Pow-Wow is one of the first Algonquian terms that Europeans documented.
- A pow-wow was a conjurer, diviner, ceremonial leader, and healer, according to a seventeenth-century European translation.
- The word also referred to locations with therapeutic power that were utilized in healing rites and other ceremonials.
The word is currently used to refer to two different ideas.
• Pow-wows are Native American ceremonial gatherings dedicated to indigenous customs.
• Pennsylvania Dutch magical and spiritual traditions are known as Pow-Wow.
The Pennsylvania Dutch were German immigrants to the United States who carried their rich magical traditions with them.
- These customs developed when new influences, such as those of nearby Native Americans, were introduced. That impact is reflected in the name.
- Pow-Wow artists and sometimes Pow-Wows are the terms used to describe practitioners of the art form, which corresponds to the seventeenth-century meaning of the term.
There are two types of Pow-Wow.
- Some Pow-Wows are devoted Christians who see their art as faith healing rather than magic.
- Other Pow Wow performers are subtly Pagan (or at least, less devoutly Christian).
The most violent witchhunts occurred in German territory during the Burning Times, and occultists were among the numerous refugees to the United States, hoping to find shelter and maybe a little more freedom to practice their skills.
You may also want to read more about Paganism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on Religion here.
