#appalachianfolklore

[blogparanormalexpresso2stuff]

[melungeonman13]

Hi! I’ve been reading The Silver Bullet, and although it mentions a group of people in the area called “Melungeon,” it’s been quite vague on who they are as a group and any history on them. I haven’t had much clarity looking online, either. Since your comments on the Backwoods Witchcraft seem to indicate you might be closer to the situation, is there anything you could tell me? Or resources you could point me towards? Thank you!

The Melungeons

I am melungeon so it’s ofcourse one of other reasons of researching this information and my family history so closely. One of the best books on the Melungeons as a people is Melungeons Yesterday and Today by Jean Patterson Bible. It made a big impact in the community in general but especially in Melungeon communities for those of us who have no way of distinguished identity from other mountain folks although our history is different. Another is The Melungeons by Bonnie Ball, who had first hand experience among us in I believe the 60s? Don’t quote me lol

The Melungeons are a group of tri-racial people, consisting of mainly sub-saharan African, European, and Native American.

Our history began with the Spanish expeditions of Juan Pardo, DeSoto, and Lucas de Allyon in the 1500s. Each one brought with them hundreds of Spanish/Portuguese men, women and children, including slaves, mostly from Angola. It was under the de Allyon expedition that the first slave revolt on USA soil occured, with then escaping into the wilderness and likely taking up with the local natives. Each expedition set up forts from the east coast, into and over the Appalachian mountains. Each fort had about 20 men. However, they never returned for them and they were eventually abandoned, with the occupants likely being absorbed into native tribes, especially along the pee see river in the Carolinas. The Portuguese intermixed with the indigenous people and their progeny were the beginning of the people who would later be called Melungeon. Time went by, and in the 1750s it was reported to the NC government that there were “no Indians living in the area” then but that there were “50 families”, a “Mixt crew” living on the pee see river. It was along this same river that the Lumbee tribe settled. The lumbee themselves identified as “malungean” in the 1800s, before Hamilton aided them in getting state recognition under the names cherokee of Robeson county, Croatans of Robeson county, and finally in the 1950s the lumbee of Robeson county. Croatan was a term applied to all of us under the belief that we were the amalgamated remnants of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. At the same time in coastal VA there was a lot of intermixing being black men and white women, who also began moving inland more around 1750, and also some found themselves migrating down to the pee see where they mixed with the folks there before returning across the VA line. From there they followed the clinch river down into the Cumberland valley.

The other Melungeon migration occured straight from the pee dee river, also culminating around 1800. My ancestors left the peedee river and followed its watershed up to the yadkin watershed, which in turn led into the Watauga river. Before Watauga, they settled on grandfather mountain until the white man began encroaching again on them. Thus they left that mountain and found refuge in the ridges along the Watauga river, which is straddles by Elizabethton and Johnson city tn. The area they finally settled became a Melungeon hive, with more than 12 or so families living in those hills, by their own laws. The lived originally in the Watauga valley, when the Watauga settlement was made, but the NC gov set men in to run out the backwater men and their “mongrels.” Thus they headed into the ridge lands, who offered no good land for growing food, or sturdy land for development. And it remains that way today, riddles only with steep gravel drives and dirt roads. My families ancestral fishing spot is just at the foot of the ridge.

Although they spoke English, much like the native tribes, they had no written language or history. Melungeon features were usually described as being long black hair that’s usually wavy but sometimes curly at the roots (like the little baby hairs), usually light colored eyes, high cheek bones, dark skin, etc.

There are many ideas of where we came from, legends we told: shipwrecked Portuguese off the Virginia coast who settled and had children with local natives and eventually moved inward over the mountains; descended from the lost Colony of Roanoke; descended from ancient pheoncians who moved to Spain for a period but then left over seas and made it here (look up the famous Melungeon case); that we’re simply the product of poor whites, runaway slaves, and rogue natives; were the lost tribe of Israel, the list is almost endless. A couple do suggest some Romany connections as well. But the history I gave at the beginning is the most plausible, as earliest records of our ancestors take them to the pee dee river, living among the same families they would, in the future, travel with for 200 years. They practiced mass migration as a form of protection, to avoid one being kidnapped and sold into slavery (read the paper Malungu by Tim Hashaw)

But even our recent history of the past couple hundred years was obscured due to racism and laws put in place, especially the one drop rule, which meant anyone with one drop of negro blood was negro in the eyes of the law and therefore could potentially loose their land, voting rights, right of defense in court, and so on. So they continued to say they were Portuguese or Indian. The attitude towards indigenous folk didn’t lighten up much until after the removal act, after which America experienced a sort of nostalgia for the Indian, and then folks began claiming a Cherokee ancestor who “they wasn’t ashamed of no more.” However, the attitude towards black people didn’t lighten up. Thus many Melungeons, especially during Jim Crow, also followed the bandwagon on this claim for protection, a form of preservation called masking. Other forms were cultural preservation and armed resistance. The former being the preservation of stories, lore, dialect etc. and the second is literally taking up arms against those who step against you. This didnt always work though because into some folks eyes, including the kkk, they were still negros. So they’d move out, sometimes to big cities where no one had ever heard of a Melungeon and they just blended in with the other seas of immigrants, or they’d move some counties over to a less populated place to get whiter over time. This is why so many people profess cherokee heritage here but very little ever find it. Most of the time though it was just a story, and they ain’t Melungeon. It was a cover story. And still to this day some Melungeons will deny the African portion. In “Walking toward the Sunset” Wayne Winkler notes an interview he did with a man of swarthy complexion, likely melungeon, in Hawkins county; he asked, “why do you think they (melungeons) are all moving outwards?” To which he replied, “probably to be closer to the welfare office.”

Likewise there were different marriage taboos among Melungeons. At first (from the 1800s until the early 1900s) a Melungeon wasn’t allowed to marry outside their tribe or clan. So a Melungeon had to marry another Melungeon, which had been the tradition for centuries, instigated first by miscegenation laws in VA and NC, until it became common practice between families who had lived and traveled together for generations, which also resulted in many genetic mutations that are still present today, such as teeth defects, blood disorders, and polydactyl syndrome (born with extra digits on the hands or feet.) They shunned both blacks and whites, even though generations before it’s what made them. However, it applied differently based on gender once the rule was lifted: a Melungeon man could “take up” with a white woman (and there were many reported cases of white women being kidnapped for Melungeon marriage according to Henry Price) or he could wed a black woman. However, a Melungeon woman could only get with a Melungeon man. She couldn’t be with a pale face, at least until the early 1900s, as the Melungeons put out in news articles that they would then allow their woman to wed pale faces and offered land to any pale face who “wasn’t a hobo” to wed one of their Melungeon beauties. Henry price I believe interviewed a woman who was kicked off the ridge and excommunicated from the family for marrying and black man and having kids with him.

However, later generations became more relaxed on this, freely marrying who they wished and was legally able. Sometimes they would be denied a marriage certificate if one party was obviously white, at which point they performed a blood marriage. They would cut their palms and put them together, so then the one party could honestly go and say that it was legal because they had the Melungeon blood in their veins. Later generations essentially assimilated into what was easiest for them: those who could pass for white did so, those that couldn’t assimilated into the black community, and still others were left in the middle. Another complication to this was state officials putting their noses where they don’t belong, like Walter Plecker, the then head of Vital Statistics in VA (basically over birth, death and marriage stuff). He was stubborn in his pursuit to out all the “mongrels” and make sure they died out. He went into peoples files and changed their marked race based on his own judgement. He also ordered the forced sterilization of many Melungeon woman (mind you this was in the 1920-40s!!!). His eugenics beliefs were the ones that inspired the Nazis and Hitler’s eugenics laws. Because of him, some VA tribes today cannot get federal recognition because they have not been classed as indigenous since 1900 (because he changed them to either white or black).

Other scholars also note the vast and varied differences in appearance, even between parent and child. One scholar, can’t remember his name right now, noted going to a melungeon settlement and see white women nursing negro babies, Indian mothers with white children, and negro men with white wives and multiple kids of different color tones. Which we now know is the varied genetics. So the parent could be pale white and then the kid could be born really dark.

So the melungeon traits could skip a family generation entirely. One podcast I listened to recently called Melungeon Voices, had a lady on there and she said she found a picture of an black man in the attic stowed away and she asked her mom about and it and she got real stern and said, that ain’t a black man, that’s your grandfather, go put it back and never touch it again. The mother and daughter in this story Ofcourse look white.

Folk tales and stories regarding the Melungeons are plentiful when coming from the outside, fabricated by the white folks, but rarely from the inside because of so much that has been lost about us, even within our own families because of hiding it. Many folks back in the day knew that they minted illegal coins and trafficked moonshine through the mountains and youd be wise to keep your word with the local melungeons. They’d hide the moonshine off in tree stumps in the woods and folks who was in the know would go by, get a jar or gourd of it, and leave the money behind for it. People said if you didn’t leave any money though, that you’d be struck with an illness no doctor knew of, which based on my research, seems to point to cases of unnatural illness. Which is why in many old stories it’ll mention being out of melungeon territory before night so you don’t get caught. Melungeons were always associated with witchcraft. My fifth great grandmother was a melungeon named Peggy Buck Clawson in Wilkes/Washington County N.C.. Today they still tell folk stories about her living in the woods cause she had a baby out of wed lock and was having trouble taking care of it. Soon her milk went dry and the baby was starving so she conjured up the devil at whats now known as the “Peggy Hole.” She made a deal with the devil but he basically fucked her over. The baby grew sharp teeth and ate half her face off. After that she learned herself to witch and change into animals so she could hunt for food. One story says that a deer came to the water hole and she drowned it by grabbing its horns and holding its head under the water.

However a family story I found says that she went to a baptist church (but that don’t make a difference with the witch thing obviously lol) and she stopped at the water hole and a bear was in the water so she got into a canoe that was there, paddled over and drowned the bear using the oar. Then she went to church. The same story also says that she was real abusive to her husband and son as well.

Now just like Appalachian folk magic in general, storyteller and authors have continuously just over looked in or when they spoke of it, it was only in passing. This is why the information is scattered throughout a many number of books on different subjects from old medical books of the day to old story books like the a Silver Bullet. Many folks wouldn’t even mess with the melungeons in person let a lot through spiritual ware fare. Which, in my life, I’ve seen to be true. Growing up we lived in a bad neighborhood which I guess you would call the “hood.” Across the parking lot was a Mexican family, which I won’t name for privacy reasons, who were well known for stuff like gangs, drugs etc. Real nice family though, they always stuck together; but because they’re known to be so dangerous, whenever they’re in town the police are notified. Anytime the cops were called out there while they were in town, the police never showed and if they did it was about an hour later. Mama would always help the with law issues and stuff and drawing more customers, to the point that she was questioned about a murder. Some guy was up there partying with them one night and got too drunk and decided to flash himself to someone else’s girlfriend and got stabbed.

Even beyond all this, none of them would step into our house because of the “juju.” Other neighbors however (the really white ones) didn’t like us cause we were “liars and theives” without having ever spoken to us to begin with. Knowing more about the melungeon issues now, I see that it was the same ignorance that drove our ancestors from the ridges to other counties.

To sum it all up, we’re basically Mountain Creoles lol

For more regarding the Melungeon people as they were portrayed in many ways storywise, I’d recommend “How They Shine: Melungeon Characters in the Fiction of Appalachia” by Kathrine Brake.

I know I rambled a lot but I hope this somewhat answers your question lol

#melungeon #appalachianfolkmagic #appalachianfolklore #conjureman #thesilverbullet

[qldqueerboy]

It is easy to judge others for wasting time today until you look at what you have been doing. You might blame it on a need to be reclusive and away from the hustle and bustle of weekend activities but in your heart of hearts you know it’s nothing but an excuse. Don’t allow yourself to wallow too long in self-incrimination but instead be at peace that you know longer need to be responsible for taking the initiative in coordinating what goes on today. 🥃🎉🎊🍷🎈🥃 #conjurecards #backwoodswitchcraft #doctoringthedevil #appalachianfolklore #appalachianfolkmagic #appalachianplayingcards

#Conjure Cards #Appalachian Playing Cards #Appalachian Folk Magic #playing card reading #playing card reader #divination #message for the collective #gay witch

[melungeonman13]

A photo of my 3rd great uncle Charles Tipton. He was arrested in Unicoi county for distilling moonshine illegally.

Add that to the pile of family members who’ve spent a night in jail lol

#appalachianfolkmagic #appalachianfolkmedicine #conjureman #appalachia #appalachianfolklore #appalachiancharm #backwoodswitchcraft #old buck #moonshine #whitelightning #pantherpiss

[melungeonman13]

So... I briefly saw you mention quilt blocks on replies to a post by witchy-woman a long while ago (her post was about resources for Appalachian Folk Magic) which led me to your book, which I just got done reading. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share any information you have on quilting/sewing folklore/magic works? I know of quite a few of the general superstitions (never start on Friday or it won't be finished and the like) but would love to hear if there's more out there. Thank you!

Lord! There’s a bunch of those I heard growing up. It’s bad luck to break a sewing needle and if you do you should drive it into the head of the door facing, needle pointing out to avert the ill fortune.

If you sew on Ascension day “you’ll sew for the dead” before the year is out, meaning someone in the family will die.

You shouldn’t change the bedding or quilting on the bed a child was born on or the mother will get sick and won’t recover.

Anything sewn should contain one imperfection so it’ll last a good long while. This one may explain the weird, highly apparent knots on some old quilts and blankets. That was a lot of fabric to put to use at the time and it wasn’t common to come by so they had to use them for a long while. I have two blankets that have been passed down the family and one is over 100 years old.

That’s all I can really remember off the top of my head about quilts. For sewing, I know it’s bad to sew between old Christmas and new Christmas or during Holy Week of Easter, your threads will knot and break all year long. That one is true as far as I’ve seen!

A folded Hankie in the pocket brings bad luck.

Old women use to cross the ties of their aprons to stop things whether it was to stop a gun from firing right, stop a person from coming over, or even to stop a strange dog from pooping on the lawn.

If your drop a dishrag it means company is coming. If it’s spread out, it’s a woman; if it’s twisted it’ll be a man. To stop them from coming over, shake the rag beneath the kitchen table while facing east and reciting the Lord’s Prayer, ending by telling that person to not come.

#appalachianfolkmagic #appalachianfolklore #appalachia #drhenny #conjureman #backwoodswitchcraft #witchcraft #appalachianfolkmedicine #appalachiancharm

[melungeonman13]

I don’t usually add teeth to my apple head doll babies, but this one looks good with ‘em! Now just to dress it up all nice like lol

Btw: I give my method to makes these in my book, Backwoods Witchcraft: Conjure & Folk Magic from Appalachia!!

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Backwoods-Witchcraft-Conjure-Magic-Appalachia/dp/1578636531/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538750293&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=backwoods+witchcraft&dpPl=1&dpID=510Ysg3b1VL&ref=plSrch

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07HY4N3DF/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1538750293&sr=8-1

#appalachianfolkmagic #conjureman #drhenny #appalachianfolklore #appalachia #backwoodswitchcraft #witchcraft #appalachianfolkmedicine #appalachiancharm #appleheaddoll

[melungeonman13]

Handsome doll baby from the last batch of apple heads. He’s a mountaineer! Felt hat, cornsilk hair, a good thirst for some ‘shine!

I do offer these in my conjure services, btw, on my website. Link in bio. I can do them either as simple folk art, or in the image of a person.

#appalachianfolkmagic #appalachia #appalachianfolklore #backwoodswitchcraft #witchcraft #appalachianfolkmedicine #appalachiancharm #conjureman #drhenny #blueridge #old buck

[melungeonman13]

Old Appalachian Superstitions part III

• A sick person shouldn’t cut their nails or they won’t get well till they grow out again. (KY, VA)

• It brings bad luck to wear rings on both middle fingers. (KY)

• Three rings of smoke from a chimney foretell secrets kept. (TN, VA)

• If you plant a willow tree yourself, you will die when it’s big enough to shade your grave. Many old folks would hire other people who didn’t know this to plant it for them. (Many regions)

• So a kitten will never runaway and get lost, toss a blanket over it and let it finds its way out. This is supposed to able it to finds its way home should the need arise. (TN)

• Take a rock from a spring you have never been to before and carry it with you always. The first man/woman you cross water with afterwards is said to be your future spouse! (TN)

• Sleep over a piece of someone’s wedding cake to dream of your future spouse. (TN, VA)

• Never measure yourself or a member of the family will die. (KY, TN, NC, VA)

• If you comb your hair at night, you’ll dream of the devil. (KY)

• If two people comb each other’s hair at the same time, the mother of the youngest will die. (KY)

#appalachianfolkmagic #appalachianfolklore #appalachianfolkmedicine #appalachiancharm #drhenny #backwoodswitchcraft #conjureman #appalachia #witchcraft #hoodoo

[melungeonman13]

Taking Orders!

All orders will be shipped out today. I’m starting new orders for powders, salts, poke bags, and oils this week. So better get in line, cause some things are going FAST like my Walking Tall oil, House of Spirits oil, and the Black Cat oil, of which there is limited quantity until next spring!!!! I only ship inside USA.

http://littlechicagoconjure.weebly.com/charms-and-roots-for-man-and-beast.html

#appalachianfolkmagic #drhenny #appalachia #conjureman #appalachianfolklore #backwoodswitchcraft #witchcraft #appalachianfolkmedicine #appalachiancharm

[melungeonman13]

Old Appalachian Superstitions part I

Babies should be weaned from milk when the sign is down the legs and feet. (When the moon is in pisces). If it is weaned when the sign is in the heart (Leo) it will cry and roar all the time. The babes nightgown should also be put on backwards when weaning. (East TN)

To cure an illness, pass under and over the donkey nine times then feet a donkey a lock of hair from your crown with an apple. (KY, VA, TN)

To cure whooping cough in a baby, take them out and have them breathe the breath of horse. (East TN, NC)

To keep away convulsions or fits, weary peony roots stung into a necklace. (VA, TN)

Dove feather keep evil away as the dove is the only animal the Devil can’t change into. (East TN)

Throw back the first fish you catch, and you’ll be lucky in fishing all day. (TN)

If you count the number of fish you catch, you won’t catch anymore. (TN)

The first water a new mother carries must be water in a thimble so the baby doesn’t slobber a lot. She also shouldn’t cross running water until the babe is a month old or she will invite bad luck in. (TN, NC)

For every death, there is a birth. And they all come in threes. (East TN)

Children born blue or with a veil over their face have the Sight. (They can see spirits)

Wet a baby’s hair everyday for nine days and curl it, they’ll have curly hair all their life.

#appalachianfolkmagic #appalachia #appalachianfolklore #backwoodswitchcraft #drhenny #appalachianfolkmedicine #appalachiancharm #conjureman #witchcraft #hoodoo

[melungeonman13]

Old Appalachian Superstitions part II

Never cut a baby’s nails before it’s a year old or they’ll grow up to steal. Bite them off. (My family is absolutely insistent on this one. All of us had it done).

To ease a toothache, drink water from a cobalt blue glass. (Unicoi, TN)

Whisper the name of a deceased friend or relative into the mouth of a cave with your message, and your prayers will be carried to them. (Mars Hill, NC)

Expectant fathers should carry mugwort in their pocket to help ease the mother’s delivery (Erwin, TN)

To say anything bad about artists, writers, or musicians while walking through a Jonesborough will call criminals to your home. (Jonesborough, TN)

If there’s a knock at the door and no one’s there, don’t open the door, it’s the devil. (East TN)

Rub an apple on a newborns tongue so they will have a sweet singing voice. (VA, TN)

Killing a cricket invites bad luck. (NC)

Go out the same door you came in to avert bad luck (East TN)

To cure fits in children, turn their shirt inside out and burn it. (TN, NC, VA)

If someone lies down on a table, they’ll die within a year. (NC)

To prevent mares from miscarrying, put a black donkey in the same pasture. (VA)

If an unnamed baby gets sick, give it a name and it will get better (TN, NC)

#appalachianfolkmagic #appalachia #appalachianfolklore #backwoodswitchcraft #drhenny #appalachianfolkmedicine #conjureman #appalachiancharm #witchcraft #hoodoo

[melungeonman13]

Damn right

#drhenny #backwoodswitchcraft #appalachianfolkmagic #appalachianfolklore

[melungeonman13]

Attention!!!!

I know you’ve all been patiently waiting, as I have, for a sneak peek at the book.

I’m pleased to announce the cover for Backwoods Witchcraft: Conjure and Folk Magic from Appalachia!!!!

(New subtitle too)

Coming Spring 2019

#appalachianfolkmagic #appalachianfolklore #appalachianfolkmedicine #conjureman #drhenny #backwoodswitchcraft

[melungeonman13]

New blog post on superstition and it’s place in our lives as Appalachians!!!

https://littlechicagoconjure13.wordpress.com/2018/08/22/damn-near-mad/

Damn Near Mad

#appalachianfolkmagic #appalachianfolklore #appalachianfolkmedicine #appalachiancharm #appalachia #drhenny #backwoodswitchcraft #conjureman #witchcraft #hoodoo

[melungeonman13]

Welcome to the Witch’s nursery 😜

#appalachianfolkmagic #drhenny #appalachianfolklore #mybabies #dollbabies #likemymamataughtme #backwoodswitchcraft

[melungeonman13]

Thank You

Just sent over the completed manuscript for “Backwoods Witchcraft” to the good folks at Red Wheel / Weiser Books. I can’t believe I’ve actually done it, y’all.

This book has done more for me than I believe it will do for anyone else who reads it. I spent countless nights just standing outside staring at the mountains until I watched the sunrise, doubting my ability to complete it. I stood in the rain barefooted and dug my toes into the red clay trying to remember the creek pebbles between my toes when I was young and on the mountain. I made biscuits from scratch in the middle of the night just to remember the way the flour covers everything and the dough clings to your finger. I read my Papaw’s bible just for the hell of it and found my fingers unconsciously running across the creased circular imperfections caused by tears with no memory or tale to them. I listened to gospel music I remembered my Nana singing and playing on the piano.

This book has been hell and heaven. Since starting it, I’ve had Ancestors who I’ve never met come to me in dreams giving me formulas, half of which are still incomplete because I woke up.

I was made to relive my entire life in these hills, placed back under the weight of all the struggles I’ve ever had on my back. In contrast it also led me down roads and paths that made no sense until I got to the end of the book.

As I also explain in the last chapter, these meaningless things came back to me from my childhood. Memories of simple tasks like making biscuits with Mamaw Hopson, fishing with my father, going to Gatlingburg when I was young; remembering the hurdles my mother had to go through to support and raise two kids on her own, my Papaw calling me peanut and his prickly beard when he kissed my cheek. I remembered every funeral, every birth, each reunion with the living and the dead. I remembered every scared moment and every joyous one.

I was brought back to the core of it all: the spirit of Appalachia. It’s not in the mountains or trees or creeks. It runs in our blood and runs it’s nails along our bones, it keeps our heads up even in our lowest point, and urges us to all to believe in something more. That’s what fuels this magic and healing. Not charms and prayers and scriptures. None of the memories I was reminded of had anything to do with curing, charming, or anything relevant to my writing. Because that’s not the core of this work. We are. I needed to remember that so this same spirit could go on with the book and tell its own story in its own words.

I’m not sure how to end this besides a heartfelt thank you. Not to anyone in particular, because there’s too many in too many worlds and times to thank.

So thank you. +++

#appalachianfolkmagic #backwoodswitchcraft #conjureman #appalachia #drhenny #appalachianfolklore #weiser books #author #Imsoborednow #appalachiancharm #letustellourstory