Braucherei
The Pennsylvania German tradition of folk healing and protection with prayers and charms, usually called powwowing in English.
Also: brauche, powwowing, hexerei, pennsylvania dutch folk healing
Braucherei, from the German brauchen, to use, is the folk practice of the Pennsylvania Germans, also called Pennsylvania Dutch, in which a healer, a braucher, speaks prayers and charms, often with the sign of the cross, for illness, stopping bleeding, protection of animals and finding lost things. Practitioners hold that it works by faith and the names of the Trinity, and they say it is Christian. Printed collections, such as the Long Lost Friend (1820) of John George Hohman, circulated widely. Hexerei, meaning witchcraft, names the opposite, malicious use, and the two are kept apart. In 1928 a murder in York County, Pennsylvania, tied to a hex belief, drew attention. A few practitioners remain, though most now work quietly.