POW WOWING

I believe I come from a line of Pow Wowers. Pow wowwing is a form of Appalachian Faith healing. It is done with herbs, incantations poultices, chants and prayers. Each practioner is different and each area is different. Another name for femal practitioners would be a Granny.

I have researched this area for years and am fascinated with the concept. In the last month though I have figured out why I am so fascinated.All around are areas in the natural that I am powerless over. Especially in areas of health. Not only my own health, but that of family and the furry beings in our house.To watch baby furries die one after the other, to see loved ones anxious, friends and family struggling with lifetime health issues is not easy.How wonderful it would be to incant and everything be alright. To use a poltice and loved ones be cured. To sit in the sun and all is well.

My maternal grandmother did many interesting acts with us that I would put under the heading of pow wowwing. When I was in the hospital as a kid for long term care. She would fight to get me the bed by the window. Then all through the day she would move my bed so that I would get the sun.She would bring in the outside for me. She would bring in flowers from her garden, wildflowers from the road. At different times she brought fish in a small bowl,a hermit crab, and a turtle. I vividly remember a nurse looking in on my room one day and asking my stylishly dressed "Cookie", "Where do you people come from?" She couldn't imagine we were just 60 miles down the pike.

Then there were the rocks. There were always rocks. Cookie had collected rocks from all over the world and taught me to gather rocks also. Case in point: If I had a complaint of being hot, she offered a rock from John Bryan's State Park creek. She told me to remember when we found the rock. Remember what a nice day we had and how cool the creek was. And to take a nap. It worked then and it works now, she says witha pocket full of rocks specifically picked out for the day.

In the children's hospital where I spent so much time there was a twist on pow wowwing I also. There were 2 simple cures that worked for just about anything. The first was coloring. If you hurt, couldn't sleep, missed your mommy, it didn't matter what you were brought a coloring book and crayons. It actually seemed to fix about anything. (I haven't found this to be different today.)

Now f things got really rough and you pushed your nurse button just a little too much you were offered Majic Water. The nurse explained to you that if you really felt bad, she could bring you majic water. Now she couldn't give you much because it was so powerful. Just one of those little white paper cups they brought your pills in - that was more than enough. And it was so powerful that you would be asleep before she left the room. Majic water always worked.

Years later I was seeing an Acupuncturist originally from China. One of the clients was loudly complaining of her condition. The Dr. went over to a water container and poured a very small amount of cool water and explained the potency. She drank it and was immediately relieved. Majic water is obviously universal.

So what ever we offer in times of trouble - try your own sort of pow wowwing - it can't hurt and it may be the only thing that transfers comfort and relief. The only thing to get us through and allow us to be willing to do it again the next time.