Folk Religion of the Pennsylvania Dutch: Witchcraft, Faith Healing and Related Practices

by Richard L.T. Orth

Overview

For almost three centuries, the "Pennsylvania Dutch"--descended from German immigrants--have practiced white magic, known in their dialect as Braucherei (from the German "brauchen," to use) or Powwowing. The tradition was brought by immigrants from the Rhineland and Switzerland in the 17th and 18th centuries, when they settled in Pennsylvania and in other areas of what is now the eastern United States and Canada.

Practitioners draw on folklore and tradition dating to the turn of the 19th century, when healers like Mountain Mary--canonized as a saint for her powers--arrived in the New World.

The author, a member of the Pennsylvania Dutch community, describes in detail the practices, culture and history of faith healers and witches.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476630748
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	01/12/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	269
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Richard L.T. Orth is interim director of the American Folklife Institute. He has published several books and more than 300 articles. His lifelong study of Pennsylvania Dutch culture includes curating museum collections, field research and writing. He lives in South Burlington, Vermont.
Richard L.T. Orth is interim director of the American Folklife Institute. He has published several books and more than 200 articles. His lifelong study of Pennsylvania Dutch culture includes curating museum collections, field research and writing. He lives in South Burlington, Vermont.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface
A Hexerei Vocabulary
Part I: White and Black Magic of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country
 1. Hexerei: An Introduction
 2. Braucherei: Its Counter (Powwow and Hex Doctors)
 3. Pennsylvania Dutch Powwow Carvings and the Occult
 4. Abracadabra: An (Antediluvian) Amulet of Protection
 5. Rural Superstitions of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country
 6. Secrets of a Pennsylvania Dutch Witch in the Oley Hills
 7. Hexerei: Application and Folk Tales
Part II: The Mysterious and Unexplained
 8. John Ross and the Supernatural
 9. ESP + 1750 Mansion = Historical Insight
10. A Colonial Lobachsville Homestead in America and Ties to the Occult
11. Cross My Heart and Hope to Die!
12. X Does More Than Mark the Spot
13. 18th-Century Yoder Ghost of Oley Valley
Part III: Faith Healing of the Dutch Country
14. Frontier Faith Healing in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country
15. Mountain Mary: Berks County’s Most Beloved Faith Healer
16. John George Hohman, Berks County’s Christian Wizard
17. Catholic Church Holidays Kept Alive by Pennsylvania
delete delete Dutch Pioneers
18. Famous Stahl Pottery Works Fired “Ferhext” Redware
delete delete Pie Plate
Part IV: Folklore Derived from 18th–and 19th-Century Beliefs
19. Pennsylvania Dutch Weather Lore of the Early 20th Century
20. Goose-Bone Prophets of the Dutch Country
21. Appalachian Powwowing among the Pennsylvania Dutch
22. Historic Kutztown University: Its Interaction with the
delete delete Occult and Its ­German-Speaking Community
23. The ­World-Famous Hex Sign Folk Art … Myth!
Part V: Amulets and the Lord’s Protection from Evil
24. “Deivel’s Dreck” and Other Rural Devices to Ward Off Evil
25. Pennsylvania Dutch Traditions of the ­All-Seeing Eye (of Jesus Christ)
26. Folk Legend of the Pennsylvania Dutch “Himmelsbriefs” (Letters from Heaven)
27. Contemporary Holy Letters Still Carried Today
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index