''Braucherei'' or ''Brauche'' ( Pennsylvania Dutch language), in English called powwow or pow-wow, is a system of

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

folk practice originating in the culture of the

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

in the 1700s. ''Braucherei'' includes a range of healing rituals used primarily for treating ailments in humans, livestock, and crops, as well as securing physical and spiritual protection, and other boons. Along with folk plant medicine, ''braucherei'' forms one of two traditional healing practices among the Pennsylvania Dutch, although some researchers consider them to be the one and the same.Kriebel 2017: 341: "... the two characteristic forms of folk medical practice among Pennsylvania Germans-powwowing (known in the Pennsylvania German dialect as ''Braucherei'', or ''Brauche'') and herbal medicine. Some scholars would not distinguish the two, since powwowers have frequently employed plant substances as material components in spells and used herbal cures as an adjunct to their supernaturally based healing practice." Although the term ''powwow'' is a Native American

loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...

into English, these folk practices are ultimately of European origin and were brought to colonial Pennsylvania in the transatlantic migrations of German-speaking people from Central Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Powwow draws from earlier material in German-speaking Europe, including European grimoires, folk belief, and a variety of Christian texts. Like most folk traditions, powwowing changed and evolved over the years. The practice has been influential in American folk culture, with scholars noting that it seems to have been influential especially in

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

and the rural South and the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

. ''Braucherei'' was highly visible in population centers in the region until the 1920s. In more recent times it has inspired

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part ...

s. It remains a subject of study among scholars and a point of public interest.

Terminology

''Powwowing'' is the most commonly used

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

term to refer to the ritual traditions of the Pennsylvania Germans.Donmoyer 2017:13: "Although the word "powwow" is certainly Native American in origin, this term has also been used extensively since the eighteenth century to describe American healing practices of European origin. For better or for worse, powwowing is the most common designation today for the ritual traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch. These practices are not to be confused with Native American traditions of the same name. Nonetheless, certain similarities with other traditional and indigenous healing systems may indeed be part of the reason that this term developed such a distinctive connotation in Pennsylvania." The word ''powwow'' is a borrowing into English from Narragansett and Massachusett languages, where it meant 'Indigenous priest, shaman, healer' and ultimately derives from Proto-Algonquian *''pawe·wa'', meaning 'he (who) dreams'. The word has been in use in English in the region since the 1600s.* Oxford English Dictionary, “powwow (n.), Etymology,” March 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1035585549. * Oxford English Dictionary, “powwow (n.),” March 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1025731429. The use of the word ''powwow'' in this context in Pennsylvania may originate from perceived similarities among Pennsylvania Dutch healing practices and those of Native Americans. The term ''powwow'' appears in an English language edition from around 1900 of Hohman's '' Der lange verborgene Freund'' (''Pow-Wows; or, Long Lost Friend'').Harms 2012: 22: "Issued by Philadephia's Royal Publishing Company, this might be first edition to include the phrase 'pow-wows' in the title." Hohman's book was influential in regions like

in the early 20th century and in the

and the use of the word ''power doctor'' there (compare ''powwow doctor'') may be a result of the influence of Pennsylvania German powwow.Kriebel 2007: 80: "The similarity of the term "power doctor" to "powwow doctor" is probably not coincidental, even though "power doctors" are found hundreds of miles from Pennsylvania, in the Ozarks. As anthropologist Jean Moser points out (Barney 2000, 26), by the early twentieth century Hohman's "powwow book" served as a critical reference for many Appalachian people."Milnes 2007: 39. Claimed Native American connections, however spurious, were a key element of the 19th century development of American Spiritualism. Although some powwowers of Native American descent have practiced powwow and some powwowers have claimed that Native American spirit guides have assisted them in healing rituals, the tradition is distinct from the Native American practice of

powwow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native Americans in the United States, Native American and First Nations in Canada, First Nations communities. Inaugurated in 1923, powwows today are an opportunity fo ...

.Kriebel 2007: 13: "Powwowing is not to be confused with the Native American "pow-wow," although individuals of Native American descent have practiced powwowing in the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, and some powwowers claim that Native American spirit guides have assisted them in conducting healing rituals." The "powwow doctor" (in the

, known as a "power doctor") was also a common role across the country at this era's medicine shows. In the Pennsylvania Dutch language, these practices are known as ''Brauche'' or ''Braucherei'' and in the folk tradition they are contrasted with ''Hexerei'' ('black magic') performed by ''Hexer'' ('witches' or 'sorcerers'). For example, the ''braucher'' is typically called upon to remove a hex placed by a Hexer on someone but the division between the two can be ambiguous.Kriebel 2006: 101 & 105. The Pennsylvania German words ''Brauche'' and ''Braucherei'' are often translated as "trying" but other proposals include "blessing" (from an iteration on the Hebrew '' bracha''), "needing or wanting" (from the

High German The High German languages (, i.e. ''High German dialects''), or simply High German ( ) – not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called "High German" – comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Ben ...

verb ''brauchen''), or "using" (from the

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

verb ''gebrauchen'').Kriebel 2007: 13-14: "While the origin of the term is obscure, powwowing is known as ''Brauche'', or ''Braucherei'', in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect. These dialect terms are often translated as "trying," although other meanings have been proposed, including "blessing" (as a mistranscription of the Hebrew ''baruch'') and "needing or wanting" (from the High German verb ''brauchen''), or "using" (from the High German verb ''gebrauchen''). Usage and perception of these words do not align among speakers of English and Pennsylvania German. For example, according to Donmoyer: :... in the most basic sense, the English term "powwow" generally holds a neutral connotation, as opposed to ''Braucherei'', which is generally positive to speakers of Pennsylvania Dutch. On the other hand, to some monolingual English speakers, the controversial word ''Hex'' can also be neutral. In Pennsylvania Dutch, however, ''Hex'' (meaning either a witch or a curse) carries an extremely negative connotation, but ''Braucher'' (synonymous with a powwow practitioner) is positive rather than neutral, unless the context is one of humor or disbelief.Donmoyer 2017: 18. Practicioners are variously referred to as ''powwowers'', ''powwows'', ''powwow doctors'', ''brau doctors'', ''brauchers'', ''brauch doctors'', ''hex doctors'', or less commonly, in Pennsylvania Dutch, ''hexenmeisters''. Individuals who oppose braucher practices may use the word ''witch'' or ''sorcerer'' or the Pennsylvania Dutch word ''hex''. In Pennsylvania German, the infinitive form of 'to powwow' is ''Brauchen''.Kriebel 2007: 14: "Practitioners are referred to as "powwowers," the term used in this article, but also as "powwows," "powwow doctors," "brau doctors," "brauchers," "brauch doctors," "hex doctors" or, rarely, in Pennsylvania Dutch, hexenmeisters. Those who oppose the practice use the terms "witch" or "sorcerer" or the Pennsylvania Dutch term "hex." The infinitive form of the verb "to powwow" in the dialect, is ''brauchen'' ("to powwow" in English)."

Practice and diffusion

Traditionally, ''brauchers'' use a variety of gestures, body movements, and incantations along with material objects and substances. Incantations are typically performed subvocally (moving lips without making an audible sound), so that the patient can see the act performed but hear nothing. In a publication from 2015, Kriebel says that the incantations were now typically memorized but in the past had been dependent on a variety of texts (see below).Kriebel 2015: 990: "Powwowers have traditionally used a combination of incantations, gestures, body movements, and material objects or substances to heal or perform other functions. When an incantation is uttered it is almost always done subvocally, so that the patient or client sees the powwower's lips move but cannot hear what he or she is saying. Today these spells are mostly memorized, but powwowers have relied on". The practice flourished until the 1920s, when the practice went underground. Before that, ''brauchers'' could be found advertising their services in Pennsylvania German cultural regions.Kriebel 2015: 990. Pennsylvania Dutch ''braucherei'' appears to have spread into other regions as Pennsylvania Germans migrated and brought their folk traditions with them, especially but not limited to

and the

, influencing or developing into localized traditions.Kriebel 2015: 990: "The practice appears to have been carried through Appalachia into the rural South, since there are marked similarities between the rituals used by powwowers, "fire doctors" (burn healers in North Carolina), "power doctors" (healers in the Ozarks), and other groups. These other healing traditions also use collections of spells and recipes, as in John George Hohman's ''The Long Lost Friend'', a book originally published in 1820 and reprinted many times since then in several editions."

Development, use of texts, and 1929 'witch trial'

''Braucherei'' as a distinct tradition developed in the 1700s as primarily German-speaking migrants (along with migrants from the British Island) settled in Pennsylvania. This folk culture developed from a variety of Christian traditions in Europe. Although the population was primarily

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, elements of Catholic tradition are reflected in ''braucherei'', such as the invocation of Catholic saints for healing."In "powwowing" (''Brauchen'', ''Braucherei''), Pennsylvania's continuing brand of occult folk-medicine, which uses charms in the attempt to heal the ills of man and beast, to quote the title of the principal powwow book still in use, the saints make a brief post-Reformation appearance, occasionally trailing parts of their legends behind them." (Yoder 1971: 160, see also note on this page regarding Hohman) "The Pennsylvania German folk-culture, which was built up in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, reflects the passive continuance of much of the medieval Catholic world view and saint lore that marked the earlier European Protestantism, that is, the "Old" Protestantism before it was retreaded in the eighteenth century by Pietism and Rationalism. In the twentieth century, the specific knowledge of the saints' legends is of smaller consequence in Pennsylvania German culture than the general survival of bits and pieces of the European medieval saint complex that was so large a part of the pre-Reformation folk-mind." (Yoder 1971: 159) Historically, ''braucherei'' utilized a corpus of literature, some of which prescribed rituals and incantations. These include the use of Bible verses, John George Hohman's '' Der lang verhorgene Schatz und Haus Freund'' (typically rendered in English as 'The Long Lost Friend' but directly 'The Long Hidden Friend'), Albertus Magnus's ''Egyptian Secrets'', or less commonly the '' Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses''. The latter was at times considered a "hex book", a work of the devil (see terminology section above).Kreibel 2006: 102. For more discussion from Kreibel on this and related books, see Kreibel 2017: 343-347. ''Brauchers'' often also produce their own compilations of material and pass them down to others.Kriebel 2015: 990: "Often powwowers create and hand down their own unpublished collections of spells and recipes, such as those in James Beissel's ''Powwow Power'' (1998)." Hohman's book was particularly influential among ''brauchers''. For example, scholar Don Yoder references to it as "a standard printed corpus of magical charms for the Pennsylvania Germans". ''Der lang verhorgene Schatz und Haus Freund'' has seen multiple German and English editions. Hohman, a German migrant who arrived in Philadelphia in 1802 and authored a variety of publications before disappearing from the historic record after 1846, remains a mysterious figure. As Yoder summarizes, Hohman was "intentionally or unintentionally, a mystery man, one of the most influential and yet most elusive figures in Pennsylvania German history".Yoder 1976: 235-236. ''Der lang verhorgene Schatz und Haus Freund'' functioned as a standardized repertory for many ''brauchers'', but it was preceded by and used in parallel with an independent manuscript tradition, which some ''brauchers'' preferred. ''Brauchers'' also used variations on material found in Hohman's book.Yoder 1976: 238-239. Over time, the use of these texts significantly declined among traditional ''brauchers''. During fieldwork performed in the 2000s, Kriebel found only a single individual who used any manual or spellbook beyond the Bible. According to Kleiber, "It can be speculated that the decline in the use of such books is a result of the 1929 York 'Witch Trial' and the subsequent calls for 'superstition' to be eradicated by the introduction of scientific education." Scholar Gerald Milnes summarizes the situation as follows: :When reporters from New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore descended on York, Pennsylvania, where the trial was held, the result was a series of sensational reports portraying the Pennsylvania Dutch as backward people mired in superstition. Local officials reacted defensively, ordering a program of scientific education to eradicate this "superstition". Today, perhaps folklorists or anthropologists would enter the discussion and explain ''braucherei'' in its cultural context, but in 1929 the social pressures to conform to the ideology of scientific progress were too great.Milnes 2007: 80. After this, ''brauchers'' became less visible and moved underground, leaving population centers. ''Braucherei'' also changed, using fewer texts and objects, and "underwent a shift toward religious healing".Milnes 2007: 80-81.

Status, stigma, and modern reception

In a paper published in 2006, scholar David W. Kriebel records that his field research indicated a common perception in the region that the practice had died out and "in fact, fewer than half the people I spoke with had even heard of it". Among the ''braucherei'' patients and practitioners he encountered, some expressed a fear that "others ouldlabel them crazy, or at a minimum, old-fashioned and 'dutchy.'" Kriebel also witnessed an "opposition to the practice by certain religious individuals who believe either that ''braucherei's'' efficacy derives from the devil or that spiritual healing should be the province of organized churches, as well as by those who believe ''braucherei'' is inconsistent with a modern, scientific worldview". Kriebel was eventually able to identify eight living individuals who continued the practice of Pennsylvania German ''braucherei''.Kriebel 2006: 101. Writing in 2017, Kriebel notes that a perception existed in the cultural area that powwowing was a thing of the past. However, since the 2000s: :.. with the publication of books and Internet articles, powwowing has attracted more attention, and the number of openly self-identified powwowers has increased. Much of this increase has been among the neo-pagan and neo-heathen community and has become the centerpiece of a larger movement by younger Pennsylvania Germans and others with esoteric interests to link Pennsylvania German cultural practices to pre-Christian Germanic religions. This contrasts with traditional powwowing as it has been practiced both in this country and among Germans elsewhere, which is founded on a Christian worldview.Kreibel 2017: 343-344. Beginning in the 1990s, some elements of ''braucherei'' have been embraced by

s, particularly strains of neopaganism. In 1997,

Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...

n and Pennsylvania German descendent Jenine E. Trayer authored ''HexCraft: Dutch Country Magick'' under the pen name Silver RavenWolf. Trayer studied under Preston Zerbe, a traditional powwower who worked in Adams and York counties and reinterpreted the material as a pagan practice "diguised" as folk Christianity. Urglaawe (Pennsylvania German meaning 'original faith') is another new religious movement that reinterprets ''braucherei'' traditions in the context of Heathenry and "represents an attempt to connect with and recreate a pre-Christian past" and notably utilizes the Pennsylvania German language. Urglaawe typically avoids the common English term ''powwow'' in favor of ''Braucherei''.Kreibel 2017: 353-354.

References

Notes

Sources

* Donmoyer, Patrick J (2017). ''Powwowing in Pennsylvania: Braucherei and the Ritual of Everyday Life''. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. * Harms, Daniel. 2012. ''The Long-Lost Friend: A 19th Century American Grimoire''. Llewellyn Worldwide. * Kriebel, D. W. (2006). "Powwowing: A Traditional Pennsylvania German Healing Practice". ''Yearbook of German-American Studies'', 2, ppp. 101–110
Web
* Kriebel, David W. (2007). ''Powwowing Among the Pennsylvania Dutch: A Traditional Medical Practice in the Modern World''. Pennsylvania State University Press. * Kriebel, David W. (2015). "Powwowing" in Bronner, Simon J. (editor). ''Encyclopedia of American Folklife'', pp. 989-992.

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

. * Kriebel, David W. (2017). "Medicine" in ''Pennsylvania Germans: An Interpretive Encyclopedia'', pp. 341–360.

Johns Hopkins University Press Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

. * Milnes, Gerald (2007). ''Signs, Cures, & Witchery: German Appalachian Folklore''. University of Tennessee Press. * Yoder, Don (1971). “The Saint’s Legend in Pennsylvania German Folk-Culture”. Wayland Hand (editor). ''American Folk Legend: A Symposium'', pp. 157–184.

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

. * Yoder, Don (1976). "Hohman and Romanus: Origins and Diffusion of the Pennsylvania German Powwow Material". Wayland Debs Hand (Editor). ''American Folk Medicine: A Symposium''.

. {{refend

External links

"Ritual Traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch"
from the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center
"The Origin and Practicion of the Pow-Wow: Among the Pennsylvania Germans"
by Patrick James Dugan (Berks History Center) *
Powwowing in Pennsylvania: Healing Rituals of the Dutch Country"
video presentation (2020) by Patrick Donmeyer at the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center Christianity in Pennsylvania Folk Christianity Folk religions Magic (supernatural) Pennsylvania Dutch culture Traditional medicine