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Forms to be Filled out for Each Interview
FORM A
Circumstances of Interview
STATE New York
NAE OF wORKEn. May Swenson
ADMESS 228 West 22nd St., New York
DATE September 19, 1938
SUb-JEC SOUTHERN Ci.ISTOMS AND SA'ERSTITIONS
1. Date and time of interview
2. Place of interview
September 17, 19ZS
Informant's Home
FOLKLORE
NEW YORE
3. Name and address of informant Mr. O. A. Kirshtien
4 Vest 93rd St., New York City. Apartment 1-
4. Name and address of person, if any, who put you in
toucn with informant.
5. Name and address of person, if any, accompanying you
6. Description of room, house, surroundings, etc.
(Use as many additional sheets as necessary, for any of the forms, each
bearing the proper heading and the number to which the material refers.)
Personal history uf inforwant
STATE
NAME OF v011E!'.
ADD1TSS
BAIT
SUoJECT
1. Ancestry
New York
May Swenson
228 West 22nd St„ New York
6eptamber 19, 1958
SAiTHEaN CUSTOMS AND Soad/SIITIONS
Isorioan
2. Place and date of birtil
3. Family
4. Places lived in, with dates
Now York, Tennessee
5. Education, with dates
few York
6. Occupations and accomplishments, with dates
7. Special skills and interests
8. Community and religious activities
O. Description of informant
10. Other Points gained in interview
FORA C
T(.:xt. of lit erview Fred i ted)
STATE York
NAT: OF WOiJER mey Swenson
ADDRESS 228 'voest 2nd $t., New York City
DATE Sap.Lomber 19, 1933
SUe.JECT SOiTi6EN -USTUAL
FOLKLOPE
YORK
I was horn in hOW York, but spent a ood part of coaldnood in the South;
mother was the gnuad..daughter of a biz; plantation owner. All her folks lived in
Tennessee, and we spent our summers there.
Mother as a youni: woman never used make,..up. She had a beauty 1,reatment of her
own. I remsmuer 8G0i111- her tie some oatmeal in a little muslin Lag, -wet it, and rub
her face with it. When it dried, the oatmeal would leave a barely noticeable coati,n_',-
of powder,
To keep her sk-n white and smooth, she would massage it with fresh cucumber peel
every itch.
There were several primitive but apparently effeotive remedies for illness prac—
tised in my mother's family. awn we °Alaran nad a ooteh, mother would -give us
boiled water that had been sweetened* with a piece of clean oerry bark floating in
it.
It was believed that to prevent fever for a whole iettr, a child should pick the
first three violets he fowid in the sprin_., and eat the. Some of us used to eat
violets all svmmer long, because we got to like the taste of them.'
A recipe for Insomnia, Bruise a handful of anise seeds and steep them in water,
then place in small bags, and bind one beg over eaoh nostril before goingto bed.
There were many superstitions among the Darkies. When you saw a string of
red beads around a Pickaninny's neck, you knew it was being worn to prevent nosebleed.
A strange cure that the Darkies had for headache was to take the revenue staap
from a sack of tobacco and pasta it on the forehead. It advertised the fact that
the Darkey was suffering from headeohe„ and he eteld get a lot of syml?athy anym%7.
Au a cure for mumps I have seen a negro r'.:b the oil from a 3% can of aardines
on his oneeks, and then eat the sardines. The swelling would usually go doves, too.
Probably the -eassa;in helpel.
The Larkies believed that e toothache could be relieved ly taking the "stinger"
froe the tail of o Sttngeray 'ish, and Inserting it into the eavi*ki.
A popular cure for warts, practiced by both blacks and whites, was to ather
as marz, pebbles as :ou had -marts, rub one pebble on each wart, ake then be a cress
roads and throw t'el pebbles over your left shoulder. The warts were supposed to go
with them.
Of course, there was ore always effective way to stop hiccoughs. Just swallow
nine _elps of water while etc it 0: oee foot.
A coemon ne,gro cure for corns was this: Procure ',afore breakfast a white
feather from the left wih„ of a chicken. Seit on it and mark e cross over the
corn. Throw the feather over your shoulder, not looking where it falls. :he wind
will carry the fea1-her away, and the corn with its
There was an irterestine superstition about curing Yellow Jaundice. Led that
reminds me of a story I once heaed about ee
oli eaalle m:se had jaundice eery ALdly.
A nd he sent his wife to find soeething made of pure gold to place against his body.
A piece of gold was supposed to attract the dieease away from the patient and draw
the yellow color out of his skin.
Well, she finally managed to borrow a gold wedding rinc, froll a white lady.
And they let it lie on the sick man's chest for several days. When he got worse
instead of better, his wife toted the ring back to its owner, and reinroachfully
informed her that 'this ring ain't no real pure gold -e your husban' done give yon
a just gold-plate rinte!'
KNIPE'S ORE: Dr. Knipe was a man knomn all over Tennessee fifty years ago
for faaous "cure for rheumatism% he was perport.d to -cure the soul as eell
as the ody", and eave spiriteal sesneee le connection with his medical eonsultations.
Ibr the fee of 1.00, he allowed patients seffarine from reeveetism t: walk barefoot
in t',e dew
els '-ack yard. Tee ear1 moring moist -re n the brass at 2r. Knipe's
place was a euaranteed oure for rheumatie pains.
PEIKLJ leACIORs eatives el South claim that the Perkin Tractor, a
device similar to the divining rod uaed to find weeer, was invented in Czeorge
eashineton's time. Tea iestrument consisted of two metal 1:ers, welch, drawn down—
ward oeer the eodyr of a patient, would indicate the exact location of. 3 disease.
The veecr elueei that an upward movement of th3 tractor weld .11 v
disease t e patient aieht
Id neer to Feel.= SiLZS for a sale, horse traders in reneessue would eiee
a lean horse areenio LI his feed. ihes caused the horse to loat. Wile fat,
he wolf be eola tor a eood fri. iy Ihe Ame the new owner Jot hie :aorae, the
ear -se would have hreeL eeleine or if elle doss was to ctree, nih± collapee and die.
L. a eere for ft istela or. hcreele withers, powdered glass boeeh•:., id a drug
s -tore e7e..1u
poureq the leerse' eeei.
LiID 'OLLeeZ are stall popula i. the So,e14 bele Jaeyea
preventive properties for men subject to leatliT and le..N3 disorders.
STIFF NECKs
wrap a pair of erderdrawers which have been were more than
a° days aroeed the neck.
ST0eaCH ACEEI Swallow a tablespoenful of clea:: i:hite sued.
LE: CelZ.PS:
eefore going to bed, place patient
3 U. the rall so
at the _eels do eoe touch ehe floor.
Cure for la.eTS: lake a chunk of dried said fallen froe a hoof of a nele, and
rub II on uware. it on the ender side of ene chunk, edd then place it on a
eateeee
:ere for nieJkle.: (mouth disease) Eraw nine willow twigs throueh :..ne patient's
mouth one at t time. Tie the twig! in It:bundle and hide them.
Cure for SLEPLL1ZINGa Cut off a pieces of the sleepwalker's nightgown
when you find him walking. He will never walk in his sleep again.
EARACUEs lake a pieoe of cottons soak in it ohloroform and smoke in a
°lay pipes blowing the fumes into the ear of the sufferer.
DEATH TEST: To determine whether or not a sick person will die,
rub his hand with yeast and let a dog sniff of it. If the dog licks the
hands the person will reopver; if the dog refuses to lick his hands he
will die.
SOME LEGRO MESs
Cure for COUGHs Shave the head except for a small souafe patch on top.
Tie the hair tightly with a !string.
SP&SflSt Burn patient's flannel shirts make a broth of the ashes, and use
as medicine.
:EURALGIA: Take a black cord, double it four tines, and wear around the
wrist.
RIUMATISK: Catch a fish, blow breath into its mouths and keep blowing
until the fish is dead*
TV2GRt Tie a piece of ran's wool on R strings swallow iL four times a
day, but keeping hold of the string* When the wool has been used ups the
tumor 'will have disappeered. (There is no virtue :In the wool fran a lady
sheep!)
ST Al E
NAVE OF
DUP. ES.'
VAT E
SUBJECT
KErvi: YORK
Y:OR KEP
FOP.
EN t ra C ofiALc n t
Wy Swenson
228 22nd St., Now York City
September 19, 1938
SOUVMM C7ST'2MS AED SJPiRSTITIaS
FOLKLORE
YE Yor.h.
orxiit tpp. n.6alkin,i: about the customs, traditions aad supr-
sti-tions lie reziezibered from. is boyliood pent in the South particularly
a private collectic.in of soll-e of the c,Asoris 1.: saw
practized.; e ie l.s fte ofpallishin,:: them, ut "never zot
around t poa:::s deliberately, with a deep -voiced, Southern drawl.
i oroi iIii. jloso-oropped grey hair, heavy dark Orows.