COMPILATION RICHMOND COUNTY—EX-SLAVE INTERVIEWS
FOLK REMEDIES AND SUPERSTITION
Written by:
Louise Oliphant
Federal Writers' Project
Augusta, Georgia
Edited by:
John N. Booth
District Supervisor
Federal Writers' Project
Augusta, Georgia
Belief in charms and conjurs is still prevalent among many of Augusta's older Negroes. Signs and omens also play an important part in their lives, as do remedies and cures handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation.
If a wrestler can get dirt from the head of a fresh grave, sew it up in a sack, and tie it around his waist, no one can throw him.
To make a person leave town, get some dirt out of one of his tracks, sew it up in a sack, and throw it in running water. The person will keep going as long as the water runs.
To take a hair out of a person's head and put it in a live fishes mouth will make the person keep traveling as long as the fish swims.
If someone dies and comes back to worry you, nail some new lumber into your house and you won't be bothered any more.
When the hands of a dead person remain limp, some other member of the family will soon follow him in death.