Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 8, 1897.djvu/27

 Neapolitan Witchcraft. 5

eleison,^' she must mutter: "Crista non eleison." Such a bone was shown me by a witch; it had been purchased for fifty francs from one of the servants of a confraternity. It had belonged to the witch's mother, who was also a witch, and had been stolen from the objects given by her before dying to the priest to be burnt. It must be the left humerus, " the right having been used for giving the benediction."

It is possible to make a lover come in the following manner. At noon precisely take hold of a shutter or door of the room with the left hand, shut it quickly three times, then strike the floor heavily three times with the left foot. This ceremony is repeated three several times ; at the end the shutter is slammed with violence. Each time the door or shutter is shut, say : " Porta, che vai e vieni;'^ then at the last time of all: " Prendilo, Diavolo, e non lo trattieni ; giacche set il Diavolo Zoppo, portami N vivo mortoJ^

To prevent a lover from liking another, stand in front of a wall so that your shadow falls on it; speak to the shadow as if to the lover, saying : " Buona sera, omhricciuola mia,

buona sera a me e buona sera a te ; avanti a N tutte

brutte figure, ed io bella come una luna." In speaking of oneself, touch the breast ; the shadow, in naming the lover ; in saying bella, touch the face ; in mentioning the moon, the wall. Witches undertake to punish the un- faithful. They prepare three cords with knots, a black cord for the head, red for the heart, white for the sexual organs. To cause pain in the head, they take hold of the black cord, gaze at a star, and say : " Stella una,

Stella due, stella tre, stella quattro, io le cervella di N

attacco, gliele attacco tanto forte, che per me possa prendere la morteT This is repeated five times outside the witch's

door. For the heart, say: "Buona sera, buona sera, N

mio, dove e stato? Diavolo da me non e accostato; diavolo, tu questa sera me lo devi chiamare e qui m.e lo devi portareP