The Dumb Dutchman

Exploring what it means to be Pennsylvania Dutch in the 21st century...

[dumbdutchman]

How I spent Friday night...

[dumbdutchman]

Ask a PA Dutchman: Looking for Love

[dumbdutchman]

This is coming up at the Pennsylvania German Heritage Center. Check it out!

[dumbdutchman]

Here's an interesting article. Worth a read.

[dumbdutchman]

Take advantage of this course if at all possible...

[dumbdutchman]

A day at the Kutztown Folk Festival! A cute little girl in a bonnet, met Doug Madenford and Chris Larose from Ask a PA Dutchman on YouTube, a version of Schnitzelbank I’ve never seen, live Hex sign/barn star painting, live petting zoo, stuffed Groundhogs, quilting, and more… What an awesome day! My only regret? Not having thousands of dollars to spend on all the food, crafts, books, etc…

[dumbdutchman]

Yeah, buddy!

[dumbdutchman]

Schnitzelbank! This is a different version than the one I'm used to. I thought it worth sharing.

[borderlandsciences-blog]

Witchcraft in Pennsylvania

In my home town, when I was a child, witch lore was our first teaching. The power of witches, my parents believed, was far-reaching; they declared emphatically that witches could and did cast spells from a great distance on either persons or animals. They recited tales by the score, brought to America from the old country, of witches who changed form at will, and who could change their victims from human to animal forms. They taught us never to look a strange person straight in the eyes, or anyone whom we did not know very well. We repeated the Lord’s name in the presence of anyone of ill repute, and made the sign of the Cross to protect ourselves from all manner of evil. The Crucifix was in many a purse and pocket (tho the community was non-Catholic) and, of course, the inevitable charm against witches was there also.

The Tryer, or hex-doctor, must practise a rigorous spiritual life, and must know the Bible from the first to the last pages, since many passages from it are used for healing. And he (or she) must have at command the cure-prayers which have been handed down thru the generations. In my home town the German language was used for all prayers and incantations.

(A transcription of H. O. Waltermeyer on Pennsylvania Dutch traditions of hex doctoring and witchcraft, provided by associate Anne Howard, who also contributed her own story of witchcraft in Pennsylvania.)

[Image: “Saint Dunstan shoes the Devil”, based on the original of George Crunkshank by unnamed artist, from cover of A. Monroe Aurand Jr.’s pamphlet “Popular Home Remedies and Superstitions of the Pennsylvania Germans” (1941).]

[dumbdutchman]

Doug Madenford's new Youtube series... Your Pennsylvania Dutch Minute.

[dumbdutchman]

[dumbdutchman]

[dumbdutchman]

[bad-postcards]

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH HEX SIGNS

Prof. Johnny Ott, Hexologist from Lenhartsville, Penna. and Jacob Zook, The Hex Man of Paradise, Penna., bring you “Good Luck Signs” for every situation from “sore feet” to the “farmer with unhappy pigs” to “mother-in-law troubles”.

[dumbdutchman]

Pa Dutch Easter egg tradition

[dumbdutchman]

Pennsylvania Dutch Easter traditions

[dumbdutchman]

While not wildly glorious, this is an interesting WW2 story.