• NEWS
  • REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • EVENTS
  • VIDEOS

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from Blues Scene about music & art.

Exclusive: Sarah Rogo Premieres Video for ‘All of These Things Must Die’ From New Concept Album

February 3, 2023

Jefferson Berry Shares His ‘Dreams of Modern Living’

February 2, 2023

Photo Gallery/Review: Buddy Guy 16-Show Residency At His Namesake Legends Club

February 2, 2023

Full Winners List for 2023 International Folk Music Awards

February 2, 2023
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Facebook Twitter Instagram Vimeo
American Blues SceneAmerican Blues Scene
  • NEWS
  • REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • EVENTS
  • VIDEOS
American Blues SceneAmerican Blues Scene
Home»News»The Language of the Blues: GOOFER BAG, GOOFER DUST
News

The Language of the Blues: GOOFER BAG, GOOFER DUST

Debra DeviBy Debra DeviJune 12, 2014Updated:April 10, 20201 Comment4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email VKontakte WhatsApp
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

Here’s the latest installment of our weekly series, The Language of the Blues, in which author/rocker Debra Devi explores the meaning of a word or phrase found in the blues. To learn lots more about what your favorite blues songs really mean, grab a signed copy of Devi’s award-winning book The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to ZuZu (Foreword by Dr. John) at Bluescentric.com. “One of the wittiest, bawdiest, most fascinating dictionaries ever.” (Reuters)

The word goofer comes from the Bantu kufua and the Ki-Kongo kufa. Both mean “to die.” Goofer dust (also known as “goober dust”) is powder made from a mix of graveyard dirt and other ingredients, such as salt and powdered snakeskin. It’s used as a curse to kill or harm someone. A goofer bag is a bag of charms that protects the wearer from such deadly spells.

Goofer dust can be administered by placing it in the path of the intended victim. It can also be sprinkled on the victim’s pillow, around the home, or in his or her clothes. Romeo Nelson sang about how to use goofer dust in “Getting’ Dirty Just Shakin’ that Thing”:

Spread the goofer dust around your bed 
In the morning, find your own self dead

Excerpts from folklorist Harry Middleton Hyatt’s seminal study, Hoodoo-Conjuration-Witchcraft-Rootwork, suggest that although some goofer dust was just ground-up bones and dirt, some was indeed made from poisonous substances. An interview subject from Fayetteville, North Carolina, told Hyatt, “Goofer dust is snake haid, scorpion haid, lizard haid- listen, snake haid dust, scorpion dust, and lizard dust. Dat’s whut yo’ call goofer dust. Yo’ git them things an’ yo’ kill em an’ yo’ cut de haids off an’ yo’ dry that. After yo’ dry that, yo’ powder that up. That’s whut dey call goofer dust.”

Another interviewee, from Waycross, Georgia told Hyatt, “Jest a- yo’ see yo’ git a snake- yo’ can take a rattlesnake an’ dry his haid up, pound it up, an’ den yo’ kin go to work an’ use dat as goofer dust. Kill anybody.”

According to hoodoo expert Catherine Yronwode, goofer dust almost always includes graveyard dirt, powdered sulphur, and salt. Other ingredients may include powdered black cat bones, powdered snakeheads or snakeskin, powdered lizard or scorpion, cayenne or black pepper, powdered insects or snails, and dried powdered herbs.

The Ma Rainey tune “Black Dust Blues” hints at another ingredient- the fine, oily black dust around a blacksmith’s anvil. This song is a classic tale of goofering. In it, Ma Rainey sang that after having quarreled with a woman who accused Rainey of stealing her man, she went out one morning and found black dust all around her door. Rainey began to lose weight and “had trouble with my feet.” By the end she couldn’t even walk:

Black dust in my window, black dust on my porch mat 
Black dust’s got me walking 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 “identical with those of diabetic edema and diabetic neuropathy.” If the person has truly been goofered, though, a medical doctor won’t be able to help. Unless a root doctor intervenes, the person will wind up crawling on all fours howling in pain and death will soon follow.

Pick up a copy of  Language of the Blues

 

Songs:
“Black Dust Blues” – Selma Davis (music), Ma Rainey (lyrics)
“Getting’ Dirty Just Shakin’ that Thing” – Romeo Nelson
“I Don’t Know” – “Cripple” Clarence Lofton

Video:
Ma Rainey – “Black Dust Blues”

Goofer Bag Goofer Dust The Language of the Blues
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email WhatsApp
Previous ArticleLibrary of Congress Selects American Blues Scene for Inclusion into Archive
Next Article Watch Blues Today, Chicago Summit 2014 LIVE & FREE NOW!
Debra Devi
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Debra Devi is a rock musician and the author of the award-winning blues glossary The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu (foreword by Dr. John). www.debradevi.com

Related Posts

Full Winners List for 2023 International Folk Music Awards

February 2, 2023

New Orleans Suspects and Sol Roots Perform at The Hamilton Live

February 1, 2023

Talking Heads’ Jerry Harrison, Adrian Belew Announce Additional 2023 ‘Remain In Light’ Tour Dates

January 31, 2023

IBC 2023 Winners Announced

January 29, 2023

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Advertisment
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Events
  • Videos
  • About

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.