Folk Religion of the Pennsylvania Dutch

Richard L.T. Orth is interim director of the American Folklife Institute. He has published several books and more than 300 articles. His lifelong study of Pennsylvania Dutch culture includes curating museum collections, field research and writing. He lives in South Burlington, Vermont.

Table of Contents


Preface

A Hexerei Vocabulary

Part I: White and Black Magic of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country

 1. Hexerei: An Introduction

 2. Braucherei: Its Counter (Powwow and Hex Doctors)

 3. Pennsylvania Dutch Powwow Carvings and the Occult

 4. Abracadabra: An (Antediluvian) Amulet of Protection

 5. Rural Superstitions of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country

 6. Secrets of a Pennsylvania Dutch Witch in the Oley Hills

 7. Hexerei: Application and Folk Tales

Part II: The Mysterious and Unexplained

 8. John Ross and the Supernatural

 9. ESP + 1750 Mansion = Historical Insight

10. A Colonial Lobachsville Homestead in America and Ties to the Occult

11. Cross My Heart and Hope to Die!

12. X Does More Than Mark the Spot

13. 18th-Century Yoder Ghost of Oley Valley

Part III: Faith Healing of the Dutch Country

14. Frontier Faith Healing in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country

15. Mountain Mary: Berks County’s Most Beloved Faith Healer

16. John George Hohman, Berks County’s Christian Wizard

17. Catholic Church Holidays Kept Alive by Pennsylvania

delete delete Dutch Pioneers

18. Famous Stahl Pottery Works Fired “Ferhext” Redware

delete delete Pie Plate

Part IV: Folklore Derived from 18th–and 19th-Century Beliefs

19. Pennsylvania Dutch Weather Lore of the Early 20th Century

20. Goose-Bone Prophets of the Dutch Country

21. Appalachian Powwowing among the Pennsylvania Dutch

22. Historic Kutztown University: Its Interaction with the

delete delete Occult and Its ­German-Speaking Community

23. The ­World-Famous Hex Sign Folk Art … Myth!

Part V: Amulets and the Lord’s Protection from Evil

24. “Deivel’s Dreck” and Other Rural Devices to Ward Off Evil

25. Pennsylvania Dutch Traditions of the ­All-Seeing Eye (of Jesus Christ)

26. Folk Legend of the Pennsylvania Dutch “Himmelsbriefs” (Letters from Heaven)

27. Contemporary Holy Letters Still Carried Today

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index