Powwowing
Powwowing, a superstitious custom, no doubt descending from medieval European folk superstitions, which professes to heal sicknesses by the pronouncement of a mysterious formula handed down from one practitioner to another, still practiced to some extent among the Pennsylvania Dutch of Pennsylvania and other regions in the 1950s. Some Mennonites and Amish have indulged in the practice. According to the theory the ability to powwow (that is, to cure by powwowing) is handed down from a male to a female and then in turn from a female to a male practitioner. Powwowing is not "faith healing" nor healing by prayer. Similar practices involve the ability to cast off "the evil eye" which may have been "cast" upon beast or man by a person able to do so.
See also Brauche
| Author(s) | Harold S Bender |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Bender, Harold S. "Powwowing." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 12 Feb 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Powwowing&oldid=104333.
APA style
Bender, Harold S. (1959). Powwowing. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 12 February 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Powwowing&oldid=104333.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 208. All rights reserved.
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