The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-11

In fact, not all white people living IN
the Black Belt know that there is such
know that the graves In negro ceme-
teries are ornamented with bright
glass pieces in ever, every shape ape from ,na
chimney to bit of bright colored
glass from a broken window or bot
Glass water pitchers and glass. tum-
blers are frequent decorations left up
on the graves of the dead negroes by
their friends and any white man who
knows anything about negroes In the
country can recall seeing a kerosene
lamp complete tapering off new
made grave.
the Southern white man does not ordi-
narily examine the ornaments close
enough to recognize their nature
They have missed nothing that on some
only of glass, but of bottles that coN-
tained the medicine used by tine de-
ceased In his life.
had before seen graves that wore
such decorations and 1t was no sur
prise to come upon such a grave in
negro settlement. But for the satis1ac-
lieve that any such custom could
nrevaii we stopped an intelligent ne
gro preacher and asked him about IL.
He had just completes the Thu 1an eeiaetery
when he was asked at the decorated
grave. ,,a bera for
lis 1t the custom around mere ~
the negroes to decorate the graves OF
their dead with the medicine potties
thew used when alive?"
"All of EN- don't do 1t. but goou
a PERSON been sick a long time. It's
been done ever since l could remem
Der. l don't know why dey 40 II. oaS
dey do It. It's Just way "a al, de NV gG l,fe.
Decorating a grave with medlclne
bottles is not. as some people might
think, a mean fling at the doctor VINO
attended the patient NO slur is meant
to be thrown the doctors way. The
genesis of the custom is the peculiar
and mystic turn of the negro nina
that the white man never has under
stood That mysticism finds expression
in some of the rural districts in Voodoo
worship of which every white man in
country section has heard and OF
which he knows little or nothing.
But he knows of the mysterious ne
gro in the community who Is held in
awe by the other negroes who call him
the voodoo doctor, and fear his con-
juring spells perhaps as they rear noth-
ing else on earth.
The white man has never penetrated
the mystery and superstition of the
voodoo worship. He gets only an in
stitious fear of "cunjur" things.
Within this year articles have been
printed treating of the trial of Hay
ten negroes for offering aaog up ,po. human a,
course these incidents have no parallel
In modern times in America, but the
evidence brought out was that bar
barrie rites followed by their African
ancestors had included the sacrifice OF
a child by the voodoo priest.
But the tradition of African voodoo
ism still prevails among the more ig
norant of the descendants of the AT
rican slaves. Every well informed mar
in the Black Belt knows this, There
| Is perhaps not a Justice of the Peace
| in the city OF Montgomery but has hao
| before him some case in which con
juring and voodooism figured. There
| is perhaps not n local justice but ha!
had some witness before him tell of ;
''cunjur' bag and the damage it did.
Still the peculiar augmentation o
new made graves probably has no con
nection with conjuring or voodooism
1t is similar only in that 1t illustrate
the mystery and secretiveness of TIL
| negro.
The custom in all probability is sim
liar In origin with that of the Rus
slams in padding the coats of thei
coachmen. The Russians do this in or
der to show the different grade of tn
social classification The wealthies
end the noble have the coachman Goa
so padded that he can hardly move
have their coachmen to wear only
coat with light and transformations pad
ding.
The grave decorating custom as ex
cmplfed in the illustration is in al
probability an effort of the survivor
that they were not stinted in carin;
for them in their last illness. 1t show
| their ncighborS that in life time tn
| deceased had every care and every at
| tention that the family could give tn
grave ornaments a the same time SHOW