Pow-wow, the Germanic magic of Pennsylvania

The pow-wow of Pennsylvania, known in Pennsylvania German dialect as Braucherei (which we covered in our article on Alsace magic), refers to a tradition of ritual healing developed within the German-American communities of Pennsylvania since colonial times. It is a set of Christian folk medicine practices combining biblical prayers, oral formulas, sacred gestures, and home remedies, aimed at healing illnesses of people and livestock, protecting homes from physical or spiritual harm, and promoting daily well-being.

From European Braucherei to pow-wow

The pow-wow tradition has its roots in the popular magical-religious practices of Central Europe. In Germany and neighboring countries, traditional healers—comparable to the Anglo-Saxon cunning folk—have existed since the Middle Ages, using prayers, blessings, and incantations to heal and protect. These practices, called Brauche or Braucherei in German dialects, were part of a folk Christianity where the boundary between official religion and occult traditions remained porous. German-speaking settlers brought this heritage of beliefs and rituals with them when they migrated massively to Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries. Pennsylvania pow-wow thus directly descends from these European customs, borrowing from Old World grimoires and recipe collections (such as the Romanus-Büchlein or the writings of Albert the Great) as well as traditional Christian prayers.

Brought to American soil, Braucherei retained its Christian foundation while incorporating diverse references. Although most settlers were Protestant, pow-wow formulas often invoke elements of Catholic piety, such as the name of the Virgin Mary or certain saints, reflecting an ancient shared heritage between the two confessions. The very term “pow-wow,” applied to this German-American practice, is a lexical borrowing from Algonquian Native American languages (where it meant a shaman or indigenous healer); its use in Pennsylvania is explained by the analogy English speakers made between German healers and Native American medicine men. Despite this Native American name, the tradition in question here is entirely of European origin, transplanted to America by German immigrants.

In Pennsylvania German popular culture, a clear distinction is made between the Braucher (pow-wow practitioner) and the Hexer (the malevolent sorcerer). Pow-wow is seen as beneficial magic based on Christian faith, in contrast to Hexerei, which refers to harmful witchcraft. The role of the Braucher is to lift spells cast by a sorcerer: he acts as a spiritual healer, whereas the Hexer would be the source of occult trouble. This opposition does not prevent some ambiguity in reality, but it highlights that for the communities involved, pow-wow was part of a continuity with religion (also called “faith medicine”) and not a diabolical practice. Pow-wow doctors—also called brauchers, hex doctors, or powwowers—saw themselves as intermediaries between God and the patient, wielding the “liturgical weapons” of prayer against evil influences.

Settlement in Pennsylvania in the 18th century

The practice of pow-wow was established in North America with the arrival of waves of German-speaking immigrants (later called Pennsylvania Dutch) starting in the early 18th century. These settlers, notably from the Palatinate, Alsace, Switzerland, or the Rhineland, settled in the fertile lands of Pennsylvania where they founded relatively isolated rural communities. In these pioneering areas lacking licensed doctors, traditional healers naturally found their place and perpetuated the art of pow-wow. Testimonies attest that by the late 18th century, these healing rituals were practiced in Pennsylvania.

In the 19th century, the pow-wow tradition flourished among German-Pennsylvania farms and villages. It transcended religious affiliations: whether Lutheran, Mennonite, Amish, or members of the Reformed Church, many locals in the region turned to powwow doctors to heal children, spouses, or livestock. In Berks County, for example, pow-wow “was part of daily life” for many well into local history. Some practitioners gained regional fame and even advertised their services in local newspapers in the early 20th century. However, pow-wow mostly remained an informal, community-based activity: healers usually had another profession (farmer, miller, etc.) and did not ask for fixed payment for their care, accepting at best a spontaneous gift in thanks. This discretion and gratuity, seen as guarantees of sincerity, contributed to the tolerance the practice enjoyed within rural communities.

While maintaining its Christian core, Pennsylvania pow-wow evolved and enriched itself through contact with the New World. Over generations, brauchers supplemented their knowledge with local recipes or those borrowed from other North American folklores, when they harmonized with their Christian worldview. Thus, traditional herbal medicine (infusions, ointments, poultices of native plants) became intertwined with pow-wow rituals, to the point that it is difficult to clearly separate “natural” remedies and incantations in Pennsylvania folk medicine. Likewise, symbolic techniques such as burying or “transferring” illness into a tree were practiced both by German healers and their neighbors of other origins.

J. G. Hohman’s Long Lost Friend: the pow-wow bible

In 1820, a German-speaking immigrant named Johann (John) George Hohman published in Reading, Pennsylvania, a small book titled Der Lange Verborgene Freund—literally “The Long Hidden Friend”—quickly known in its English version as The Long Lost Friend. This pocketbook, compiled by Hohman from various European sources and his personal experience, became the reference work for Pennsylvania pow-wow throughout the 19th century.

Hohman himself is an intriguing figure. Of Bavarian origin, he arrived in Pennsylvania around 1802 as a contract servant, managed to buy his freedom, and established himself as a printer and peddler of religious and secular books. In 1819, observing the daily life of Berks County farmers and their need for remedies, he gathered a collection of prayers, remedies, and household recipes which he published the following year. Hohman disappears from records after 1846, but his book continued to be reprinted many times, in German then English, thus crossing generations of practitioners. Notably, an early 20th-century English edition even added the word “Pow-Wows” to the title, definitively linking the term powwow to this healing tradition.

The Long Lost Friend offers a valuable insight into the pow-wow repertoire of the 19th century. From its preface, Hohman asserts the protective purpose of his book: he promises that “whoever carries this book on them” will be safe from all dangers, will not perish by fire or water, nor without receiving last rites. This statement illustrates the mindset of the author and his readers: simply possessing this collection of prayers is seen as a spiritual talisman granting divine favor (Hohman even quotes Psalm 50:15, “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me,” to justify the use of sacred formulas in times of danger). Furthermore, Hohman makes clear that this is not a grimoire of curses: his Lost Friend contains no spells to harm or “cast a hex,” only prayers against evil and remedies to heal. The book thus presents itself as a manual of good Christian magic, in harmony with faith.

The content of The Long Lost Friend mixes empirical remedies and mystical-religious incantations, reflecting the dual nature of pow-wow. It includes very practical home medicine recipes, such as a powder made from dried pig bladder to swallow for incontinence. Alongside these are many oral formulas intended for healing or protection, to be spoken in specific contexts. A typical example is the conjuration to stop bleeding: “Blood, you must stop until the Virgin Mary bears another son,” a formula repeated three times in a row. This unusual injunction—since it suspends the hemorrhage until an impossible event (Mary having had only one son, Jesus)—relies on faith in the Virgin’s intercession to provoke a healing miracle. Similarly, to extinguish a fire without water, Hohman advises writing the famous Latin magic square SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS on a plate which is then thrown into the fire, which should immediately go out. This palindromic square, of ancient European origin, is a good example of an esoteric element integrated into pow-wow practice while being presented as an effective “secret” passed down by tradition.

Hohman’s sources are sometimes explicitly cited in the text. He draws notably from the legendary Book of Secrets attributed to Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus), a medieval collection of popular magical recipes, as well as the enigmatic Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses. These latter two works—pseudo-grimoires supposedly written by Moses—circulated among sorcerers and healers in Germanic countries. Hohman references them for certain prayers and occult seals, while warning that these books can only be used with great Christian piety: according to the note he reports, the user must be a good Christian or “the incantations will be ineffective.” It is worth noting that the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses include an entire chapter detailing the use of biblical Psalms in magic, each psalm associated with a particular protective or healing virtue. This reminder highlights how central the recitation of psalms and Bible verses is in the pow-wow arsenal.

Finally, The Long Lost Friend also testifies to certain unwritten rules surrounding the practice. Hohman insists on the duty to help others: he even writes that anyone neglecting to use a known charm to save a neighbor’s limb or sight “commits a sin.” This moral injunction reflects the altruistic spirit of traditional pow-wow: the Braucher’s knowledge is seen as a gift from God to be used for the community’s good. Hohman also alludes to controversies his book might provoke among the clergy, and carefully justifies his legitimacy by grounding it in the Bible itself (hence the Psalm 50 quote).

Pow-wow rituals and practices

Pennsylvania pow-wow is characterized by a variety of seemingly simple rituals combining sacred words and symbolic gestures. Healing usually begins with the quiet recitation (sometimes even silently) of a formula or biblical passage while the practitioner performs an appropriate ritual gesture. The laying on of hands or anointing with blessed oil are also common techniques, always accompanied by prayers. The power is not considered inherent in the gesture itself but as emanating from God: the healer acts as a channel of divine grace through faith and sacred words.

Several typical elements recur in pow-wow rituals. First, the invocation of the Christian Trinity is omnipresent. Many formulas begin or end with the words “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”, sometimes said in Latin (In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti) in the most solemn versions. This use of Latin, rare among Protestants, reveals the antiquity of the blessings used and the historical Catholic influence on the tradition. Next, the use of Psalms from the Bible is a pillar of pow-wow: certain psalms are reputed effective against specific ailments and are therefore recited fully during the ritual. For example, Psalm 91 (the Qui habitat) is traditionally recited for home protection, while Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd) may accompany a healing request, each verse invested with protective power through the reciter’s faith.

Everyday objects serve as material supports for the rite. A piece of bread, a rope, a nail, a coin, or a simple glass of water can become instruments of sacred power once associated with the correct formula. For instance, a handwritten Braucherei manual from around 1830 indicates that in case of rabies (hydrophobia), one should write the SATOR square on buttered bread and have the patient eat it as an antidote. Similarly, to cure warts, recipes exist where the healer rubs the wart with a coin, then throws or buries it: the “transferred” ailment is supposed to leave with the abandoned coin. Other practices appeal to natural cycles: certain disorders are treated during a specific moon phase (for example, the first Friday of the new moon to “transfer” a disease into a tree by plugging a patient’s nail or hair into it). These rites echo cosmological beliefs where the moon, sun, or the day of Christ’s Passion are factors that enhance the blessing’s effectiveness if scrupulously observed.

The domestic setting is the preferred stage for pow-wow. Most healings take place at the patient’s or Braucher’s home, in a familiar environment. Sometimes a blessed candle is lit or the Bible opened to a particular psalm during the session to create a prayerful atmosphere. Blessed objects (holy water, salt, crucifix) may be placed around the patient. For protecting the house or stable, pow-wow also offers various seals and inscriptions to place on doors.

Pow-wow is not limited to words: it also includes making talismans and amulets. Experienced healers sometimes create small protective sachets (similar to grigri) containing Bible verses written in German and arranged unusually (upside down or in a circle). A typical amulet consists of a tiny piece of parchment inscribed with the invocation “Nazarenus Jesus Rex” (“Jesus of Nazareth, King [of the Jews]”), inserted into a fabric pouch worn around the neck. This kind of amulet, derived from European traditions, is meant to ward off evil influences and protect the wearer. The Himmelsbriefe or “letters from Heaven,” printed documents of divine blessing to display at home, also belong to the domestic protection arsenal linked to pow-wow (they promised the home’s preservation as long as the sacred letter remained). Here we see how thin the line is between religious piety and folk magic: possessing a written relic of the Divine Word or a sanctified object is for practitioners a natural extension of their faith in daily life.

An essential aspect of traditional pow-wow lies finally in the faith of the patient and healer. These rituals are not mere mechanical formulas: it is believed that the fervor with which the prayer is spoken, and the patient’s trust in God’s help, enable healing. The Braucher therefore takes care to ensure the spiritual commitment of the person he treats. The patient is often asked to participate, for example by responding “Amen” to prayers, reciting the Lord’s Prayer, or repeating the saving formula three times to seal its effectiveness. This interactivity emphasizes the dimension of joint prayer more than operative magic. In cases of supposed bewitchment (a hex cast by a sorcerer), faith also serves as a shield: the healer acts as a guide who restores courage and confidence to the victim, convinced that no curse can resist invoking God’s name. If the patient doubts or reveals the ritual to skeptics, it is feared the charm will be “broken.” Hence the former tendency to keep these consultations secret alongside conventional medical treatments—official doctors were not always informed of the use of pow-wow, for fear they would oppose or mock it.

Today, the pow-wow tradition in Pennsylvania survives mainly through cultural memory and documentation efforts. Pennsylvania German heritage centers, museums (such as the Glencairn Museum), and specialized researchers have collected accounts from the last practitioners and gathered objects, manuscripts, and printed materials related to this practice for exhibition and study.

Sources:

• David W. Kriebel, Powwowing Among the Pennsylvania Dutch: A Traditional Medical Practice in the Modern World, Penn State University Press, 2007

• Patrick J. Donmoyer, Powwowing in Pennsylvania: Braucherei and the Ritual of Everyday Life, Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, Kutztown University, 2017

• John George Hohman, The Long Lost Friend (original German edition: Der langverborgene Freund, 1820)

• Don Yoder, Pennsylvania German Immigrants, 1709–1786, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980

• Don Yoder, Occult Tradition in Pennsylvania: The Pow-Wow Tradition and the Braucherei, unpublished lectures and journal articles

• Alfred L. Shoemaker, The Pennsylvania Dutch and Their Healing, Pennsylvania Folklife Society, 1959

• Emma R. Putnam, “Folk Healing Practices among the Pennsylvania Germans,” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 49, no. 194, 1936

• Marion J. Nelson, The Pennsylvania Germans: A Persistent Minority, The Pennsylvania German Society, 1983