Braucherei, Brauche, Powwow, Powwowing,
Braucher, Braucherin, Powwower, Pow-Wow Doctor, Hex Doctor,
and Deitsch folk magic

Powwow

also known as “Powwowing” is an 18th and 19th century form of beneficent German folk magic traditionally practiced by those quaintly known to outsiders as the “Pennsylvania Dutch.” These people, more correctly called the Deitsch, are the descendants of German and Swiss immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1600s and 1700s.

This practice—called “Powwow” is more correctly called Braucherei or Brauche in the dialect of High German, which is spoken by the Deitsch most of which are still living in Pennsylvania. This folk healing magic tradition is originated Europe, and it was transplanted to colonial Pennsylvania in the transatlantic migrations of German-speaking people from Central Europe in the 17th and 18 centuries.

The word "Powwow" is derived from an Algonquian term powah or powwaw, which has been translated as "spiritual leader," “medicine man,” “magician,” or “priest.” This word itself has many variants I found in etomological sources, including Powaw, Pawaw, Powah, Pauwau and Pawau. Apparently, the early 17th century term, powwow in English, may have derived from a curing ritual called Pauwauing, originated in one of the Algonquian nations of the Northeast Native Americans (probably Narragansett and/or the identical word in Massachusett).

Braucher

a male practitioner of a type of beneficent folk magic known as: Brauche, Braucherei, “Powwow” “Pow-Wow,” or “Powwowing.” Therefore, a practitioner is sometimes referred to as a "Powwower" or “Pow-Wow doctor” as well as a Braucher—though not all practitioners use the same terminology. (Indeed, there are references to practitioners being called “hex doctors.”)

Braucherei

also known as Brauche, is beneficent folk magic commonly used by the Pennsylvanian Germans die Deitsch mostly known to outsiders (auslanders) as the “Pennsylvania Dutch.” Brauche or Braucherei, is largely comprised of charms of protection and healing rituals used for treating ailments in livestock and people.  Some charms are intended to secure physical well-being and spiritual protection, and good fortune in everyday affairs. The practice is also known as “Powwow” or “Powwowing.”

Braucherin

a female practitioner of a type of beneficent folk magic known as: Brauche, Braucherei, apparently known in English as a “wise woman”.  

Deitsch

the dialect in the USA specifically indicating the Pennsylvania German dialect, which is often called “Pennsylvania Dutch.” It is a variety of West Central German spoken by descendants of German immigrants in the USA and Canada, closely related to the Palatine dialects.  Speakers of this dialect include the Old Order Amish, Old Order Mennonites,  as well as several others.

Deutsch or Deitsch

the internal name for a group of people also known “Pennsylvanian Germans” or “Pennsylvania Dutch” which serves as the established term of ethnic identity of the descendants of immigrants who arrived between 1683 and the War of 1812 (some scholars include an ending year as late as 1820).

Powwow was an Algonquin term, "pauwau" or "pauau", which referred to a gathering of medicine men and spiritual leaders. "Pauwauing" referred to a religious ceremony, usually one of curing. In the 1800's the European explorers observing these religious gatherings and dances mispronounced the word as powwow. --Francis Jennings, The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism, and the Cant of Conquest, 1975, p. 241.

Sources

Robert L. Schreiwer & Ammerili Eckhart, A Dictionary of Urglaawe Terminology, 2012

Robert L. Schreiwer, The First Book of Urglaawe Myths: Old Deitsch Tales for the Current Era, 2014 (source of "Braucherin").

Patrick James Dugan, The Origin and Practition of Pow-Wow, Among the Pennsylvania Germans , The Historical Review of Berks County, Summer 1988.

Francis Jennings, The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism, and the Cant of Conquest, 1975. Online Etymological Dictionary, Origin and meaning of powwow, 2001, 2020, accessed 7/27/20.

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