Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-06-27
HOODOO AND Y0ODOO.
ne Slpsrsttons That stu PrsTin With
The Negroes Of the South.
IRp TELLS OF TIE oLD.YIIE SIGNS
and How the Negroes Related Hcbgoblin
storiss--A Negro Said 10 Re "Cun-
yud"-Poets Are superstitiouA
ATLANTA conssitution.)

ATLANTA Constitution)
was Eliminating about this peculiar SUI
,erstition OF the negro race. One OF their
color has been very sick in this town, ana
got spread among them that he was
.oniurcd. or "cunjud," as they speak It.
and right there comes IN the difference
between the blacks and the copper-coiored
and mulattos. The belief In "cunjorin
seems to be confined mainly TO the oiack
negro. Old Aunt Ann declares that she
was "coniud as sho' as you're born. for
he Is turnin' right green" 1t was these
mme black Africans who had all the
uperstitions about Brer Fox and Brer
Rabbit. We had all coiors amongst our
slaves when l was boy but IL was
,nly the black, broad-nosed, and thick
spped ones who told us stories by the
cabin fires at night. They only had
owe for the marvellous, and their de-
,cendants have 1t yet. They believe In
aoodoo or yoodoo and conjurin'. They
nave a strong emotional religion, ana IL
the spirit throws them down IN a faint IL
In a sure sign they've got II good. What
IL Is they get, don't know. but 1t suits
them. and there does not seem TO be
my change In their mode Of worship
Education has not made any that we can
perceive. Some white people are aHectea
the same way, but IL Is the exception ana
aot the rule. With the negroes 1t seems
10 be spasmod'c. It's effects have no good
influence after the spasm Is over. we
used 10 say of one OF our servants:
Becky In going to cut-up to-day. She
,ell down In a trance last night at meet
ing. and had TO be carried out And she
lid cut-up. She was the nurse Tor our
children. and they had to Keep away
from her until she got over her III. she
was accused Of being conjurer, ana
black negro named Luke swore out a
warrant for her and Tom Perry, the
squire, issued 1t just to see what Luke
sould prove.
MADE HIM SICK.
He said that she made him sick In the
back and kept him sick. and he handed
the squire a dime that she gave him
tor chicken, and pointed out dark
spot on IL that was the sign-the proof
that she had conjured the money before
she paid II to him. That was an. What
DO you wish done with herr said i.
she have TO swaJler de dime" he said,
"and dat break de spell. tried rabbit
foot, and bury lizard under de door, and
[ plat de old mares name when de
rooster crow for midnight. but II don't
60 no good. is dyin' every day." But
Luke got well, and Becky didn't swallow
the dime. either. One of my father S
negro women got jealous OF Minty, the
cook. and determined TO poison or conJure
her TO death. Minty got sick, and my
mother told Juno to make her some
chicken soup. She got from an old rag
a red scorpions head. a lizards leg,
bats wing. a betty bug, and three or four
centipedes or thousand-legs, as we call
them, and the tail of a green snake. and
had the horrible mess cooking In sauce
pan when my mother happened in TO see
how Minty was, and took the top off
the pan TO look at the soup. Juno con-
fessed that she had been gathering mate
rial for that soup good while. and she
wasn't much disturbed at the discovery.
She declared that Mnty had conjured
her husband, and l reckon she had. SO
my father had to separate the families.
Now, did Shakespeare get his witches.
caIdron, and its venomous contents from
the old Africans of England?
"Fillet OF a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue OF dog.
Adders fork and blind-worm sting,
Lizards lee and owlets wing"
The superstitions of the races is an In
tcrestipg study. All have them and all
are connected some way with spirits
wandering spirits-that haunt our PAIN
wav--urseen but not unmindtul OF our
destiny. The Indian tribes do not seem
10 know anything about conJurin, nut
they know they have many signs ana
symbols and a reverence for the great
epirit | read the other day from one
who was familiar with their customs
that every male child of a chief or
great warrior must be named for the
first thing or object that was seen SHORTY
after its birth The old medicine man
walked to the door with great solemnity
and ceremony and looked out. and what
ever he saw was the name of the child
whether IL was Flying cloud" or hole
In the sky" or young man afraid of his
horse" or setting bull. There was a
Cherokee chief who lived not far from
here whose name was Laughing Gal"
Some hilarious maiden was in sight when
he was born. The ancient Jews had n
custom similar in some respects. The
name was connected with some incident
of birth The great lawgiver was named
Moses because he was drawn out of the
water.
A CROSS-MARK.
But our superstitions are not confined
to names Very many sensible and edu-
Gated people will make n cross-mark with
the shoe before they turn back TO get
something they have forgotten, some Will
spit in the cross. Some put the shovel
or the poker in the fireplace when a
screech owl means near the house. Some
will not begin new work or a journey
on Friday. and almost everybody had
rather see the new moon In clear sky and
over the right shoulder. For forty-ive
years 1 have known a sensible, self
reliant woman who will walk TO the back
3oor TO get lucky view OF the new moon.
Her husband makes fun of her, but will
do the same thing on the sly. When we
moved into our present house old Aunt
Ann Qomforted my wife by saying
mighty fine place-mighty nice trees and
all dat. but folks say de house Is
haunted" Tom Hood wrote ninety verses
about haunted house. and they will
make your hair stand on end II you have
got any:
"O'er all there hung a shadow and fear.
A sense OF mystery the spirit daunted.
And said as plain as whisper In the ear
The place Is haunted"
The old poets and novelsts were full
OF superstitions. THE Ancient Mariner"
the witches In Macbeth. and 'The Phan-
tom Ship" still charm us with their mys-
terry. IL is well for US that we spend the
night in sleep for darkness adds to OUT
childish fears. Napoleon said that all
men were towards by night, and 1 suppose
there are but few men even among the
saints and the philosophers who would
feel perfectly calm and serene while sit
ting on tombstone on dark and cloudy
night. My old army friend. Captain
Hockenhull. an Eaglishman by birth, told
us one night by the camp fires that wher
he was about Is some of the town boys
bet him a crown that he wouldn't so tc
the charnel-house after dark and brine
out a skull. The charnel-house was IN
the corner of the churchyard II had nc
door, but had window about 10 feet
from the ground, and as the bones were
taken from old graves TO make room for
new ones the sexton hauled them TO the
CLEARINGHOUSE and threw them In. for II
was the law that dead man had nc
right to sleep In the ground longer than
thirty years Hockenhul was poor and
had good pluck and wanted the crown
IN Ia lulA a