PowWow is a Shamanic or Pagan practice which combines the Pennsylvania Dutch Germanic/Nordic European and Native American traditions. It is uniquely American.
The Roots of PowWow
The Pennsylvania Dutch or Deutsch emigrated here from the Palatinate region of Germany and Switzerland between the 1600s and the early 1800s. According to Silver RavenWolf, HexCraft, (Llewellyn 1995). They practiced the Shamanic magickal system of the Germanic/Nordic tradition. Magick is working with the positive forces of the Universe to produce a desire beneficial result. They were Christians, primarily Lutherans and Catholic.
AmerIndian tribes also had their magickal systems designed to attain a positive end. It was primarily the Susquehannock tribe that the Dutch traded knowledge with.
The Formation and Growth of PowWow
Both the Dutch and the AmerIndians used herbs to heal. They shared the knowledge of how to use each others’ native herbs to heal. The oldest apothecary is in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The last manager of the store before it was turned into a museum was a PowWow doctor. She grew healing herbs in its garden.
Sadly, the native AmerIndians were driven out of Pennsylvania by other immigrants who were prejudiced against them.
In addition to their shamanic systems, the Dutch brought other ways and traditions of their lives to America when they settled primarily in Lancaster, York, Berks, Lehigh and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania.
They brought their folk art, the tradition of the Christmas tree, crafts and cookery to the New World. The cookery is also a blend of AmerIndian and German styles. Corn, for example, was not eaten in Germany and there are no older German cookbooks with corn recipes. Corn recipes abound in cook books of the Dutch.
Karl Herr in his book, Hex and Spellwork, (Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC, 2002), writes that the Dutch brought hex signs with them. These are magical artwork with stylized pictures painted on a circle. Each symbol and color has significance depending on the desired purpose of the sign. They were and are painted on barns, primarily for protection, fertility and abundance. They are also used for protection, abundance, love, strength, faith, hope, charity and luck in the home. Some families’ haus segens have been passed from generation to generation as coats of arms are.
PowWow was forced to be Covert
In the latter part of the 1800s, a new breed of Germans immigrated. There was a revival of occultism in Germany and they were the “bad” guys. (RavenWolf) Instead of using magick for positive purposes, they used it to intimidate, even if what they desired and practiced was evil. For a price Hexenmeisters would hex or curse people. Even the police feared their wrath.
There were witch wars between the Hexenmeisters themselves and with those who practiced the Witcherie, a form of eclectic “magick” they invented, using bits of PowWow and making up their own mumbo-jumbo.
The government and mainstream society thought PowWow was superstition and foolishness and, in 1929, an event happened that gave these people a chance to try to destroy the PowWow. John Blymire, John Curry and Wilbert Hess murdered Nelson Rehmeyer because they believed he was a witch who had hexed them. Evidence of their beliefs was suppressed in the sensational trial the press called the Voodoo Trial of Pennsylvania.
PowWow has survived. PowWow doctors still practice their healing art, but they are difficult to find unless one has connections within the Dutch community. The doctors at Hershey Medical Center are studying this holistic art. Hexmeisters still make hex signs for clients who want them for special purposes. Herbs are used for healing. There is a revival of interest in the art of PowWow.
