Subject:Wish
Entries
Entry 1732
Wal, dey say it's something whut you could fix uP as a bodyguard, but chew fix it up in a bag. Take a piece of shamry skin, something like hide, like dis shamry skin gloves - you know jis' tough skin. Take that and git diff'rent kind of roots and bark. All right, you git de John de Conker root. You git de lodestone and git de devil's- shoestring root and de black cat wishing-bone, and den you take de John de Conker and a piece of dragon's blood and take all of that and mix it up fine - yo' know, beat it up, mostly powder enough to go in a bag. And den you take that and after you git all that fixed up good, git whut chew call dis here Seven-'leven Oil and put seven drops of that. And mix it up all together and put in dis bag and sew it up. See. And take it and put it - and git a piece of red flannen and sew dis bag up in dat red flannen and jes' put a string around it and tie it and wear it around yore waist or around yore neck and dere won't nothing bother yo'.
(That's to keep people from bothering you.)
That's pertection fo' you.
(Where do you buy this Seven-'leven Oil? Where do you get that?)
You supposed to could - de woman told me that she got some from New Orleans but whut part of New Orleans ah don't know. [All black cat bones are hands (see pp.74-97) and therefore they are also in a sense wishing-bones. But wishing-bone here means form as well as power. As to form, one informant said the black cat bone was "made lak de breast of a chicken" (No. 316, p.94), meaning the furculum or wishbone in front of but not a part of the chicken breastbone. Similarly, another informant described black cat bone as "gon'a have three forks [prongs or tines]...two long forks an' a little small fork" (No. 299, p.88). I suggested this three-pronged fork could have been a 'devil's trident." Actually the "little small fork could have been the hypo- cleidium - the end adhering to the winning half of the broken wishbone. Despite informants, wishbone appears only in most birds; it appears in black cats only by the grace of hoodoo merchants. Among other black cat products I should mention black cat oil (No. 1121, p.417), black cat powder (No. 326, p.96), and black cat water (Nos.328-329, p.96f.).]
Entry 1873
Dey take that fo' leaf clover and whut chew call wish bean - wish bean. (Like a bean you eat?) It's somepin similar to dat but it's made altogethah diff'rent chew know an' it grows altogethah diff'rent. It's kinda - it's pretty good size. It's kinda round but it's fat an' lopsided an' it has speckles on it.
(Does it grow in the ground or on a tree or what?)
Well, jis' how it do, ah don't know, but yo' know yo' go to those places yo' know an' yo' git it. [I do not know the identity of this commercial product.] Den yo' put that wish bean an' that fo' leaf clover with yore name written three time on dere. Yo' make a bag of it an' jis' lak dis is de back of yore bed heah, yo' fix yo' some way to hang dat so it hangs behin' de bed where dat yo' sleep. Dat supposed tuh bring special luck to yo'.
Entry 2335
[My transcriber missed most cylinders of two outstanding doctors; one from Jacksonville, the other from Memphis. I made abstracts of some of the material, using quotation marks for the original.] [Use candles or incense for luck at home and "get lucky jomo perfume - it's gon'a work better than that ere Hearts [[perfume]]" - put in palm of hand - "rub till it gits hot - make you' wishes - three wishes - with bright eyes [[meaning]] don't bat your eyes" - put a little on thumbs - rub hands on breasts - then corners of eyébrows and rub eyebrows down - then rub 'em in.]
Entry 3397
It's a ole story. Ah reckon so many [times] yo' heahs about dat. So many people do's it. Well, de only thing ah've heard dat a wumman take, use a greasy dishrag, an' she would take dat dishrag aftah she'ud [she would] be wit 'im an' use it. Co'se she'd soak it in cold watah an' make her wishes on de wumman dat she had trouble 'bout, fo' nine mawnin's, an' she use it on 'im den de ninth day, see. Aftah she use it eight mawnin's, de ninth mawnin' she must have some connection wit 'im, see. An' den she use, an' den she would take it an' de nature from de othah wumman, an' den she use on 'im, an' use it on herself. Well, dat bring 'is nature to her. Ah've reckon yo' heard it dat way. (First she takes the dishrag and she put it in cold water and makes her wishes on it for eight days. The ninth day she takes that rag and uses it on him.) Use it on 'im an' den she uses it on 'erself, an' makes 'er wishes dat he wouldn't have anythin' wit no othah wumman but 'er. See. An' she takes dat rag an' den she buries it, see. Jes' as long as dat rag stay buried, why he wouldn't want nobody else.
Entry 3475
They tie knots in a string. If they get a new cord, you see, and tie that, and that's for to make a man or a woman come under their control. They wear that around the waist. You doesn't buy a new ball [of string] for that. Just like you go to the grocery store or some store, you see, and you take it and just break you off a piece the length that you want. And each knot that you tie you make your wish, vbatever that you wish 'em to do. If you wish 'em to get the money, or wish for them to stay away from a certain home, or you wish for 'em to come to your home all the time, each knot that you tie you make a wish. And then the last knot that chew tie, if yo' want 'em to come under your control, you wish then for them to come under your control, to be controlled by you and you alone. And then you tie that around your waist, you see, and wear it. You do that on the last quar- ter of the moon.
Entry 3530
Mah gran'mothah tole me dis, an' I don't know whethah it's true or not. She wuz ole, I think she musta knowed. Said yo' take yo' a bran'-new pocket han'ke'chuf an', when yo' have connection wit 'im an' yo' - know how yo' do - yo' bring it towards yo' three times an' wish. Make a wish yo' know so he will nevah bothah about nobody. An' yo' take dat pocket han'ke'chuf lak dis, an' tie three knots in it, an' wish all de while yo' tie dem knots in it, an' take it an' bury it undah de doorstep. An' yo' go on in de house an' long as dat is dere, he can't bothah wit, make no love wit no othah woman but chew.
Entry 3627
Yo' could win a man. Yo' could take, yo' know, a string an' put nine knots in a cord string an' put it in turpentine, yo' know, an' wear it aroun' yore waist, an' it would keep 'im from havin' dealin's wit any othah woman but chureself.
(Well what do you do with that string first before you put the nine knots on it?)
Well, yo' take an' put nine knots in it, see, an' make a wish an' put it in dat turpentine an' tie it aroun' yore waist, an' evah time he git ready tuh have a intahco'se wit any othah woman, see, he couldn't.
Entry 3628
Dey [a woman] could take a piece of their [a man's] underwear that they [he] wear right close to them [him] an' rip it right on down jis' where they [he] button the underwear. An' then she takes that an' ties it in nine knots, an' make evah one of those knots to her an' make a wish [as each knot is tied]. Then yo' take this piece an' yo' tie it aroun' de leg an' wear it - eithah leg, it don't make any diff'ren'. Either yo' take it an' tie it aroun' yore waist. An' as long as yo' wear that knot aroun' yore waist, he cannot leave her [you].
Entry 3810
An' he told me. I knew de girl dat did it. Well, I'm goin' to tell yo' now how it started. I heard of it befo'. I wuz goin' wit 'er, an' I had been goin' wit 'er, an' I wuz in good health, evahthing. An' de way I wuz, dis girl wuz crooked on me, an' I say, "I'm goin' quit messin' roun' wit yo', I ain't goin' to" - well I got me anothah girl, started wit 'er, went wit 'er a time or two. An' I got hold of dis girl's pit- chure whut I wuz goin' wit. I had been messed up in dat stuff befo' but not wit dis girl. An' she wuz from de same place dat I wuz. She knowed broad people, all dose people down dere roun' South Carolina an' way to Georgia. Dere's a whole lot of people down dere dat knows a lot of stuff, dere's lot of em down dere dat knows plenty. I says - I been wit dis girl a time or two - I says, "I ain't goin' to hide yore pitchure, goin' to leave it in my pocket." Dis girl got dis girl's pitchure. She seed it but she wuz scared to bother wit it. I says, "Well.... [A short lacuna appears on the cylinder, probably an accidental rather than intended stoppage.] Seem lak evah time I'd go roun' where she wuz - where she wuz at - I would get cowardah [cowarder] an' cowardah [more and more he lacked courage], didn't have any manhood atall. I goes on. I [finally] went to a doctor [M.D.] an' he gived me some medicine. Kept on havin' de medicine, kept on havin' it. Well, I'd taken it fer about six months an' nevah seen it [the ailing member], gotten no manhood atall. I wuz workin' an' I says, "Hell, somepin's gotta be done." I went to see dis person [a man mentioned later] an' [he] says, "What's de mattah wit yo'?" [I] say, "He's [ailing member is] sick. He can't do nuthin. He haven't [had] a woman. It must be woman [causing this trouble]." I kept a- thinkin' about 'er if I didn't seen 'er [he kept thinking about the first woman though he had not seen her]. I wuz talkin' to a man about dis an' he told me who to go to. I went to a ole lady dat had one leg longah den de othah, an' she told me, said, "Boy," said, "time yo' got here." [Her opening words are quite professional - see CONSULTATION TECHNIQUE, Pp.307- 319. Her long leg and short leg were good for business - see NAMES FOR DOCTORS and PERSONAL APPEARANCE, PP.293-301.] She told me how I wuz messed up wit - how my manhood wuz cut down, an' she said, "But I kin fix yo' all right." I says, "Yo' can?" She say, "Yes." says, "Well, what yo' goin' do?" She says, "Well, dat's all right about whut I do. I'll fix yo' all right." An' she say, "Well, I tell yo' what yo' do. Yo' go an' buy me a half pint of whiskey." I say, "Sure enuff." I says, "If yo want a drink of whiskey, " I say, "I'll give yo' a drink of whiskey, but yo' say yo' kin fix me. Yo' told me somepin an' yo' must know somepin, ain't it?" She say, "Yo' go an' buy me a half pint of whiskey, an' if yo' wanta give me a drink, buy yo' one an' me one, an' I'm goin' to give yo' nuthin out of dat." She told me - she took a knife, jes' about a, lak a case knife, an' black gun- powdah, an' a little bit of sulphur, an' a little bit of salt, an' a little bit of red peppah, an' told me how to use it - how to take dis, put it in de whiskey an' shake it up. She got a piece of flannel - said white flannel or eithah red flannel would do, which she preferred white flannel. She had de scissors an' she cut it off an' had taken some mutton suet. She told me to take dis den an' jes' lathah [lather] it wit dis mutton suet befo' a hot stove, or anything, dat a lamp would do if it were hot enough, an' put in on jes' lak dis [demonstrates] an' give a wish.
(And pull it up three times.)
An' it would stay dere, keep it stayin' dere. Told me if when I got dere, if it would fall down, to come on back. So. I didn't pay, didn't pay 'er a thing until I came back - if I didn't want to, see. Well, it did an' it's been stand- in' evah since.
(Well, WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THIS WHISKEY, then?)
I take a swallah of it three times a day. An' it nevah bothahed me no more. Told me evah time when I started wit anybody dat I wuz payin' attention to, if I thought dey had any underworld ideas - but I nevah had nuthin to do ag'in. [The preceding experience was given on cylinder 482:9. Before that, on 482:6, came the tying-up rite, and now follows on 482:7, the pre-statement for the ex-perience:] Dere's a way dat yo' kin take some salt, an' a little bit a pinch of sulphur on a knife blade, an' somepin lak some sheep suet an' heat it ovah a red hot - somepin lak a red-hot stove. If yo' reach down lak dat an' git it when it cools, an' make a wish, yo' see if it stand up [demonstrates].
(How do you pull it down?)
No, yo' pulls it up, three times.
(Three times?)
Pull it three times an' make a wish.
(And then it stays up itself.)
Yeah.
Entry 3996
Yo' put some yore chamber lye intuh a vial, an' put some Heart Cologne in dere, put some Eve-an'-Adam in dere. Den yo' po' de least bit of dat watah out of dat vial in yore han's an' rub it In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' Holy Ghost, an' den goes tuh work an' shuffle yore cards. An' derefo' yo' will have luck ingamblin'. (What is the other way of getting a job?) De nex' way dat chew could git it, take yore same watah dat chew shuffle yore cards wit. Take some of yore chamber lye an' put it into a vial an' put some Heart Cologne in dat, an' Eve-an'-Adam into it - dat vial. Rub it into yore han's thoroughly, In de Name of de Fathah, an' dress yo'self down three times an' make yore wish. An' go an' have a talk wit 'im an' he'll think about it.
(You get the job from the boss?)
Yes.
Entry 4033
About de woman an' de bottle?
(Yes.)
Yeah. Well, her son wuz livin' wit dis woman, see, an' she wanted 'im tuh move 'way from dis woman - see, she wanted 'im to move. So she'd taken dis bot- tle, a pint bottle, an' she got some of 'is urine. She had 'i tuh - co'se he didn't know it, yuh see. She had a night-jar [any kind of glass jar used as a urinal] yuh see, an' she got some of 'is urine an' put it in dis bottle. An' den she went aroun' an' got snakeroot an' boiled it, an' she put some of dat in it, an' red peppah an' salt. An' she carried it to dis house 'bout one 'clock at night an' jes' made a wish dat he would move. An' he moved. She broke it in de vesti- bule.
Entry 4139
Well, yo' kin go tuh de fo'ks of de road. Prob'ly dere may be somebody or some woman dat chew want. Yo'll learn 'er name. Yo' kin go tuh de fo'ks of de road an' git chew on one of dese old speckled tarrapins. (What? Speckled what?) Turtle, land turtle. Dat's right. Yo' ketch 'im an' if yo' kin git 'is haid out enough tuh git chew a string aroun' it, git chew a string aroun' it an' make yo' a small bridle an' put intuh it. Well now, yo' got'a keep 'im down dere by dese fo'ks of de road. Evah mawnin' yo' go tuh de fo'ks of de road an' take a leak on 'im evah mawnin', an' make yore wish dere what yo' wants tuh happen. Take his haid an' stretch out. Yo' tame him. Dat'll tame him so by dat string yo' got aroun' 'is neck. Make yore wish fo' dis woman an' she more den apt tuh meet chah somewhere on de road on yore way. She cain't git aroun' yo'. [An old footnote of mine says, "This was told straightforwardly, informant generally good and reliable, symbolism seems authentic."]
Entry 4168
Dat stuff yuh talkin' about burnin'. Ah make a wish an' ah will scrub de steps down in chamber lye an' dat will draw trade.
(What do they burn, you say?)
Jis' incense.
Entry 4222
Aftah, dey take de pennies an' dey put it in yuh chamber lye, an' den in de mawnin' befo' de sunrise, ah've seen 'um back [give power to?] dey chamber lye an' de pennies. Dey puts ten pennies in dere an' den dey make a wish, "Ah wish yo'd go away, ah wish yo'd go away, ah wish yo'd go away." See? An' den dey'd take dat an' throw it jis' where de sun would rise an' evently [eventually] dey'd go away.
Entry 4267
Anothah' way dat dey take it an' control of love wit it.
(This chamber lye.)
Kin control love wit it. An' den dey use it tuh draw a person tuh yuh. Tuh draw a pusson tuh yuh, yuh take dat an' put in it nine needles an' nine pins an' nine nails in a bottle, wit dat, jis' stop it [up]. An' drop de nails in head an' tail, de pins head an' tail, an' de needles head an' tail, callin' 'em evah time [you drop], an' make yuh wishes. An' den jis' stop de bottle up tight. Pusson apt tuh be settin' dere all alone, yuh shake dat bottle, yuh know, an' call dere name an' turn it upside down. Any place dey is, if dey ain't got de fare, dey be walkin', comin'." If dey ain't got de fare, dey try tuh be walkin' comin'.
Entry 4329
Yuh kin take a woman's watah, tuh run 'is wife 'way from de othah man. An' yuh kin take dat watah an' put it intuh de dirt, if it not already on de dirt. Take it an' put it in de dirt an' make a kinda mud-like outa it, see. Yuh take de watah intuh de dirt an' yuh kin bo' a hole intuh dat tree, an' put it in dere an' stop it up In de Name of de Fathah, [and the Son] an' de Holy Ghost, an' make yuh wish de way dat chew want it tuh work. It will work.
(Any kind of way?)
Yes sir.
Entry 4501
Jes' like yuh wanta have control an' influence ovah people. Aftah yuh wash yuh face an' han's, jes' throw it out de front [door] an' make a wish. Wish tuh be successful in yuh wishes - of being, like man- agin' an' gettin' dere mind in influence.
Entry 4603
Dey say yuh kin take a man's hat an' take de bow out of a man's hat an' take dat bow an' put it in a bottle of Heart's Own Cologne. An' aftah takin' dat bow an' put it in a bottle of Heart's Own Cologne, yuh take dat bottle den an' put it de right side, not de left but de right, an' stand it on its haid lak dat, an' make yore wishes about it den. An' dat thing will bring a man home. An' dat thing will make a man do things.
Entry 4677
De bow an' a dirty sock - out de hat an' 'is dirty sock, lef' foot sock. An' git some Eve-an'-Adam [Adam-and-Eve], some High John de Conkah, some love powdahs, an' roll 'em to yuh. Make yore wishes as yuh roll 'em. Den yuh take it an' put it in yore pillah or in yore mattress, de woman, an' sleep on it an' he'll stay dere.
Entry 4705
Well dey say dey takes dat bow. Take dat bow out an' dey puts dat in Hearts Cologne. Aftah dey put it in Hearts Cologne, git it in somepin airtight where no watah cain't git in it. Dey put it [in] sompin lak a rivah dat's runnin' an' throw it ovah yore lef' shouldah, make yore wish an' walk away from it an' don't look back. Dey say dey'll go crazy. (That is to make that person go crazy? Who owned the hat that the bow came from?) Yes.
Entry 4761
Well, ah've heard ag'in, if yuh've got a man away an' yuh want 'im tuh come back tuh yuh, an' he leaves some of 'is clothes dere, said yuh take clothes tuh make him be on 'is haid. Put de clothes - put 'is undahweah an' 'is shirt, put de haid of it down towards 'is feet [dem- onstrates]. (On the bed?) Yessuh, yuh've gotta lay on dere yuh see. Put it down dere tuhwards 'is feet. Dey take his undah- weah an' take de bottom part - take de laigs of it an' put 'em up tuhwards de haid of de baid, an' let de body go down tuhwards it. Den yuh take his socks an' yuh take one an' bring it 'cross dis way an' let it be tuh de front of de baid.
(The head of the bed?)
No suh, de front. Yuh see - listen. Heah's whut ah mean. Now, yuh layin down dat way.
(Here's the bed. This is the head and that's the foot?)
Yessuh, now yuh lie dat sock dat way.
(Which is the foot and which way does the other part of the sock point?)
De foot part of de sock goes at de haid.
(That points to the head of the bed?)
De toe goes tuh de haid of de baid. Den heah comes de othah, de mouth of de sock, yuh know, where yuh put chure foot in. Let it be out tuh de front [demon- strates].
(One sock crosses the other.)
Yessuh. An' den aftah doin' dat. Let's see - man's sock, undahweah an' de top-shirt. Dat, she might lay in it, an' de rest of 'em yuh lay on top of 'em. Don't put a thing on top of 'em but a sheet. Den befo' yo' git in baid, make yore wishes. Put one needle up an' de othah one cross at de haid [demonstrates], 'tween de haid. Lak dis is de haid of de baid, put it down in dere, in between in dere. Don't let it git down by yore haid, but let it be up above.
(At the top of the head of the bed, you cross two needles.)
Yessuh. An' so yuh lay on dose things, an' ah think she said, in nine days he would come home.
Entry 4767
Dey turns dat fo' luck.
(Their clothing Inside out?)
Yes. If dey puts dere clothes on in de mawnin' on de wrong side, dey keeps it on till twelve. Keep it on till twelve. An' when twelve comes, den dey'll take 'em off an' change 'em back on de right, wish fo' whut yuh want, an' durin' dat week yuh'll git it.
Entry 4770
If yuh feel like yuh needs it, all right, jis' take yore undahclothes an' wear 'em nine days an' make yore wishes. Yuh turn 'em wrongside outwards, yuh kin take anything yuh want an' no one cain't do yuh anything at all.
Entry 4806
Take yore underweah an' yuh kin - yuh know, lak if it's dirty, jis' roll dat tuh yuh. Yuh know, roll it tuh yuh three times an' make yuh wishes tuh keep 'im wit yuh. Dey say dat will keep 'im wit yuh. (Whose underwear do you roll?) Roll de man undahweah.
Entry 4852
Jes' lak yuh in love wit a fellah an' yuh can't - yuh wan's 'im an' yuh can't git 'im lak yuh wan' 'im. All right, if yuh kin git a chance tuh wash fo' him, yuh take dose pieces dat he wear, his un- dah pieces an' all dat chew kin git tuh, an' put it tuh soak ovah night. Nex' mawnin' when yuh git up, yuh wash dem pieces out wit'out any soap. Rub 'em. git all dirt dat yuh kin out of dem. Den yuh take an' take de drainin's - turn it [pan or tub] on one side an' drain it [water] off. Take de drainin's of dat dirt come outa his clothes an' stop it up in a bottle. An' put it right undah de centah of yore bed undah de house - bury it dere. Turn it bottom upward, an' put it undah de centah, an' covah it up an' make yore wishes. Den he be comin' dere - he be yores. He come tuh be yores. From time tuh time he keep acomin'.
Entry 4940
Ah heard dat if yo' take a man's sock - 'SCUSE ME, BUT AH DON'T MEAN NO HARM BY IT. AH HEARD A WHITE PEOPLE SAY DIS. DAT'S DE REASON AH ASK YUH TUH "SCUSE ME. She said tuh take a man's sock an' take some sugah, an' take up de lef' brick on de lef' of de fireplace, an' put dat sock down in dere wit sugah in it. An' make yore wishes dat he'd come home. She said take dat.
Entry 5020
They say you can take a man's sock or a woman's stocking and carry it with yeh and make them do what chew want 'em to do. Just make yore wishes with it. And put sulphur and salt in there. and they say nc one else, whatever the're doing [to counteract your in- tentions] can't do anything with it no more than you. See? Just like if you'd bury it out here in this yard and someone come and sprin- kle something on it, they say that wouldn't be any good. And you take this sock and wear it. And if you want him to stay home, if it's a man you want him to stay home and don't want him to go, why then you bury it. Bury it in the yard some place where you walk over it oftener than he does. And that keeps him home.
Entry 5030
If yuh got a sweetheart an' he's gone away an' yuh wan' 'im tuh come back tuh yuh, yuh git 'is sock an' tie it tuh de east cornah of yore baid an' let it be swingin'. Keep it swingin' an' yuh make yore wishes. Finally, he'll come back, an' long as yuh keep dat sock swingin', his mind is on yuh. Yuh hang up eithah one of 'is socks long as it sompin of 'is.
Entry 5038
Yuh could fix 'em diff'ren' ways in dat if yuh got dere stockin' or anythin', cuz dere [they are] dark stockin'. Well dey - well yuh take a dirty sock or stockin' from 'em like dat. Well dey got dirt in dere. Yuh could take dat dirt an' if yuh want tuh do 'em harm, yuh could take it an' bury it or do anythin' yuh want wit it - jis' depend what yuh wan'a do it fo'. See, dat's how dey do's wit dat. Now, yuh could take her socks or stockin's from a woman an' run 'er crazy wit it.
(How would you do that?)
Well, yuh see, yuh take her stockin' an' it got dirt in it. Yuh git a piece of 'er hair an' yuh sew it up wit what yuh call dis fast luck [perfume or powder] an' sew it up tight. Yuh walk tuh any creek or any runnin' watah - an' sew it up tight - an' when yuh walk back from down tuh de creek or anywhere de running [water] is, yuh jis' turn backwards an' make three wishes - any wishes yuh want. Jis' like if yuh wanta run 'er in dat fast watah or run 'er out of town, or run 'er any part of de worl' dat yuh feel like. Jis' make de wishes fo' dat. Throw it backwards. Walk nine steps befo' dat yuh evah look back tuhward dat watah. Jis' long as dat turnin' in de water, she go on.
(You mean, you throw it over your left shoulder?)
Yeah, ovah yore lef' shouldah an' walk nine steps befo' yuh evah look back. But yuh make de three wishes, jis' de wishes yuh want.
Entry 5053
Take a man's sock befo' he wash it - yuh know, he git de scent of it. An' yuh kin take dat sock an' yuh kin take an' sew it up inside a little bag or somepin lak dat. Take an' carry it an' nail it on a pine tree on de sundown side, but be sure yuh got it tied in de bag. Yuh kin bring 'im tuh yuh tuh any- where yuh want. (You just take these socks and put them in a bag?) An' take dat bag an' nail it in a pine tree at de sundown side, an' make a wish, an' dat man supposed tuh be de one man tuh yuh.
Entry 5083
Take de sock dat he done wored an' put it undah where - stretch it out on de side dat she lays on In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost an' sleep on it. Den he will stop runnin' roun'. (Stretch it out where?) Undahneat' 'er bed, which an' why. Put it undah de sheet on de bed an' lay on it, an' make her wish In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost dat she means tuh stop 'im from runnin' roun'. Dat will stop 'i. [Florence, S. Car. (1314), 2510:4.]
Entry 5280
Jes' lak yo' wanted tuh be lucky in keepin' dis job at dis place. When evahone is gone, take off yore left shoe an' turn it bottom upwards on de stove or somepin of de kind. Use a little tin pan, jes' somepin dat will keep from burnin' yore shoe sole. An' yo' put two or three drops'of cinnamon oil on de chairs. Git dese Ole Banum[?] Tears.
(You put some of these on this stove lid?)
Put chure shoe - turn yore shoe bottom upwards an' burn dat on dere, an' yo' make yore wish concernin' what chew want. If yo' want so much money, an' yo' make yore wish fo' dis or dat. An' it may be if dis person seem tuh be angry tuhwards yo', or treatin' yo' indiff'rent anyway, yo' wish fo' bettah coopera- tion. An' yo' burn dis an' yo' postively will see a change. An' if someone have dismissed yo' from yore job, yo' drop dese nine grains of spice in de bottle as ah have tole yo' [several days before in another rite]. Now tuhmorrah when ah come ah can demonstrate dat bettah tuh yo', jes' how dat is done. An' den all de times when yo' meet these partic'lah people, yo' wanta drop a drop or two on yore hands an' rub yore face before yo' come in con- tact wit 'em. [Mrs. Brady, one of my contact people in Mobile was a capable woman familiar with the hoodoo-fortune telling world. I had interviewed her several days be- fore, but the recording being bad she had returned for another interview.]
Entry 5283
I've heard of people takin' saltpetah and molasses and putting it in a shoe and turn it upside down, turn around seven times and make a wish, and whatever that is it will come against the one that owns the shoe.
Entry 5293
They can take your shoes and carry 'em way back in the woods or swamp, or some place like that where they'll find running water, you know, and bury them. And turn one east and one west, and cause a person to linger. [No one can proceed in opposite directions at the same time.]1 Or, it can kill them by it. But I don't know what else they say, only no more than just make the wishes.
Entry 5299
Dey burn shoes fo' luck. Dey'd jes' take de shoe - lak dey'd have a fiah in de fiahplace - jes' a ole pair of shoes, an' take an' make yo' a fiah. An' take an' put de shoes on top of de fiah, an' set dat [shoes] ovah dere an' den make yore wishes. An' as de shoes burns, keeps talkin' tuh 'em.
(That will bring any kind of luck?)
Yessuh.
Entry 5300
Yo' take de lef'-foot shoe at twelve a'clock at night an' yo' make yore wish tuh de fo' cornahs of de world an' pray - jes' a prayah child-lak, in yore own mannahs, see. Yore own way of prayin', see. Den if yo' got anybody dat's gone, why dey'll come tuh yo'. Do dat nine times, pray dat prayer. Co'se yo' burn de shoe once, but yo' pray dat same prayah fo' nine times at de same hour. Yo' pray it an' dat's tuh bring 'em home.
(Do you pray nine times that same night you burn the shoe or afterwards?)
Afterwards. Yo' pray it one prayah dat night an' jes' pray it till nine nights. But yo' only burn de shoe once.
(But you only burn the shoe once.)
One shoe at twelve a'clock.
[A separate rite is now added to preceding one:]
Take dat shoe an' yo' kin put some sugah an' soda an' sulphur. Put it in de heel an' shake it tuh de toe, an' push de shoe in de burnah, stove or heatah. Put de toe in first an' let it burn. Yo' do dat about twelve a'clock at night. Now, dat's good. Dat's de same thing. See, yo' don' have tuh pray no nine times ovah dat. Jes' do dat. An' dat's tuh bring people.
(You use either shoe?)
De right foot.
Entry 5315
Yo' kin take a person's track - take yore han' an' ketch it from de toe an' bring it tuh de heel. Put some salt an' red peppah wit it an' some sul- phur. Mix it up very good. Take it tuh a ants nest an' po' it in dere an' make yore wish In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an Holy Ghost, an' dey'll leave.
Entry 5319
Now yo' take a red ants bed. Yo' kin take sugah an' a person track an' carry it an' put it in dat ants bed an' make yore wishes. If yo' wanted 'em tuh love yo', dey'll love yo'; an' if yo' want 'em tuh go, yo' kin fix it an' make yore wishes an' dey'll go. Mix it up wit dere track, wit sugah. Dat sugah's gotta eat up [penetrate] all dat sand though whut chew take up, an' see, dem ants will tote dat sugah intuh dat hole. An' when dey eat dat sugah out from dat track, he go, too; if yo' want him tuh go. He [ant] goin' throw dat sand out an' when he throw dat sand out, he [man] gone.
Entry 5327
Git chure track - yes, git chure foot track an' take an' bottle it up. An' den [they] say yo' back back nine steps, an' den turn roun' an' make three wishes. Say an' yo' make dem three wishes, den yo' handle 'em lak yo' want. (You can handle them anyway you want to. What do they do with that bottle?) Dey takes an' puts chure track in dat bottle.
(Yes, but what do they do with the track then in the bottle?)
Back back nine steps.
(No, what will finally happen to that bottle?)
Say dat bottle will turn purpole [purple] an' say dat will start tuh workin' in dere. It'll start tuh workin' in dere. An' say yo' should make nine wishes [instead of former three]. Yo' make nine wishes an' whatsomevah yo' wish, it vill [happen]. Keep bottle sewed up in pillah [pillow].
Entry 5409
Yo' take yore fingahs lak dis an' draw back from de end of de toe, back tuh de heel an' git de track, if yo' kin git de right foot. An' tie it up an' take it tuh a runnin' stream of watah an' - a new piece of home- spun - an' make yore wishes an' throw it ovah yore right shoul- dah. An' walk away an' not look back aftah it. An' dat would make yo' be in love wit 'im right on, make him come back tuh yo'. If he quitted yo' or sompin lak dat, yo' could do dat. (You just get his foot track between your two fingers, your index finger and little finger. Of the right hand.) Yeah. Say dat would draw 'im back. If yo' wanted tuh run 'im or drive [him away], say yo'd take yore lef' han' an' make bad wishes.
Entry 5473
If yo' want 'em tuh go, yo' kin git de track up from yo' - take it from yo'. See, if yo' want 'em tuh go [demonstrates]. (Here's the toe here and here's the heel, then I take it up right like that. Like this?) Start at de hollah of de foot an' take it from dere tuh de toe. See, dat whut ah mean. Yo' want 'em tuh go. Take it jis' dis way, see. An' yo' take dat foot track an' put chew some red peppah an' some salt in dere. Listen, some grave- yard dirt, an' sew dat up an' go tuh de rivah befo' de sunrise. Yo' kin turn yore back an' throw it right where de watah's runnin' right along, an' throw it ovah dis way [demonstrates].
(Over your right shoulder?)
Yes. An' when yo' leave, yo' kin say anythin' - some of de baddest things, an' don't look back, an' walk away an' nevah look back. Dey'll go. An' if yo' wan' 'em tuh stay, yo' take it tuh yo' - if yo' wan' 'em tuh stay. Take it up tuh yo', see. Take dat track an' yo' kin fold it in a piece of news- papah. See, stretch it on out an' write dere name down nine times, an' pin it ovah yore do' an' make yore wish - where dey's comin' in an' out. An' dey's comin' in dere. Dey will continue comin' as long as yo' - until yo' take dat up an' destroy dat. Dat's tuh bring 'em, see, if yo' wanta.
Entry 5539
Well, see, if a person is stayin' 'way from home all de time, jis' come home an' eat an' tuh sleep a little while an' go right on off, doesn't have any time tuh be roun' home an' yo' wan' 'em tuh stay at home. Well, yo' ketch de track comin' home to- wards de door. An' if yo' git dat track an' yo' measure it wit a papah or eithah way [another method] yo' kin use cahton; well, if it's a piece dat dere hasn't been anything cut off of it befo'. Den when yo' write de name an' make de wishes - make yore wish yo' wanta make, an' fold it ovah, an' each fold fold it towards de house.
(You write on the cotton cloth or on the paper, and each fold you make?)
Each fold fold it towards de house an' repeat de words, "Come home an' stay at home." An' yo' fold dat an' aftah yo' fold it, yo' take a piece of new home- spun an' yo' put dis in it, an' den yo' put some salt. Yo' puts nine grains of red peppah, a pod of red peppah has nevah been any used out. Well, yo' kin put de whole nine pods or yo' kin put de nine grains, which is de seed yo' see. An' yo' put some salt an' some peppah wit dat, be sure it's de salt an' peppah whut yo' jis' bought 'specially fo' dat - an' sulphur. An' put dat down an' bury dat den. Yo' dig de top soil, yo' dig until yo' git down below de top soil, see, an yo' bury dat, an' make yore wishes. An' den de persons will stay at home.
Entry 5540
Now, dey kin take dat foot track of yores an' use it jis' lak dey wan'a. Well, dey takes a knife an' a rule an' measure yore foot tracks an' print it on a piece of papah. Den yo' carries de name. Jis' lak yo' say, ah wan'a do as ah wan'a wit dis person. Yo' carry de name three times. Write yore name. (They measure that foot track with the ruler and then take a piece of paper, a piece of paper the length of the foot track.) Dat's right an' den dey take yore name an' dey draws yore name in a box, in a square, in the box, diamond and heart. Dey write yore name. Yore name would be Jones Johnson. Dey put it backwards, yore name would be Johnson Jones, yo' undahstan'. An' dey cast dat in de light in de lamp, an' have yo' do jis' whut dey want yo' tuh do. Dat's right, dat's fer quick wishes.
Entry 5597
Now, I heard that you can take and find a man's foot tracks, count nine of them, the right track, and you get a little dirt out of that right track [the ninth right track]. And you take the dirt and take a little piece of brown paper, and put the dirt in it and save it. And when you get a chance you get the woman's tracks and you get the same out of hern, the right one [after counting nine of her right tracks]. And you put both of them together and you put [to this combined dirt] one third table salt, and you make just enough of your water into it to make it mucky. And you roll it up and get a piece of rag and lay this piece of brown paper into the rag and fold it up into a ball. And get a strong string, cottonor something similar, wrap it up as tight as you can wrap it; and as you wrap it make nine wishes, whatever you wish them to do. And you take it and hide it in a dark place and let it stay. And that's putting you two together.
Entry 5605
Yo' kin [do] dat - jis' lak if yo' love a girl an' yo' sees 'er walkin' 'long, yo' kin go an' pick up some of dat sand outa her track, an' put it in yo' lef' hip pocket. See, take it an' tie it up in a li'le bundle, an put it in yo' lef' hip pocket an' make wishes. An' yo' somehow or 'nothah will git tuh dat girl, see, an' git tuh talkin' wit 'er. An' den she'll come tuh have tuh fall in love wit chew. An' den when she fall in love wit chuh, den take, yo' know, mess aroun'. Well, yo' kin take a li'le of 'er hair, yo' see, an' put it in yo' pillah. See, rip de pillah where yo' kin put it inside dere in yo' pillah. An' den evahwhere yo' be's she'll come where yo' is.
(What track do you take that dirt from?)
De lef' one.
Entry 5616
They dit up the whole left-foot track and put it in a bottle. Take it and throw it in the river. They can put a little water in or a little cayenne pepper, if you want, make a wish, throw it in the river - and throw it away. You wish them to stand still or to drown, you wish them good or wish them bad, anything you want to.
Entry 5624
Dey git de dirt outa yo' track an' put salt in wit dat, an' go tuh rnnin' watah an' throw it ovahbo'd, an' yo'll move an' can't he'p yo'self. Dat uhut dey tell me. Said dey could run 'em wild - dat whut dey tell me - wit it. Said dey take dat an' tie it up in a new cloth, an' go tuh runnin' watah, throw it ovah yore lef' shouldah an' make a wish, say, "Go 'way." Yo' mind will go, sompin lak dat. (That track you got up thefirst time, you get it from the toe to the heel?) Uh-huh, an' yo' walk tuh de runnin' watah. An' put salt in it an' walk tuh de runnin' watah, an' throw it ovah yo' lef' shouldah an' don't look back, an' make yore wish an' leave on away. An' don' have nuthin tuh say.
Entry 5646
Dey kin go an' see yore track an' begin at de toe an' pick it up completely to de heel, right undah de middle. Don't let any of it fall off, evah bit of it. An' put it in a silk piece of cloth, a piece of silk ole or new. Don't make [no difference] jis' so long as it's silk. An' go to de rivah, drop in de middle of dat rivah. Don't say a word but jis' make yore wish, jis' like yo' say, "Go, yo' devil! Yo' go!" Turn yore back de moment yo' drop it an' don't look back. Come on away an' dey'll go.
Entry 5691
You can take a pinch of dirt out of the hollow of anyone's right-foot track, and take a pinch out of the heel, and one out of the toe. Then, go up to the foot of a grave, take a pinch out of the foot of the grave and mix it with one of them parts [from the foot track], and then bury it at the foot of the grave. And take up another pinch of the head [of the grave] and mix it with another part [of track dirt] and bury that at the head of the grave. And take up another pinch at the [grave] center and mixit with the last part [of track dirt], carry it and throw it in strong running Water. And make your wishes, wish you would go away. That'll run any of them away. [From Doctor Frank Harris, out in country, near Suffolk, Nansemond Co., Va., by hand. For this man, see INTRO., v.1, p. XXIX, line 24f., and elsewhere.]
Entry 5747
This is to cross you. You take the right-foot track, you dig that out and turn it over, and fill the hole full of salt and pepper and quicksilver and sulphur and gunpowder. Then you put that foot track back in the hole upside down and tamp it down and make a wish. You do that the same both for a man and a woman, if you want to break them up.
[Berlin, Md., by Ediphone.]
Entry 5795
Aftah yo' leave a foot track in dust, well dey say yo' take dat per- son's foot track up, see, de whole print of dat track. See, yo' git chew a stick or spoon or somepin an' yo' pick it up, an' yo' put it in a 'east [yeast] powdah can. An' dey say yo' go tuh de rivah on de ferry boat, an' dey say let de boat git in de middle of de rivah. An' when yo' think it's in de centah of de rivah, say yo' throw dat can ovah yore lef' shouldah an' make a wish. An' dey say, as long as dat can drift up an' down de rivah, dat yo'll drift; an' when dat can begin tuh seep watah an' fall tuh de bottom, dey say yo' die.
(I see. Well, now, how many tracks? Do they get a special track or what?)
No, dey say yo' take de lef' track.
(Oh, only your left track?)
Only de lef' track.
Entry 5796
If they want chew to be with them, why they bury it under the doorstep. Like if they want chew to come to my home, see, I bury it under the doorstep. And if they want to run you away, why put that in running Water and make a wish. (Which tracks do they use?) Get de dirt from under de right foot. Like, just if yo' want 'em to come to your home, see, yo' take it when they're coming to de home. If yo' want 'em to leave, yo' git it out of that track when they leave home. [Elizabeth City, N. Car., (438), 401:3.] [The sixth section Of division THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF is HAIR. De- spite the hundreds of hair rites that now follow, hundreds more are scattered throughout the text of Hoodoo, because hair is often only one ingredient in a compound rite containing other important substances: URINE, BLOOD, GRAVEYARD DIRT, etc.] [The lO submargin rites under this margin title recall the well-known belief that hair continues to grow a long time after death - FACI, 2nd ed., 15415, p.714; 1st ed., 10367, p.595. Not so well known are the following beliefs about living hair continuing to grow, after it has been taken from the body:]
Entry 5801
If dey got holt of yore hair, dey could take it - take yore hair, nine stran's of yore hair an' nine needles an' seven [nine?] threads of red silk thread, an' take an' carry it out jes' as de sun go down an' bury it. An' walk aroun' it nine times an' make a wish each time dey go roun' it an' it will cuz yo' - as yore hair begin to grow wit'in dat thread an' needles, sharp pains begin to penetrate through yore haid, an' as de hair grow, why de pains will grow.[ Washington, D. C., (642), 831:2+85.]
Entry 5880
Dey say dey take three strand of yore hair an' dey would put dat in a piece of brown papah [for the black victim]. Dey would wrap some white bread Wit a piece of candy dat wus made up of coconut [sweets to entice victim's spir- it.] Dis thing is all wrapped togethah, [with] dis thread, an' den it would be cast behin' somepin dat wouldn't move, lak a piano, or some of dose thin's. Den fer nine mawnin's yo' go to dis place an' make a wish ovah dis thin', an' it would prob'ly make yo' suffah wit headaches, or prob'ly make yo' lose yore nid. Worry yo' so - evahthin' would worry, yo' jes' git vor- ried all de tlme. Dat is a thin' what dey clain Would do dat to yo' - wit chure hair.
Entry 5932
I say, dey say dey kin take yore hair, see, jes' a clip of yore hair Octa yore head - I think it's on de lef' side, see - an' take it an' bury it wit some soda an' table salt fo' nine days. An' den dig it up an' sew it in a bag an' wear it. An' what- eah dey say dey wanta to it [whatever they tell the bag they want done], why yo lin be wishin' it. Dey say it'll come true - if dey run yo' crazy or make love Tvhatevah dey desire.
Entry 5956
Anything like a person's hair, you take that, you see, and you get this srahpin' twine. Now, then you take a red flannel or new yellow cotton, it's a homespun, and just a square, and make the little bag, four cor- ners. And you wrahp it up. You kin wrahp ar eitherwise you kin sew it. But always bring it towards yah, and tie it in a fat knot and make your wish. If you're wrahping it, chew know, why evah knot, cvah time you wraap, you wish that he may come to you, and you wish that he may be yours, and you wish that he may be mine and do whatever I want him to do, and sish that he may gave me mah money, and this In the Name of God. I wish that he Se united in holy matrimony, or anything like that. You see, just whatever your Tishes is. And then, you see, you tie it. And each time you wrahp it towards Rh, why that's bringing him to yah, bringing the person to yah. And you tie 1. And the last knot you tie is the last wish that chew make. You wish that Lemay be yours or may be mine all entirely and do just as I say In the Name Of God.
Entry 5972
Now if dere a ole lady yo' can't git away from yore house- dere a ole lady dere or someone roun' dere an' yo' want 'em tuh leave an' yo' can' git rid of 'em, stick roun' wit 'em where de man git 'is hair cut or sompin lak dat. Git some of 'is hair, see. Git some of 'is hair an' put 'is hair in a little flannel rag an' use some Heart Cologne. An' yo' take dis hair an' dis Eeart Cologne an' yo' do it up in dis rag. Don't sew it, yo' tie wit cotton string an' yo' do it up good. An' jes' befo' yo' do it up, tie nine knots in it, jes' about a inch from de end of de cotton string. Tie nine hard knots in it an' 'noint 'em all good in spirits of turpentine, an' make a wish evahtime yo' make a tie. See. Evahtime yo' make a tie in it, wrap it aroun' an' make a tie. Well, yo' make a tie fo' nine times, an' den jes' put it in yore pocket an' walk on tuh a runnin' creek an' throw it in dere, an' don't look back, keep a-goin'. Yo' won't have any trouble wit 'em atall no mo'.
(Runs him away.)
Yessuh, he gone.
Entry 6090
(There is another way of bringing them back, too, you say?)
Yo' kin take some of de hair from down dere.
(Some of the private hair.)
Yessuh, take it. It 'tain't only but one stran'. An' yo' take an' carry a han'ke'ch'ef wid joo when yo' use it to dry it away. Yo' take it [hair] an' tie it in de cornah of de han'ke'ch'ef an' yo' keep it de same length of three days. An' yo' - an' puts yo' on it dis Hearts Cologne. Put it on Heorts Cologne. Take it an' yo' bury it at de right-han' cornah of yore steps, de right-han' cornah. Den yo' take it an' wear dat den on yo' fo' nine hours, nine or ten hours, sompin lak dat, an' go on back home. Stay right dere. Yo' go on back home an' make yore wishes, "Ah wish Sech-an'-sech-a-one Would come. Ah want So-an'-so back." Dat's anothah way yo' kin bring 'em back.
(That is if you happen to have some of their hair before they leave?)
Yes, if yo' could git holt of any of it befo' dey leave, if yo' kin find any anywhere - don' care how long dey been gone. Hair undah dere arm will do de same thing.
Entry 6445
Ah have heard dat yo' go tuh de fo'ks of de road, an' take yore fingah- nail or a corn off yore toes, an' make yore three wishes. Yo' know, say, "Ah wish dis one would nevah in- tahfere wit me no mo'; ah wish dey would go 'way from me an' nevah come no mo'." An' drop it an' dey'll go. Firs' thing yo' know, if dey's roun' about chew, why dey'll leave. [During brief stoppage of recording machine, victim's name is called - see later.]
(What do you do with the fingernails or the corn? What do you do with those?)
Jis' drop 'em down in dere an' say, "Ah wish yo' tuh go an' ah may nevah seen any mo'."
[Here I add the person's name previously dropped.]
(You just call this person's name, so they won't be around you any more.)
Entry 6469
[The two rites following explain each other:]
They say, kin get your fingernails. If you kin get a man's fingernails, or his toenails, or a piece of hair, you know, say, you get a piece of red flannen, I think, an' sew that up. An' you get chew a bottle of Hearts Cologne. An' I think you get that on the day when the moon's on the last quarter, I think. An' you fix that up and sew that up between nine and ten, an' make your wishes. An' then I think they wear that somewheres near the body, near the heart.
[Informant starts another hair rite:]
(I see. And what do they put in that bag? What would they put in that?)
Well, they's put in that a bag, it's some kind where they got their finger- nails and toenails or some of the hair where they - it's a kind of root they get dey call de Eve-and-Adam. See, those roots are twin roots together. They name one the man and the other one the woman. And then they keep it saturated, I think, in Hearts Cologne. They wear that near the body and make a wish for every stitch they make, sewing up that bag. They makes a wish. They make a bag an sews on it. They make a wish an' puts nine stitches each way [demonstrates]. (Nine stitches in the bag. This is a square bag, nine stitches on each side, nine stitches on each of the four sides of the square bag. I see. And that wish would get them, or something of that sort?) Yes, then they wear that near the heart. (That's different from the - adding that root? That's different from the first thing you told me?) Yes.
Entry 6493
Now, if yo' got some of dis scrapin', lak ah said from undah de feet, throw it out. Have it in a papah an throw it out an' don' look back. Whichevah way yo' turn, yo' throw it ovah yore lef' shouldah an' keep agoin', but don' look back. Ah've done did dat too.
(What do you do that for?)
Dat goin' put bad luck on 'em.
(What do you mean by scraping under his feet?)
Yo' know dat dead skin.
(And where do you throw it, any place? Throw it out any place?)
In de fo'ks of de roads an' make a wish. When yo' scrape dat, yo' see some people scrape dat disaway. Scrape it back disaway. Put a piece on a papah an scrape from de toe back tuh de heel. Yo' kin put dat in whiskey an' he drink it an' he'll nevah leave yo'.
Entry 6524
If yo' scrape de bottom of yuh foot, lak yo' is in love wit a man an' someone else in love wit 'im. Well, yo' scrape de bottom of yuh feet an' put it intuh 'is coffee or in 'is food an' make three wishes. An' he will stick tuh yo' jis' as long as yo' give 'im dat.
Entry 6643
Say, if ah wanted tuh' do sompin tuh yo', ah would git me a snake an' kill 'im an' put 'im intuh a sompin an' bake 'im, an' ah would use mah wish. Ah would take de ashes an' ah would drop it in- tuh yore meal or intuh de watah yo' drink, an ah would made de wish fo' whut ah wanted tuh happen tuh yo'. An' it would happen.
(Do you mean you would wish anything?)
Anything dat yo' wanted tuh wish. Dat's de way ah heard of it.
(Wouldn't that dust create certain things in you or what?)
[My question is leading but the live things are obvious.]
Yes sir.
Entry 6850
[Whatever is found buried, burn it as a general rule; but to turn it back on the spellcaster:] Les' [lest] yo' wan'a turn it back on people, why yo' put it in lye, Red Devil Lye, an' burn dat. Dat turns it back on dem. Make yore wishes.
Entry 6861
If yo' have a enemy dat chew - accordin' tuh de enemies dat chew know - yo' bury 'em in de ground an' make [a] wish, an' de same sickness or de influence dat dey have put on yo' will return back tuh dem. (How many of these nails do you put in there, you say?) Sometimes yo' use five an' sometime yo' use nine ten-penny nails.
(How do you prepare those nails?)
Yo' jis' buy 'em from de store. An' yo' take dose nails an' yo' hit 'em on de haid fer nine mawnin's, an' aftah.dat yuh bad luck return tuh de one dat send 'em. Dey claim dat de bad luck will turn back tuh dem, tuh de ones dat sent it.
[Nails are new.]
Entry 7080
Or eithah yore dirty bloomahs an' hang 'em ovah de haid of de baid right ovah 'is haid. An' fan it nine times dataway ovah 'is face while he's sleep an' make a wish, fo' nine times. Make a wish fo' nine times dat he stays asleep. An' den hang 'em up ovah de haid of de baid right ovah 'is haid. An' he won' vake up. Yo' kin go all ovah town an' come back, an' he be sleepin' sound.
Entry 7540
Yo' go to an ole cemetery dat chew nevah been to befo' an' yo' reach down - reach down an' pick up a little of dis dirt, see. Yo' go to dese fo'ks of de roads - fo'ked disaway, fo'ked disaway an' fo'ked disaway [demonstrates]. (Make the form of a cross right in the road.) Dat's right, make a fom of a cross lak yo' take a pencil an' make a mark, see. Evah whut chew want - who yo' want done or whut chew want done, it Won't be long befo' dey'll be gone. Dat will do one or 'tuthah [the other] - run 'em off, see.
(You don't make a special wish or do something out there?)
Yeah, yo' kin make a wish fo' anything dat chew wanta happen.
Entry 7655
Ah hear 'em say dat dey takes some graveyard dirt, if yo' have any man in yore community an' yo' wanted tuh move 'em. Yo' take an' yo' go tuh a sinnah man's grave an' git some of de dirt from right off on 'is left side of 'is heart. Jis' go right down in de grave till yo reach clay, an' take it out, an' take dat clay an' mix it up wit some sulphur an' magic sand.
(Magic sand?) [A hoodoo store product.]
Yessuh, magic san'. An' some dragon blood an' brimstone, an' mix all dat tuh- gethah. An' go in dat house wit'out anybody knowin' dat chew in dere, an' sprin- kle it when all de folk gone from de house. See, in de rooms, an' walk out wit'- out nobody knowin' yo' dere. Yo' know dat chew in dere an' make yore wishes. An' dey say dat dey'll have tuh go 'way from dere. Fayetteville, N. Car.,
(1420), 2560:1.]
Entry 7715
Yo'd go down tuh de grave an' take de haidbo'd an' carry it tuh de foot an' make yore wish In de Name of de Father, de Son an de Holy Ghost.
(What would you do with the footboard then, throw it away?)
Bring it tuh de head.
Entry 7721
If yo' sellin' likkah an' yo' wanted tuh keep de laws away, go tuh de cemetery an' make de change [of graveboards]. If yo' know dey all names, call dem names; an' if yo' didn't know de names, jes' use de word "of yore enemies" an' make yore wish, In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' Holy Ghost. An' bring some of that dirt back wit yo', an' leave three pennies. An' then take it an' mix it wit some salt an' red peppah. Sprinkle some on each side of yore house where dey's goin' tuh come up to dere, an' make yore wish on each side of it, "In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, make dat man stay away."
(That will keep the law away if you are bootlegging?)
Yes sir. Yo' make de changes in dat.
(Change the headboard and the footboard.)
In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' Holy Ghost, an' bring some of dat dirt wit yo'. Take it tuh de co'thouse aftah yo' mix it wit salt an' red peppah; take it tuh de co'thouse an' sprinkle it aroun' dere.
Entry 7723
See, yo' 'sposed tuh go tuh de graveyard twelve a'clock at night, an' yo' git dis dirt, an' when yo' start gittin' dis dirt, yo' supposed tuh say, "Dead spirit, ah didn't come tuh rob yore grave, ah came heah fo' luck In de Name of de Father, of de Son an' of de Holy Ghost." An' if yo' put money tuh dat grave or a corn or either some fresh rice, anything, yo' supposed tuh pay dem An' jes' lak if yo' want chure luck changed, yo' go dere in de nighttime at twelve a'clock an' yo' take de haidbo'd an' throw it tuh de feet an' take de feetbo'd an' throw it tuh de haid. An' yo' git dis graveyard dirt an' yo' sup- posed tuh put sulphur in it - supposed tuh put red peppah an' yo' supposed tuh put sompin yo' kin git at de drugsto', but yo' don' specially have tuh have dat, an' salt in it. An' yo' burn dis dirt three times a day. If it's wet yo' put it in de sun an' let it git dry, an' when yo' make yore fiah [fire] it gonna smell funny when it be burnin'. Yo' shet up in a room tuh yo'self an' yo' burn dis heah dirt. An' jes' lak if yo' want - if anothah party livin' next do', yo' want 'em out chure house, yo' burn dat dirt on dose people an' tell 'em dat chew want 'em tuh be out. Yo' know, move out de house. An' burn it three times a day. An' jes' lak if yo' runnin' a joint or anything, an' if no one will visit chure joint much, yo' kin burn dat dirt, an' in about ten minutes time yo'll have a crowd at chure house. An' if it's a woman yo' wants tuh see, an' yo' cain't see her, an' yo' burn dat dirt, dogged if she wouldn't be dere in about five minutes' time.
(You make your wishes when you burn that dirt.)
[This was not a leading question. Somewhere while recording machine had stopped this had been mentioned.] Yeah yo' make yore own wishes In de Name of de Fathah, an' de Son an' de Holy Ghost. (What is the stuff that you would get at the drug store if you wanted to use that and add that to it?) It's sompin, but chew specially [don't] have tuh have dat, becuz ah ain't nevah didn't nuse [use] dat. (You don't have to have it. What is it, if you do want to use it?) [Either no answer or I turn off machine too fast.]
Entry 7738
Ah think yo' put brimstone, camphor, bluestone, an' ah think graveyard dirt. Mix it up about soft enough tuh make li'le balls outa it, an' yo' keep dat till it git dry, an' yo' carry dat an' jes' powdah it. Jes' sprin- kle all roun' dere an' wish fo' whut yo' want it tuh do, tuh happen - whut yo' expect tuh happen.
(What do you expect of that?)
Yo' expect, jes' lak yo' want somebody tuh stay away from yore house, yo' could do dat den. Sprinkle it aroun', all roun' so dey can't see it, an' dey won't come ovah it.
Entry 7739
Well, they said, just like this; now, you living here and I wanted you to move, I want this house. Well, I'd go to the graveyard and I will get some dirt, and I will cross it up near the doorstep. (How do you cross it up? How do you mean?) Throw it like this [demonstrates]. (You sprinkle it in the form of a cross.) Yes. And make a wish and call your name. You'll move, can't stay there no more.
Entry 7786
Go tuh de graveyard an' git dirt from de graveyard, an' den go tuh de forks of de road an' make a wush fo' nine mawnin's, an' dey have bad luck. If dey wusn't in bad luck, bad luck will follah dem; if dey wishin' good luck, why good luck will follah dem. (That is if I wanted you to have good luck or bad luck, I would go to the graveyard and get some dirt, and then I would go to the forks of the road nine mornings and make my wish.) Nine mawnin's befo' day, befo' de sun rise.
(But I only go to the graveyard once?)
Yes.
Entry 7822
I've heard this: if you wake up in the night at twelve o'clock and you write a letter to some of your kin people which is dead and seal it and mail it to yourself, when you receive this letter you burn it and make a wish and the girl that you're going with will marry you. [Fredericksburg, Va., by Edi- phone.]
Entry 7881
Dey could send yo' away wit graveyard dust. Git some cayenne peppah dat hasn't been used an' fresh table salt an' mix it wit graveyard dust, an' make a wish an' throw it de Way yo' live. Dat'll run yo' away.
Entry 7918
If it's anyone aroun' here dat ah would lak fer 'em tuh move - ah want tuh move in de house or anything of de kind - ah kin go out tuh de cemetery an' git some dirt. Make three wishes, dat is, yo' know lak ah want dem tuh move an' stay away. Jis' throw it across de steps or in de hallway or in de porch, an' in three day's time dem people goin' tuh move.
(Move out of the house?)
Yes, sir. [Here 3 wishes replace the 3 Holy Names.]
Entry 8001
You can cut out of paper or you can cut them off from shingles and make the image of a person, and write the name and whatever you wish. Well, you can take this shingle and carry it and throw it in running water, or you bury it, or you can take it and hang it upon the side of a tree and let it blow away. That's if you want to run 'em away.
Entry 8047
Yo' kin [take] a person's bone outa his laig, a li'le small one of 'is bones. Take a strand of 'is hair, live person's hair, whoevah yo' want, an' wrap it aroun' dat bone. An' yo' take dat bone, if yo' don' want tuh bury it, yo' kin put it in a close [or dark] corner wit de hair aroun' it, yo' know, an' whutevah yo' wish fo' - if yo' wish dose person tuh die or whutevah yo' wish fo', den at [after] de six week dat wish will come true. Wit de hair Wrapped aroun' dat bone, becuz if yo' wrap dat hair roun' de bone, it won't be long fo' dat DEAD BONE WILL TURN DAT STRAN' OF HAIR WHITE. Yo' kin notice it. It will turn dat stran' of hair white.
Entry 8086
Turn 'im [his photo- graph] down tuh de ground an' make a wish wit dat black hen feathah an' yore wishes will come true. An' at de dawn of day, read a chaptah ~ read de 36th chaptah of de Psalms of David. Yo' pray tuh God an' ast 'im fo' whut chew want an' yo'll be purtty lucky tuh git it. (Use the person's photograph. How do you use that black feather? What do you do with that?) Lay it across de pichure, turn it [picture] down tuh de ground.
(Face it down.)
Entry 8143
Take dey photograph an' yo' kin go tuh a point of a road [fork of road] too, wit dat. Yo' go tuh a point of a road wit dat photograph an' yo'll go tuh work an' yo'll write dat per- son's name on dat photograph, an' yo'll turn it upside down, an' yo'll put it dere wit bad wishes. Yo' gotta say bad things an' yo'll bury dat photograph an' put it dere wit bad words, an' yo'll turn it upside down fo' nine days. [Here recording machine turned off momentarily while informant spoke about name mentioned later.]
(You do that at the fork of the road?)
Yessuh, at de fo'k of a road.
(How do you write that name on the back? Just write one name?)
Jis' dat fellah name. Yo' don' wan' chure name dere.
Entry 8171
Yo' kin take dere picture, take de pichure an' bury dis pichure. Now if someone jis' don' lak 'em roun' heah or wants tuh git rid of 'em, jis' take dis pichure fo' nine mawnin's an' jis' take it tuh de graveyard, tuh de offside of de grave, see. De graveyard got fo' cornahs tuh it; any place, see. Take it tuh de offside, it's on de right side. Evah grave got all cornahs. See whut ah mean? Take it tuh de offside as yo' come up on dat side. It's got a offside on de right side of it on de fo' cornahs evahwhere yo' go. Take it tuh de offside an' bury it on its face. An' fo' nine mawnin's go dere an' dump a li'le dirt down in on it, fo' nine mawnin' an' make a wish evah mawnin', say[ing] dat yo' wan'a send 'em away. An' turn roun', don' look back. Walk off an' don' look back when yo' go 'way. An' in nine mo' mawnin's dis fellah be's somewhere, he cain't he'p hisself.
(What will happen to him?)
Sompin will happen. He jis' runned away. Yes, he jis' gone 'way fo'evah.
Entry 8197
Take yure pitchure an' put it in a looking glass [the carboard behind the small.hand mirror having been removed]. An' turn it [photo] upside down [against mercury backing of mirror, restoring card- board back] an' put it undahneat' [you] an' sleep on it or walk on it or put it somewhere somebody'll tread on it an' break de glass, an' yo' [person of photo] got tuh come back. Go tuh de do' an' burn some disinfect [disinfectant] an' make yure wish [wish] an' burn it in de house. Den go to de do' an' make yuh wush [again] an' come back. An' 'at [that] been done in Short[?] William Street alley [here in Richmond]. Den [another method] yo' put it [photo without mirror] undah- neat' de carpet or in a trunk upside down tuh draw yuh back. Well keep yuh on yure haid or yuh feet till yuh git back home. An' use dat powdah, insex, love insex [love incense] dey call it. Burn it on a stove.
Entry 8206
Suppose yo' want a person tuh live about two months aftah yo' take it. Yo' kin take a tintype an' yo' dig two feet in de ground, an' yo' tell it, "Ah wan' chew tuh die wit'in two months." Yo' write his name, whethah yo' kin see it or not, yo' know how tuh spell dat name. Yo' know yo' kin be writin' it, whethah yo' kin read it on dere, yo' lnow, on dere or not. Yo' write it anyhow, "Ah wan' chew tuh die in two months." Den cross it, 'in two months.' [Cross the first words in two months with the second in two months.] Den yo' take dis. photograph an' do dis, dig dis two-feet hole. Den yo' turn it down on de face of it an' den yo' make yore wish, "Ah want chew tuh be daid in two months." Den yo' covah it up. Slap yore right feet on it an' stomp it fo' six times, 'Ah want chew tuh die in two months, ah want chew tuh die in two months." Dey'll die.
Entry 8212
They get a hold of your picture, a tintype frame, and draws blood from one of her fingers and write your name and her name on it, and buries it in the ground four feet and cov- ers it up and makes a wish. In two month's time the wish will come true. If you want her to come back to you, if you want her to hate you, anything you wish will come true. [Fredericksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 8229
Tuh break up a home, well yo' kin take gunpowdah.
(How would you use that?)
Well yo' would take de gunpowdah an' yo' draw a pichure lak it's fo' two peo- ple. Yo' draw 'em jis' lak dey goin' tuh fight - yo' know how chil'ren kin draw funny pichures - jis' lak dey goin' tuh fight. Yo' takes de gunpowdah an' nine pinches of salt, an' nine pinches of red peppah, an' yo' put it in de stove an' make yure wishes. An' dat breaks 'em up. (Well, what do you do with the picture then?) Well, yo' take de pichure perhaps an' stand it on de head an' put it in a dark closet.
(No, this picture that you draw. What do you do with that?)
Oh, what you drew. Yo' burns dat. Yo' writes dere names on dis papah. Yo' draws on a plain piece of white papah, den yo' takes dis pichure, de man's havin' a fight, yo' puts de gunpowdah in dere, nine pinches, nine pinches of salt, an' nine pinches of cayenne peppah, red peppah. An' den yo' put it in de stove fo' nine mawnin's.
(I see, you put the stuff into the picture?)
Yeah.
(You have to draw that thing nine times?)
Uh-huh. Yo' don't have tuh draw it zactly [exactly] lak 'em, but yo' draw it lak a man if yo' kin or do it lak a woman, see.
(Well, do you do that over again and again?)
Ovah ag'in fer nine mawnin's.
Entry 8248
Dey take dere undies an' shake it in 'is face [the face of his photo] any time she wan' tuh see him. Any hour of de night she jis' wish fo' him an' he'll come. An' jis' whutevah she want, if he have it, he'll give it tuh her.
Entry 8283
Well, yo' see, yo' kin take dat 'ere [photo] an' [a note of mlne says informant very shaky, a stutterer] an' bury it down in dirt an'...meal buries... eithah meal. Dey eithah buries it in de groun' where dey walk ovah it fo' nine days, an' make any kinda wishes yo' wants fo' it, yo' see. An' den take it out, yo' see, an' nail it up side of de tree at de ninth day an' shoot it, sompin lak dat, wit No.8 shot.
(What is that supposed to do to you?)
Dey say de person will die. (You take this photograph first and you bury it in the ground, face down, you say. And then what do you put on that?) Make any kinda wishes yo' wants tuh.
(You said something about meal. What did you say about meal?)
Even if yo' don't want tuh bury it down in de ground, yo' kin bury it in de meal.
(Oh, if you don't bury it in the ground, you bury it in the meal. Corn meal?)
Yes, sir. An' den yo' leave it fo' nine days. Den yo' see, yo' kin make yere wishes, any kinda wish yo' want. An' de ninth day yo' kin take it up an' shoot it.
Entry 8287
Dey take yore pichure an' draw it in willah [willow] tree an' run a speah through yer heart. See, shape yer heart an' put a speah through yer heart. An' dey shoot yer pichure nine times an' dat'll cuz yo' tuh drag until yo' die. Well, AH HAVE SAW DAT CUZ AH SAW IT ON DE BAYOU, de photo Wuz in de trE. (An ordinary photograph? Or do you draw the form of that photograph?) Yes [you draw the form as informant stated]. An' dey put it in de tree an' dey made dere wish, but dey put some kinda - dey put lode- stone in it, too, an' dey put dat blood, dragon's blood in it, an' dey had a speah through de heart. Yo' know, lak yo' speah it through de heart. An' dey shot it nine times, shot de heart nine times.
Entry 8382
Well, ah heard people say if yo' put one's pichure on a tree an' - yo' know, yo' bo' a hole in de tree an' put it up in dere. An' if yo' drive a tenpenny nail, yo' go dere an' yo' knock dat nai Lfo'[ nine mawnin's, jes' one time each mawnin', an' make yore wish whut chew wanta happen, an' it will.
(Anything you want done?)
Yes.
Entry 8476
(Or sometimes they say they get hold of your photograph. [I am repeat- ing informant's preceding statement unrecorded.] What do they say about that?) Oh, yes sir. Well, I heah dem say, I don't know whethah it is true, but I tell yo' what I heard dem say. Say dey kin take yer photograph an' turn it like dis [demonstrates]. Here photograph, dey turn dat down.
(Oh, they turn it down.)
Yes, dey turn dat down lak dat.
(Well, what does that do?)
An' make a wish on it. Dey say dat will carry yo' away, run yo' away.
(I see, run you away.)
Entry 8477
I have heard they take your photograph and get the hair out of your head, and wish anything would happen to that image, and attach that hair onto your pic- ture, and that wish will come true.
Entry 8478
Ah heard dey could take dat chew know. (This photograph.) Take dat an' make a wish three times an' bury it on de face an' de loved one will return. [Waycross, Ga.,
(1126), 1831:8.]
[The second section Of division THE THREE GREAT SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY (the first section PHOTOGRAPH, p.3419f.) contains a goodly' number of rites, considering the fact that hundreds of examples have already been given in the text, and that more will follow this present section. Such imbalance occurs because names normally are merely a part of a larger or more important rite.]
Entry 8487
Dey will take a brand-new ink pen an' pick dis fingah [demonstrates]. (That's the ring finger, next to the little finger on the left hand. All right.) Uh-huh, on de left hand, nex' tuh yore heart. An' prick dat fingah an' git de blood outa dat fingah, an' write de name on a piece of clean [new] papah, an' bury it tuh [in] de east cornah of de house, jis' facin' lak dat [demon- strates] east cornah ovah dere. An' make yore wish. If yo' had a gurl fren' or somebody wus in New York or some place an' make dat an' bury dat stuff, an' she'll come regardless.
(That brings her back to you.)
Entry 8494
It's a thing dat choo call a John de Conkah root an' yo' see, while dat chew talk tuh de boss, jis' as ah tole yo' befo' 'bout dat piece of papah dat yo' write an' put it in de stove. Yo' write de boss name, if yo' know it, in a cross. (Just how do you do that now?) Yo' write his name dis way an' den yo' write his name dis way, an' den yo' put dat in de stove jis' de same as yo' did - jis' de same as ah 'splain tuh yo' befo', in de ashpan an' let dat hot coal drop down on it. An' when yo' go tuh him yo'd have a small piece of dis John de Conkah root in yore mouth, an' yo' make yore wishes befo' yo' git tuh him. An' yo' chew dis while yore talkin' tuh him. An' it supposed tuh bring yo' a favorable answah. Once each day make a cross.
Entry 8499
Perhaps someone come tuh yore house an' yo' didn't want 'em dere any mo', yo' could take a broom, make yore wishes, an' call 'im a bad name. An' take yuh a broom an' sweep )'im out an' he won't come back any mo'. [This is not the ordinary rite of sweeping behind a departing person. The departing is pretended and the person's name is intended or wished at least.]
Entry 8525
(Take a coconut?)
Yeah. Take that coconut, put their name into that and some red beans, and they will use that cayenne pepper and stuff, and poke it and his name in the hole. Open that, you know, the hole, and put them down in that, in that coconut, and stop it up. And then they roll it. Roll it over the floor so many days and make their wishes and roll that coconut.
(You say they put red beans in there?)
Yeah, red beans down in there.
(What do they put red beans in there for?)
I don't know.
Entry 8534
Woman writes man's name on four corners of piece of paper, makes wish, says Psalm, puts in bottle of honey, screws lid down tight, puts in secret place, man will come back, will be sweeter than ever to her.
Entry 8540
They said they make nine marks and cross 'em.
(How do you mean nine marks and cross 'em?)
Just make nine straight marks, you know, an' cross 'em tHHHHH+ ttItitt or That makes ten. The tenth mark, that's ten. (What is it supposed to do?) Well, that will put 'em to traveling, yo' know. (Well, how - where do they make these marks?) Well, yo' could make 'em with a stick or anything, yo' know, and make a wish, yo' know. Call de person's name an' make a wish, an' cross those things an' they say that it's more than apt to come true. Make a evil wish towards 'em.
Entry 8581
(How do you do that?)
Well, yo' write that down nine times on a piece of brown paper an' yo' fold it. Always fold it to yo'. Bring it to yo'. Make a wish every time yo' fold it. Wish that. An' put that in a lamp an' burn it. (Just burn the light in there?) Burn it, a low light all day. Never let it go out. And if yo' see it ain't workin' quick enough, then yo' take an' get yo' a candle. An' get yo' a pink candle an' bite de [bottom] end off it an' light it. An' put that - lay that [paper with names] down under it an' set that [candle] right on top like that.
(What do you mean bite the end off it?)
Just take it in your teeth and bite the [bottom] end off, that end what lights. Light it from de other end. Then take a knife an' cut down - make it, light it from de bottom.
(I see, turn the candle upside down.)
Entry 8640
Well, a lemon, if yo' wanta break somebody up ag'in, lak a man an' 'is wife or sompin lak dat, yo' could take such a-thing as a lemon an' yo' could take that same cayenne peppah. An' yo' write their [man's] name down nine times an' de woman who yo' wanta break 'em up from Yo' could write their name, but whosomevah doin' it, well, dey could do it, dey could fold it, fold it but always fold it from dem. An' if yo' wants tuh put some- body togethah, yo' take that man's name, if it's a woman, an' yo' write his name down first an' that woman, write her name down. An' den she takes de papah an' she fold it comin' tuh her, see. Lak yo' take a papah an' fold it comin' tuh yo' an' make yore wish when yo' fold de papah. An' den yo' take nine dressin' [ordinary] pins, eithah yo' could use needles, but de goldhead needles would be bettah - nine goldhead needles. An' de top whut chew cut off de lemon - see, yo' cut de top off de lemon an' yo' fold dat papah tight an' yo' push it down in dat lemon. An' yo' take de top whut chew put an' stick dem nine needles, yo' know, shut it back up but stick it all de Way roun'. An' if yo' got anyway a [old-fashioned] icebox an' yo' [have a drain to the outside for] dis icebox an' [or] yo' have de foam [gutter or drainage ditch] go through [by] yore house. Well, yo' dig a hole an' yo' put it [lemon] in a moist place where it goin' be wet all de time, so it could rotten. See, an' as dat lemon rot away, yo' see, it'll break 'em up.
Entry 8659
You take his name an' write it nine times, an' git choo a he an' she lodestone an' put it in there with his name, an' git a silver dime from 'im. An' he'll give yo' ever' nickel of money he kin make or scrape. (What do you do with that after you get this stuff together?) Yo' make it like in a little bag an' yo' pin it on yo'. Yo' see, yo' write his name first, yo' make yore wish jis' w'atevah yo' want done, yo' understan', an' den yo' wrap it up to yo' an make yore wish an' sew it up an' wear it on yo'.
(What do you do with this dime?)
Put it in there with dat - dat lodestone. Draws it, draws his money to yo'.
Entry 8676
Yo' kin write his name nine times an' make a wish an' den yo' kin wear it in yore right shoe an' he'll come back.
Entry 8683
Dey kin take a person's hair an' bury it an' cause 'em tuh die. Cut de hair outa de top de haid. Yo' can't git any othah part of de hair. Yo' gotta git it from de top of de haid, understan', an' wrap it in brown papah. An' write dere name on dat papah, an' cause 'em tuh - yo' know, jes' anything dat chew wish would go wrong with de body. Dat whut chew do wit a person's hair.
(You just write that name once on the paper?)
Yeah - yeah, jes' once. On some different things yo' have tuh write it three times, but jes' with de hair yo' kin write it once, on brown papah. It's gotta be brown papah, jes' ordinary wrappin' papah, lak dat. {Memphis, Tenn., (1518), 2695:2.]
Entry 8684
Well, yo' go out there [to a crossroad] for whatsomevah yo' want [to] be done. Yo' make a cross in dat road. Yo' go to a 'simmon [persimmon] tree an git a 'simmon tree an' cut [a piece off] about 3 inches, yo' know what 3 inches is. Yo' make a split in that, in that piece yo' cut off, if yo' wan'a stop 'em from goin' de way they're goin', if dey goin' roun' some woman, somepin like dat. Yo' always urinate on it an' make yore wish an' write de name. Stick it [name] right down in dat cut chew made an' drive it in de ground.
[This is one of a number of split stick rites.]
(Where?)
Right in that cross, where you make dat cross.
(At the crossroad.)
Yes sir, under dat cross an' cover it.
Entry 8720
Ah tell yo' what choo do fo' yoreself fo' tuh cross a person.
(Well, how would they do that?)
Well, dey take it an' write dere names on a hot stove with this stick [lump] sulphur. But if yo' gon'a use de powdered sulphur, jis' sprinkle dat on de stove an' make yore wishes. An' if yo' don't do like dat, yo' burn it wit some asfitidee [asafetida]. Get some asfitidee an' put it in de top an' put dat sulphur in dere, an' burn it togethah an' make yore wishes. Jis' like if yo' want 'em to separate or if yo' want 'em to stay together.
Entry 8743
Dat chew kin take an' go out into de woods, if yo' want tuh keep yore girl fren', so's people say - if it seems lak she's gittin' off from yo', goin' wit anothah fellah - take some of de young boughs on dat tree an' tie yo' a knot in dat tree an' make yore wishes, an' name it. An' she goin' stay dere wid joo until dat tree's cut down, or until somebody come along an' break dat limb off de tree, so dat knot will come untied. (You take one of those limbs and tie it in a knot.)
Entry 8786
If you want to make a person jis' drift an' jis' become a vagabond going here and there an' nevah content in one place, yo' write dere name wit evil wishes on a teeny piece of board, wood joo know, thin board, an' yo' git choo a lots of nails an' put anothah piece on. Dere name is tacked on dat first piece of board. An' den yo' put a thin piece of board on top of dat an' nail it down fine, jis' put plenty nails in rotation. An' at 12 o'clock at night yo' throw dat in de rivah, an' as dat board floats an' drifts down de stream, why dat person will drift. Dere mind will become unsettled an' dey'll jis' go to an' fro.
Entry 8787
If yo' want to make 'em drift, yo' jes' take it an' get dat. Yo' always got to get dat name an' get dere right name, an' fix it up. Yo' put it into a bottle an' yo' get yo' some vinegar, strong, good vinegar, an' stick dat name down into dat vinegar, wit nine pods of red peppah - red peppah, not a strained peppah.
(Nine pods of red pepper?)
Yeah, an' stick it down into dat bottle wit his name in it an' dat old Epsom salts an' dat peppah. An' yo' can take it an' go to de rivah. Yo' seal dat bottle up an' yo' go to de rivah an' pitch it right in de channel. It'll float. An' as long as de bottle will float, dey'll always be goin' - dey goin' to keep goin'. Dey won't stay in no one place. Dey'll go to one place an' den dey'll come back to anothah place. Dey'll keep a-goin' an' dey'll nevah stop goin' until somepin gets dat bottle an' knocks dat stoppah out of dere. It goin' to get loose some way, if dose [things inside] won't keep it [afloat]. (I see. Now, you only write the name once on that piece of paper? You only write it once?) No, write it nine times, an' den make yore wish when yo' are writin' it.
(Oh, I see.)
Entry 8799
They burn it [hand- wmiting] an' make dere wishes an' it'll cause yore hand tuh tremble.
Entry 8839
Then again, dey wan'a draw yuh. Say a woman likes yuh very well an' she can't git up tuh yuh. Well now, she will git a love vine [the dodder], she'll git dose little candies [used for decorating a cake], an' holy watah, an' if possible she'll git a wishbone from a turkey, if she kin git it; if not, she will use a chicken [wish] bone. She'll set in de forks of dis road an' she'll place it dere jis' as neah as dat fork an' dat wishbone will match tuhgethah. An' she'll make a wish. An' if she kin Write, well - aftah makin' dis wish in de forks of de road - while she dere, she'll write a lettah. She'll have 'er three grains of rice. She seal dat lettah wit three grains of rice. She have de rice cooked sof' an' done, an' instead of wettin' wit yore tongue, why yo'll jis' mash - yo' ought tuh have it wet enough, yuh see. Yo' jis' lay it on dere an' mash it down an' let it seal [demonstrates]: one grain on one side [of letter flap], an' one in de middle of dat part, dat part here, an' one on de othah [side]. Seal it wit dat, wit a dash of Lovers Sashay. An' believe yuh me, he gon'a come.
Entry 8850
Take de lettah...
(This letter that I wrote to you?)
Yessuh, an' git a lamp - dey burn on yo' - burn it lak dey burn a candle [on you]. Dey put de lettah aroun' de lamp, outside de lamp an' put de lamp in a da'k [dark] cornah an' make a wish an' burn it 24 days, whatevah dey wan' tuh happen tuh yuh. [This hand- Writing is not wrapped round the lamp chimney, which would immediately cause a fire, but as informant says burn it lak dey burn a candle (for burning candles, see pp.797- 862). Unwatched candles are always placed on a saucer or tin lid of some sort beneath which the object burned on is placed.]
Entry 8868
Ah heah tell 'em takin' yore - a lettah dat chew wrote tuh a person - dat chew'd write a lettah tuh me. Ah've heard of 'em takin' dat lettah an' puttin' per- fume on it. Dat's tuh make yo' come tuh me. Yo' take dat lettah an' yo' put perfume on it an' yo' put dat lettah between yore mattress an' yo' sleep on dat lettah each night. Each night befo' goin' tuh. baid why yo' make a wish dat dis person would come, an' yo' continue tuh sleep on dat lettah. An' ah've heard dat by doin' dat an' sprinklin' it wit Hearts Perfume each night, why ah believe in de ninth night, aftah de ninth night, why dat person mo' likely tuh come tuh yo'.
Entry 8881
Well dey take yore han'writin'. Well, jes' lak yo' write on dis side of de lettah. Well, yo' know, a pusson don't usely [usually] write on one sheet on both sides, jes' lak yo' write on dis side of de lettah. Well, yo' may mail dat tuh me. Now, ' yo' is de woman an' ah'm de man, see. Yo' may mail de lettah tuh me. [Informant begins to demon- strate.] Well, ah'll write on dis side. Well, when ah write on dis side, ah'll write between lines. See, ah write between lines. Now, ah don' write zactly [exactly] on yore lines. Jes' lak yo' write a line dere, an' write one dere, see. Well, ah'll write in de middle of yores, see. An' in mah time of writin', why ah'll make mah wishes, what ah wan' tuh happen tuh yuh, see. An' jes' as ah writin', ah makes mah wishes. Co'se yo' have tuh have a good education tuh do dat, yo' know. An' den when ah make mah wishes, why yore wishes will certain- ly come out. Co'se den mah lines will be tangled up. Yo' understand, aftah yo' done write it de long ways betwixt lines, den yo' go an' write it across, see.
(Then what do you do with that?)
Well, yo' keep it. Keep dat an' tote it. [Charleston, S. Car., (511), 576:7.] [This division can be gathered into sections: THEFT, COURT CASES, THE AMAZING CHICKEN EGG, SALT AND ITS COMBINATIONS, NAILS - NEEDLES AND PINS - TACKS, FROG and BLACK CAT LUCKY BONE AGAIN. Smaller amounts of diversified material, with margin titles only, will follow in division "CHANNEL DE WORLD."] [Closely related to theft are: (l) the loss of an article by mere losing or misplacement; (2) the loss or theft of a husband or wife or lover, illustrations being numerous in Hoodoo; and (3) the reverse of losing, the finding of the object causing conjuration. To locate or identify conjurating objects is the very heart of hoodoo. Many of these latter methods have been given in Hoodoo - see DIAGNOSIS, Pp.165-217, and elsewhere. Yet, despite all do-it-yourself magic, the true be- liever in these volumes will imitate Biblical precedents, if the loss or theft is considerable. He will copy the experiences of Saul by visiting a seer (1 Samuel, chapter 9) or a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor (l Sam. 28:7), whom our modern believer knows by various professional titles: Doctor, Madam, Mother, high man, wise man or wise woman, two-head or two-header, fortuneteller, reader, healer, foreknower, foreteller, hoodoo or hoodooer, root-man or root-worker, witch, witch-crafter, 'crafter, cunjure or cunjure-man, etc. Finally, may I call your attention to the first margin title, BIBLE AND KEY. Some of its rites have been used for other purposes than theft: to discover whether a wish would come true, No.550, or whether you have been hoodooed, No.551, both on p.167. At the end of these Bible-and-key rites are two rare ones of unusual interest concerning two keys, or crossed keys, or the Key Of St. Peter. My special comments about them, because they concern me personally, should be read.]
Entry 8904
If a person stole a.thing from yo' an' yo' wanta find out if it's dem dat did it, yo' gotta git chew some coffee grinds [grounds] aftah de coffee's [coffee has] been made. Git dose coffee grinds. An' den yo' take some coffee grinds an' let dem set outdo's [outdoors]. Don't leave dem in de house, yo' let 'em set outdo's. An' den yo' will git chew a bottle of turpentine. Now, dey done stole it an' yo' wanta find out de fak' [fact]. An' den, when yo' git some turpentine an' dose coffee grinds - an' den yo' take dat eggshell an' brown hit an' put it in dere. An' den yo' take dat eggshell - aftah yo' take dat egg- shell. An' yo' make yore wish while yo' fixin' it up. Yo' make yore wish while yo' fix it up an' den yo' take dis eggshell. An' den yo' take an' beat up some garlic an' brown dat garlic. Yo' gotta brown evahthin' yo' use. An' den yo' take, if yo' have an idea who got it - if somebody tell yo' dese people got it an' yo' know where dey live at...
(If you have an idea who did, what do you do with it then?)
Take it tuh dere do' an' bury it right up undah de centah of dere do', right up undah de centah of dere house eithah much [if you prefer]. [Center of house makes this a quincunx rite.] An' if dey got it dey'll bring it back. Dey'll bring it back.
Entry 8911
You go to work and find his track, and make nine wishes and wish for your stolen'things to come back. Then you bury that [foot track] right where he took that from you.and he'll come back to look for more. And he'll stay right there until day lookin' over it all. [The preceding until day is an element taken from hag and witch lore, see pp.135-164, especially Nos.481,530, 542, etc.] Yo' do hyp'otize 'im. An' then yo' say anythin' to 'im, he'll come out; but yo' can go right there an' arrest him without sayin' anythin' to him. Then yo'll find him in dere next morning, when yo' gits up, lookin' over yore stuff. An' dat he's got he'll bring it back. If he's done used it up he'll come to yo', tell yo' he's got it. [Near Suffolk, Nansemond, Co., Va. Doctor Frank Hall (see Intro. P. XXIX, v.1, where Harris is a mistake for Hall), by hand.]
Entry 8914
I have heard 'em say that you could take a fork and stick it down at the gate or the entry or around the building near where you think they're going in, and make your wishes. And that'll keep 'em away, if you think a person's trying to steal - to perwent [prevent] a person stealing from you. And that'll keep people from talking about chew too, they say. Keep 'em from bothering you in any way, shape or form or fashion. [This fork rite has been taken over from methods to keep a hag or witch out of the house - see No.510, p.154, etc.]
Entry 8916
If a person steal somepin from yo', take sompin good, yo' know, somepin useful to yo', yo' kin take an' write dere name three times. Yo' write In de Name of de Father, Son an' de Holy Ghost three times. Den yo' write dat straight across lak dat three times [demonstrates], an' den yo' turn it an' yo' write it dis way [the same way], an' den yo' take dat an' fold it.
(Do you write the person's name first?)
No, yo' write it In de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost, three times.
(Then you turn it around and write it crosswise, in the same words?)
De same words, an' yo' writes de person name, too, but yo' write it undah dat, under de Father. See, yo' write it In Name de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, an' den de nex' line will be de person's name. An' when yo' writin' dis note, yo' makin' yore wishes to yoreself fo' de Lord tuh bring dese people back. An' den yo' write dat ag'in, an' den ag'in de [person's] name, an' [again] de Son an' de Father an' de Holy Ghost, until yo' git three of each. (First one and then the other [the names are on alternate lines]. There must be three of each on this paper. Then you turn your paper sideways and write the same thing down across the other six [lines of] names. Six crossing six?) Sho' [sure]. An' yo' place dis undah yore lamp, one dese li'le small lamps, yo' know. Dey call 'em scent [saint] lamps. Well, yo' take an' set one dem lamps on top of dat an' make yore wishes fo' dis person, an' in three days time whatevah yo' wish fo' comes [true]. [Years ago lamp rites were very common in New Orleans and the areas of its influence. This lamp was a real lamp, sometimes very small, always with a wick in a burner. Sanctuary or shrine or holy lights, giving lights of different colors and using floats were something else. Then, of course, candles surpassed all other forms of magic illumination - see for these candles, Pp.797-862, v.1, and other places; for 34 lamp rites, Nos.8578-8612, Pp.3524-3535, v.4, and other places. During my collecting days in New Orleans, scent or sent could mean saint, and also incense or scent.]
(They will bring back that article they have taken from you?)
Yessuh.
(They call them saint lamps?)
Yessuh.
Entry 8950
You will go to a creek where ther's water running at. You get you some of that sand out of the bottom of that creek. See, some of that white sand, and you get you some of that run- ning water, see. You brings it back home, you puts it in a clean basin. See, put that sand in the bottom of that basin. You puts that water in there. You take and you write your name on a piece of paper nine times. See. And you puts it in that water. Well, it's natural when that paper gets wet, it's going to sink under that water, you understand. That paper sinks under there and you stand up in it and you repeat the Lord's Prayer for seven times and make your wish. And whosomever got anything from you, they ain't going to rest until they bring it back.
(I see, if anybody has stolen anything?)
If anybody stole anything, it keep 'em tormented until he bring it back. (What do you mean by repeating the prayers seven times? You mean all on this one day?) Yes, sir.
(Or seven different days?)
Oh, no sir, just one time, yo' see. An' while yo' repeating that, that paper going to come back to the top of the water, you see. And when it come, it going to begin to float around, see. It float around, you see on that water. An' then you don't take it out; see, yo' leave that paper float in that water. See. And it's goin' keep him tormented until he brings that back. It going to create a fear on him, he can't rest nowhere.
(I see.) [New Orleans, La., (873), 1426:4.]
[Despite the following do-it-yourself rites about court cases, it was always advisable in serious crimes to employ the service of an expert, especially of a legendary person like Doctor Buzzard, who never appeared in court but sent an animal to do his work (pp.891-905). At an earlier date some witchcraft people could break up a trial by thunder and lightning, so it is said. Much of this court material is scattered throughout Hoodoo - see interview COURTROOM SPECIAL- IST, Pp.1423-1449, v.2; SIFTER AND SCISSORS, No.604, p.204, v.1; and especially a rite, No.9024 in this present section, one of the finest statements in Hoodoo; My amazing experience with Doctor Washington of Charleston, S. Car. He, using me as a guinea pig, explains how he could free me from the clutches of the law, if I were a bootlegger and had been arrested! This freedom he describes by asking me questions and then answering them himself - Shakespearian! Indirectly he will bribe the court through a go-between with the money I pay him in advance, keeping a part of it as his commission, and work his real magic with 2 black hens. Washington, after talking to me, had a fight with another doctor out in the court- yard of the house where I was interviewing. I refer to this fracas later while in Brunswick, Ga., after two doctors likewise had a quarrel outside the house where I interviewed (lines 5-6, 15-16, p.337, v.1). Washington, as also most other doctors, paid me the great compliment of my life, without any suggestion or pretense of mine. He and they considered me a hoodoo man from New York City! Big-city life would make me ignorant of animals that crawled or hopped or flew. Consequently he offered to help me by taking over any live-things-in-you cases coming my Way in Charleston - See DOCTOR WASHINGTON ASKS FOR DOCTOR HYATT'S "LIVE-THINGS-IN-YOU" CASES, pp.2253-2258, v.3.]
Entry 8955
Lak if yo' got a co't case an' in de mawnin' when dat individual [you] git up, leave de house be upsetted, leave de chamber lye stay in de house an' de clothes whut dey have on. First dey take a bath. An' yo' git honeysuckle an' bay rum an' den yo' make yo' a bath wit dat. An' yo' take dat bath when yo' fixin' tuh go tuh meet de co't. An' yo' put on clean clothes. An' de ole clothes whut chew put off, yo' nail a nail up at de do' whut chew goin' out, an' yo' turn yore underwears wrongside out an' yo' hang 'em up upside down. An' yo' hang yore pantses up upside down, an' yo' turn yore shoes upside down. An' as yo' go out de do', make yore wish an' don' look back. But leaves de house dere - upset de house as much as yo' kin. Yo' wins dat [case]. Ah have win.
Entry 9025
That same woman I'm telling you about now, she was making whiskey and they had her up in Bowling Green [Va.] Court. She went there and she got a four- leaf clover and put it in her left pocket, and made a wish to get clear, and went to the court and they dis- missed it. The power that was in the four-leaf clover and her wishes and her power banished the court. [Fredericksburg, Va., cylinder 44, by Ediphone.]
Entry 9028
[This rite could also have been indexed under many blowing breath ex- amples in Hoodoo.] Yo' take dirt daubah nest. Yo' kin be in jail. Ah've done done dis. Yo' kin be in jail an' yo' kin git chew a piece of dirt daubah nest, but don't let it fall. [This is one of those don't-let-it-touch-the- ground rites.] If it fall, don't chew bothah wit it. Cheo git dat [nest] chureself. Yo' mix it up wit table salt an build yo' a li'le fiah, an' yo' burn it as de people do in ole ancient time, sacrificin', In de Name of de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost. An' make yore wishes fo' whatevah yo' want tuh be done. An' yo' keep a-blowin', an' evah time yo' blow, say, God de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost till words 'mount tuh nine times. An' evah time it'll be yore way. An' if things ain't yore way, evah time yo' burn it, if things ain't zactly, yo' burn it ovah ag'in an' keep a-burnin' it ovah ag'in till things come zactly yore way.
(This is in a court case, you say?)
Yes sir. [For the mystery, awe and magic concerning the dirt dauber nest, See especially the interview, 'TOMB OF DE BABE OF BETHLEHEM," pp.1325-1335, v.2J
Entry 9070
[We have here the rare, perhaps only example of writing a white man's name on brown paper instead of the usual white. Is this a protest? Remember, the rite was collected before Martin Luther King Jr. marched on Selma! Though atmosphere and situation were changing, almost no one expected so much progress in such a short time. Is informant reducing prosecutor to the prisoner's level, asking what would you do if you were in his shoes? For the use of color symbolism, see COLOR SYMBOLISM, Pp.797f., and es- pecially the interview, NAHNEE, BOSS OF ALGIERS, Pp.1351-1386.] Yo' trial comin' up fo' de co't an' dey got a prosecutor, see. Well, yo' know fo' instance lak dey kill somebody or bootleggin'. Now fo' instance if de police find yo' an' he's de prosecutor... Yo' understan' me? Well, yo' gits a piece of brown papah. Yo' see dis heah brown papah. Yo' write dat guy's name on dat nine times an' yo' git chew a great big piece of ice an' put dat on de ice, an' he git dere he cain't open his mouth.
(You put the ice on the name or the paper on the ice?)
Put de papah on de ice, but yo' got his name nine times wrote dere an' yo' make yore wish, an' lay it on dat ice an' keep it all night. (Just on top of this cake of ice? How do you lay that piece of paper on the ice?) Jis' lay it flat or lay de ice on it. Lay de name nex' tuh de ice.
Entry 9099
Git powdahs, perfume, dey call it lucky star powdahs [incense]. Yo' burn it an' as yo' burn it de sut [soot], it drops down, an' as dat drops yo' make a wish, an' dat turns evahbody ag'inst chew in de line of tryin' tuh do yo' some harm. But chew [in jail] cain't do it. Some of yore friends will have tuh bring it tuh de co'troom an' do dat.
(You wouldn't do that in the courtroom, though?)
Do it at home an' make a wish as dat falls down.
(What do you call this powder?)
Lucky star powdah. Yo' buys it in de drug sto'. It looks lak dust, an' as it burns de soot drops from it, an' yo' make a wish in behin' dat stuff. An' anybody tryin' tuh do yo' some harm dat turn 'em 'ginst chew. Jis' lak if yo' have somebody in jail an' yo' want 'em out, well yo' take an' burn dat. Go up tuh de jail. Den it won't be long 'fore dey be outa de jail. [Lucky Star is also incense shaped like a star, See LUCKY STAR, No.2088, p.607, vol.1.]
Entry 9175
And I want the judge to be lenient on my case and so I would get dis- missed. Now, if I was goin' like I would be arrested and I had to go down to the judge, and I was just like I would have to go down to court this morning. I get a subpoena to come to the court this morning, understand. I would take my bed, the bed I sleep in and I would take and turn the mattress over, upside down, and leave the bed upset. And take my chairs in my house and I would turn them up too. Then I would make my wish before I leave my house. I would get me a piece of John de Conkah, understand, and whilst I be coming into the judge's room, I be having my John de Conkah in my mouth, understand. The minute I walk into the door to the judge - to go to the judge's stand, I would spit my John de Conkah.
Entry 9202
Dere's tuh [two] ways dat yuh cud [could] use dem. Ah kin take - see, yo' know a fresh egg dat yo' see a hen jis' got [up] from de nest. Yo' know, fresh egg jis' lak dat. If it's warm it's best. Well, yo' wo'd [would] take it. Yo' kin write a person name on dat egg. Write it dis way [demonstrates]. Turn de egg aroun' an' write it dat way [demonstrates]. (You write it one Way, then turn the egg upside down and then write right across.) [The two names are written in the form of a cross to cross up the vic- tim.] Uhuh, write it again [the second time] across it. An' yo' kin care hit [carry it] tuh runnin' watah, jis' dat egg, make yuh wishes. Any way yuh wan' 'em tuh go, why jis' say, "Go. "~ Any which way yo' want, jis' go tuh cussin' an' say, "Go, God damn yuh." Sompin lak dat. Throw it in.
Entry 9232
Ah heard dat chew could take a black hen's aig an' bury it at chure do', an' aftah buryin' dis black hen's aig at chure do', when yo' make yore wishes an' whatevah yo' make yore wish, it will come. (You bury this black hen egg at your own door?) Yessuh. (And make your wish for anything?) Yessuh. Ah heard dat chew could do dat an' dat yore wishes would come.
Entry 9242
And then you turn around then and want to run him away from her, yo' get a coal-black hen's egg an' yo' write his name on de egg. An' den yo' turn around and get a pinch of dirt out of the hollow of his right-foot track, and write his name on a piece of paper, and put that egg and that dirt in that paper, carry it and throw it in strong running water, all run one way [meaning not a tidal river], an' make yore wishes. An' go back to yore house an' get in yore door an' turn yore face out of the door an' wish 'im from yore house, an' he'll go away. [Out in the county from Suffolk, Nansemond Co., Va., (Doctor Frank Hall, called by my tired mind Frank Harris! in v.l, INTRO., p. XXIX. I hadn't thought of Frank Harris in years! Material from Hall was taken down by hand.]
Entry 9244
In case yo' wanta do anything wit it, yo' go dere an' yo' take two pennies. Yo' take a aig. Yo' still take a aig an' yo' take two pennies an' yo' go dere at twelve a'clock at night. Yo' bust dat aig right across of dat road. See, what- somevah yo' want, if it's evil, by dat bustin' dat aig, yo' pay de mean spirit two cents. Yo' drop dat two cents in dere [the bursted egg]. An' yo' bust dat aig right across de road at twelve a'clock at night, an' turn right an' go backwards an' don' look back.
[You probably walk backwards as long as you can see the forks of the road.]
(And then you make a wish for something that you want done?)
Dat's right.
(You do that down at the forks of the road.)
Dat's right.
Entry 9245
If yo' have anything dat chew wants done ag'in wit a aig - a aig is a valuable thing. If it's anything dat chew want done wit a aig, write upon yore aig whut chew want an' put it in yore mouth. See, put de whole aig in yore mouth. Write jis' whut chew want On dat aig an' put it in yore mouth, an' walk tuh de east cornah an' west cornah an' de south cornah - jis' walk in evah cornah of de house, an' turn yore face tuh de east an' make yore wishes wit de aig in yore mouth. Yo' gits yore.wishes.
(You do that at any time?)
Jis' any time. If yo' wants sompin tuh happen, anything dat chew want [to] happen.
Entry 9373
Den ah know a woman she tole me how ah could put mahself in good luck, an' ah ast 'er how. She tole me tuh git a new fresh aig from a nest an' write on it jis' whut ah want it tuh be. Yo' know, whut ah want tuh tell it, an' black it wit sut [soot] an' bury it undah de house. An' aftah nine days why ah'll git a result. Good luck in anything dat ah wanted tuh happen, dat will happen.
Entry 9435
[They] tell me yo' kin take a aig an' go dere, an' don't let 'em see yo', an' jis' make a wish an' throw dat egg at de house, dey tell me, an' dey will move.
Entry 9436
Ah'd [I would] take a fresh [black] hen egg an' ah'd take an' throw it an' break it on top of yore house, an' make a wish fo' somepin bad tuh happen tuh yuh.
Entry 9437
Tuh make 'em stay.away, yo' kin take a black hen's aig an' at night, ovahnight, yo' go dere an' take dat aig an' chunk it ovah on top of dere house, anywhere an' make a wish, say, "Ah wish dey'd stay from mah house. Ah'm tired of dem worryin' me. Ah'm tired of 'em." Jes' chunk dat black hen's aig, yo' know, ovah de - on de house, on de porch, anywhere. An' den de nex' mawnin' dey mo' den apt tuh git up an' move. Dey move out from de house. [I frequently heard preceding word tired as tied, the past tense and past participle of verb to tie.]
Entry 9479
There's several dif- ferent methods to work at it. The one method, why you would get up in the morning at three o'clock and take three hands of salt, and throw 'em across the door and make your wishes. And sometimes it have a tendency to make 'em move.
Entry 9489
Yo' kin take salt, a bran'-new box of salt, an' throw it in each cor- nah. Start from de sunrise an' go round tuh each fo' cornahs, an' yo' put de salt in each cornah of yore house. An' git in de middle of yuh flo' an' yo' make a wish. [The middle of yuh flo', the fifth point, turns this into a quincunx rite.] Den yo' kin take dat salt an' burn it "In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, put peace an' pleasure in mah home." (After you do that at the sun- rise side, which way do you go then?) Yo' stay tuh yuh right [walk clockwise]. Yo' see yo' start in de sunrise an' yo' go roun' till yo' git tuh de last cornah.
Entry 9543
Dey use [burn] cayenne peppah an table salt an' make yuh wishes ovah dat. An' if yuh kin git anywhere about de house, tuh git some of it in dere, dat'll make dem fight lak de devil.
(That's all you have to do. Burn some of that.)
Entry 9574
Dey tell me dat if yo' on a job - lak now, if ah'm workin' here wid some people an' yo' don' lak me [you say] "Ah wish yo'd git away from heah", 'cuz he [you] got hateful ways, " or sumpin lak dat. Dey tell me yo' take salt an' cayenne peppah an' mix it tuhgethah. If yo' ketch dem goin' outa [the] do', throw it at 'em so dey won't see it, an' sweep it on oat. An' dey said he won't be dere long.
Entry 9575
If yo' want to keep people away from your house an' afraid that they Ykrt chah, yo' must always have salt an' red cayenne pepper mixed together. Yo' take that salt an' cayenne pepper, they people go out. When they come in de house, yo' don't want 'em to come, yo'd put that salt and cayenne pepper all behin' 'em. An' then yo' take de broom an' sweep that off de way that they go out. As yo sweep it, make a wish, "Keep outa my house." See? Well, they do that three ties. An' then they won't come back to your house no more. If they mean yo' any harm, they ain't comin' back no more. [This is an unusual preparation for an emergency: You must always have salt an' red cayenne pepper mixed together. Often materials must be new and remainders discarded.] [Richmond, Va., (348), 291:1 0r 348:1.]
Entry 9587
[My informant gives the complete rite first and then much later during the interview adds a note about it.l And then they say you kin take and put salt and pepper in your shoe, if you wmta git a fellow. You know, take salt and pepper and put it in and wear it in ygmr shoes.
(In both shoes?)
Yes, in both shoes - yes.
(That's to get him?)
You know, they have a little saying about: If you want a fellow, I'll tell you what to do Just get some salt and pepper And wear it in your shoe Just red pepper, you know. Not black pepper, but red pepper you know.
(That's a little song, you say?)
Yes, but you wanta get a box of salt that ain't even been used out of, you see. Go to the store and buy you a brand-new box of salt. Then you wanta get you a strand of [red] pepper: [pep- per pods] where's never any been used off it. See, if there's any been used off it, it's not any good. See, get you a strand of pepper where there's none ever ben used off it. And then you get a pod - you get you three pods of pepper in your shoe. And you cut one up in one shoe and you cut the other up. You cut half a one [pod] in this one [shoe] and half in the other [shoe]. And each time you cut the pepper you sprinkle some of that salt, you see, and make your wish.
(In doing that you use three pods of pepper?)
Yes, you use three pods.
(You put half in one shoe and half in the other?)
Half in one and half in the other.
(And you cut the second pepper in half?)
Yeah, you... (I [you] cut the first pepper in half, then you put some salt on top of that in the shoe and make your wish?) And make your wish. (Then you take another pepper and cut it in half and put it in the shoe, and then put salt and make the wish, that way?) Yes, three times.
(I see.)
That makes just three times cuttin' [3 peppers or cut] and you make your wish co see him. And then you wait three days to see him. An' he doesn't do like you want him to do in those three days, why you do that again, you see. But you use tree pods of pepper then. Well, probably see, he might come but not up to like yoa'd like for him to come. Well, you'd use three more, see. That makes nine pods, see, and then that makes nine days. See, everything works at nine days. And you know, they say for the right conjuration and for it to do right like you wmt it to do, you wants to work it on the last quarter of the moon, when it's dark nights, and then you see the results on the growing of the new moon. You see, as the new moon grows, why he'll come to you. [This is often called a put- ting-together rite. In the following subsection see onion cut into 4 parts, No.9596.]
Entry 9594
I'll tell you what I would do [to make a person move]. I would get some bluestone and salt and pepper, and put that down right beside of the house and wish them to go, and they're bound to go. [Fredericksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 9623
Yo' git some sulphuh an red peppah an' strew roun' yore house fo' ten nin's befo' de sunrise - sulphuh an' peppah an' table salt, an' jes' throw it roun' yuh house fo' ten mawn- in's, evah mawnin' befo' de sun rise. An' if yo' know where dis man lives, yo' go tuh 'is house an' do de same thing. Jes' throw dat peppah jes' as yo' go in. Yo' jes' throw dat peppah up an' down until yo' git tuh de do'.an' yo' throw it out lak dat an' make yore wish. An' de 'leventh mawnin dey say yo'll git a job.
Entry 9624
Sulphah an' red peppah an' put nine teaspoonsful of salt in it, an' bary it to de back do' an' to yore front do', an' dey couldn't stay dere tuh ave dere life. Dey may stay two or three weeks but dey won' stay. (You mean in the house or around the house?) No, yo' jes' bury it right undah yore back steps. An' den go to yore front step an' bury it 'bout de same place - under de front steps. An' dey couldn't stay dere to save dere life.
Entry 9740
(What are you going to do with those nails?)
Conkah anything yo' wanta conkah. It's nine nails. Yo' put three heah [demonstrates].
(Three right over your navel.)
Right ovah mah navel, an' yo' got three in de back, ain't chew? Dat's six, ain't it? Put one heah, one dere. Make a sack, yo' know, jes' lak a nation sack. But yo' kin fix it up round, yo' know, good aroun' yore waist. One on each hip. But yo' got three right chere an' three right in de spine of yore back. Dat's six, ain't it? Dis is seven an' dat's eight. Now, put one in dat left shoe. [For nation sack, see interview THE "NATION SACK" WOMAN, Pp.1449-1459, vol. 2, who describes this article.1
(What will that do for you?)
Conkah whut ah tole yo'. Conkah de devil or any way yo' want it. But yo' gotta make a wish In de Name of God. Yo' gotta do all dis In de Name of God an' have faith in it.
Entry 9759
You kin take these nails, tenpenny nails, and you kin drive 'em in the ground where some person that you doesn't like or want to move them, you move them with nails. And when you drive 'em in the ground and make your wish, you drive 'em head down an' p'int up. Or you kin drive 'em at your doorstep and nail them down under your control. You use nine nails.
Entry 9827
Tuh bring yore sweetheart back, take a han'ke'ch'ef an' write his name in de centah of dat han'ke'ch'ef an' fold it up. An' yo' git chew nine new nee- dles, sewin' needles, yo' undahstan'. An' aftah yo' git dose needles, yo' take dose needles an' yo' stick one in dis way [demonstrates] right intuh dat name, an' yo' stick one dat way, an' one go dis way, one go dat way. But dey all gotta go intuh dat name. (All those points of those needles point into each other.) [The needles are in a rimless circle, points inward.] Yassuh, goes intuh each othah. Ah'll show yo'. Dis is yore name but dey all gotta go intuh dat name. Well, yo' take dat aftah yo' git 'em all in dere an' make yore wish. An' take it an' put it up in de centah of yore baid undah yore mattress. An' den de fo'th day, why he'll surely come back tuh yo'.
Entry 9844
Dat's tuh fasten a man. Jis' lak yo' had a husban' an' yo' wanted 'im down, an' he couldn't bothah yuh about [what] yo' wuz doin' or goin'. Yo' cud take nine needles out a bran'-new package an' yo' kin take nine straight [new] pins. De needles have steel in 'em an' de pins don't. Yo' kin take a strip of papah jis' off a tablet an' write dis individual's name. An' yo' stick a needle comin' tuh tuh, an' de p'int, stick a needle goin' from yuh - comin' tuh yuh an' goin' from yuh till yo' stick nine needles. Den yo' stick de pins all one way, de nine straight pins, stick each of dose p'ints tuh yuh [demonstrates]. Den yo' would take dose needles an' jis' slightly, jis' [stick] lak dat [demonstrates], chew might say, abou' two or three inches in de ground. Aftah yo' put 'em in dat concernin', ah wanta jis' cross dis party's name. Den yo' kin turn dose needles down. an' yo' make yore wish how yo' want 'im tuh be. An' den jis' covah slightly wit dirt or somepin ovah it dat he may walk in an' out ovah it daily. An' dat'll keep 'im quiet. Dat'll keep 'im down.
Entry 9861
Yo' kin trim a fat-lightah splintah, lak a peg outa it, an' yo' ketch dat toadfrog befo' de sun rise. Anyway, kill 'im befo' de sun rise. Yo' push dat peg through 'im an' yo hold 'im dere until he dies. Den yo' take de peg outa dere an' tie a cord roun' 'is feet, an' yo' kin hang 'im up any- where on a bush. Or jis' take a stake an' put 'im on it an' make yore wish, In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an'Holy Ghost. If yo' wan'a person tuh move, yo' kin stick it up an' make dem move; if yo' want luck, yo' kin stick it up an' make yore wish fo' luck.
Entry 9930
And then you kin take, ah - now this is self experience. Not for my- self but when I was a kid growing up; I guess round about fourteen, twelve, thir- teen, fourteen years. See, I was raised in the country and worked on a farm. My father died when I was small in 1903 and nothin' but a woman raised me. My mother and I didn't have anything, she and me had to work. Well, this was a ageable [elderly] nan and he was able to pay high wages for, you know, a full-grown man and he'd work lotsa children, you see. You see, where those large farmers didn't bother with we children, he'd work us in turnin' [sweet potato] vines and settin' out his potatoes like that. And this was a green frog. It's not a bullfrog. It's between a toadfrog and a bullfrog. I expect you've seen him. He's green and has those black specks on his back. It's long-legged though. Some say eventually after they get old they turn to a bullfrog. But he used to ketch those frogs and he'd tell we children to catch 'em. But if he didn't tell us to ketch, we could ketch 'em. But he'd tell us to ketch 'em and we would ketch 'em and he'd put it in his pocket and it wouldn't jump out. And he said you take those frogs and put it up in a bottle and make your wish. And set him on de stove and dry him out and take that and do anything you want to do with it. Well, of course, dis man I knew was pretty good and he always seemed to be lucky. He tolt another girl and I one day - we was pretty good in settin' out potatoes. So he asked us to ketch every one of those frogs that we could see. See, we'd have to go to the ditch to dip out water, you know, to water those sprouts that was planted there. So we come to him, we asked him. "Well, '' he says, "Well, I'll tell you-all something if you'll [not] tell." Ah says, "Well, What's that?" Ah says, "Never is a long time." He says, "Well, if you-all want those boys you going with," he say, "why go ahead and marry 'em, '' says, ''but I'll tell you, '' says, "Viola," says,"'this boy you going with, '' he says, ''he ain't goin' make you any good husband at all." Says, "They is fast, but you get these little spring frogs, you see, these little green frogs where you kin squeeze 'em and they goes way up into water." He says, "You catch every one of those you Kin find." He says, '"If you all have a fig bush, you kin get plenty of 'em in there." And he says, "And you get that frog," he says, "and put him in a box ad make your wish." And he says, "And set him in de stove or onto the back of the stove." He says, "In a small can like a five-cent or ten-cent baking-pouder box [can] where you kin close it up. Put him in there alive," he say and he Bys, "you doesn't open him in nine days," he says, "but each day make your wish for this man." He says, "When you open that frog, '' he says, "you have you a piece of yellow cotton. Go to the store and buy you five-cent piece of yellow Cotton, or you might buy two or three cents worth if you kin get it." Three oeats worth - that was during wartime [World War I] - was just about as wide as yoar chin[?]. He says, "And make you a little bag and make it four corners, ' be says, "jis' so it won't be anything but the form of the frog." He says, "Sew all that dust in there," he says, "and you'll always have good luck, and get any man you want and go anywhere you want to." And ah know hr made it for real. She really did it. An' she came there and she bought five dollars worth of figs when she got one of those frogs. We [man informant worked for] had a large fig orchard, and she come there and threw the money down. [Elizabeth City, N. Car., (438), 391:5+].
Entry 9962
Put little rain frogs in a bag of new yellow cloth or new homespun, make a double bag [from double or folded cloth], make wishes, wear for money and success. [The meaning of rain frog probably varied in different parts of the coun- try, but in my part: "To hear a rain frog (tree frog or tree toad) calling is the sign of rain within three days." (FOLKLORE FROM ADAMS COUNTY ILLINOIS, 1st ed., p.10, No.259.) This tree toad is said to be trilling (calling with trills) for a rain (2nd ed., P.20, Nos.525-526)].
Entry 10096
I heard one fellow tell that too. As near as I can recall what he said. You take a black cat at twelve o'clock at night, boil the cat in hot Water until the flesh is boiled away from the bones. The first bone that floats up to the top of the water, you say certain words - I don't remember the words. You tie a string to the bone and keep the bone in your outh a certain length of time. Then tie that string around your neck with the bone hanging to it. That puts the person in the power of what they call...in ocher words he sells himself to the devil. He can work wonderful miracles. Be can do anything he wishes. It gives luck in gambling, too. [Fredericksburg, Ta., by Ediphone,62.]
Entry 10163
You kin make a table [altar] with that [rite] you see. You understand, that's if it's something that choo want, well you kin make a table with that. You kin, that is, if it's for you to make a sacrifice, something that you want. Well, git choo three candles, you put the picture - you fold the picture up you under- stand.
(This picture of the Lord?)
This picture of the Lord. That's right.
(On the table?)
On the table. That's right. An' then you make it like a rainbow [a semi- circle]. You put one candle - you git three candles. You make [place] one right here, an' one right around here, an' let it [candles] come aroun like a rainbow. An' you make you a wish fo' wha' choo want, an' you say a prayer. You say, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, the 23rd Psalm. You say that Psalm an' then you get 'down an' repeat the Lord's Prayer for what you want. Yo' make a wish with these three candles. Then you let them burn plumb on out... right in front of the Lord's picture... You do this about 6 o'clock in the morn- ing or 6 o'clock in the evening or 9 o'clock at night.
Entry 10165
If yo' got a gurl - it's dis way. Ah got a gurl an' she runned away from me. She done lef' me. She's gone. Well, lak [I] say, dere's a lotta watah 'ween heah an' New Yawk. Say she's gone tuh New Yawk. She jes' jumped up an lef' me an' ah haven't did anythin' tuh 'er an' want 'er back. She won' come bach tuh me by writin' tuh 'er. All right. Ah go tuh de drug sto' an' ah gits me a 15-cents blue candle. Take de same nails an' needles an' put in dat.
(How do you put them in there now? How many do you get?)
A nickel wuth of ten-penny nail. Put eight nails, an' de whole papah of needles, an' about eight big pins. Yo' git dem ovahsize sticky pins yo' know, dem ovahsize one. Some packages dey sell two fo' a nickel. Dey are de small size. An' de large package it's got one long one dat way; dey sells dem one fo' a nickel. Yo' git chew a piece of lookin'-glass lak dat an' yo' tum de part dat chew look it, an' git chew a saucah of watah or git chew a bowl or cream saucah, or anything dat will hold watah. Den turn dat [looking] glass down ovah dat way. Take dat candle an' take de end of it which yo' is gonna set down, take a match an' light it dat way. Don' light de top part where de stem is; light de bottom part an' put it on dat glass.
(With the top part downward?)
Yessuh, on top of de glass, an' let it set dere an' make yuh wishes fo' hit. But yo' start hit at ten minutes an' burn it fo' twenty-five. In twenty-five [days?] yo' receive a lettah from her, to send aftah her or send her ticket. She's on her way back tuh yo'.
Entry 10188
For success in business either at home or outside the house, bathe with 3 ingredients: bluestone, saltpeter and sugar. Or else bathe with blueing and sugar. Either bath is for personal protection. At place of business mop up with Red Seal Lye and burn brimstone as a purification. But before leaving home for work or opening the house for business, make wishes and light a yellow candle. [Did the maker of this rite realize that in some place during the late Middle Ages prostitutes legally had to wear yellow?]
Entry 10189
Bottle oil of bergamine [bergamot], box cooking soda, teaspoon salt- peter, take bath in that. Break a candle, make a wish, light [same] candle, let candle burn out. Then get brimstone, burn brimstone Monday, Wednes- day and Friday and make wish. Put sugar in it [brimstone], throw into fire. Can make money. [This is a rite for business.]
Entry 10628
Any time root [roots for special times]. Then ah makes a powder tuh sprinkle yore house wit, it call a holy powder... [Informant starts off at a rapid pace and up in the air.] (Now wait a minute! Now, I'm getting my wife back. Now, I put that right underneath, right under the bed?) Yes sir.
(Then what happens.)
Put Eve-and-Adan root undah yore bed, yuh understand, and make a wish - make yore sign [first] - then make a wish tuh the Lord. Make a wish fo' what yore heart desires, you understand, after you carried it [and put it under the bed] and in thirty days she'll be back there. Don't ca' where she gone. An' if she's sued yo' or lawsued choo fo' alimony, then she'll take it out [call off the suit].
(What was that other root?)
Queen Elizabeth. [Informant continues with rites under Queen Elizabeth root and shame brier.] [Mobile, Ala., (655?0, 857:1.]
Entry 10681
Dey say when yo' go tuh put down sompin to a person's house, yo' kin go backwards three steps or nine steps an' jes' put it down an' make yore wish an' walk away from it an' don't look back until yo' git to where yo' live. (That is if you are putting down some- thing for a person to walk over?) Yeah an' harm 'em. Dat evil work.
Entry 10682
If yo' git up in de mawnin' befo' sunrise an' walk out chure do' back- vards fo' nine steps an' make a wish to that effect fo' whut chew want done, it will come true. Come in de house an' nevah look back. Jes' come right straight far- wards back in de house an' nevah look back fo' nine mawn- in's. Yo' gotta do dat fo' nine mawnin's.
Entry 10764
It's only certain days dat de bluestone, dat it will do ceruln work. Now, heah's de bluestone heah [demonstrates], den ah put in some lard an' chunk it [stir it] roun'. An' ah wants yo' gimme some work. Ah dip mah han' [demonstrates] in an' ah p'int [demonstrates] an' make a wish dat ah wants tuh work at S0- an'-so's house. Well, 'cos' God's Name gotta be mention, yo' see. Yo' p'int tuh dat place dere. An' yo'll shore git somepin tuh do.
(In what direction did you point?)
Dat way, at de house, right befo' yo' dat way.
(At the boss's house?)
Jes' lak, down roun' heah tuh dat church dat's where yo' goin', yo' goin' stay heah an' p'int. Stay right heah an' p'int.
(You simply pointed toward the boss's house or business?)
Yes.
Entry 10827
Take three straws out of a broom and throw it [broom] across yore left shoulder backwards. Throw it back off yo' and make yore wish. Yo'll git dat wish. [Mobile, Ala., 963:9.]
Entry 10894
Any kind of cat hair and a he dog and a she cat to run a person away - break 'em up.
(How do you do that?)
You take this hair and you mix it all up together like that - the hair of the dog and the cat. The dog and cat don't mate together. Call this man John. Jis' say, Mary, you and John can't stay together. Well, then you get this gunpowder and you get nine pods of red pepper, and you put that all together. Don't burn it in de house. Make a fire out in de yard and burn it, and make your wishes and they gone apart.
Entry 10913
Jes' lak if yo' got a dog an' a cat - ain't chew seen two dogs and two cats meet, an' de cat make up his bristles an' de dog make up his bristles? An' while dey got dere bristles made up, yo'll git de hair behin' both of 'em's neck, see; an' put it in a piece of cloth an' fold up de cloth, an' pin nine straight pins in it - one each way. See [demonstrates] pin one in it [cloth] dat way - an' one in it dat way [heads and points, alternated] an' dat jes' will make 'em fuss an' fight. (Well, now what do they do with that cloth after they pin it up? Where do they put that?) Yo' tote dat in yore pocket, see. When dey git together jes' lak dat dog an' cat fight yo' see; jes' fuss an' fight, be mad [every] time dey see one 'nother. Do dat wit de hair. (But they have to get near one another.) [Here without suggesting an answer, I am asking informant how all these concerns the two victims. Do they walk over Package? Is it thrown into their house? Does he name pins them? Without some such device all this is done by informant's intention.]
Entry 11072
But she says if he leaves, she says don't worry about him going. If you wanta bring him back, if you got anything in the world that belong to him, [she] say you just make your wish. And if your wish is for him to come back, take it to any stream that is contin'ly running and put it in there. Then you turn around and come back, and atchly [actually], in a short while he'll return. He'll never be satisfied nowhere he goes, he's bound to come back wherever he left from.
Entry 11119
You kin take an' draw a coffin, you understand, see, an' make you a wish on it, an' cross it up so many times - put about 3 crosses on it, an' make you a wish. An' bare [bury] it under their doorsteps or either you kin put it in front of their door. See, you kin jis' throw it in there. Wrap it up, fold it up, write it [name of person on]. An' throw it in the front of their door. An' put the [word] devil on top of it, write the devil on top of it, see right up on top. Either [instead of writing devil] you kin draw one you know, you understand, see like that. They'll die.
Entry 11203
Take nine dirt dauber nest an' pound 'em up together. Put some salt - jes' de least salt, into de nine, which id about a teaspoonful into de nine dirt dauber nests. Then yo' put three teaspoons fulla sugah into dat. Pound it up good together. Then yo' take - after pounding that all up together - then yo' take an' anywhere that a person gotta visit, if it in a home or anywhere that they got dealin's at in dat place, yo' sprinkle it In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost an' make yore wish the way that yo' want it to work. It will work.
(What will you wish for on that?)
Well, if yo' want 'em tuh quit workin' dere or tuh leave dere, why yo' kin wish that way. An' if a person wants tuh continue working to a place, why yo' make that wish there. [Nine dirt dauber nests surely means 9 cells from one dirt dauber nest, not 9 separate nests which would be quite a large amount of dirt.]
Entry 11213
Take the dirt dauber and take dis man's name.
(Yes?)
And you write the man's name and you set this in the bottle, and when you puts this in the bottle...
(Now what do you put in the Bible?)
You puts - in de bottle!
(Oh, in a bottle. You put all this in a bottle?)
All this in a bottle. Well, I call a bottle a jar - one of these pickle jars - and put the vinegar in there with the man's name in there. That's the dauber dust. Then you takes this man's name and you just put the pin and the tacks and the needles in there. And then you put it in there, and every day at twelve o'clock you shake it up and call this man's name. Every day you do the same thing until the ninth day that you see that you get your wishes.
(What kind of wishes do you make?)
Well, the wishes that I would make, would be the bad destruction on him. That'd be bad luck for him to have. That's the bad wishes.
Entry 11226
Nine dirt dauber's nests, 9 pinches out of victim's left foot track, pound up together, make wishes over, take to a grave of evil person, bury you there, you will soon die. [This is my condensation of a long rite in the material of an interview missed by my transcriber. I never had time to return to it. Original condensation in pencil attached to final manuscript.]
Entry 11690
: Take the forks of the road, [I will] just mark on this [piece of paper] the forks of the road there.
[After he draws a diagram I comment.]
(That's the forks of the road. All right.)
Now, you kin take the forks of the road [a crossroad] and you kin go either mere or there [to right-hand or left-hand fork]. You kin make a wish at twelve o'clock at [demonstrates]: (At each fork - at either fork, just before he gets to the joining place.) Yes? (Yes, all right.) You kin make a wish there [demonstrates] for success for dealing with women. You can make a wish [here, a second place] for success in instruments - like you nta play a piano, guitar or something [demonstrates]. (I see. On the right-hand side of that fork [4 forks] you use to wish for women; the left-hand fork is used for instruments and things of that sort. All right.) Yes.] Now, but you must be here at twelve o'clock.
(On the right hand side?)
Yes, either side [chosen] you must be there at twelve o'clock at night, you know.
(I see.)
After the clock strike twelve. You go there before then and be there at twelve. And you'll be entertained [all sorts of things will appear].
(Then you just make a wish. That all you do then, at the forks of the road?)
[Machine stops. No answer.]
Entry 12160
De cow hoof or hog hoof - yeah, anything lak dat. Yeah, yo' burn dat. Yo' git dat cow hoof, hog hoof, whatsomevah what it is, an' yo' git chew some Hearts Cologne an' sprinkle ovah dat an' yo' burn dat. Burn it in yore house. While yo' burnin' dat, yo' hook yore han' [fingers] together an' yo' make yore wish. Dat's good wishes. Yeah yo' jes' lock yore fingers together. Dat's good wishes, dat's sompin good. Dere no harm in it. Ah haven't heard it, dere's no harm in dat.
Entry 12164
Well, before the judge you use the holy water too. You can sprinkle yourself good with it and read the 23rd Psalm of David. You can read the 23rd Psalm of David and sprinkle yourself with holy water. It'll make you wish [you will make your wish] and go before the judge.
Entry 12190
Keep a horseshoe fo' good luck. (That is all you have to do?) Dat's de only thing ah heard dat yo' kin do wit de horseshoe. Make a fiah an' turn it upside down an as it burns, sprinkle salt on it an' make some wishes with it.
Entry 12290
Go tuh any groc'ry an' git chew a new piece of cord dat haven't been used, whut chew tie up packages with, an' jes' lak anything dat yo' wish, an' nine is yore... [What? Number?] Take nine tuh do it. Yo': can't do nuthin until nine days. Jes' lak yo' git up dis mawnin', say, "Ah'm goin' start dis mawnin' an' ah want sech- an'-sech a thing tuh happen.' Jes' tie one knot [in] it an' make yore wish re- gardin' tuh whut it is. An' de nex' mawnin' de same thing fo' nine mawnin's. It'll come true.
(What do you do with this string after all these knots are tied in it then?)
Let it hang right dere, an' when de nine days up, an' yo' sure yo' got de nine knots, jes' take it an' git chew some sulphur an' some salt an' burn it right in yore fiahplace.
Entry 12302
Yo' take a lemon an' take a knife, a new knife, an' yo' mark yore vishes, jes' whatevah yo' want to, aroun' an' aroun' dat lemon - befo' six a'clock - aroun' an' roun'. Make all dose wishes, but yo' must be very careful whut chew wishin', 'cause dat's comin', an' yo' stick dat up dere inside de house, not on de outside. Then at six a'clock in de evenin' yo' change it ovah.
(To the west side?)
Stick it up an' let it stay up dere till de next mawnin' at six, then take it down an' git chew anothah lemon. Do that fo' nine mawnin's, an' anything yo' vish fo' will come. (You just take this lemon and then just take a knife and cut a little cut around it?) No, jes." slice it down as yo' wish - slice it down - don't cut it all de way through, an' all roun' dere. Slice it down jes' as many times as yo' Wanta wish. An' take de knife an' stick it right through de mid- dle of it, on de east side of de house, or room, an' let it stay dere till six a'clock in de evening, an' den yo' take it down.
(You stick that knife right into the wall.)
Yes.
(You hold the lemon up and stick the knife through the wall?)
Yes, an' yo' jes' leave de lemon an' de knife sticking right up dere until six a'clock in de evening. Den yo' take it down an' put it up on de west side.
Entry 12317
Now, yo' wish tuh git a girl or yore boy fren' back tuh 'em. Yo' go ahead an' go tuh a fat-lightah [pine] stump of a tree dat de lightnin' struck. An' yo' takes an' makes nine pegs. An' aftah yo' make dose nine pegs, yo goes back tuh de fo'ks of de road an' yo' makes three wishes. Dat's de way it wuz tole tuh me. Make three wishes an' aftah yo' make three wishes, yo' takes two pints of whiskey wit chew, an' aftah yo' make de three wishes, den yo' take an' yo' lie down on de flat of yore back at de fo'ks of de road, an' yo' drinks one of dose pints, an' yo' po's de othah one on de nine pegs. An' yo' git chew a match an' yo' scratch de match, an' sets dat whiskey afire an' burns up dose pegs right dere. Den dat cause de girl or de boy, which one yo' made de wishes fo', tuh come back undah yore control.
Entry 12415
I'll tell you what chew do with matches, I believe that's true. Take 7 match stems and pour niter on those matches. You see, you cross those matches, you cross those 7 stems. Cross first one and another, just cross 'em in a pile. An' you make a wish for something. You set those matches afire. But chew have to do that thing every morning for 7 mornings.
Entry 12417
Perhaps yo' wanted a man. Yo' jes' met him an' yo' fell in love wit him, yo' like him; he had a good job or somepin othah. He appealed to yo'. Yo'd go home. An' perhaps yo'd pass somewheres roun' an' yo'd git in talk wit him, an' yo'd git his name. Yo' kin take 9 matches an' name 'em him. An' then yo'd cut chew 9 little strips of papah about lak [size of] yore finger, an' yo'd write his name on either one of dose strips - nine of 'em. An' then every evenin' jes' befo' de sun go down yo' make yore wishes. Stan' in de middle of yore flo' [you stand in the center of the room which makes this one of the many quincunx rites] an' take these nine matches an' strike 'em. Jes' be shore yo' make one stroke with each [match] an' light his name an' burn hit, aftah yo' make yore wishes. All right. Well, yo' save that little end perhaps, whut burn down. Yo' save that. Well, yo' conceal it. Den de next evenin' befo' de sun go down yo' git anothah strip with his name an' one of dese nine matches, an' yo' burn until those nine matches an' those nine names yo' know, his name is burn up. An' it won't be but two days befo' he will come to yore home.
Entry 12518
Yo' git a bran'-new red onion dat's nevah been used an' yo'd have fiah. Yo' put dat red onion in dat fiah an' put some sugah in it an' den axe fo' whatevah yo' want. Make a wish fo' whatevah yo' want an' yo' mo' den successful in yore undahtakin'.
Entry 12540
Take dat red onion peelin' an' yo' take some nice clean pot, an' sulphur, brown sugah fo' colored an' white sugah for white - whoevah yo' workin' it on. An' put it on a shovel on some red coals, de fiah, yo' know, an' yo' let dat burn. Go to each cornah of yore house at five a'clock in de evenin' an' make yore wish, an' whatevah yore wishes is dey'll come true.
(What would you wish, for example?)
Well, jes' whatevah yo' wish fo', yo' know, jes' de main thing whut yo' wish fo' - anything.
Entry 12866
I know an old woman that said if a man kept on living on the place and got disagreeable, she said she used to go out in the morning before day and walk backwards and throw that saltpeter in his path in [the form of] a cross and wish him bad luck and he would leave that farm. They say saltpeter is a great hand to destory any- thing you don't like. [Fredericksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 13143
Yo' kin take his sock to make 'im love you an' yo' stockin' an' put it [them] together. Understand? An' puts some sugah with it. An' take it out an' bury it on the side of your house, an' go out there every mawnin' an' pour your chamber lye there. Don't you under- stand? See, on that. An' you take the sock an' your stocking an' roll it together, see. Now put a red onion with it, a dime - that's to make 'im give her money - roll it together. Sew it to you an' make your wish - that's her, you see - sew it up in your mattress. That man'll give you money, give 'er roney as long as he's there.
Entry 13230
Take a stave an' nail it down dere, jes' nail it down an' make a wish. Wish nobody could nevah live dere again, an' nobody can't live dere again, an' nobody can't live dere in peace. If dey move in dat house dey'll move out, dey jes' can't live in dere.
(Where do you put that stave?)
Jes' kinda in de middle of de lot-like. [Here is the center of a square or parallelogram, a quincunx rite.] If de lot got a garden or anything yo' know, jes' stomp it down, an' say, "Ah wish dat nobody would nevah live an' have suc- cess heah any mo'."
Entry 13278
If somebody's interferin' [with] yo' aroun' yore home, ev'ry mawnin' yo' git up yo' go tuh de do' an' yo' make yore wishes an' bow tuh de sun 3 times, an' ask de Lord tuh re- move de evil spirits - tuh move away evil spir- its. An' do that three times an' do that fo 'bout 9 mawnin's. Walk tuh de do' an' make a bow tuh de sun. Yo' know de sun is a whole lot in success, yo' know. Yo' bow tuh de sun 3 times. An' aftah yo' bow tuh de sun an' [then] yo' axe Him ["De Lord"] tuh move away evil spirits.
(You do that three times for nine mornings.)
Entry 13289
A root doctor told me that. He said you git choo a bucket of watah a'a broom, an' as they goes on out de doah, he says - like aftah dey gone out, h say - he jis' go back from w'ere they's settin' at, an' gits his broom an' dip it in that bucket nine time an' jis' sweep with it. An', every time yo's make [each of] dem nine [dips], sweep it [from the visitor's chair] right on out [of the house] and make you a wish: "I hope yo'll go an' nevah come no more." He said they'll nevah come back to your house no more [mō']. [That allitera- tion go and mo occurs several times in HOODOO, it appearing to be an uncon- scious folk expression.]
Entry 13418
If yo' wants tuh make a person move lak dat, well yo' go an' buy some war watah. Yo' understan', dat war watah, an' yo' pass in front of de do' lak if yo' had tuh pass in front of de do', an' if yo' have tuh throw de bottle across de house, yo' make yore wish. If yo' jis' break de bottle in front of de house an' make yore wish, why yo' could break 'em up an' make a big disturbance. Make 'em move an' de house would be upsetted. Yo' could upset de home.