Subject:Quincunx
Entries
Entry 2576
Take some salt, a little pinch of salt, an' a drop of turpentine an' put it in each corner of de house an' put a drop of turpentine right in de middle of de flo'. [This of course is a quincunx - here a magic one.] Dat Will make de house lucky fo' yo' for anything yo' wanta do mos'. (If you want to sell anything?) Yes. [For quincunx, see No. 2550, p.704.]
Entry 3502
Ah know dat chew kin take a rag when yo' have intahco'se wit 'em, an ulpe 'im an' bring it towards yo', an' tie it up an' put it in de middle of yore bed undah de mattress, an' dey can't go wit nobody else but chew. (What do you mean by bringing the rag toward you?) Yo' wipe it, his thing, towards yo' an' den ball it up dght in a hard knot, an' den put it in de middle of de mattress up undah de bed, an' he can't go wit nobody else. [The middle of the mattress and its 4 corners are the 5 points of a quincunx, see p.710 and many places in HOODOO.]
Entry 4601
She kin take dat bow an' she kin run yuh crazy wit it, or eithah make yuh love 'er. She kin take dat bow an' go uptown an' git 'er a bottle of Black Heart Cologne [this may be only time mentioned] an' she takes it an' drops about nine drops on dat, an' take it an' place it undah de middle of 'er bed [making a quincunx], right on de springs. Well, yuh have tuh stay dere. Yuh can't go nowhere. Yuh have tuh stay right dere. [This is merely Hearts Cologne with a black heart on the label, stamped solid black or hand drawn with a single line; not a heart-shaped bottle of black glass. The term is rare.]
Entry 4732
Well, jis' lak yuh would have a lady fren' - yuh undahstan' whut ah mean. She would ran off from yuh, but she'd be in de neighbahhood in de town some place - yuh know whut ah mean. Well, if it wuz possible yuh could git a pa'r of 'er step-ins - yuh undahstan' whut ah mean. Well, yuh would take dose step-ins an' yuh take intuh de laig, well about dat fur. Yuh take yore razor blade or knife an' yuh cut a hole roun' intuh it. Yuh would take 'cordin' tuh how many sills undah de house, maybe it be three or maybe it be five or six. Anyway it would be, yuh would have tuh put it in de centah of dat house. Undah- stan' whut ah mean. Well, yuh would bury dat, well dey say about six inches. Well, yo'd go tuh any hardware place an' git chew one dose ole nickel [5 cents!] files, an' right in de centah of de file - dose nickel files whut chew use tuh file de knife wit. Git one dose nickel files. Ah guess it would be 'bout dat long. Well, in bearin' [buryin'] dat, it gotta be in de centah of dat hole yuh dug wit dat. Drive it down an' leave jis' about dat much on top, an' in de run of 13 days, if she's livin' an' could walk, she come back.
(You just peg this file down with this piece of round cloth from her step-in?)
Dat's right.
(And you bury it under the center of the house?)
Right undah de centah of de house. In de run of thirteen days, ah guarantee yuh, she'll return.
Entry 4852
Jes' lak yuh in love wit a fellah an' yuh can't - yuh wan's 'im an' yuh can't git 'im lak yuh wan' 'im. All right, if yuh kin git a chance tuh wash fo' him, yuh take dose pieces dat he wear, his un- dah pieces an' all dat chew kin git tuh, an' put it tuh soak ovah night. Nex' mawnin' when yuh git up, yuh wash dem pieces out wit'out any soap. Rub 'em. git all dirt dat yuh kin out of dem. Den yuh take an' take de drainin's - turn it [pan or tub] on one side an' drain it [water] off. Take de drainin's of dat dirt come outa his clothes an' stop it up in a bottle. An' put it right undah de centah of yore bed undah de house - bury it dere. Turn it bottom upward, an' put it undah de centah, an' covah it up an' make yore wishes. Den he be comin' dere - he be yores. He come tuh be yores. From time tuh time he keep acomin'.
Entry 5005
(What do you do with those nine tacks?)
[I ask about 9 tacks informant mentioned while recording machine turned off.]
Well, yuh take a sock, one of a man's dirty socks, an' yuh nail it down anl put nine tacks in it - nine bran'-new tacks. An' dat keeps 'im tuh yuh.
(Do you put those nails or tacks in there in any particu- lar way?)
No, yuh jis', yuh raise de mattin' up [demonstrates]. (You raise the matting up. Oh, the diagonal of the floor.) [See comment later.] Put it on de flo' an' put dem tacks - nine tacks in it. Put dat mattin' back ovah it.
(I see. Either one of his socks?)
Either one.
(I see. And what will that do to him, then?)
Dat will keep 'im fo' yuh an' nobody else. [The preceding word matting my transcriber could not understand the first time, leaving the space blank. The second and third times she concluded that informant meant mattress. Mattress in front of the door! Later when I checked original recording on cylinder, I penciled in the correct word matting for the first blank space and for the second, mattress. The first mattress I temporarily eliminated by lightly penciling out the first sentence of my comment, which I considered a confusing repetition of informant's words. This is the reason why the second matting, the one in my comment, now appears inked in. Only 30 years later (Sept.1971) do I realize that informant was demonstrating and that I should have given a better description of the demonstration. We have here a small mat or matting, of straw or similar material, formerly used in summertime in front of door or bed. I saw many of them during my boyhood. Informant folds back one corner of the mat - my word diagonal shows this - laid the sock along the diag- onal of the fold, tacked down the sock, and let the fold return to the floor. Here again we have the magic quincunx so frequently mentioned in HooDoO. An examination of this page in the original manuscript will substantiate my explan- ation of the rite.]
Entry 5006
Jis' lak a man's sock or sompin, when yuh wanta break 'em up or sompin, or yuh wanta run 'em away, yuh bury it. Yuh jis' take it, jis' lak it's yore ole man or sompin an' yuh wanta git rid of 'im. Yuh kin run 'im away wit 'is sock, or: if yuh wanted tuh keep 'im, yuh kin keep 'im wit chure sock. (How would you run him away with the sock?) Well, yuh take his sock an' yuh wrap 'is sock up in sulphur, lodestone an' bluestone, an' yuh bury dat sock an' yuh put three rusty nails aroun' dat sock an' two pegs, an' yuh'll soon git rid of'em.
(How do you put those two pegs?)
Take de sock an' yuh bury his sock wit dat stuff in it. An' yuh take two rusty nails an' yuh put two on each side of de sock - one on dis side an' one on dat side. P An' put one in de middle of it, an' yuh put de pegs behin' it [like this N N N ]. What are those pegs supposed to do?) Ah dunno. [They symbolize the headboard and footboard of a grave. The design is a cross mark on the grave. She has crossed him.]
Entry 7315
(Have you ever heard of them going out to the graveyard and getting some of -that dirt out there?) I've heard of people usin' graveyard soil, but ah nevah used any in mah life - no.
(Well, what do they say they do with that?)
Ah've heard dey say dey take it an' have diff'ren' cases lak yo' might kill a man an' he's buried dere an' yo' wanta try to help yoreself. Why yo' take nine thimbles of dat graveyard soil from dat grave, but yo' stand off from de grave. [You] stands off an' wit de index fingah [he means little finger] an' your thumb - undahstand, stands off an', as yo' stands off, yo' measure dose spans in equal parts. Dere yo' are. An' yo' take a brass thimble an' take up nine thimblefuls of dat graveyard soil in yore hand, an' dat'll help yo' in de court.
(I see. When you have killed the man. If you have killed a man.)
[My second statement tries to soften the first.]
Say, if yo' killed one - yo' know, anyone, not only - not de person dat kilt de man kin do dat, but ah mean anyone else dat do dat fur 'em, yo' know, what git to de graveyard where de fellah is buried dere. (But YOU MEAN THE FELLOW THAT KILLED THE MAN MUST BE UP IN COURT AND SOMEBODY MUST DO THAT FOR HIM?) Oh, sure, yeah! (Well now, how did you measure that off? I didn't quite understand how he did that.) Measure it off wit yore hand - de index an' de thumb here.
(WHERE DO YOU BEGIN NOW ON THE GRAVE?)
Right at de head of de grave. Dere yo' are.
(In the head of the grave.)
Down to de feet dere. (FROM THE THUMB TO YOUR INDEX FINGER.) [Only later did I realize informant Was calling the little finger the index finger. HE WAS USING THE COMMON SPAN = 9 INCHES. HE WAS HORSE-MEASURING THE GRAVE!] Dere yo' are.
(And you do this way - keep measuring off nine.)
[I solved a number of unusual problems as they arose at the interview table, but this one I missed completely! My keep measuring off nine means informant kept measuring off the distance between his spread-out thumb and index finger! I thought he was measuring them in groups of nine! I did not know that he was try- ing to locate the center of the grave. That comes later. The diagonal lines connecting the 4 corners of the grave - easily drawn with a stick or by crossing 2 long sticks would have given the center. THAT WORD SPAN WAS THE CLUE. BUT IT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME THAT ANYONE WOULD HAVE HORSE-MEASURED A GRAVE. WHY NOT STEP IT OFF, SIGNIFYING THAT MURDERER OR HIS SUBSTITUTE HAD THE VICTIM UNDER HIS FEET? PERHAPS SOME OTHER SYMBOL OF MAGIC IS INDICATED HERE.1 Nine. Measure off till yo' measure off to de end of de grave. Dere yo' are.
(Oh! To the end of the grave.)
Den yo' divide dose spans - keep count of dose spans. Was it ten, was it five an' a part, was it nine, or was it four an' a half? Yo' understand, huh? Den yo' take an' measure dat grave in de middle section [measure width]. An' den yo' take up - dig a little hole [in] dat [center] an' take dose nine thimbleful of dat graveyard soil.
(In Other WOrds, YOU MEASURE THIS GRAVE TO GET THE EXACT CENTER?)
Dere yo' are.
(I see, I understand. That's what they do to get the fellow off in court.)
Entry 7646
Git some dirt. See, de grave is settin' dere lak dis. Well, yo' go right in de centah of dat grave an' run yore han' dat way an' git some of dat. An' carry it off an' put it on dey po'ch an' sprinkle it in dey yard.
(And the man will stay home.) [Wilson, N. Car. (1514), 2681:7.]
Entry 7666
If yo' want a person, tuh drive 'em away, yo' take de graveyard dirt. Take an' go tuh de centah of de graveyard an' git de graveyard dirt. If yo' wan'a person tuh drive 'em away, yo' name dem in de han's of God. Crawl halfway de dis- tance up undah de house. Bring de dirt tuh de front of de house an' cast it onto de front of de house. An' whatevah way dat chew go, yo' carry it right 'long wit chew an' name it as yo' go. An' de person will go de same distance. Dey will go, dey cain't stay.
(You carry that dirt and you scatter it as you go.)
Scattah it as yo' walk. Sow it jes' lak a person would sow oats.
(You crawl under the house first?)
Go undah de side of de house an' don't look back; jes' keep right on plowin' [crawling under housel, don' look back not atall.
(You crawl under the side of the house to the center?)
To de centah.
(And from the center where do you crawl?)
To de front, right on out tuh de front; right on out tuh de front, an' jes' keep right on. But don' look back.
Entry 8191
Take his photograph an' turn it on it's face an' dat will bring 'im back tuh yuh. Yo' know, if anyone is gone from yuh, husban' or people lak dat, friends. Dey gone an' yo' don' know where. Say turn it on de face. Turn dat pichure on de face an' keep it in de middle of yure baid mattress, don' chew undahstan'. An' dey say dat'll bring 'im back home tuh yuh.
Entry 8779
Jis' lak if yer girl is away an' she's in de same town yo're in; but if she's outa de town, why ah don't know way [whether] it'll work or not. But yuh kin jis' take a glass of watah. Yo' puts de glass full of watah, jis' as full as yuh kin tote [carry] it, an' set it undah de baid, middle-way de baid, in de centah of de baid, an' call 'uh [her] name three times; an' in three days dey'll be dey [there].
Entry 8821
Burn it in de centah - jes' take yo' a match an' burn it, burn a little hole in de centah [of letter]. Burn on de fo' cornahs an' den mail it any place. An' dat's bad luck tuh yo'. [This creates the 5 points of a quincunx.] (That is, this letter that you received from this person?) Dat's right. Dey don't have tuh send it back tuh yo'. It's bad luck tuh dis man at any place. It kin go back tuh de dead lettah office. It's bad luck tuh yo' [the writer].
Entry 8904
If a person stole a.thing from yo' an' yo' wanta find out if it's dem dat did it, yo' gotta git chew some coffee grinds [grounds] aftah de coffee's [coffee has] been made. Git dose coffee grinds. An' den yo' take some coffee grinds an' let dem set outdo's [outdoors]. Don't leave dem in de house, yo' let 'em set outdo's. An' den yo' will git chew a bottle of turpentine. Now, dey done stole it an' yo' wanta find out de fak' [fact]. An' den, when yo' git some turpentine an' dose coffee grinds - an' den yo' take dat eggshell an' brown hit an' put it in dere. An' den yo' take dat eggshell - aftah yo' take dat egg- shell. An' yo' make yore wish while yo' fixin' it up. Yo' make yore wish while yo' fix it up an' den yo' take dis eggshell. An' den yo' take an' beat up some garlic an' brown dat garlic. Yo' gotta brown evahthin' yo' use. An' den yo' take, if yo' have an idea who got it - if somebody tell yo' dese people got it an' yo' know where dey live at...
(If you have an idea who did, what do you do with it then?)
Take it tuh dere do' an' bury it right up undah de centah of dere do', right up undah de centah of dere house eithah much [if you prefer]. [Center of house makes this a quincunx rite.] An' if dey got it dey'll bring it back. Dey'll bring it back.
Entry 9170
Well, now you go in at your house where you stay, and you make your wife wash all her dishes. She wash all her dishes and leave the dishwater right in the middle of the floor [latter a quincunx rite]. You upset all your house, especially the room you sleep in [this is unusual]. You take your chairs and you pile 'em all up in the bed [another rare device]. You take the judge, the district attorney and the parties that will accuse you [hos- tile witnesses]. You gets their names. You carry it back of your house and you bury it. And where you bury it. You bury it up there in a corner where nobody don't walk over it. Say, like I'm going to court this morning, you do that. Keep all - have all the house, like you got the truck [odds and ends] in the bed, you put the chairs on top of it. When you go there, you sit down 'fore the judge and the judge going to ask you if you are guilty or not guilty. You say, "Not guilty." But just say it for [to] yourself. Say, "Well, I ain't got anything to say. I know I'm not guilty." The judge is liable to turn around and twist, you know. Well, you got his name and the district attorney name down so deep in there [in the ground at home] that they can't - and your house all upsetted, they got their mind all upSetted, yOU See. THE WAY YOU GOT YOUR HOUSE, THAT'S THE WAY THEIR MIND IS. They can't say, "Guilty." They can't say, "You're guilty." Well, you see, when their mind gets all messed up, when he look at you, he say, "Aw, discharge this fellah until furthah notice." When they say, "Until further notice, " you are absolutely discharged, you don't have to go no -more. They say that's to blind the court.
Entry 9185
Take a black hen aig an' write his name all ovah dat aig, an' place it right in de cellah where dey bed's at, up undah de house, an' dey goin' move out dere de nex' day- dey might move out dat night.
Entry 9216
Jes' take de aig right aftah she lay, an' gits de drop on [take an unexpected advantage of] de person an' count three times. Well, yo' say, one - two - when yo' say three de aig's done left yore han' an' hit right in de centah of dey do'. It hit right in de centah of dey do' an' drap down dere. Well, dey gone.
(What kinf of an egg do you use?)
A black hen. Yo' cain't use no othah chicken but a black hen. She's gotta be black an' not have a white spot about 'er.
Entry 9354
[This rite and the two following ones come from Vicksburg, Miss. These three informants bear informant numbers 734, 736 and 738. Three consecutive informants telling the same story is not a chance occurrence, one of them having given the material to the other two. Two persons occasionally did this, especially man and wife, sisters or brothers, but the present three are probably my only example. May I add that this sort of thing never happened among professional informants.] If yo' got a wife an' ah wants tuh separate yo'all... (If I have a wife and you want to separate me.)...an' wants to separate chew, see. Ah don't have tuh take an' go tuh work an' git no lodestone or nuthin tuh separate chuh. Ah come tuh yuh house an' sit down dere an' talk wit chuh. Ah have a rotten aig in mah pocket. Ah'll git tuh yuh baid an' ah'll slip it in yuh baid, right where yo' lay. Ah'll slip it in de middle of yuh baid. Yo' go tuh baid at night, yo'all. Yo' an' 'er may lay down dere laughin' an' talkin' an' playin'. See, good humored wit one anothah, but whenevah yo' turn ovah on dat aig an' bust dat aig, yo' see, it'll fill de baid wit scent. Right dere where's it's goin' tuh start de devil in yuh house, yo' see. De minute dat chew ketch dat scent, yo' gon'a wanta know from dat wo- man whut de heck. What kinda scent dis in heah. See. "Yo' done had some man in dis baid." See. Well, right dere where's be a fussin' an' fightin'. Yo' goin' tuh jump up an' beat dat woman right away from dere. Well, yo' see, dat woman ain't comin' back 'cuz yo' beat 'er up, accuse 'er fo' nuthin.
(I see.)
Entry 9398
Ah hear'd dat chew could take a ole black, coal-black hen an' take three of her aigs. Co'se, ah've hear'd it diff'ren' ways, but dis is de way ah hear'd it. An' take [the] three [eggs] an' run through de [your] house an' [reach- ing the outside] chunk de whole three aigs back 'cross de house. An' go back [go to other side of house where eggs fell] an' de one of dose aigs dat doesn't bust, yo' take it. An' take it right [back into the house] in de middle of de house an' drop it, an' let it bust right in de flo' where dat stain will be dere. [Breaking the egg in center of house establishes the fifth point, making this a quincunx rite.] An' if someone Wanted tuh git yuh some way, yore nex'-do' neighbahs [for example] or somepin; Wanted yuh tuh git out or wanted tuh move yuh, couldn't anything harm yo'. (You run through your own house and you throw these eggs. How do you throw. them now?) Yo' jis' run through de house an' when yo' hit de ground [reach outside] yo' throw all three of 'em 'cross de.house. An' dere's one ole lady used tuh...
[I interrupt.]
(Oh, you run through your house and throw those eggs over your house. Then you go to the other side and the egg that doesn't burst...
[Informant interrupts me.]
Dat doesn't bust, why yo' take it in de house an' drop it right in [on] de flo' an' let it bust, where de stain will be in de flo'.
Entry 9467
An' den, dey says, yo' kin take some table salt an' put it in a piece of new homespun. An' yo' kin put - open up yore mattress an' put it right in de centah of yore mattress. An' sew dat mat- tress back up on it an' let 'im lay on dat salt bag. Say. An' yo' talk tuh dat salt fo' nine mawnin's an tell it whut chew wan' it tuh do. Jis' PAT IT [new-homespun bag containing salt] an' den make a cross-mahk across it, yo' see. An' dey says he'll always stick tuh yo' lak dat.
(You just tell that salt anything you want done with that man?)
Wit dat'man. Make a cross-mahk across it. (You only talk to that salt while you are putting it in there, you don't talk to it each morning?) Yo' talk tuh it each mawnin', yo' make a cross-mahk each mawnin'. [This may be the only patting rite in H00DOO.]
Entry 9805
You take the [2] needles. You take a needle and you turn it one way; one east and one north. [These ] needles are crossed, one pointing east, the other north.1 And now that [was in the] bedroom, what you left in there. You [can] take the pins and put 'em in your bedroom just thataway [the same way] you see. [For crossing 2 nee- dles or 2 pins in bedroom, see rite following this one.] (I see. Now wait a minute. You cross two needles according to the direc- tions [you gave]. You cross each like that [I demonstrate]. Then you get four new pins, and you by a [something] make another cross?) Yes, make another cross.
(All right. With those [4 new] pins. Then what do you do?)
Then you take it and you take a stocking and you put it between the stocking.
(Any piece of clothes or any kind of...?)
Yeah, any kind of clothing. I just take a stocking for a parable = [example] but any kind piece of clothes - to be sure to put it right in the middle. And then you fold it. Fold it up and you go bury it right in the middle of their house - up under the house. [This ''middle of the house is the well-known 5th point, the center of 4 other points, creating a quincunx, many examples of which have been given in HOODOO, see margin title QUINCUNX, p.710, v.1, and elsewhere.] Gotta get up under the house and bury that. And they be crossed up.
(That crosses them up.)
Entry 10163
You kin make a table [altar] with that [rite] you see. You understand, that's if it's something that choo want, well you kin make a table with that. You kin, that is, if it's for you to make a sacrifice, something that you want. Well, git choo three candles, you put the picture - you fold the picture up you under- stand.
(This picture of the Lord?)
This picture of the Lord. That's right.
(On the table?)
On the table. That's right. An' then you make it like a rainbow [a semi- circle]. You put one candle - you git three candles. You make [place] one right here, an' one right around here, an' let it [candles] come aroun like a rainbow. An' you make you a wish fo' wha' choo want, an' you say a prayer. You say, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, the 23rd Psalm. You say that Psalm an' then you get 'down an' repeat the Lord's Prayer for what you want. Yo' make a wish with these three candles. Then you let them burn plumb on out... right in front of the Lord's picture... You do this about 6 o'clock in the morn- ing or 6 o'clock in the evening or 9 o'clock at night.
Entry 10228
Jes' him an' her could mate together. She would take de dishrag an' give it to him an' let him use it, an' take it an' put it in de middle of her mattress an' sleep on it ever' night. Dat will keep him from messin' wit any othah woman.
Entry 10240
New pocket handkerchief - woman wipes man - rolls up handkerchief to her [making long roll or cylinder, a phallic symbol] - ties into a hard knot - unties knot - unrolls hand- kerchief - spread it out flat and keeps it that way under bedtick - in middleways of bed [creating the fifth or center point among the four bedposts, making a quincunx]. [Bedtick is a spring- less mattress filled with dried moss, leaves, cornhusks, dried grass, all sorts of things. This impotence magic is my condensed transcription of long rite missed by transcriber.]
Entry 10257
Well [into a cloth] you can take a man's stuff, and take it and make nine kmots in it [cloth] and take it and sew it up in east part of the - at least in the west part [of the bed]. And after you sew it up in there, jes' left [leave] it stay there. And if he's sleeping on the front part of that bed, it has a tendency to make him stay home, not to run around. Stop him from run- ning around. (Where do you sew that thing up? In? How?) Well, like this is - well, you put it right in here [points to bed in hotel room where I was interviewingl. Sew it up in this mattress, right in here.
(On the west side of the bed?)
Yeah, towards the east.
(Oh, you sew that on the east side of the bed?)
Yeah. [I did not explore this symbolism: east to rise with and west to set with sun. For this symbolism see No.10261.1
(I see, in the mattress?)
In the mattress. And that has a tendency to keep [him] from running around, quiets him down. [Wiping-cloth enclosed by 4 corners of bed makes a quincunx.]
Entry 10463
"Put salt and pepper in yore chimley [fireplace] and keep your rooms sprinkle round in de corners, you know. That will keep them witches out." [Chim- ney or fireplace is used here because witches sometimes go up or come down the chimney. Since fireplace is the fifth point within the four corners of the room, we have here a quincunx rite.]
Entry 10697
Yo' go to a fortuneteller or Hoodoo and pay them a certain amount of money to have what is known as good luck to follow your home while you are gone. And it is said that she would tell you for this amount [of money given to her] to buy de Bible and not open it. Open it in de house [itself] and find de 17 division of Psalms, Psalms of David, [close Bible] and walk in yore garden and git as near de center as possible [here is a quincunx rite!] not yet opening Bible. And turn yore face as near towards de east as possible, and valk 17 steps and stop, and read de 17 division of de Psalms, and den close de book. And no harm will befall yore home or nuthin will happen to yore wife. (This is to sort of to protect your family; especially if a man is going away from home?) Yes, that's on leaving home. The same thing holds good, de wuman tole me, if a man's wife leaves him and he wants her to return.
Entry 10785
If yo' wanta break up a family of people, yo' kin take dat broom, an' some black pepper an' salt an' put it in de fo' corners of de house, an' sweep dat out, an' dat makes de man go an' de woman won't want 'im. (You do this in somebody's house, if you want to break them up.) Jes' put it in each corner, jes' dese three teaspoonful of dat. Mix it up together an' put it in de fo' corners of de house. Sweep it in de middle an' sweep it on out de do', an' one or de other will be gone.
Entry 10862
Take a cat hair, clip it off de end of his tail, if yo' got a wife dat's runnin' about an' yo' Want her tuh stay home. Yo' take an' bury it in de middle of de house an' she'll always stay round in de house. Yo' bury it down underneath de house in de ground. She will always stay round in de house. [As I have explained many times, these low- land houses are raised off the ground, a person can crawl under them. This is also a quincunx rite, a central or fifth point among four other points or cor- ners: see 9467 where mattress has 4 corners and the center has a salt bag; and No.9487 where salt is in 4 corners and the center is 2 sticks crossed - an un- usual quincunx! etc.l [Fayetteville, N. Car. (1415), 2549:7.]
Entry 11046
To keep dem [law] from de house? Now, if you Wanta a little liquor kept [for sale] in dis place heah and you don't want no man to come in on yuh nov. You go on your station house and git one of de man's name that you'll find out. Git one, two or three - if you kin [get] nine it's much better. De ore you get de stronger it is. If you can't git but one [name], den work on dat Bne one, but let it be de leading man dat you knows is asking about you - to yoar acn judgment. Work by your own judgment, de judgment of your ear. Git dat man nae and git you a brand-new piece of board and write his name. Put 'en cross de world. Write 'em cross de world to you and write 'em backwards.
(Backwards and forwards.)
And dey can't come in fer de devil. And nail dat onto your step and dey can't be seeing you. Not when you nail dat dere. Git you de heart of a chicken and it got to be a black chicken. Cut de heart out of it. Git dat wishin' bone of de chicken breast and you take dat heart wit your hand on dose letters. Put 'em dere so it can't be rub off - on dat board. (You rub this heart over those letters?) All over dose letters, all up and down like dat. And talk at de same time. Tell 'em dat [what] dat spirit is got- ta to do. You don't want no law to worry me. You wants to be up dere selling whiskey. Ah don't want dat law to worry me. Ah don't want no kin' of law. Ah don't even wants 'em to come heah fo' a drink of liquir or beer. Ah [wants] 'em to pass by and keep on passing by. Kin go right in next door but won't come in chere. Take dat wishing-bone, and be shore dat you go. down in de groun' to your shoul- der and turn it down -人. Don't turn it up -Y
(Turn the wishing bone down, the points down?)
[Here we have rite similar to the forked stick or "Y" in No.11032.]
Turn de two prongs down. And while you have - doin' it, you talk to 'em. An' if you know any de officer's names, don't let any come in dere, de fed'ral offi- cer back, de county man back, de city officer back, de state controller, back. Dat take in all 'em, ain't it? Go on over and over. And if you git dose three class of officers, you know why it is, don't you? De federal, de state control- ler, git de county and git de highway man. Den you go to work.
(Where do you bury that wishing bone?)
Under your step, right under your step. Be sure to go under your house. Den you put dat bone. If you ain't got no front, put it in de middleways of de house. [This center under the house and the 4 corners of the house make our rite a quin- cunx.] Dat almost stop people jack-jacking to the front.
Entry 11124
Dey take de rule, de pocket rule.
(What do they do then?)
And say dey take dis to de crossroads and dey fix it. Dey fix it so and when you come along dey'll make you fall. Yes, sir. [I] hear: 'em tell dat, at de crossroads where you go down, and de roads comes across like dat [demonstrates] and dey fixes it. (I see. What would they fix there? I mean what would they put there?) Dey say dey'll get - dey'll get a scorpion, a red-headed scorpion. (A red-headed scorpion?) Yes, sir. Fix him and dey put him - make sompin like a coffin and dey'll put him down in de middle of dat fo'k, yes, sir. Yes, sir, in middle of de fo'k.
(In the middle of the fork?)
[The center of two roads crossing is the center of a square or a quincunx rite.] Yes, sir, in de middle of de fo'k and you git dere and you won't know it, but you commence having swimming 'bout de head. Head commence swimming, feeling bad; yes sir, and make you fall. I hear say dey tell dat.
(They put this scorpion in sort of a little coffin-like?)
It is a coffin. What I mean, sompin dey makes like a coffin. Dat what dey tole me. And dey'll put him in dere alive and when dey fixes him, it make you tremble, you know. And he'll die. Dey'll fix him dataway.
(I see.)
Entry 11175
Go an' git de herb, dey says. Dey tole me de herb dey calls de devil's-shoestring. Put it cross, right in de fo'k. (These two pieces you cross them. And where do you put them?) Put 'em right in de fo'ks of de road where he comes down an' he'll always be cross [not in disposition but crossed, hoodooed] an' travelin'.
Entry 11179
Lak yo' would leave some of yore wearin' clothes, why she could take some of yore underwear an' she kin ball 'em up. Now ah had dis trick tried on me, but ah don't know what 'fect it was takin'. But ah happened to be lucky tuh find it. Had a piece of dis devil's-shoestring an' she had three knots tied in it. (In the root or in the clothes?) In de root. Yo' know dat lak a string. An' she had it tied wit three knots, an' ah run 'cross it ah guess befo' she got it placed where she wanted it. But dey say as long as she keep dat knot tied in dere, she have de knots tied in it, yo' can't git away from her.
(After she had this wrapped up in your underclothing?)
Yes. Dis woman she had mine wropped up an' put right undah whar ah wuz sleepin' at. An' whether she goin' let it stay dere or not - but some Way ah turn roun' an' found it.
Entry 11180
( Git devil's-shoe- string an' yo' take an' bury hit at de fo' corners of dat person's house. Den yo' git underneat' de house an' bury it right in de center of dere bed, an' dey'll be uneasy an' restless, dissatisfied until dey move.
(You have to get five pieces of shoe-string altogether - devil's-shoestring.)
Yes.
Entry 11181
Now they take the nails an' they drive them down into - jes' lak yo' take dat Red Seal Lye, dat has five holes in it, an' they take an' drive a nail in each hole of the lye. An' they bury this lye undah the house an' they git it near as they possibly kin ovah that lye [devil's-shoestrings] on the inside of the house. They put whut they call de devil's-shoestring, that's a little weed- as near ovah the top of that [can of lye] as they possibly kin. That's tuh make this person weak, sickly. (They put this devil's- shoestring over that and they bury that can of lye.) Bury that can of lye jis' undah de house as near as they kin. Jis' say fo' in- stance, if dis wuz his bed, they bury it undah that as near as they kin git to it undah there. They then come up an' try tuh put whut they call de devil's-shoestring - which is jis' a little weed-lak, yo' know - put it as near undah [center] de bed as they kin.
[This is surely a quincunx rite.]
Entry 11378
Yo' kin take a three- cornered file an' yo' kin crawl under de middle of some lucky person house - person's house - underneath de house, an' yo' kin put dis file down jes' about two inches. In three days dey'll be gone.
(That's to move them out of the house.)
Entry 11684
Ah says, dey'll - sometimes dey'll go dere [forks of road] an' drive a stäve [stake] down in groun' where yo' can't see it, and pull green grass and put on top of it. When yo' git dere yo' won't know it. Yo' can't cross dat road. (You can't cross that road? Where do they put that stake?) In de middle, right in de middle of de road. Dey'll drive it down so yo' can't see it, even wit de groun', yo' know.
(You do that out at the forks of the road. Well, what do they do that for?)
Well, if you walk over it, you'll have pains de balance of yore days in yore laigs, dey begin tuh git so stiff.
Entry 11691
Well, yo' take de colored folk graveyard - yo' nevah been dere, is yo'?
(No.)
Well 'scuse me - dis heah is de white folks graveyard [demonstrates], yo' undahstan', an' de colored folk graveyard come lak dat dere tuh de fo'ks of de road lak dat. Well, yo' kin go right chere 'tween de colored folk graveyard an' de white folk grave- yard, an' any man whut owe yo', take an' write a let- tah, yo' undahstan'. Yo' ain't gotta git no lawyah tuh 'rest him. Yo' go right tuh de fo'ks of de road lak ah tell yo' an' jes' pick up lak dis heah jes' pick up lak dis heah [demonstrates] de white folks graveyard in dis graveyard, yo' understan'. Yo' go right dere tuh dis heah an' take yore han' backwards an' take it up...
(Pick up what?)
Pick up his track backward. An' don't cay [care] if ah owe yo' or anybody owe yo', pick it up backwards, yo' undahstan', an' don' say nuthin 'tall. Jes go home.
(Tell that over again.)
Ah said, any colored man - if yo' open up a place right heah - yo' got dis place right heah now. If ah pass by or anythin' an' yo' not friends wit me, understan'. Well, lak ah wus walkin' from dis side, an' den - well, yo' jes' ketch mah track lak dis heah [demonstrates] undahstan'. An' de sulphur, so dat yo' don't go out dere an' fight dere in de [street]. Yo' go round back in de sto', undahstan', an' set it right dere in de cornah an' yo' jes' shake dat sul- phur up fine, undahstan'. "Fore dat sulphur git burnin' good, yo' undahstan', in dat fo' cornah of de house. See, dat's a cornah of de house, dis a cornah, an' dis a cornah, an' dis a cornah. Well, when yo' set dat table yo' gits a little bit an' sprinkle in dat cornah, dat cornah, dat cornah an' dat cornah. Dat fo' cornah of de house. An' den de man ovah nex' do' can't - de Irishman or Jew or [who?], yo' undahstan', he say tuh dem, "Dis man has opened a place of business heah. Ah been befo' he come heah an' he got mo' customahs den ah got. Ah think ah'm goin' move."
Entry 11739
Yo' go down, dig in de center of dat grave an' keep adiggin' till yo' git way down fur as yore hand kin reach. An' yo' pull dat dirt up, see; an' yo' git dat, see, an' go. (Then what do you do with that dirt, now?) Yo' takes it an' den go 'long dere an' put it on de steps. (How would you put it on the steps?) Git chew a lump piece, jes' two pieces lak dat. (What kind of pieces?) When yo' git up dere [on the grave] yo' reach down in dere an' yo' jes' goes - yo' reach down [in there] as fur as yo' kin reach an' put it [this dirt] on each side [of the steps]. (On either side [on both sides] of the step. What did you say it would do then?) It would make 'em leave home.
Entry 11740
Say like if any of yo's people is in jail an' yo' don't have money to git 'em out, yo' go to a graveyard an' yo' takes two pennies. And dey say yo digs a hole, yo' know, 'way down in de middle of de grave, an' yo' pays de dead spirits fer dat dirt. And yo' tell dat dirt, tell dat spirit dat, "Ah wants chew to go direct to de jailhouse and ah wanta git so-and-so out." And dey say yo' jest leave dem two pennies there and you'll go on to de co'thouse when dey be's having co't, and you come [out] without [paying] money. (What will you do with that dirt?) Yo' jest picks up dat dirt and carries it to de jail- house wit yo', an' yo' jest holds it tight on yo', and when de' havin' yo' trial, dey more den apt to turn yo' loose and yo' won't have to pay nuthin - jest dem two pennies what chew left at de graveyard.
Entry 12417
Perhaps yo' wanted a man. Yo' jes' met him an' yo' fell in love wit him, yo' like him; he had a good job or somepin othah. He appealed to yo'. Yo'd go home. An' perhaps yo'd pass somewheres roun' an' yo'd git in talk wit him, an' yo'd git his name. Yo' kin take 9 matches an' name 'em him. An' then yo'd cut chew 9 little strips of papah about lak [size of] yore finger, an' yo'd write his name on either one of dose strips - nine of 'em. An' then every evenin' jes' befo' de sun go down yo' make yore wishes. Stan' in de middle of yore flo' [you stand in the center of the room which makes this one of the many quincunx rites] an' take these nine matches an' strike 'em. Jes' be shore yo' make one stroke with each [match] an' light his name an' burn hit, aftah yo' make yore wishes. All right. Well, yo' save that little end perhaps, whut burn down. Yo' save that. Well, yo' conceal it. Den de next evenin' befo' de sun go down yo' git anothah strip with his name an' one of dese nine matches, an' yo' burn until those nine matches an' those nine names yo' know, his name is burn up. An' it won't be but two days befo' he will come to yore home.
Entry 12706
Then, if any woman that far off, from you, or anything and you wants to see them...
(You say they're far off?)
Yeah - just like - far off - well, they's got a [liquid] which they - we call The Long Long Livest Friend.
(The Long Long Livest Friend.)
Yeah. Well, you go get some of this Long Livest Friend and you take some of this Paris Ennis Oil. It ain't but 25c a bottle.
(Paris what?)
Paris Ennis Oil, and you take it and you put it inside of this bottle with some of this, which we call this here steel dust. You get steel dust and you get some of this here rock salt. And when you put it down, just anything that they ever slept on - any- thing they ever left there - socks, or old shoes, or any bedclothes they laid on, well you just take that and just every morning, you get up, just sprinkle it all over that. Take some of this sugar of lead with this rock salt...
(Sugar of what?)
Sugar of lead - yes, sir, with this rock salt, beat it and put it in the cen- ter of your bed [center of bed = quincunx]. Anywhere, they get at, their mind is rdght back where they come from.
(That's to bring - that's if you want to hear from them or bring them back.)
Yes sir. They coming back, they going to come back in - don't care, inside of chree or five days she'll be back, if there any way for 'em to get there at that time.
Entry 12755
Yo' could take a razor an' put it in de center of yore bed crossways. An' if yo' was angry with a person an' yo' couldn't git to them yourself, yo' could write their name [on a large sheet of paper] an' wrap this razor in it, an' put it in de center of yore bed crossways an' yo' go tuh bed on it that night. It be between two mattresses or either under one mattress on de springs. An' it would cause them tuh git cut. But yo' would- n't be doin' anything, yo' jes' be there only; but by his name being wrapped in dis razor, yo' could harm dem that way.
(How do you mean crossways in the bed?)
If it's a long razor...
[I interrupt and demonstrate.]
(Here's the bed. Do you put it this way or that way?)
Put it that way - crossways. (You put it across the width of the bed. That would cause them [him] to get cut?) Yes, yes. [There are other rites in HOODOO causing a man to be cut, shot, arrested, etc.]
Entry 12892
I've heard of a case of that kind, where he runs around and she don't want him to run around. You go to the drug store and get you some sterile cot- ton. When you go to bed at night, and if you have connection With him, you give him a towel to use on himself, and after you have connection with him, let him do everything, don't you do nothing. And when you have finished, you use that cotton, and give him a towel to use. You take that and get you a man's pocket handkerchief. You take and tie it up in the middle of that handkerchief, the cotton that I've used. [A quincunx rite, the center of 4 corners ] I've used the cotton myself. He'll never know the difference you see. I'll tie it up in that handkerchief like this [demonstrates]. Be sure it's linen. Get a brand-new handkerchief and tie in there, and cut the ends of that handkerchief off, open my mattress and put it in that mattress, and he'll never run around no more.
Entry 13230
Take a stave an' nail it down dere, jes' nail it down an' make a wish. Wish nobody could nevah live dere again, an' nobody can't live dere again, an' nobody can't live dere in peace. If dey move in dat house dey'll move out, dey jes' can't live in dere.
(Where do you put that stave?)
Jes' kinda in de middle of de lot-like. [Here is the center of a square or parallelogram, a quincunx rite.] If de lot got a garden or anything yo' know, jes' stomp it down, an' say, "Ah wish dat nobody would nevah live an' have suc- cess heah any mo'."