The Frank C. Brown Collection of NC Folklore: Vol. VII: Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from North Carolina, pt. 2 9780822382867

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The FRANK C. BROWN COLLECTION oj

NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE THE

FOLKLORE

OF

NORTH

CAROLINA

COLLECTED

BY

DR.

FRANK

C.

BROWN

191'2 TO 1943 IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE SOCIETY OF WHICH HE WAS SECRETARy-TREASURER 1913-1943

DURING THE YEARS

IN SEVEN VOLUMES General Editor NEWMAN IVEY WHITE

Associate Editors HENRY M. BELDEN WAYLAND D. HAND

PAUL G. BREWSTER ARTHUR PALMER HUDSON

JAN PHILIP SCHINHAN STITH THOMPSON

ARCHER TAYLOR

BARTLETT JERE WHITING

GEORGE P. WILSON

PAULL F. BAUM

Wo od Engravings by CLARE LEIGHTON

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

DUKE

U~TIVERSITY

PRESS

Volume I GAMES AND RHYMES . BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS . RIDDLES PROVERBS • SPEECH • TALES AND LEGENDS Edited hy PAUL

G.

BREWSTER, ARCHER TAYLOR, BARTLETT JERE WHITt~G, GEORGE P. WILSON, STITH THOMPSON

Volume II FOLK BALLADS FROM NORTH CAROLINA Edited hy HENRY

M.

BELDEN AND ARTHUR PALMER HUDSON

Volume III FOLK SONGS FROM NORTH CAROLINA Edited hy HENRY

M.

BELDEN AND ARTHUR PALMER HUDSON

Volume IV THE MUSIC OF THE BALLADS Edited hy JAN PHILIP SCH;INHAN

Volume V THE MUSIC OF THE FOLK SONGS Edited by JAN PHILIP SCHINHAN

Volumes VI and VII POPULAR BELIEFS AND SUPERSTITIONS FROM NOR'TH CAROLINA Edited by WAYLAND

D.

HAND

The FRANK C. BROWN COLLECTION of

NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE VOLUME SEVEN

POPULAR BELIEFS

and SUPERSTITIONS

from NORTH CAROLINA

**

4874-8569 Edited by WAYLAND D. HAND

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS

19 6 4-

©

1964,

BY THE DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 52-10967

ISBN 0-8223-0259-4 Second printing} 1977

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

AFTER WORD ITH this the seventh and last volume of The Frank C. Brown. Collection of North Carolina Folklore we "knytte W up weI a greet matere"-now after so many years finished, as the Tales of the Canterbury pilgrims never were. It has been a long fetch: about thirty years of collecting and nearly half as many of editing and publishing. In my first Foreword, when the first three volumes were issued in 1952, I wrote with more confidence than prescience that the haven was in sight; but various delays intervened (which it would be tedious to relate) and finally, eleven years later, we can all sing happily Nunc dimittis. As will be recalled from Dr. White's very full Introduction to volume I, Dr. Brown began collecting in 1913, the year that the North Carolina Folklore Society was founded, and continued till his death in 1943, levying tribute on the nlembers of the Society, his students at Trinity College and Duke University, and everyone else he could reach through his trips to the western counties. Subsequently several additions have been made, notably the Paul Green collection. Before his death Dr. Brown had arranged for Dr. White to assume the difficult task of organizing the voluminous materials and selecting appropriate Associate Editors to handle the special branches of folklore. Having chosen them, Dr. White gave them each carte blanche to treat his specialty in his own scholarly way; and on the whole their methods have been harmonious. The collecting of live folklore, as distinguished from the study of comparative folklore from printed sources, is a complex affair. There are first the infonnants, voluntary or captive, who report what they know or remember or have heard from someone else, and thus the lapse of a generation or more may be represented. These reports are put down sometimes as memoranda to be written up later in form, or may be left in their first raw state. Now there is the matter of imperfect expression or careless spelling-how much of this should be preserved? Often a dialect word or spelling (drouth for example) may be significant. Then there is the matter of repetition. Each editor will make his own decisions; and, what with scholarly thoroughness and the desire to let nothing of possible value escape, he ends by rejecting very little. He is trapped. "All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full." Nearly all these original data are

viii

AFTERWORD

preserved in the Duke University I-.Jibrary for the inspection of any students who may wish to consult them. That the Ballads and Songs) both text and tunes, should occupy four of our seven volumes is natural and proper, for they have been a principal interest of collectors in the United States and Great Britain, although the music was until comparatively lately neglected. It is also right and proper that Dr. Hand's two volumes of P'opular Beliefs and Superstitions should bring the Collection to its conclusion. For 'superstition' in all senses represents more closely and nlore widely than ballad singing the mind of the folk. Ballads are entertainment, superstitions are the folk mind itself. Two distinctions, moreover, are worth noting. The editing of ballads and songs was necessarily the work of specialists and conditioned by their special methods; whereas the superstitions and beliefs have come directly or indirectly from the contributors and are left in their original form. The other is that these superstitions differ in degree and quality of belief. We all have our private collection in which we believe, but not very seriously. Even the most untrained minds must qualify in some respects their adherence to this or that superstition and make of it a kind of game with themselves. Many of these 'beliefs' call for a sense of humor and a measure of credulity in both informant and collector. While in print some of them may look trivial, they are all in fact a testimony of the immitigable vagaries, the anfractuosities, of the human mind. A real superstition is a belief you yourself do not share. "What is truth? said jesting Pilate," but the jest turned against him. Altogether these seven volumes comprise one of the largest and fullest collections covering the whole body of folklore in a single work for any country or any region of a country hitherto produced. All who contributed to it are to be congratulated-the hundreds of informants who in the first instance made the work possible; the zeal of Dr. Brown and the industry of Dlr. White in organization; the various Associate Editors; Duke University and others for their financial help; and not least Mr. Brice and his associates of the Duke Press, who have been admirably patient over a period of more than two lustra. P.F.B.

PREFACE

T

HE present editor feels honored to have participated in this co-operative work, and is grateful to the Duke University Press, and particularly to its managerial and editorial staff for numerous steps taken to add to the reference value of the volumes on Popular Beliefs and Superstitions. Scholars everywhere, for one thing, will have cause to rejoice in the decision to facilitate use of the Index by on-the-page references to chapters and subject headings with inclusive numbers. rfhe added serviceableness of the Index is justified alone in the saving of time and bother to users, but more importantly, it will afford the interested student the means of ascertaining how individual items of folk belief are topically conceived in various categories represented in the collection. In a way, the tools are thus provided for the beginning of comparative study. Without the indefatigable work of Carole Sherman Davis during the last weeks of 1960, and the long vigils of Judith Arlene Wittenberger during the same period, notes to the present volume might have been delayed well into 1961. As the 1960 deadline was rapidly running out, my wife Celeste also spent long and wearisome hours at the typewriter. Sidney Gilford stamped source material for the notes, and Enid Aldwell checked the .A,dditional Bibliography. The ordeal of checking every itenl in the index against original entries was lessened by timely help fronl l\1arjorie Griffin. Belatedly acknowledged here rather than in the first volume is the help given by George P. Wilson, W. L. McAtee, and the late Josiah Combs in glossing difficult localisms. Also, thanks to 1vIargaret Doremus for work with scissors and pastepot when the project was still new. To all these people, and to well-wishers everywhere who have looked forward with eagerness to the completion of the work, I should like to express my deep appreciation. The continued encouragement of Professor B. H. Bronson has been an inspiration to me, especially so since Professor Bronson has himself been involved for long years in a task that has perhaps been even more eroding on body and spirit than has my own project. W.D.H.

CONTENTS AFTERWORD PREFACE INTRODUCTION ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY VII.

VIII.

Vll IX

xvii xxiii

DEATH AND FUNEREAL CUSTOMS INFANTS, CHILDREN: Stars} Prenatal Influences} Drowning 3 - Naming} Physical Activity, Ca,re of Child 3 - Animals and Plants 5 - Miscellaneous 5 - Burial of Children 6 - Mother 6 ADULTS: General 7 Death Bell} Singing} Noises 8 Choking, Itching} Shivering, Twitching, etc. 10 Sneezing II - Hair, Teeth 13 - Nudity, Clothes, ~-'hoes 15 - Sleep, Beds 16 - Wedding} Honeymoon 16 - The Sick 19 - The Dead and the Dying 23 Work 24 - Moving, S"tepping 24 DOMESTIC SIGNS AND PORTENTS : House 25 - Clocks 28 - Mirrors 29 - Pictures} Photographs 30 - Table, Meals} Food 31 - Chairs 34 - Household, Miscellaneous 34 - Housework) Removing Ashes 35 Sweeping 36 - Washing, Wiping 37 - Sewing) Quilting 38 - Miscellaneous 40 PIIYSICAL WORLD: Stars 41 Weather 42 - C'andles, Fires} Lights 44 - Water, Drowning 46 - An'intal Portents 47 - Fowls 56 - Birds 60 - Insects, Worms} etc. 70!.- Plants} Vegetables 71 - Flo'lfJers, Bushes 72 - Trees 73 - Farm Implements 76 CARE FOR THE DEAD: Clocks} lVfirrors, Pictures) etc. 78The Corpse 82 - Wake} Funeral Prelintinaries 84Funeral Procession 86 - Funereal Clothing 89 Graves" Graveyards 91 - Burying vVeather 94 -After Burial 97 WITCHCRAFT, GHOSTS, lVIAGICAL, PRACTICJ~S C"onjuring} Casting of Spells 99 - Warding Off Spells 105 - Removal of C'onjurer 109 WITCHES, WITCHCRAFT: Witches} Wizards 110 Signs of vVitches} Bewitchtnent I 15 - ]Jreventi';,·'fS of Witchcraft 121 - Laying Witches 132 - Evil Eye 136 - Nightmare 136 - Ghosts 137 - Dispelling Ghosts 142 - Spirits 144 - Warding Off ~~-'pirits I4S - Hants 146 - Laying Hants 148 - Jack-O'Lanterns 148 - Devil ISO

xu

CONTENTS

154 Human ISS - Animal ISS Plant 163 - Talismans, Coins, Gems 164 - Miscellaneous Charms 167 - Verbal Charm 169 FORTUNE TELLING, DIVINATION 170: Water Witching 174 - Horses Locating Water 179 - Hidden Treasure, Mines 179 - Lode Lights, Treasure Lights 179 - Divining Rods, Dowsing 180 Silver, Gold 181

FAIRIES, ELVES, GOBLINS CHARMS, LUCKY PIECES:

IX. COSMIC PHENOMENA: TIMES, NUMBERS, SEASONS COSMIC PHENOMENA: Portents of War and Disaster 183 - Moon 184 - Seeing the Moon {(Clear)) 186 Moon Through Trees, Clouds 1'87 - Moon Through Rings, Windows 188 - Miscellaneous 189 - The Man in the Moon 190 - Stars 190 - Falling Slars, Meteors 192 - Miscellaneous 193 TIMES, NUMBERS, SEASONS: Trial Periods, Indicators 194 - Days of the Week 196 - Ti1ne of Day 200 Special Days, Holidays 200 - Nun1bers 204

x.

\iVEA THER

Spring 209 - Summer 212 - Autumn 213 Winter 213 - Cold (Severe) Winters 215 - Mild Winters 221 - Weather Indicators 222 - Bad (Foul) Weather 229 - Changing Weather 235 Clear Weather 238 - Sunny Weather, Sun, Eclipse, etc. 243 - Cold Weather 245 - Dry Weather 251 -Fair Weather 257 - Good Weather 263 - Warm (Hot) Weather 264 - Wet (Falling) Weather 265 RAIN: Indicators 26g The Sun as Indicator of Rain 273 - Clouds as Indicators of Rain 281 - The Moon as an Indica:tor of Rain. 285 - Stars as Indicators of Rain 290 - Rain, Rainbows as Indicators of Rain 292 - Dew, Moisture, Sweat as Signs of Rain 293 - Mist, Fog as Indicators of Rain 296 - Winds, Whirl'Winds as Indicators of Rain 296 - Lightning, Thunder as Indicators of Rain 299 - Frost as an Indicator of Rain 300 Fire, Sntoke as Indicators of Rain 301 HUMAN INDICATORS OF RAIN: Aches, Physical Signs 303 - Death, Dreams as Signs of Rain 304 ANIMAL INDICATORS OF RAIN: Mammals 305 Fowls 309 - Birds 3 1 3 - Reptiles 3 1 9 - Amphibians, Fish 323 - Insects 325 - Arachnids 328 - Crustaceans} etc. 330 SEASONS:

xiii

CONTENTS

PLANT INDICATORS OF RAIN:

330 -

T11'ees 332 -

FlO'lPJ-

ers 333 MISCELLANEOUS 334 STOPPING OF RAIN, No RAIN OTHER KINDS OF WEATIIER:

-

336 Floods 343 -

Winds~ Cyclones 349 - Lightning~ Hail~ Snow 362 - Frost~ Ice 368

Storms 344 Thunder 357

XI. ANIMALS, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY ANIMALS 372 Cows 372 - Horses 372 - Horseshoes 375 - Mules 379 - Cats 380 - Dogs 382 Miscellaneous 384 - Chickens~ Eggs 385 - Birds 388 - Redbird 390 - Doves} Bluebirds, Robins~ Wrens 392 - Martins~ Swallows~ Whippoorwills. Gulls 393 - Jaybirds, Mockingbirds, Filliloo Birds 394 - Owls 396 - Buzzards, Crows, Ravens 399 Snakes 400 - Turtles, Lizards 408 - Eels~ Porpoises 408 - Frogs, Toads 409 - Ants, Beetles, Bugs, Crickets 410 - Doodlebugs, Ladybugs 412 Spiders, Daddy Longlegs 415 - Worms, Snails 417 ANIMAL HUSBANDRY: General 417 Cats 418 - Dogs 4 1 9 - Rabbits 423 CHICKENS: Setting, Hatching 423 Laying 427 Tonics} Ill-Omens, Diseases 427 - Hawks, Birds of Prey 42 9 - Loss of Chickens, Death} Killing, etc., 43 2 - Miscellaneous 433 - Geese 434 Turkeys 434 BEES 435 COWS: Milk~

Milking 437 - Churning, Clabbering 439 - Loss of Cud 446 - Hollow Horn 447 - Hollow Tail 449 - Miscellaneous Ailments 450 - Straying Cattle 451 - Ill-Omens, Death 452 - Calves, Calving 45 2 - Bewitchment of Cattle 453 HORSES: Habits, Training, etc. 454 Colic 455 Divers A ilm·ents, Death 456 - Bewitchment of Horses 457 MULES, OXEN 460 HOGS : Health, Appetite, Habits, etc. 461 Altering, Weaning 461 - Fattening, Slaughtering 462 Divers Ailments, Death 469 SHEEP

469

XII. FISHING AND HUNTING FISHING 470 - Fishing Pole 479 - Bait, Hook 480 HUNTING 483 - Bird Hunting 485 Other Game 486 - Guns 488

xiv

CONTENTS

XIII. PLANTS, PLANT HUSBANDRY PLANTS: Clover, Grass 491 Plants 494 - Flowers, Shrubs 496 - Trees 497 PLANT HUSBANDRY: General 500 Fertilizing, Plowing 500 PLANTING: Phases of the Moon 501 Signs of the Zodiac, Holidays, Seasons, etc. 505 - Crops, Cultivation 510 - Miscellaneous 511 CROPS: Cotton, Peanuts 511 VEGETABLES: Beans 512 - Beets 517 - Cabbage 518 Collards, Greens 519 - Corn 519 - Cucumbers 52 7 - Gourds 528 - Lettuce 528 - Mustard 529 - Okra, Pepper 52 9 - Onions 530 - Parsley 530 - Peas 53 1 - Potatoes 533 - Sweet Potatoes 536 - Tomatoes 537 - Turnips 538 HERBS: Sage, Tansy 539 Tobacco 540 FORAGE CROPS: Fodder, Grass 540 GRAINS: 541 Wheat 542 VINES: Cantaloupes, Muskmelons, Squash 543 Melons, W atern~elons 544 - Grapes, Hops 547 HARVESTING: 547 PESTS: Birds 547 - Bugs, Caterpillars, Weevils, Worms 548 - Weeds 549 MISCELLANEOUS: 550 FLOWERS, SHRUBS: Hydrangeas, Sweet Peas 551 Shrubs, Sprigs 55 2 - Dogwood 553 TREES: Planting, Transplanting 553 Budding, Graft-

ing, Pruning 554 - Crop Signs, Harvesting, etc. 554 - Miscellaneous 559 - Apples, Cherries, Pears 560 - Firewood, Timbering 561 - Lumber, Fences, Shingles 563

XIV. MISCELLANEOUS; ADDENDA Family, Household 566 - Whistling, Laughing 568 - Dreams 570 - Wishes 57 1 - Bad Luck 57! Miscellaneous 572 ADDENDA: 573 INFORMANTS AND COLLECTORS

INDEX

58I

5B9

ILLUSTRATIONS 1COON HUNT

frontispiece

MOONSHINERS

facing page 190

COCKFIGHT

facing page 486

INTRODUCTION HE reception of volume VI of the Brown Collection has been most enheartening, but it is difficult to judge the impact of the work without the present sequel volume. Only with the complete categories which volume VII provides and with the Index to the whole work, contained herein, will one be able to assess the usefulness of the North Carolina Collection as a general work of reference in the field of folk belief and superstition. Within the categories and items contained in the Brown Collection the present two volumes give a comparative survey of typical materials around the United States and Canada. With regard to the total body of popular beliefs and superstitions in the whole North American area, however, one must estimate the possible percentage of existing North Carolina material not collected or presented in any way, and from these estimated data attempt to posit the extent of sources still untapped in North Carolina and elsewhere. In December, 1961, Professor Joseph D. Clark of North Carolina State College, Raleigh, published in North Carolina Folklore (IX, 4-22) 1 306 superstitions (with variants running to over 500 items) from a larger collection of 1,600 items collected from many parts of the state. Even so, thirty-nine of North Carolina's one hundred counties are entirely unrepresented. Difficult to believe though it is, approximately 39 per cent of the published parts of Professor Clark's collection falls outside the material in the large and more representative body of beliefs and superstitions contained in the Brown Collection. This percentage in Clark, high though it is, comports well with findings in other shorter published collections that have been annotated against the Brown Collection: Hand, Pennsylvania, 42 per cent new material; Hendricks (Texas), 45 per cent new material; Hand (Nebraska: U7 estern Folklore, XXI [1962], 257-278), 43 per cent new material. The only large-scale work for which comparative data are available, the Ray B. Browne Collection from Alabama (see Additional Bibliography) reveals that 51 per cent of Browne's material, by actual count, has no counterparts in the North Carolina Collection. Previous estimates of new material in this important Alabama collection have proved far too low, and this, notwithstanding the fact that in some categories relatively high correspondences are revealed. Of 74 items in Browne having to do with planting by signs of the moon and of the zodiac, for example, 69 are to be found in the North Carolina Collection (93.3 per cent) ; 35 of 60 items dealing with colds (58.3 per cent) ; 31 of 41 entries dealing with insect bites and sting~ (75.6 1 This article is reprinted in the S outhern Folklore QuarterlYI XXVI

T

( 1962), 198-224.

xviii

INTRODUCTION

per cent); skin poisoning, only one item in eleven (9 per cent); hants and ghosts, 9 of a total of 18 entries (50 per cent) ; witches, 14 of 33 references (42.4 per cent). The highest percentage of new material in the Alabama Collection is in Folk Medicine, which is often regarded as a special category of folk belief. These few statistical studies-all of them involving states where tolerably good coverage exists-show the urgent need for additional work in many, if not most, states. On the basis of these statistical surveys, it is clear that questionnaires and finding lists must be devised to bring in material from untilled fields so that future studies will in their own way be even more complete than the great studies which have already provided an uncommonly rich store of folk beliefs and superstitions. For the projected Dictionary of American Popular Beliefs and Superstition, the Brown Collection will serve as the cornerstone, drawing liberally as it does in the notes from the great tributary volumes, such as Bergen, Brendle-Unger, Browne, Cannell, Fogel, Hyatt, Kittredge, Puckett, Randolph, Thomas, Whitney-Bullock, and the many long and basic articles from all parts of the country, too numerous to mention here. For the Dictionary project, and by way of giving representation to new areas as well as broadening the scope of the work in others, the following people have pledged standard collections for their respective states: Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Michigan

Byrd Howell Granger, University of Arizona Mary Celestia Parler, University of Arkansas Wayland D. Hand, University of ~alifornia, Los Angeles Marjorie M. Kimmerle (deceased), Ben Gray Lumpkin, University of Colorado Bertha E. Bloodworth, University of Florida Ben W. Griffith and Wilson C. Snipes, Mercer University Jan Harold Brunvand, University of Idaho Edith S. Krappe, Southern Illinois University W. Edson Richmond, Indiana University S. J. Sackett, Fort Hays Kansas State College, and William E. Koch, Kansas State University. D. K. Wilgus, University of California, Los Angeles Patricia K. Rickels, University of Southwestern Louisiana Dorothy Howard, Frostburg State Teachers College Richard M. Dorson, Indiana University, and Aili K. Johnson, Franklin, Michigan (rural); Thelma G. James, Wayne State University (metropolitan centers)

INTRODUCTION

Missouri Nebraska Newfoundland New Mexico New York North Dakota Nova Scotia Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Quebec Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Texas Utah Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

xix

\Villianl M. Jones, University of Missouri William B. Gibbon, University of Nebraska Violetta !vI. Halpert and Herbert Halpert, Memorial University of Newfoundland James H. Penrod, Eastern New Mexico University New York Folklore Society John L. Hancock, University of North Dakota Helen Creighton, National Museum of Canada Newbell Niles Puckett, Western Reserve University J. Barre Toelken, University of Oregon Robert H. Byington, Lycoming College I.. uc Lacourciere, Laval University George Monteiro, Brown University Louise Jones Du Bose, University of South Carolina Wayland D. Hand, University of California, Los Angeles George D. Hendricks, North Texas State University Wayland D. Hand, University of California, and A. S. Cannon, University of Utah Arthur Kyle Davis, Jr., University of Virginia Henry A. Person, University of Washington Ruth Ann Musick, Fairmont State College IJee A. Burress, Jr., Wisconsin State College Velnla ~inford, Cheyenne

It is hoped that these state collections will be compiled within five or six years' time, with all volumes scheduled to be in print within a ten-year period, as a nlaximum. These broader surveys will in no way obviate the need of special studies among occupational and ethnic groups. On the contrary, these larger studies should stimulate interest in tnany special ways; above all, they are bound to encourage the compilation of articles and monographs dealing with special subject fields. Furthermore, the general interest engendered should result in efforts to clarify the background and meaning of many individual folk beliefs with regard to their cultural setting. In short, whereas hitherto material has been collected mainly with a view to getting it in the record, now we are approaching a point in our researches where function and meaning can be studied with greater effect. In the light of these extensive collecting plans, the Brown Collection should be viewed as the first comparative work to come forth, but not the last. It is likely, however-printing problems and costs being what they are-that there will not soon be a general

xx

INTRODUCTIO~

collection of the magnitude of the present collection from any single state. Cali fomia collectanea, for example, will be issued in a series of shorter monographic studies. Other volumes planned around the United States will generally not contain extensive notes, even though it is hoped that all will treat special items exhaustively where the facts warrant. These studies are intended primarily to add basic data to the swelling reservoir of published materials, and thus to contribute to the shaping of reasonably full categories of American folk belief and superstition. As for the general plans with regard to the Dictionary: excerpting goes on year in and year out, with the end only now coming dimly in sight. The searching for folk beliefs in legendry and in custom and usage has now begun, and is bound to yield many items now only little known. Efforts are also slowly turning to older historical materials now that modern folklore sources have been exploited, and are well on the way to being worked into the files of the Dictionary. Even so, it is a matter of profound regret to the Editor that some of the more promising of these folklore studies could not have been utilized in the Brown Collection. The Editor will be grateful for communications leading to the discovery of fugitive materials likely to escape his view, and will give credit for such help. The Dictionary project will depend on the collaboration not only of the scholars whose names are listed above, but of specialists working in all branches of folklore where popular beliefs and superstitions are to be found. Mirni Clar's excellent article, "Folk Belief and Custom in the Blues" (Western F olklore XIX [1960J, 173-189) is a good example of the kind of a study needed for the broader field of American balladry and folk song. Similar investigations might be undertaken for the proverb and for various genres of folk narrative. Folk beliefs exemplified in children's games and verses-as witness the work of Stiickrath in Germany-also provide the possibility for fruitful study. The dramatic portrayal of folk belief in CUSt0111S and ritualistic practices, likewise, will show how basic to these categories are the folk beliefs and superstitions that prescribe courses of action, whether to do certain things or to avoid doing them at all cost. Correspondence on matters pertaining to folk belief and superstition will be welcome, and the facilities of the Center for the Study of Comparative Folklore and Mythology at the University of California, Los Angeles, will continue to be available to interested parties. The notes to volume VII are richer, of course, than in the preceding volull1e, if but by the fact that some 150 new titles have been brought under survey. As is common in works of this magnitude, a few individual items got lost in the vast body of material being processed. These strays are presented in a special section of Addenda, chapter by chapter, which has been made part of Chapter XIV, Miscellaneous. They are numbered in sequence beginning J

INTRODUCTION

xxi

with No. 8521, but numbers are also given in parentheses suggesting where these misplaced items might have fallen in the body of the work. In a recheck of the original sources not used in the present collection, a small body of material has come to light which is made up of items coming from various states other than North Carolina. Since primary data are involved and since the material is valuable, it will be published as a special article in the Southern Folklore Quarterly in 1965. Newspaper clippings in the Brown Collection with no special relevance to North Carolina, undated items, feature articles, and articles otherwise not identified in any way, will be published later in various ways. Their connection with the Brown corpus will in all cases be properly indicated.

ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR VOLUME VII \\lITH SHORT TITLE LISTINGS AND ABBREVIATIONS Anderson Augar Aurand Babcock Bacon-Parsons

Bandy Bass Barker

Baughman, Sa'yings Beck Bergen, Burial 13ergen, Plant Lore Bergen, Saliva

U rhan Anderson. "A Comparative Study of Sonle of the Older Beliefs and Usages of East Tennessee," TFSB, III (1937), 1-7. Pearl Hamelin Augar. "French Beliefs in Clinton County," NYFQ, IV (1948), 16117 1 . A. Monroe Aurand, Jr. Popu.lar Home Remedies and Sup'erstitions of the Pennsylvania Germans. Harrisburg, 1941. C. Merton Babcock. "Melville's Backwoods Seamen," WF, x (1951), 126-133. A. M. Bacon and E. C. Parsons. "FolkLore from Elizabeth City County, Virginia," JAFL, xxxv (1922),250-327. Lewis David Bandy. "Witchcraft and Divination in Macon County," TFSB, IX, No. 2 (1943), 1-13· William W. Bass. "Dog Days: Some Notes and a Few Superstitions," TFSB, XXII (1956), 64-68. Addison Barker. "Weather Lore in Bl'um's Almanac, 1844-195°," NCF, v, No. I ( 1957), I 1-19. Ernest W. Baughman. "Folk Sayings and Beliefs," NMFR, IX (1954- 1955), 23-27H. P. Beck. "Herpetological Lore from the Blue Ridge," MF, II (1952), 141-15°. Fanny D. Bergen. "Burial and Holiday Custonls and Beliefs of the Irish Peasantry," JAFL, VIII (1895), 19-25Fanny D. Bergen. "Some Bits of Plant Lore," JAFL, V (1892), 19-22. Fanny D. Bergen. "Some Saliva Charms," JAFL, III (1890), 51-59.

xxiv

Bergen-Newell

Boas

ADDITION AL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fanny D. Bergen and W. "Topics for Collection of JAFL, IV ( 1891), 151-158. Franz Boas. "Current Beliefs kiutl Indians," JAFL, XLV

W. Newell. Folk-Lore," of the Kwa(193 2 ), 177-

260. Bond Boshears Bradley Brewster, Supernatural Briggs Browne

Burridge

Burton

Clara Chisam Bond. "The Shore Sign," TFSB, XII, NO.4 (1946),3-7. Frances Boshears. "Proverbial Comparisons from an East Tennessee County," TFSB, xx (1954), 27-41. }1". W. Bradley. "South Carolina Proverbs," SFQ, I, No. I (1937), 57-101. Paul G. Brewster. "Stories of the Supernatural from Southern Indiana," SFQ, x (1946 ), 227-234. Harold E. Briggs. "Folklore of Southern Illinois," SFQ, XVI (1952), 207-217. Ray B. Browne. Popular Beliefs and Practices from Alabama. University of California Publications: Folklore Studies, vol. 9. Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1958. Gaston Burridge. "Does the Forked Stick Locate Anything? An Inquiry into the Art of Dowsing," WF, XIV (1955), 3243· Glynn Burton. "Some Folkways of Lincoln County Community," TFSB, XXI (1955), 3-8 .

Carr-Westez

Clar, Russian Collins

Conlbs

Lloyd G. Carr and Carlos Westez. "Surviving Folktales and Herbal Lore among the Shinnecock Indians of Long Island," JAFL, LVIII (1945), 113- 123. Mimi Claro "Russian Folk Beliefs Collected in Los Angeles," WF, XVII (1958), 123126. Yandell Collins, Jr. "Superstitions and Belief Tales fronl Louisville," KFR, IV (1958 ), 71 -78. Josiah Henry Combs. "Symp'athetic Magic in the Kentucky Mountains: Some Curious Folk-Survivals," JAFL, XXVII (19 1 4), 328-330 .

ADDITION AL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cox Crosby

Cross

xxv

John Harrington Cox. "The Witch Bridle," SFQ, VII (1943),2°3-209. Rev. John R. Crosby. "Modern Witches of Pennsylvania," JAFL, XL (192 7), 304309· Tom Peete Cross. "Folk-Lore from the Southern States," JAFL, XXII (1909),

25 1 - 2 55.

rCulin] Davidson

Davis

Day Dober Dorson, Negro Dorson, Roup-Garou Driver

Earthman

ERE Ericson, Tarboro Figh, Arp

[Stewart Culin.] "Concerning Negro Sorcery in the United States," JAFL, III, (1890), 281-287. Levette J. Davidson. "Superstitions Collected in Denver, Colorado," WF, XIII (1954), 184- 189. Henry C. Davis. "Negro Folk-Lore in South Carolina," JAFL, XXVII (1914), 241-2 54. Cyrus L. Day. "Knots and Knot Lore," WF, IX (1950), 229-256. Virginia Dober. "We'll Tell 'Em," NCF, IV) No. I (July 1956), 15-22. Richard M. Dorson. "Negro Tales of Mary Richardson," MF, VI (1956), 5-26. Richard M. Dorson. "Aunt Jane Goudreau, Roup-Garou Storyteller," WF, VI (1947), 13-27. Harold E. Driver. "A Method of Investigating Individual Differences in Folkloristic Beliefs and Practices," MF, I (1951), 99- 105. Glen Earthman. "Superstitions from Denver," WF, XVI (1957), 132 - 133. James Hastings, ed. Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. Reprint ed. 13 vols. New York, 1956-1960. Eston Everett Ericson. "Folklore and Folkway in the Tarboro (N. C.) Free Press (1824-185°) ," SFQ, V (1941), 107-125. Margaret Gillis Figh. "Folklore in Bill Arp's Works," SFQ, XII (1948 ), 169175·

xxvi

Figh, Rawlings Figh, Sanders Forster

Foster, Brooklyn Gillis Grendan Guerin

Halpert, Death Halpert, Fiddle Hand, Miners

Hand, Pennsylvania Hankey Harden Harder, Beliefs Harder, Remedies Harris

ADDITION AL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Margaret Gillis Figh. "Folklore and Folk Speech in the Works of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings," SFQ, XI (1947), 201 -209. Margaret Gillis Figh. "Folklore in the 'Rufus Sanders' Sketches," SFQ, XIX (1955), 185- 195. J. Margaret Forster. "Folklore of County Monaghan, Ireland, Twenty Years Later," CFQ, II (1943), 309-3 14. James R. Foster. "Brooklyn Folklore," NYFQ, XIII (1957),83-91. Everett A. Gillis. "Zodiac Wisdom," WF, XVI (1957),77-89. Felix Grendon. "The Anglo-Saxon CharIns," JAFI~, XXII (1909), 105- 2 37. \\Tayne Guerin. "Some Folkways of a Stewart County Community," TFSB, XIX (1953), 49-5 8 . \Tioletta l\'1. Halpert. "Death Beliefs from Indiana," MF, II (1952), 205-219. Herbert Halpert. "The Devil and the Fiddle." HFB, II (1943), 39-43. \iVayland D. Hand. "California Miners' Folklore: Above Ground," CFQ, I (1942), 24-46; "Below Ground," 127153· \Vayland D. Hand. "Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from Pennsylvania," KFQ, III (1958), 61-74; IV (1959), 106-120. Rosalie Hankey. "California Ghosts." CFQ, I (194 2 ), 155-177. John Harden. Tar Heel Ghosts. Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1954. Kelsie B. Harder. HBeliefs and Customs in Perry County, Tennessee," TFSB, XXI (1955), 9- 10• Kelsie B. Harder. "Home Remedies in Perry County, Tennessee," TFSB, XXII (195 6 ),97-98 . Jesse W. Harris. "Some Southern Illinois Witch I__ore," SFQ, X (1946), 183-190.

ADDITION AL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hatcher Hendricks

Hickerson

I-Iudson, Bell Witch

Hurdle

Hurley Hurston Jackson

Jeffrey

Jenness

Johnson, Antigua Jones, Devil

Jones, Evil Eye

xxvii

Mildred Hatcher. "Superstitions in Middle Tennessee," SFQ, XIX (1955), ISO-ISS. George D. Hendricks. "Superstitions Collected in D'enton, Texas," WF, xv (1956), 1-18. Daisy Faulkner Hickerson. "My Black MamnlY Cautions Me," TFSB, xv (1949), 16- 17. Arthur Palnler Hudson and Pete Kyle McCarter. "The Bell Witch of Tennessee and Mississippi: A Folk Legend," JAFL. XLVII (1934),45-63. Virginia Jo Hurdle. "Folklore of a Negro Couple in Henry County," TFSB, XIX (1953), 7 1-78. Gerard T. Hurley. "Buried Treasure Tales in America," WF, X (1951), 197-216. Zora Hurston. "Hoodoo in America," JAFL, XLIV (1931),317-417. Margaret Y. Jackson. "Folklore in Slave Narratives before the Civil War," NYFQ, XI (1955),5-19. IJoycl N. Jeffrey. "Snake- Yarns of the West and Southwest," WI~~, XIV (I95S), 246-2 58 . Diatnond Jenness. "Myths of the Carrier Indians of British Columbia," JAFL, XLVII (1934), 97- 2 57. John H. Johnson. "Folk-Lore from Antigua, British West Indies," JAFL, XXXIV (1921 ), 40-88. Louis C. Jones. "The Devil in York State," NYFQ, VIII (195 2 ), 5-19. I-.Jouis C. Jones. "The Evil Eye among European-Americans," WF, X (1951), 11-

25· Jones, Ghosts Kellner

Louis C. Jones. "The Ghosts of New York: An Analytical Study," J AFL, LVII (1944), 237-2 54. Esther Kellner. "Token Stories of Indiana," MF, III (1953), 223-230.

xxviii

ADD1TION AL BIBLIOGRAPHY

KFQ

Keystone Folklore Quarterly. Pennsylvania, 1956 ft.

Kimmerle

Marjorie M. Kimmerle. "A Weather Almanac for Colorado," The Colorado Quarterly} VII (1958), 68-79.

Kirtley

Bacil F. Kirtley, ed. "Folklore froln Aroostook C:ounty, Maine, and Neighboring Canada," NF, I (1958),33-47,65-73.

Ir) Georgia: JAFL v (1891), 62 (if a cock walks in at the door, turns around and crows, he announces a death in the family) - A lqhama: Browne, No. 3267 (when a rooster crows with his back to the door you will see a corpse).

5272 Someone is going to die if a rooster stands in the door of a house and crows in. Clarence Wilkinson, Kay Blackwelder, and an anonymous informant. North Carotina: Bruton, Beliefs, No. 12 - Tennessee: Guerin, 56 - 11-

60

NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE

lin.ois: Hyatt, No. 9800 (sudden death within two days) ; No. 9799 ("One day last year a rooster came and crowed in a man's door across the street, 'with his head looking in. I holler (sic) over and said, 'You had better look out. Bad omen.' He said, '1 don't believe in that.' T4e next day the rooster crowed again in the door. And the third morning the man got a telegranl. I-lis S011 \vas dead. So you see it was an otuen.")-HDA III, 1342.

5273 If a rooster crows with his head inside the door of the house, there will be a death in the family. Mrs. Gertrude Allen Vaught, Alexander county. Maryland: WhitneyBullock, No. 654 C'Ef yer see a rooster come stan' in de door an' crow inter de house, hit's er sign 0' death, sure!") - Kentuc!l'J': Thomas, No. 3572 (crows with his head from the door: decrease in the family) Ozarks: Randolph, J-iolk-Beliefs, 84.

5274 If a rooster crows in the back door, a death in the family is foretold. Frank C. Brown, Durham.

5275 vVhen a rooster crows in the house it lueans death. Lorelei Hansom. South: Puckett, 485 (Negro) .--HDA

III,

1342.

Birds 5276 If a little bird sits on the top of one's house, death is sure to visit that house. Green Collection. HDA

II, 122.

5277 I f a bird builds a nest all a plate under the edge of your porch, some member of the fanlily will leave the sanle year by death. S. M. Gardner, Macon, \Varren county. Cf. South: Puckett, 489 (a hird building a nest in the house indicates the death of a friend before the eggs hatch [Negro]).

5278 If a bird pecks on the house, count the llull1ber 0 f tiules, for they signify the number of days before a death will "occur in that house. Anonymous. This item seenlS unique. As an exanlple of a bird's pecking or tapping on the door, and of the more common pecking at the ~indow­ pane, 1 cite only an Indiana reference here: "A bird pecking at a door or \vindow means death to a metnber of the household or family" (Kellner,229)·

5279 It is an Olnen of death if a bird appears at a house, either on the window sill, or flutters against the glass. Green Collection. General: Bergen, A Jli111al, No. 341. (a bird pecking at the window and flapping its \vings against the window is an omen of death) - S outlt: Puckett, 489 (alighting on window sill [Negro]) Kentucky: Fentress, 13 (bird trying to come in at the window) - Ala-

SUPERSTITIONS: DEATH AND FUNEREAL CUSTOMS

61

banta~'

Btowne, No. 3223 (bird flying up at the window) - Indiana: Halpert, Death, 208 (various details of a bird "at the window") - Illinois: Hyatt, No. 9717 (lighting on window sill); No. 9718 (sill of bedroom window) : Norlin, 203, No. 8b (sill: death in the house) - California: Papashvily, 118 (at th~ window: family). Cf. No. 5318 f., below.--N & Q Ill, Vol. 2 (1862),107; Radford, 35; HD'A VIII, 995.

5280 If any kind of bird gets in your house, it's a sure sign of death. G. B. Caldwell, Jr., Monroe, Union county, and four other inf~rmants from central and western counties. Most entries refer to the bird's flying in, so I shall not note this fact. Entries given below do not refer to a bird's flying into a room-only the house, nor do they include references to white bird's flying into the house. General.' Bergen-Newell, 153; Knortz, 136 - North Carolina: Hoke, 114; Walker, 6, No.6 (member of household) - Kentucky: KFR II (1956), 70 (into a home) ; Rainey, 14 (into a house and can't get out) ; Shearin, 319 (family) ; Thomas, No. 3518 - Tennessee: O'Dell, Superstitions, 4; Redfield, No. 297; Rickard, 8 (family) - Alabama.' Browne, No. 3222; No. 3221 (family) Louisiana: Roberts, No. 1325 - Florida: Hauptmann, 12 (som~one in the house [Spanish]) - Quebec.' Marie-Ursule, 132, ~o. 117 (French) - Nova Scotia: Fauset, Nos. 22,145 - Ontario: Waugh, No. 106 (family) ; Wintemberg, Grey, No. 43; idem, Waterloo, 17 (when a wild bird enters an occupied house one of the occupants will die soon) - New England: Johnson, What They Say, 113 (family or near relatives) Massachusetts: Bergen, Animal, No. 328 - New York: Augar, 164 (French); Shultis, 220 - Pennsylvania.' Fogel, No. 541 (German); Rupp, 256, No. 24 (German) ; Shoemaker, 23 (someone in the immediate family) - Ohio.' Bergen, Att,imal, No. 328 - Indiana: Brewster, Belie./s, No. 141 (flying, or attempting to fly into the house); Halpert, Death, 208 (family); ibid (wild bird) - Illinois.' Hyatt, No. 9720 (funeral within ten days) ; 9728 (someone will die if you don't kill the bird. "1 never let a bird live that flies into my house. Those old sparrows are always getting in, but they don't go out alive") - Wisconsin: Brown, Birds, 7 (family) --:- Iowa: Stout, No. 174 (wild bird) ; No. 180 (wild bird: family) - Missouri: Bergen, Animal, No. 80 (to ward off the omen, spit on the floor, draw a circle around the saliva, then walk around t~~ circle with the back to it, and spit a second time [Negro]) ; ¥cKinney, 107 (death in the house) - Ozarks: Randolph, Folk-Bel~efs, 84 (family) - Texas: Bergen, Animal, No. 328 - New Mexico: Baylor, 145,' No. 8 (death in the house within the next eight days [SpaJ;lish]); Moya, 64, NO.4 (death in the house [Spanish]) - Nebraska: rrow night / Someone who would ple~se my sight. [TurI! three times on the left heel and make three wishes]) - West Virginia: Mockler, 313, NO.5 (New moon, true moon, / May my wish come true / Before tomorrow noon) ; ibid., No.6 (New moon, true moon, / I wish I may, I wish I might, / Have my wish come true tonight) - Illinois: Hyatt, No. 5933 (New moon, true moon, / Star in the stream, t Pray tell my fortune in my dream). Cf. Nos. 4452 ff., above.

5949

I see the moon, and the moon sees me, God bless the moon, and God bless me.

William D. Trader (South Carolina). General: Bergen-Newell, 158 North Carolina: Brown Collection I, 181 £. - West Virginia: Keysner, 6 f. (second line: God bless me, till another moon I see. [Th~n spit three times after wishing for what you want]) - Tennessee: Rogers, Wish, 37, 5 :2.

5950 A moon rainbow was a sign of good luck. O. W. Blacknall, Kittrell, Vance county.

190

NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE

The Man in the Moon 5951 The tnan is in the moon for gathering sticks on Sunday. Green Collection. Although various desecrations of the Sabbath 4ay are mentioned in the literature, only the carrying of a stick is indicated in the following references. North Carolina: Brewster, C'ltstoms 230 (lists other categories of sin) - West Virginia: Mockler, 313, No. 2.--Addy, 59; JAFL III ( 1890), 128; SFQ XIV (1950), 169; Scbillot I, 356; Baughnlan Q223.6.1.1 (a). Cf. Robert ]. Menner, "The Man in the Moon and Hedging," Journal of English and Ger1nan Philology XLIII (1949), 1-14. J

5952 You can see the man in the moon if you burn brush on Sunday. W. J. Hickman, Hudson, Caldwell county. The following refere~ces do not indicate that one may see the tnan in the moon by burning brush, but rather that he is there for having burned brush on the Sabbath. - North Carolina: Brown Collection I 631 - Virginia: Dober, 16 - West Virginia: Mockler, 313, NO.1 - Kentucky: Thomas, No. 2325; N9. 2711 (if you burn brush on Sunday you will be put in the moon) - Alabama: Browne, 3404 - Illinois: Hyatt, No. 8499; No. 8498 (burn brush on Sunday and you will be put in the moon) .--Thompson, A751.1.1; cf. Baughman Q223.6.1.1 (b). J

Stars 5953 Make a wish when you see the first star come out, and it will come to pass. Ella Parker, Mt. Gilead, Montgomery county, and ten other informants mainly from eastern and central counties. Alaryland: Whitney-Bullock, No. 1485 - Tell1tcssee: Page, 55 - .:4/aba1l'1a-: Browne, No. 3413 Pennsylvania: Fogel, No. 352 (Gernlan) -- Indiana: Driver, NO.4 Illinois: Hyatt, No. 6614 - Te.~as: Hendricks, No. 154 (if you cannot count over fifteen other stars, your wish will conle true) - California: Dresslar, 23, 121, 191.-- HDA IX (Supp1.), 781.

5954 Make a wish when you see the first star in the evening. Ask someone three questions; keep the \vish a secret for three days, and it will come true. W. S. Lee, Jr., Monroe, Union county.

5955 If you see the first star of the evening over your left shoulder, and make a wish, the wish will come true. Maysie and Marj orie Rea, Craven county. Looking over the shoulder is not specified in the following references to wishing on the evening star. North Carolina: Walker, 7, No. 19 - Alaba:ma: Browne, No. 3414 California: Dresslar, 23 - Washington: Tacoma, lo.--Simon, Beliefs, 88, 91.

5956 When the first star appears wish, and say: Star light, star bright, First star I've seen (I see) tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight.

SUPERSTITIONS: COSMIC PHENOMENA

191

Do not look at another star before you finish the rhyme, or tell your wish. Green Collection, and twenty-two informants from widely separated localities. Indiana: HF VI (1947), 85 (in Maine, thirty years ago, to have looked a second time on the first star without having seen another would break the wish) ; WF XVI (1957), 204, No. 13 (don't look at the star again that night, and the wish will come true) - Illinois: Wine, No. 140 (last line: get the wish) - California: Dresslar, 24, 193.

5957 Repeat this, throw a kiss at the star, and don't tell your wish. Having done this, your wish will come true. Star light, star bright, I wish you would, I wish you might, Grant the wish, I wish tonight. Lida Page, Nelson, Durham county, and Caroline Kay Root, Durham county. California: Dresslar, 24 (if you see only one star say the above verse over three times without looking from the star, and name your favorite poet and throw as many kisses at the star as you are oid, and not look at that star again that night, the wish will come true).

5958 If, when you see the first star at night, you will make a wish and repeat the following lines your wish will come true: Star light, star bright, First star I've seen tonight; Hope I may, hope I might, My wish will come true tomorrow night. Alma Irene Stone, Meredith College, near Raleigh. All references are to fulfilment of the wish tonight, and the word "wish" stands in place of "hope" in the third line. North Carolin,a: Brown Collection I, 182; Walker 7, No. 19 - Maryland: Whitney-Bullock, No. 1486 (1 w~sh you may, etc.) - Tennessee: Burton, 7 - Alabama: Browne, No. 3415 New York: JAFL II (1889), 148, No. 2 - Illinois: Hyatt, No. 6622; No. 6619 (Bring true the wish I wish tonight) ; Norlin, 213, No! 85 OZ