Language of the Blues - Edmonton Blues Society

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H E L L H O UND (see also B L A C K D O G)
- a supernatural dog that guards the gates of hell. In
Greek mythology, this was Cerberus, the watchdog of Hades. The hellhound is as big as a
calf and shaggy, with eyes that glow like burning coals.
219
a vi These dogs are believed to be able to find any person who has run
to escape punishment for a crime. They are also seers who can see into the future.
Certain Afro-Cuban charms called minkisi involve combining many ingredients in a large
three-legged iron pot. Some such charms include the body of a black male dog, in order
220
The hellhound differs from the supernatural black dog
sometimes protect travelers and sometimes forecast their doom. 221 A hellhound, on the
other hand, is hunting you down. Robert Johnson expressed the terror of being chased by
hail as
he ran, knowing the beast was closing in.
Song:
- Robert Johnson
H IP
events. Hip has been traced by linguist David Dalby to the Wolof word hipi, which
222
The Wolof
language includes an agentive suffix, -kat
- a hipikat
In the 1930s, one of the first African-American radio DJs, Texan Lavada Durst, became
famous for the swing music he played and his fast jive on-air patter. He called himself
Dr. Hepcat. Swing-era hepcats evolved into the hipsters of the 1950s and the hippies of
the 1960s.
Songs:
- Bobby Parker
- Charlie Sayles
- John Lee Hooker
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