wus supposed tuh walk out into de country. An' he'd git back at six a'clock. Den, whoevah wus sprinklin' dis goofer dust down fo' him, see, wouldn't harm him. Dat ole man followed those instructions - an' he wus tole not tuh eat any fried food, see - nuthin' but boiled food - dat de steam an' de moisture would carry 'way all de goofer dust an' cunjure an' so forth - de steam would carry it away - nuthin' but boiled food. An' dat ole man followed dem instructions an' when ah came through heah five yeahs latah, he wus workin' in de Tredical works where dey handle iron.
(Where was he working?)
In de Treadical works - Treadical[?] Iron Works, an' dat jes' build him up by havin' de belief an' confidence. Now, dat's a incidence where it did good. Dere's one ah fo'got tuh tell while ah wus tellin' dis. Now, yo' want me tuh tell vo' dat about it?
[I probably nodded, yes.]
He wus told - he made de ole man trim his corns an' trim his toenails. He tole him tuh keep his toenails short because de goofer dust would git undah his toenails an' it wus harder an' cost him mo' to git it out - to git de spell off him if it got undah his toenails. An' dat ole man followed those instructions. Of co'se, de ole man had tuh give him money - see, he had tuh give him money. An' ah think de ole man give him a coupla dollahs, but it wus bettah den a doctor's prescription.
Entry 884
My great-grandmother was poisoned in some cabbages by one of her friends an' she gave her the cabbage to eat an' she ate it an' soon after she ate 'em she was swollen all up her feet clean in her hips. An' one of her friends went to see her an' she looked at her an' said she thought she was hurt - in fact this friend knew she was hurt an' she told her she's gon'a get a doctor, a root doctor, to do her some good. So she went to get the doctor an' when she got there he was so busy 'tending to somebody else he jes' told her whut to do for her. He told her to take lysol an' bathe in it in hot water all over an' take a dose of vinegar an' Epsom salt - make a dose of that together. She took it an' when it worked through her little green things come right out of her.
Entry 1179
Well, yo' kin put dat in hot water, yo' know, an' den let de patient sit ovah dat to draw down dat afterbirth. Yo' know, when yo' find a woman dat can't pass dat afterbirth, yo' kin take those chicken feathers an' make a hot bath out of 'em an' put it in dat hot water an' let her jest sit right ovah dat pan an' dat'll jes' clear her right up.
(Any kind of chicken feathers?)
Yes sir.
Entry 1231
I have seen people use the mess from a white dog to cure people - to cure lockjaw.
(Well, how would they do that?)
Cause, you see, my brother had lockjaw and a white dog done his business and the man told my mother to take it and put it in a cup, an old cup, and pour boiling water on it and let it stand one hour and then drain it and let it get cool, and put spirits of niter in it and his jaws will come unlocked. My mother did that. I've seen it.
(I see. Did you come from Louisiana? Were you born in New Orleans?)
I was born in Bayou [something] Parish Louisiana?
(Where?)
Bayou Lafourche, Assumption Parish. [A few miles down the Mississippi River there is a Lafourche in Lafourche Parish.]
Entry 1444
After I came here, they told me it was 'bout some hoodoo or something. Well, this is a case which I had a stepfather. (Just a little louder, please.) My stepfather, he was terribly mean. Well, he and my mother separated. Well, he had been talking to a lady that believes in this stuff and he got her to come to my mother to talk to her, but when she got there, my mother didn't know the lady and naturally anybody would come to my mother and talk to her because she was a hairdresser. And she came and she talked and she said sh wanted her hair dressed and she asked what was the price, and she didn't bring all the money. She said she would bring the rest of it later. So my mother went on and fixed her hair, and before she went she asked my mother to give her something to eat - say she was hungry. So my mother got up and fixed her some dinner and brought it in there and gave it to her. So she' told her, say, "That's too much - take part of it off." And she insisted that she take part of it off, so she went back in de kitchen and take some of it off. Well, when she come back, the lady had gotten out of the dining room and she was gone in the bedroom, and she never thought anything about it because she was puttin' a drapery on the bed and she thought maybe she was looking at the time. Well, she come on back in the room and she sit down to eat and she tasted. She had a little boy with her and said, "Do you mind if I give it to my boy? I have enough." So my mother says it all right with her. She gave it to the little boy and the little boy ate it. So when she got up she went on home and then next week she sent the money. So my mother got sick. We didn't know what was the matter with her - she was just ailin' around, didn't any special thing hurt her, she Was just weak. She Was in the bed. She was talking to a lady friend of ours and just how she was feeling and telling her about her sickness.
(I see. All right.) [Something may have disturbed us.]
And she happened to bring up about dis lady coming to see her. And what made her bring that up, they was talking about - this lady [who had her hair done] spoke about her husband that she had been with [but was with no longer] and she was saying he was a good man. And my mother asked her [present visitor] did she know him, and she turned around and told her, no, she didn't know him. Well, they was wondering why did she [woman who had her hair done] come there with that kind of talk, so this lady asked my mother, said, "Don't you know she believes in that hoodoo stuff?" My mother said, "No." So she said, "You get up out of bed," said, "we are going to see if anything is around." So she came in the room and she called me and she say, "Let's look." And we took all the things off the bed and didn't see anything and looked all under the mattress and everything, and under the rugs and everything - looked everywhere we thought for and couldn't find anything. So, we stopped looking for awhile. And then she had a little drop rug on de floor right at the head of the bed and she turned the rug back and found this little black bag in there. There was something in it - it was black, it looked like charcoal and something in there like fine grains of salt or some- thing. I really don't know what it was but that's what it looked like. And so my auntie took it and carried it out on de back porch and we looked at it and so we took it and threw it away. So this lady told my mother to get some hot water and red pepper and mop de floors. She did and after that she was all right. It didn't hurt her or anything other than being sick and just weak.
(Where did this happen? Where?)
It happened right here in Vicksburg.
(Oh, in Vicksburg. How long ago?)
This was in the summer - wait a minute, I will tell almost exactly - summer, 1936.
(1936, I see. Your mother got well?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 1456
Ah know a boy, a fren' of mine. Well, he wus goin' with a girl an' dis girl liked him but he didn't like the girl, an' she took the hair out de top of his haid, right in de mole of his haid an put it in a sody watah bottle. She puts dis bottle undah do'step undah her do'step. Ever' time she would go down de steps or come back in de house he would have convulsion. He had dem so until dey would put stones in his mout' an' he would jis' chew dem stones. Dey brought him heah in town tuh Dr. Crank - yo' might know him, an' carried him tuh Dr. Johnson, an' none of de doctahs couldn't do him no good. Dr. Jenkins said he had de T. B. Dr. Curlew said dat he had de high blood pressuh. An' dey had tuh take him outdo's an' 'bout five minutes apart he'd have 'em so hard until dey jis' mostly dey had tuh hol' him in de baid. An' a spiritual woman took 'em offa 'im. An' she give him - she got a box of table salt an' a box of [baking] sody. She take as much of dat sody as she could hole in her han', in de palm of her han' an' dat much salt an' put it into a gallon bucket of hot watah, an' bathe him in it ever' mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's - give him a bath in dat hot watah. Den she used iodine an' potash tuh clear his blood up. See, dat's tuh keep de blood from goin' tuh his haid. An' he wus so po' till dey fis' laid him out [for burial] - ever'body wus lookin' fo him tuh die. Well, he's up walkin' aroun' now an' have a wife an' kids. But don't nobody use outa dat salt an' neither dat sody but him, see. An' use all of dat until it's all gone. An' rub in olive oil.
(Did she rub him in any special way?)
No.
Entry 1457
A person dat has been tricked in de skin, it's something dat is buried for 'em or laid down on de steps for 'em - de house been dressed. You take nine teaspoonful of cooking salt, you take one dime of saltpeter, use dat, an' eight quarts of water, hot water - just like water for a bath. You pull off all of your clothes, ever'thing you got on, you get in there and take a bath in dat same water nine times.
(What do you mean nine times? All at once or different times?)
Dat same water - don't throw dat water away, you keep it in something like you take a bath in. Never rub upwards - always rub from here down [demonstrates].
(From your face right down.)
From there down. A person whut's been tricked in de skin, rub from here down and use dat water nine times, and de last time you use dat water, take it and throw it towards de sunrise, soon in de morning before de sun rise, so you get rid of dat complaint. Ah'm telling you whut's done happened 'to me.
Entry 1593
A fellow once, named Brown, a root doctor - me and my wife was on de outs. Course I caught her wrong and I went away from her. So he [Brown] was working in the shipyards. He say, "I found a shoe." So I say, "All right, I'll take it." He said it was a right shoe - brand new shoe - just had a little - and he had got that snake's blood and put all on de inside of it. And I put dat shoe on. In nine days time my ankle give away and commence to hurt me and so I says, "Mother, since I been wearing dat shoe Mr. Brown give me," I said, "I been having trouble with my ankle. I think I'll go to de doctor." So she looked at de shoe. So then I went to Dr. Willis and took dat shoe and cut de top off it - the entire top and give it to him and he took it and put it in something and sterilized it and found out it was snake blood. That's Dr. Willis dere - chemistry.
(Dr. Woodard?)
Willis - in the drug store.
(I see - from the drug store and he found it was snake blood?)
Yeah - what he told me.
(What did he put that in to sterilize it, I wonder.)
I don't know. He used a lot of chemistry - you know how dey have chemistry, and it all up-separated off the leather, come off the sweat and ev'rything else. And he said, "That's snake's blood, boy." I said, "It look peculiar cause ev'ry time it rained it would freshen up just like fresh paint, red paint, but when the sun was shining it was dry and looked kind of scaley, you know, kind of brownish looking.
(How did you get rid of that then - from that snake blood?)
Well, I tell you, I got rid of it. My mother took 'bacco. She turned around and took a chicken and she put a chicken poultice on there first. And then she took tobacco and my water and boil it hot and let me put my feet right down in de hot water.
(Did she boil that tobacco and your water together?)
Yes, and put my feet in there. I put it in there ever' night and put salt brine in there and it came all right.
Entry 2217
But if yo's makin' whiskey an' yo' scared de law runnin' on yo', yo' git gueen weed root an' yo' git it near - on de low end of de mountain. Yo' cain't git it on flat country lak heah. Co'se up roun' mah home close tuh de Blue Ridge Mountains yo' kin fin' all kinda roots. Mah granddaddy, he's been huntin' those things all his life, even in slave time. Yo' git one dem queen weed roots an' yo kin take dat roots an' boil it. It got a elbow on it ovah five j'ints an' de j'ints is ovah a inch jes' lak dat - knots, all lak a rattlesnake's tail, yo' know, got dat bell on de rattle- snake tail. Well, it got lil knots on it an' yo' kin tell where dose j'ints is yo' know. Yo' take three of dem j'ints an' boil it in a lil hot watah. When dem three is boiled in hot watah, yo' put 'em down undah yore front do'step an' de law will not pass ovah there. He'll stand out an' he'll talk to yo', see - 'Well, ah heared so-an'-so 'bout chew, but ah tole 'em it warn't so." See. He'll vell fo' yo' 'fore he gittin' out de car, "Come on, buddy." Well if yo' bury down somepin an' yo' ain't dere, he won't come ovah dere. An' some of 'em do happens somehow or'nother tuh come ovah it sometime, but if dey do, dey'll git down in dey laig an' nevah will be no mo' good. But he'll go roun' tuh back, now, an' come in, if yo' don't set one at de back. If yo' set one at de back, put one or two elbow - not three. See, ah gene'lly put three at de front - one fo' yo' fren's, one fo' yo enemies, an' de othah one fo' de law. See, yore fren's will gi' yo, harm yo, see; an' yore enemies will, dey won't do anything to yo', only steal from yo', see. Dat's why yo have tuh put three.
Entry 3792
Yo' git hot watah jis' lak yo' goin' take a bath an' red peppah - cayenne pep- pah - wit salt an' saltpetah an' put it in de watah. Salt all ovah it. See, throw it dataway. Dat wash it off an' kill it. But chew gotta do dat befo' yo' evah git ovah it.
(That is to bring his nature back?)
Yes.
(How do you throw that water, just any way?)
No, throw it dis way, don't chew know. Dat's west. [You have to throw it to the west] befo' de sun rise. Keep it wit yo' dat night, keep it until befo' de sunrise an' yo' git up befo' de sunrise an' throw it dat way [to the west].
Entry 3915
I hears dis here now, on de change of de moon - accordin' to de moon change. Dey say if yo' wan'a woman to con [continue] stay wit choo, yo' git 'er nachure [nature, here her menstrual blood but some- time potency, sexual feeling, etc.] an' git 'er shimmy. An' when she minestratin' - she minastrate by de moon, see. An' dey take dis all an' work it up in boilin'-hot watah, an' make 'er sleep on it fah' five days - whut I mean, five nights - wit salt, table salt [not cattle salt] an' it conkers 'er in 'er minastrate. She don't wan'a bothah wit nobody. [This is a cause of sexual impotence but I have placed it here for the moon belief.]
Entry 5066
Take a man's sock or eithah a woman's sock an' wash it. Jis' take it an' put it in boilin' watah an' boil it. Wash it out an' take dat boilin' watah an' airtight it, an' put it undah de do'step an' dey'll nevah leave yuh.
(You take this water from the dirty socks?)
Yessuh, de dirty watah, an' he'll nevah leave yuh.
Entry 5162
She take dat [inner sole of either] shoe [of the man] an' put dat in hot watah an' soak it, an' put dat in a bottle. An' dey say aftah she puts it in a bottle, she puts some cotton in dere wit it, an' den take de cotton an' let de cotton dry. An' she wears dat, an' dat'll bring 'im back - on 'er laig or eithah in 'er bloomahs.
Entry 6703
Take some syrup in a bottle an' put it tuh a red antses bed. When it all git full up wit dem red antses, yo' scald. Put some hot watah in dat bottle an' po' it out in a pot an' boil dat, dat red antses. Yo' gits a piece a [piece of] garlic an' yo' puts it in dere an' let it boil. Well, dat is a dope dat it's nobody kin hurt chew. Yo' drinks dat, dere's nobody kin hurt chew. Unahstan' [understand] now, boil de red antses aftah yo' git 'em in de bottle. Put de piece a garlic in dere, strain it off an' drink it. Nobody kin hurt chew.
(What do you do with the syrup?)
De syrup draws de antses intuh de bottle.
Entry 6815
[Gopher, here, is the burrowing land tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) of the southern coastal regions, U. S. A.] Dat's if yo' wuz poisoned, an' it ain't no doctor [M.D.] kin cure it. Yo' kin ketch a gopher, pull 'is right laig out - yo' know he's got fo' laigs - de right- front laig. Jis' snatch it out, de blood's comin' from it. Well, yo' take dat blood an' put it in some warm water. Ah don' care whut's in yo', if somebody put in yo', dat blood an' some warm water, drink it as hot as yo' kin stand, an' it's comin' out. Ah don' care if it's 'live. He can't stay dere, he comin' out.
(What does a gopher look like?)
Well, it looks jis' lak a turtle, only dey haven't got a long tail. Dey got a hard shell.
Entry 6827
Well, yo' take graveyard dust - see, I wuz a person hurted in dis right feet heah an' it wuz ah had tuh bathe intuh hot watah - boilin' watah intuh red peppah an' ammonia, saltpetah [defect here, could not tell whether salt or saltpeter] an' mah urine - an' jis' bathe in dat fo' nine mawnin's. An' den ah made - it wuz plaster made outa fresh lard an' graveyard dust, see. An' dat's whut drawed de misery out.
(I see, if you were hurt in that right foot.)
Yes. Ah wuz crippled fo' three months an' dat's de only thing dat cured it. A woman came along an' cured it.
(Who came along?)
A woman. She know right smart.
Entry 8656
Just like if yo' wanta dere's a woman dat ah was livin' wit an' she's livin' wit someone else an' ah want tuh put 'em in hot watah. What ah mean, ah want tuh keep 'em afightin' dat dey can't git along. Ah go an' ah gets me a lemon, an' ah cuts dis lemon open. Ah get me a fresh box of cayenne peppah an' gunpowdah. Ah mix 'em up de same amount an' puts it intuh dis lemon. An' ah puts dere name in it. Dat is if ah ain't got none of 'er wearin' [clothes], see. Ah buries dis upside down. Every mornin' ah boils me a pot of watah 'fore sunrise an' ah pours it on dat. Yo' see. An' dat keeps 'em in a uproar all de time.
Entry 9106
Get the judge's name and the jurymen's name, an' yo' take yo' - whilst de case goin' on - yo' gets dat an' yo' make a hot fire. An' yo' take yo' a hot pot of watah, an' yo' take dat name an' put it in dere. An' man, have it boilin'! An! just like dat, de co't goin' to keep upstirred all de time. Keep it upstirred an' dey can't do nuthin. Dey won't nevah come to no agreement. Gotta have dat watah boilin' wit de name in it. Yo' see! Drop a li'le sugah in dere, yo' see, an' just keep on boilin' up, an' dis court will just keep upstirred all de time. An' at a certain time yo' take de watah an' yo' throw it. An' when yo' throw dat watah out, de judge will throw dat case out.
Entry 10013
I've heard of that but I've never committed that sin. My grandmother has spoke of it several times in front of me, how you sells yourself to the devil, that you go in the woods and get you a black cat and kill it. And you get a boiling pot of hot water and you throu this cat in that water. And if yon can stand there and watch that cat cook to death, that you will be lucky and success- ful. Take the bones and throw them in a creek and the bone that float8 upstream, that's the bone that you take. And long as you wear that bone you slll be lucky.
(I see.) [Boiling cat in the woods is rare.]
Entry 10014
De way dey git de black cats lucky bone, kill de cat alive an' put 'im in a pot befo' he dies thoroughly dead - in a pota boilin' hot watah. All right. Let 'im boil till all de meat come off 'is bones, an' po' all de meat an' bones all in de [stream of] watah. An' de bone dat go upstream, take dat. Dat's de lucky bone, de black cats lucky bone. [Presumably cat is knocked senseless be- fore being dropped into hot water.]
Entry 10605
[Out in the field I rarely if ever asked directly for self-perfor ed abortion rites; what I wanted was miscarriage, delayed birth, malforation or death caused by an enemy's witchcraft. The rite now following is a piece of folk medicine or practice a hoodoo doctor, fortuneteller or wise womas ooeld sggest to a client:] Some green coffee, coffee what you drink, she'll make a tea out of that and put some whiskey in there and turpentine and drink it hot - hot, hot as she can. And take a slop-bucket of hot boiling water and sit over it. Go to the store and buy her a lead pencil, brand- new, have never been used. And take that pencil and open her womb and spill that water. And when that pencil - the mouth of it is closed, you know. She take that pencil and put - she can do that herself better than anybody can, you know. Take that pencil and shove it until the mouth of her womb is open, where the heat can get in there, stay in. When she take the pencil and shove it, well she going to take the end of the pencil and make a little hole to open it, you know. And when - while she's doing that, she still over the bucket. Well, you see, the heat is going in there. You see, that heat hit there, that make the womb open like that and there come all - what was in there, going to come out. You see. Well, now, after hit come - well, it's according to how many months she be. Well, if it be four months, it's a baby. Now, it done come and she got to get that afterbirth out [and if] she can't get nobody [to help her], she take her fist and blow hard as she can. And still stay over that. After while that afterbirth come.
Entry 10687
[There are two types of baths in HOODOO: the ordinary bath to clean yourself, the real bath water, and the ceremonial bath for numerous purposes such as gambling luck (see PARSLEY in this section), for health, love, etc.] Stop up bath water in a bottle, set it in sun until hot and foamy, add salt and pepper; you'll begin to itch and burn, "you have come under their curse."
[Washington, D. C., 822:6.]
Entry 10788
Or you kin take just plain lye and boiling water and go and scrub your house and scrub yore steps and brush it in. And every morning sweep your steps down. And when you walk through your house, wherever you go, sweep the dirt in. Never sweep it out.
(What will that do?)
Bring you luck.
(What kind of luck?)
Like if she would want to take in roomers, she would want 'em to come in, if it was business, she... (Both of those things. Onions do the same thing.)
Entry 11844
I tell yuh jes' what 'tis. My uncle it was, was tellin' me this. That's why I was goin' tell yuh. A lady that he was courting, he was going with her, and of course this man [rival or hoodoo man] tole him that he was hurt, because he thought he was going with her. And he told him that the lady had put somepin in a bottle an' buried it under the doorstep. And that thing that she buried under the doorstep was some of his hair that she'd gotten from the barber shop and mixed it with some salt, pep- per and whiskey, and buried it under her doorstep, and that whenever he walked over it, would hurt him. [At least we know uncle liked whiskey!] But if he would take this up and put it in some boiling water, and if it floated, then he could ward off the spell that she had put on him, and that he probably could throw it back on her, on the parties who was puttin' it on him. He could take and just take this out and roll it under his arm. [then] roll it in some meal.
(Hold it under his arm?)
Roll it. Yeah, roll it under his arm.
(Oh, under his arm first.)
Yeah, and then put it in some meal and make it into a cake-like, and bury it underneath the steps, the same step where the other stuff was buried, and that would return it on her.
Entry 12444
Take a woman dat's goin' roun' wit yore husban', yo' git six mockin'- bird aigs an' jes' put 'em in watah jes' long enough tuh git hot - not boil 'em. Yo' take dem out an' yo' put 'em in cold watah, an' let dem set dere jes' 'bout a hour. An' den take 'em tuh dis woman's house an' put 'em andah huh pillah, dat is if yo' kin git 'em undah dere, yo' know. An' she'll nevah bothah wit yore husban' no mo'.
Entry 12469
If yo's in a house an' a person wanta make yo' move, go tuh de black- smith shop an' git a mule hoof, an' put it on wit some hot watah an' boil it. Yo' takes an' put it in a bottle [cork it right tight, an' put it in] - put it in a bottle when yo's at home. Yo' walks by dey do' an' sprinkle it befo' dey do', dat watah from dat hoof, from dat mule hoof. See dat's a track an' as dat mule walkin' on, dat makes 'em [victim] go.
(You put some holes in this cork?)
Yes sir, put it in de [cork of the] bottle. Cut de mule hoof, dat round hoof where dey shoe a mule. Or a horse, eithah one, an' put it in a bottle. Take it home an' boil it. Boil it jes' tuh pieces. Boil it. It won't come tuh pieces, but when it begin tuh git hot, see. An' put it in a bottle an' cork it down an' put some holes in dere where yo' kin jes' sprinkle it lak dat, tell 'em all de time as yo' sprinkle dat watah, see, say, "Cats an' dogs can't git along, an' yo' gotta go. An' go, damn yo'. An' dat makes 'em leave, dey move. Dey gotta move, dey cain't stay dere.
Entry 12563
Under your foot track - just like people come along and say that they could hurt you by your foot track. But they couldn't hurt you by a foot track, but I tell you what they could do. They could take some dirt coming from your shoes: just like if you had a hole in your shoe like that [dirt would get into shoe through hole in shoe]. And your foot track they Would probably pick up [in that way]. And after [hole in shoe] picking it up, they could take that dust, what come from your shoes. And they could shake it, put it in a box with some of these here pigeon eggs, and beat it up like that. Anywhere you bury that, you have to leave town [be- cause pigeon flies!]. And anytime you couldn't stay nowhere, couldn't never come back into the place where you was. (You mean the dirt from your shoe, any of the dirt that sticks to the bottom of your shoes? What about that hole in your shoes?) Just like - you see, where I Was, this feet chere, how it was. How this feet chere of mine was [he evidently demonstrates foot or feet]. Well, then, gettin' a remedy for that? [Here is how it happened.] I walked out one morning and it had some kind of yellowish-looking stuff on the steps. But I didn't paid attention and I walked on out of there, going to my work. Well, it was in the summertime and it was right warm. Well, I had some shoes that cut, you know, like this [demonstrates].
(Had holes in the bottoms of them?)
Yes, sir. Well, then, what made me heed them then was my heel started to hurt. I comes on back. Well, that heel of mine was about that big [demon- strates]. So they carried me and they got some of this sugar, this white granulated sugar, and got some of this Palm of Christiandom.
(Palm of what?)
Palm of Christiandom. (Palm of Christian?) [I am not correcting informant but commenting for the future. Besides, the words are Palma Christi "hand of Christ, " the castor-oil plant.] Palm of Christian, yes. You get that anywhere through the country. And they takes that and they put that on, in hot water, just as hot as I could bear it. Then after that they take some cayenne pepper and put it there and they soak it. Then they take, after that - don't never wipe it off - you just take it and let your feet hangs over the water like that, and drain until it dries. Then you take some of the "Pp" oil.
(PP. Two "P's.")
Yeah, PP oil. Get it in the drug store. You take that PP Oil and you just take it like that, with a piece of cotton, you know, and 'noint it. But always 'noint it going down.
(Why?)
Well, that's to draw out all the swelling and all the pain leaves - whatever. You have to rub it like that. [Informant either did not know or did not under- stand my question. You rub downwards to drive pain or any crunjure out through the feet. Many examples of this occur in HOODOO, see No.981, p.377, vol.1.] Well, the swelling before I ever knowed, well they had all the - I'll just lift it up here. They had all this here and all down here. [Informant demonstrates all this.] And they told me how to use it. Well, I got relief of that.
(What did it do to make your ankle swollen that way?)
Well, I walked in some yellowish-looking powder.
(Oh, I see.)
That's where it came from. And it was somepin that makes your ankle itch, you see; and you scratches it, you know.
Entry 1276
Jes' lak if a person have any kinda - been tricked in any kinda whiskey or been hurt by a person by puttin' down somepin, yo' kin take dat frog. Yo' kin cut him wide open an' take an' put him in some boilin' hot water an' let him boil down. Take an' strain dat water out an' give it to a person tuh drink, let him drink de water - jes' put it in a bottle an' jes' give it to 'em to drink.