Pow-Wows: Or, Long Lost Friend (Forgotten Books) (Paperback)

by John George Hoffman (Author)
Key Phrases: one drachm, false tongues, Forgotten Books, God the Father, Jesus Christ (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Book Description:

"Written by a Pennsylvania Dutch healer in the 1820s, this book is a rambling collection of rural home remedies and folk invocations. Pow-wow is a unique creole of Christian theology and a shamanistic belief system. It is still practiced in some rural areas of Pennsylvania. In spite of the name, it is not of Native American derivation. It is believed to have been brought over to America by German immigrants who practiced folk-magic.


This little book includes healing spells, binding spells, protective spells, talismans, wards and benedictions. As for the home remedies, we don't recommend you try any of them (e.g., if you have scurvy we suggest that you get some limes. And if your livestock are sick, please have a veterinarian look at them.) The text is also of historical interest, as it paints a vivid picture of the miseries of rural American life in the early nineteenth century. The original is very rare." (Quote from sacred-texts.com)

Table of Contents:

Publisher’s Preface; Preface; Testimonials; Arts And Remedies.; Hysterics And Colds; Bleeding; Falling Away; When Anyone Is Sick; Worms In Men And Cattle; Slander; Colic; Fever; To Attach A Dog To A Person; Palpitation Of The Heart, And Hide-bound Persons; Injuries; A Wand For Searching For Iron, Ore Or Water; How To Obtain Things Which Are Desired; Catching Fish; Various Ulcers And Boils; Mortification And Inflammation; To Prevent Wicked Or Malicious Persons From Doing You An Injury; Bots Or Worms In Horses; The Poll-evil In Horses; Bad Wounds And Burns; Wild-fire; Pains; Warts; Whooping Cough; Bleeding; Toothache; Walk Securely; Colic; Convulsive Fevers; The Fever; Plaster; Eye-water; The White Swelling; Epilepsy; Burns; Bleeding; Pain; Toothache; Bruises And Pains; From Albertus Magnus; Fits Or Convulsions; Headache; Broken Glass; Make Cattle Return Home; To Prevent The Hessian Fly From Injuring The Wheat; To Prevent Cherries From Ripening Before Martinmas; Stinging Nettles; Sun-flower; Sore Mouth; Consumption; Swallow-wort; Hollow Horn In Cows; Wheal In The Eye; To Make Chickens Lay; Divinatory Wands; Tape-worm; Bots In Horses; Burn; Snake-bite; Mad Dogs; Remove Pain And Heal Wounds; Fever, Worms, And Colic; Weakness Of Limbs; To Make Horses Eat; Rats And Mice; Wen On Horse; Eye-water; Immobilizing Thieves; Sweeney In Horses; Molasses; Beer; Epilepsy; Make Cattle Return Home; Sores; Wounds; Sore Eyes; Lice; Paper Blotting; The Gravel; Incontinence; Remove Wen; Field-mice And Moles; Eye Scum; Deafness And Toothache; Painful Teething; Vomiting And DiarrhŒa; Burns; Oil Of Cloves A Panacea; Dysentery And DiarrhŒa; Toothache; Advice To Pregnant Women; Mad Dog Bite; To Increase The Growth Of Wool; Mortification; The Poll-evil In Horses; Scurvy And Sore Throat; Plaster; Bleeding; Bleeding; Lawsuits; Swelling Of Cattle; Fishing; Rheumatism; Worms In Bee-hives; To Prevent Gun-barrels From Rusting; A Wick Which Is Never Consumed; Prayer Before Journey; Fire And Pestilence; Conflagration; Against Malign Witchcraft; Extinguish Fire; To Prevent Bad People From Getting About The Cattle; Stopping Fire; To Fasten Or Spell-bind; Prevent Fire; After Being Bewitched; Against Sickness And Theft; Against Mishaps And Dangers; Gypsy Protection Sentence; Against Evil Spirits And Witchcraft; Swellings; To Treat A Cow After Milk Is Taken; Against Adversaries; Against Danger And Death; A Sick Cow; Fever; Immobilizing A Thief; Immobilizing A Thief (3); Releasing Spell-bound Persons; To Compel A Thief To Return Stolen Goods; A Benediction For All Purposes; To Win Every Game; Burns; Warding Cattle From Witchcraft; Binding Wounds; Relieving Painful Wounds; Worms; Against Every Evil Influence; Legal Success; To Stop Bleeding; Preventing Attack By Man Or Animal; House Protection; Charms; To Be At All Times Blessed; More Charms; To Recover Stolen Goods; A Well-tried Charm; Spring-tails Or Ground-fleas; Benedictions Aga

Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: Forgotten Books (November 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605060402
• ISBN-13: 978-1605060408
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #350,761 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Piece of History & Culture that Saved My Life! , July 16, 2008

By	Pa Dutch Girl "bmwflora" (Nevada) - See all my reviews

I grew up in PA Dutch Country, and my mother and her family and ancestors were all part of that culture. My mother firmly believed in the power of Pow-Wow and my sister still uses the bloodstone that belonged to my mother to this day. When I was a little girl, my mother and father had a friend, and elderly gentleman, who was a Pow-Wow Doctor. When I was 10, I became very ill with appendicitis and the medical doctors were very worried about me. I had a very high fever and it just wouldn't break. My mother found their friend, the Pow-Wow Doctor, and asked him if there was anything he could do. He reassured my mother and said that he would "work on me" through the night. He did so, and by morning my fever had broken and I was doing much better. The medical doctors were surprised. My mother credits the Pow-Wow with saving my life, not the medical doctors. Her mother (my grandmother) was a lifelong believer in Pow-Wow, and used their services frequently. She herself practiced a bit, but only for herself and her family. My mother also knew a tiny bit, which she used when I was growing up.
This book is a wonderful resource if you are interested in learning about Pow-Wow, I highly recommend it! It won't, alone, teach you to be a full Pow-Wow (you need to be trained by a Hexenmeister for that), but you may be able to use some of the charms to help yourself. Even if you are interested only in the historical and cultural aspects of the book, it is well worth purchasing for your collection. Thank you.

5.0 out of 5 stars About what I expected, March 31, 2009

By	Preston Peters "Shadowjack" (Roseburg, OR United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After reading several of Brian Keene's horror books in wich he mentions this book, and a couple other books of spells I figured I would take a look.
It is an interesting mix of christian belief and old world magic. But it's not going save you from evil spirits or anything. :) Got a pretty good laugh at a few of the spells. Fun read. Good conversation starter type book to have laying around.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Backbone of Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Practice , May 22, 2008

By	John Hansen (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Long Lost Friend has been in print since it was first published in 1820. It has survived a lot of editing and cheap paper publication, and still stands as the keystone of Pensylvania Dutch Hex Pratice, in which healings and many kinds of almost miraculous works are acomplished by the use of spoken spells alone. The principel of Hex working is based upon the words of Jesus Christ, who said 'Greater things than this ye shall do. The entire theory of Christian magical practice is given in the book of Mathew, and the spells given in the long Lost Friend and the new translation of Abramelin are those of this natire. It is truly a book that makes the magical side of Christainaity come alive.