Limit this search to....

Powwowing Among the Pennsylvania Dutch: A Traditional Medical Practice in the Modern World
Contributor(s): Kriebel, David W. (Author)
ISBN: 0271075759     ISBN-13: 9780271075754
Publisher: Penn State University Press
OUR PRICE:   $24.70  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: July 2016
Qty:
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social
- Social Science | Customs & Traditions
- Body, Mind & Spirit | Healing - Prayer & Spiritual
Dewey: 398.089
Series: Pennsylvania German History and Culture
Physical Information: 0.9" H x 6" W x 9" (1.15 lbs) 312 pages
Themes:
- Religious Orientation - Christian
- Topical - New Age
- Cultural Region - Mid-Atlantic
- Ethnic Orientation - German
- Geographic Orientation - Pennsylvania
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

Known in Pennsylvania Dutch as Brauche or Braucherei, the folk-healing practice of powwowing was thought to draw upon the power of God to heal all manner of physical and spiritual ills. Yet some people believed--and still believe today--that this power to heal came not from God, but from the devil. Controversy over powwowing came to a climax in 1929 with the York Hex Murder Trial, in which one powwower killed another who, he believed, had placed a hex on him.

Based on seven years of fieldwork and extensive interviews, David Kriebel's study reveals the vibrant world, history, and culture of powwowing in southeastern and central Pennsylvania. He describes, compares, and contrasts powwowing practices of the past and the present; discusses in detail the belief in powwowing as healing; and assesses the future of Braucherei. Biographical sketches of seven living powwowers shed additional light on this little-understood topic.

A groundbreaking inquiry into Pennsylvania German culture and history, Powwowing Among the Pennsylvania Dutch opens a window onto an archaic, semi-mystical tradition still very much in practice today.


Contributor Bio(s): Kriebel, David W.: - David W. Kriebel is an anthropologist and writer specializing in religion and medicine. He has published articles on powwowing in The Journal of the Center for Pennsylvania German Studies, The Pennsylvania German Review, and Esoterica.