The Powwow Guy

Traditional Pennsylvania German Powwow

Culture & Memory

The history, symbols, and stories of the Pennsylvania Dutch.

The world that Powwow grows from — its hex signs, its history, and the dialect of the Pennsylvania Dutch.

A symmetrical Pennsylvania German fraktur design: blue tulips and yellow buds on a black vine, with red blossoms and green leaves
The tulip — with the heart and the distelfink, one of the most common motifs in Pennsylvania German fraktur.
  • Hex Signs

    The history and meaning of Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs, from their origins as barn decorations to their modern talismanic use.

  • Rehmeyer Memorium

    A memorial to Nelson Rehmeyer, a York County Powwower murdered in 1928, whose story inspired Robert Phoenix's commitment to the tradition.

  • Speak Pennsylvania Dutch

    An introduction to learning the spoken Pennsylvania Dutch language for those interested in Powwow and PA German culture.