Language of the Blues - Edmonton Blues Society

`
she went out one morning and found black dust all around her door. Rainey began to lose
Black dust in my window, black dust on my porch mat
ing on all fours like a cat
The first sign of goofering is a sharp pain in the feet or legs, followed by severe swelling
of the feet and legs and inability to walk. These symptoms, Yronwode has noted, are
190
If the person has
intervenes, the person will wind up crawling on all fours howling in pain and death will
soon follow.
Songs:
Black Dust Blues - Selma Davis (music), Ma Rainey (lyrics)
- Romeo Nelson
-
G R A V E Y A RD DIR T
Among the Bakongo people of Central Africa, earth from a grave is believed to contain
the spirit of the person buried in it. 191 It is a powerful ingredient in magic, therefore, if
different energies, so choose the grave wisely. The choice depends on what kind of spell
you want to cast.
For a spell to bring something positive into your life, such as a job or love, dirt from a
with you or return to you, get dirt from the grave of someone who loved you very much
during his or her lifetime. He or she will help you obtain the love you desire. Dirt from
over the heart will be most effective. 192
If you want to curse someone with an illness, misfortune, or worse, find the grave of a
murderer- just be sure you can handle a spell that evil. Many people recommend dirt from
you want members of a family to fight and get vicious with each other, obtain some dirt
from the grave of a con artist, a rounder, or similar troublemaker. The general principle is
that the worse a person acted during the life, the worse his or her spirit can cause
someone to behave. 193
ils getting in touch with the spirit,
respectfully asking to use the dirt, and leaving some form of payment that will please the
19 th century, the traditional payment left by hoodoo practitioners has been a silver dime.
96