The Folklore of Dowsing Author(s): Theodore Besterman Source: Folklore, Vol. 37, No. 2 (Jun. 30, 1926), pp.

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jfo
Vol. XXXVII.]

khalOre
JUNE, 1926. [No. II.

2WRANSACTIONS OF THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY

THE FOLKLORE OF DOWSING.x

BY THEODORE BESTERMAN.

(Read at Meeting, 23rd 7une, 1926.) My subject this evening is, in the words of The Handbook of Folklore, " the Divining Rod, the representative of the magician's wand, perhaps the most ancient magical instrument in the world, which is still in use to discover springs of water, and even, it seems, veins of ore and hidden treasures." 2 The view of dowsing expressed in these words is still that of a majority of intelligent persons. My own attitude, however, is rather different. I " believe " in dowsing, that is, I believe that the dowser is really able to discover hidden things of all kinds by means other than normal; in short, I believe dowsing to be a fact and not a piece of folklore. Therefore I have excluded from consideration in this paper all cases of dowsing unaccompanied
1I am indebted for portions of my material to the late Sir William Barrett and to the late Mr. Ernest Westlake, and for assistance with Scandinavian and Czech sources to Mr. L. C. Wharton.
2

The Handbook

of Folklore,

(1914

edit.), H

p. 133.

114

The Folklore of Dowsing.

by ceremonial or other practices or beliefs of a specifically folklore nature. Ordinary dowsing has been dealt with elsewhere.3 This course has the advantage of enabling us to reject enormous accumulations of evidence of a purely commercial and experimental kind, and to confine ourselves to genuine specimens of popular belief and practice. Within this definition I do not know of any example of English dowsing folklore. In support of this attitude may be cited the view of Robert Hunt, who explains that he says nothing about Cornish dowsing in his Popular Romances because it was a late foreign introduction.4 This is historically true, for the first discussion of dowsing in an English work occurs in Robert Fludd's Philosophia Moysaica (Gouda, 1638, p. I117), though even this can only be called an English work by courtesy, since it is in Latin and was published in the Netherlands. The earliest reference in English is in Gabriel Plattes's A Discovery of Subterraneall Treasure, (1639, pp. I-13). Nothing of folklore interest is found in connection with the modern dowser because he has made a business of his ability, and " a professional dowser makes no mystery or hocus-pocus about it." 5 In the West of Scotland, we learn, a hazel-rod, "When
used as a divining rod . . . if it were cut on St. John's Day

or Good Friday, would be certain to be a successful instrument of divination." 6 In some parts of France, Mannhardt states, without giving his authority, the people dance round the fires which are believed to appear on the night of St. John's, with hazel-rods in their hands.' But no genuine
3 Sir. W. Barrett and Th. Besterman, The Divining-Rod : an Experimental and Psychological Investigation, (1926). 4 R. Hunt, Popular Romances of the West of England, etc., (1881,
3rd edit.), p. 29.

5 F. T. Elworthy, The Evil Eye, (1895), p. 46. 6 J. Napier, Folk Lore : or, Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland,
(Paisley,
1879), p. 125. 7 W. Mannhardt, Die G6tter der deutschen und nordischen Volker, (Berlin, i86o), p. 201.

The Folklore of Dowsing.

115

piece of French dowsing folklore, none, that is, dating from earlier than 1553, is known to me. This date is the one marking the first mention of dowsing in a French book.8 Proceeding to Scandinavia, we find the items becoming a little more numerous. No less a person than Linnaeus took part in a dowsing experiment in Sweden,9 where
the dowser is called a " Dalkarl." 10 According to a

twelfth century Ms. you should find a mountain-ash (Eberesche)which has grown from a seed dropped out of a bird's beak. Go at twilight between the third day and night after Lady Day and break off a twig. This twig must not come into contact with iron or steel, nor must it be allowed to fall to the ground. The Ms. then proceed to various pseudo-magical directions for the use of this rod." According to other accounts the rod should be made of mistletoe (in this case used for the finding of treasure),12 of hazel, birch, or rowan.13 Elsewhere we have a description of a rather unusual kind of rod :" It is on St. Hans' Eve'n [St. John's Eve] that the so-called 'Slag Ruta,' the mystic implement with which the treasurede Caila, " Sur quelques monumens, usages et traditions antiques du
8 P. Belon, Les observations de plusieurs singularitez et choses memorables, (Paris, 1553), tom. i., p. 45. See, however, [Baron Pierre Martin]

d6partment de la Gironde," Memoires de l'Academie Celtique, (Paris, 1809), tom. iv., pp. 267-268; Am6lie Bosquet, La Normandie romanesque et merveilleuse, (Paris and Rouen, I845), p. 304. 9C. Linnaeus, Skdnska Resa, (Stockholm, 175i), pp. 160-I. 10 E. M. Arndt, " Winke aus germanischen Sprachen, Gebrduchen und Gesetzen," Rheiniches Museum ffir Philologie, Geschichte und griech11A. Kuhn, Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des G6ttertranks, (Berlin, 1859), quoting Runa, (Stockholm, 1845), p. 63. Kuhn's rendering seems doubtful: cp. J. Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, ed. by Eland Hugo Meyer, (Berlin, 1875-8, 4th edit.), Bd. iii., p. 289; W. K. Kelly, Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and Folk-Lore, (1863), pp. 168-9. 12 A. A. Afzelius, Swenska Folkets Sago-H4fder, (Stockholm, 1839-74), vol. i., pp. 18-I9. is L. F. RiAf, Ydre h4rad i Osterg6thland, (Link6ping, 1856), vol. i., pp. I33-5.

ische Philosophie, (Bonn, 1828), Bd. ii., p. 252; of. ibid., Bd. ii., pp. 247, 353.

116

The Folklore of Dowsing.

seeker discovers wealth hidden underground,must be prepared, if it is to be possessed of the needful power. The 'Slag Ruta ' is of square form, from eighteen to twentyfour inches in diameter, and is constructed of four sticks dovetailed into each other at the ends. But these four sticks must consist of as many different kinds of mystic wood, viz.: of a sapling of mountain-ash that has implanted itself (the seed having been conveyed by a bird or wafted by the wind) in the mould, or rather vegetable matter, collected in the hollow root of a fallen tree; of a shoot of the aspen-tree, of which wood our Saviour's cross is believed to have consisted; of mistletoe, with a shaft whereof Balder, the good god, was, as related in the Scandinavian mythology, slain by his brother Hoder; and of a fourth kind of wood, the name of which has escaped me. Provided with the 'Slag Ruta,' the treasure-seeker after sundown proceeds to the spot where he expects to find hidden wealth, when he lays the mystic implement on the ground, first in one place, and then in another, and when at length it rests directly over the coveted treasure, it will of itself begin to move as if alive ! But the operation must be conducted in profound silence, for should the man speak a single word, or make the slightest noise, the charm-for that night at least-is at once broken, and his labours will prove vain." Our authority proceeds to say that there are many legends concerning the wonderful discoveries made in this way, but he does not record any.14 In Denmark, treasures are believed to be found with a rod, called the " Finkelrut," which is cut during St. John's Night, while invoking the Holy Trinity.15 According to another account such rods are used for finding water, but they should be of willow and used by a man born under
14L. Lloyd, Peasant Life in Sweden, (1870), pp. 266-7. See also Eva Wigstr6m, Folksdiktning i Skdne, (Copenhagen, I88o-I), vol. i., pp. 105, 200 ; J. W. Broberg, Bidrag frdn vdr Folksmedicins Vidskepelser, (Stockholm, 1878), p. 22; Walter Leaf, "Vis-Knut," Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, vol. xxi., (1908-9), pp.
142, 146.
15

H. F. Feilberg, Dansk Bondeliv, (Copenhagen, 1889), p. 364.

The Folklore of Dowsing.

11 7

Aquarius; on Jutland Heath, we are informed, marl is found in this way.16 It is interesting to note that in the arms of the ancient Danish family of Bille is a figure of a troll holding a sapling; tradition has it that during a time of drought such a troll came with a sapling in his hand and found water.17 We may now travel into Germany, in many parts of which we shall find dowsing folklore widely distributed.18 Immediately south of the Danish frontier, in Schleswig, near Gutin, is the village of Gross-Meinsdorf, which belonged before 1426 to the noble family of Meinsdorf. One member of this family combined his nobleness with the occupation of a robber. This he presumably found more profitable, for he specialised in the merchants from Ltibeck. In the course of time, the soldiers of that city were sent out after the robber-nobleman, who buried the treasure he had accumulated and set the devil on guard over it. The devil was faithful to his trust, and once in every seven years, during the night, he set the treasure aglow. After the castle had disappeared with its noble family, the site was occupied by the house of a small landowner, who had often observed the glowing of the treasure. One day there came to him a man with a dowsing-rod, who promised to find the treasure if the peasant would sign a paper which was put before him. Unable to write, the latter called his wife, whereupon the stranger refused to show the paper, and was eventually thrown out for his pains. He had, however, been so careless as to allow his rod to give its indications, upon which the landowner promptly began to act. While he was digging a huge sow ran round the house with wild
Kamp, Danske Folkeminder, (Bodense, 1877), p. 169, No. 443. B. Thorpe, Northern Mythology, (1851), vol. ii., p. 238; G. S. Streatfield, in Notes and Queries, (1878), 5S. vol. x., pp. 355-356; Torben de Bille, in ibid., 5S. vol. xi., pp. 157-8. 18Montanus [i.e., Wilhelm von Waldbrucht), Die deutschen Volksfeste, Jahren- und Familien- Feste, (Iserlohn and Ellerfeld, 1854), PP.
17

16J.

118-9,

152.

118

The Folklore of Dowsing.

screams. Undeterred the peasant at last felt his tool strike on an iron box, and, filled with joy, called his wife; no sooner had he done so than the box disappeared and could not be found. The house was afterwards destroyed, and the site of the treasure is now in the " Lambrechtschen Garten." The glowing of the treasure was last observed in 1781. In this neighbourhood the dowsing-rod must be a forked twig, one year old, cut at a given time (which is unspecified), with the words,-" In the names of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." 19 From another source we learn that the wood used for this purpose is willow.20 In neighbouring Mecklenburg, however, the rod may be of willow or of thorn, but it must be cut on St. John's Day.21 In the early years of the nineteenth century there existed in this part of Germany a society of treasure-hunters. One of the members of this body left it and gave Information concerning it to Mussius. The account is too long to quote; they used the dowsing-rod, complete with conjurations, invocations, and so forth, apparently from a magical work of the sixteenth century.22 At Warlow, near Ludwigslust, in Mecklenburg, has been found the belief that if a rod, apparently of thorn,23 is cut before sunrise on Good Friday, and addressed with the words," God greet thee, noble rod! In the name of God the Father I sought thee, in the name of God the Son I found thee, in the name of God the Holy Ghost I cut thee," such a
Schleswig Holstein und Lauenburg, (Kiel, 1845), pp. 203-4, No. 277 (i). 20 A. Wuttke, Der deutsche Volksaberglaube der Gegenwart, ed. by E. H. Meyer,
21

19K. Miillenhoff, Sagen, Miirchen und Lieder der Herzogthiimer

(Berlin,

1900,

3rd edit.),

p. 109, ? 143.

Ibid., pp. 79, 109, ?? 92, 143; cf. pp. 149, 270-I, 384-5, ?? 208, 398, 585. " 22 J. MUSSRus, Meklenburgische Volksmihrchen," Jahrbi4cher des Vereins fiur meklenburgische Geschichte und Alterthumskunde, (Schwerin,
No. 25. 1840), Bd. v., pp. 109-118, 23 K. Bartsch, Sagen, Mirchen und Gebriiuche aus Meklenburg, (Vienna, Bd. ii., p. 258, Nos. 1347-8. 1879-80),

The Folklore of Dowsing.

I I9

rod becomes able to find treasures and to cure all illnesses.24 In the same locality there is, however, a folk-saying according to which treasures in the earth glow on St. John's Day, on which day the rod must be cut from a hazel-tree.25 At Briitz the rod is directed to be cut during St. John's night from a hazel-tree, being then competent to find hidden money and water.26 At Klitz it is said that to find treasure you should cut a willow-rod between twelve and one, noon or midnight, on St. John's Day. Having found the right place with the help of the rod thus obtained, take care not to speak while you are digging, happen what will. Once, while such a digging was in progress during the night, it suddenly became as light as day. The devil appeared and held suspended over the heads of the treasure-seekers a millstone hanging on a thread. But the men calmly went on digging. Then a four-in-hand drove quickly past. The men quietly continued their work. Behind the carriage came hobbling an old woman all in white, who kept calling out,-" Schak wol mit furtkamen ? Schak wol mit furtkamen ? " This was too much for one of the diggers, who exclaimed,-" Du magst den Deuwel mit furtkamen." In the same instant the treasure sunk and disappeared.2" At Barkow is told the story that many hundred years ago a rich man buried his treasure, planting a pear-tree on the spot. No one could find the place until there came a man with a dowsing-rod. He had nearly lifted out a chest full of gold and silver when a black spirit appeared to him with the information that the treasure could only be taken by one who rode round the place on a spotlessly black he-goat. With that the chest disappeared amid the sound of gruesome rattlings of chains, while all the lanterns went out.28
24
27

Ibid., Bd. ii., p. 258, No. 1349. Ibid., Bd. ii., P 351, No. 1648.
312.

25

Ibid., Bd. ii., p. 285, No. 1431.

26 Ibid., Bd. ii., p. 288, No. 1439 ; cf. Bd. ii., p. 351, No. 1649. 28 Ibid., vol. i., p. 241, No.

See also

J. Mussdius, op. cit., Bd. v.,

pp. 84-6, No. 9.

120

The Folklore of Dowsing.

The belief at Gramzow, in the Pomeranian Ukermark, is that the rod must be cut, backwards, from a hazel, on St. John's Day, and must then be bound on a child about to be baptised and to receive the name of John.29 The hazelrod is also known in East Prussia.30 Returning to the west of the country, to the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, we find beliefs that to discover treasure, metallic veins, and occasionally springs of water, you should find a one-year-old hazel-rod the forks of which are of equal length and so growing that the noon sun shines through them. According to some this rod should be cut at noon on St. John's Day. According to others (in Miinsterland) it should be cut between eleven and twelve o'clock during the night of St. John from a tree which has had seven shoots in a year. Others declare (Ammerland district) the right wood to be thorn, while agreeing with the last-mentioned hours.31 At Sulz-on-the-Rhine the dowsing-rod must be a forked hazel-rod which has grown in a year, and must be cut at midnight on Good Friday. When it has been placed on the altar and has had Holy Mass read over it, the rod can be used by a Protestant. When these ceremonies are completed, the forks are taken in the hands and the words pronounced,-" Dowsing-rod, I conjure you in the names of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." It will then indicate money and water.32 The inhabitants of Klausthal, in the Hanover Harz Mountains, believe that a rod from a fir-tree will indicate
29 A. Kuhn and W. Schwartz, Norddeutsche Sagen, Mirchen und Gebrduche aus Meklenburg, Pommern, der Mark, Sachsen, Thiringen, Braunschweig, Hannover, Oldenburg und Westfallen, (Leipsic, 1848), p. 393, No. go. This passage is incorrectly rendered by B. Thorpe,

and Allenstein, 1884-9), vol. ii., p. 282, s.v. " Corylus Avellana." 31 L. Strackerjan, Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg, (Oldenburg, 1867), Bd. i., p. 98, No. 137. 32 E. Meier, Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebrdiuche aus Schwaben,
(Stuttgard,
1852),

op. cit., vol. iii., p. 141. 30 C. Lemke, Volksthiimliches in Ostpreussen, (Mohungen

P. 245, No. 268 (i).

The Folklore of Dowsing.

121

the presence of ore. In Harzburg the rod is called the " Wickeruthe " and must be broken, never cut, from a hazel or from a currant-bush, and that only between the hours of eleven and twelve during the night of Maundy Thursday. It must then be put privily with a child about to be baptised, and take the name the child receives. A young woman told the recorder of these beliefs that her father had once possessed such a rod, named Johanne. The fork, which should have sprouted the same year, the man had bound with white leather, on which he had marked a head in blue thread and a nose in white, so that it had a questioning look (wonach aussah). The daughter once saw her father take this rod in his hands in the customary manner, and say,-" Wickeraue Johanne, ick frae dik, is hier Geld vorhanden? " (" Rod Johanne, I ask thee, is there money here ? "). In reply the rod nearly hit him in the face, and money was actually found at the spot indicated.33 A calendar of 1663, apparently dealing with Hesse, directs that the rod should be of hazel, torn from the tree with one quick motion with the hand; the searcher for gold must be what is astrologically called solar, and for silver lunar.34 It being believed that a great treasure was hidden in the Frauenberg, near Marburg, three men agreed to find it. They knew that this could be done with a forked hazel-rod broken off on the frontier at midnight of the first (Sunday?) in Advent. This they accordingly did, and set out, agreeing not to speak. With the help of the rod the treasure was soon found, but, being in a big copper pot, it proved too heavy to pull out, and they went on digging, soon finding that they were making no impression. Suddenly a dog appeared, small and so young that it
33 H. Pr6hle, Harzbilder : Sitten und Gebrduche aus dem Harzgebirge, (Leipsic, 1855), P. 79, No. 24. C. Lyncker, Deutsche Sagen und Sitten in Hessichen Gauen, (Cassel, 3,

1854), pp. 102-4, No. 158 : cf. p. 105, No. 16o.

122

The Folklore of Dowsing.

could not bite, but making such a noise that one of the men made as if to run away. One of the others, forgetting himself, swore, at which the pot disappeared, dog and all, never to be found again.35 In the Mark, to obtain a dowsingrod you should silently approach a hazel backwards on St. John's Night and cut a forked rod. To know whether the rod is in order place it in water, and if so it will squeal like a pig; you can then find hidden treasures with it.36 It is said in the Spreewald that if you carry a dowsingrod with you, you know where money lies, for the rod will turn to indicate it. To find treasure take the rod at midnight to a cross-roads, beat a circle round yourself with it, and do not weaken whatever may come. This rod must be a forked hazel and baptised the next Easter (after it is obtained?) with a child, the name of which it takes. (Though, to be sure, some say that it should be of yellow willow and blessed in church.) To be baptised the rod must be wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid on a white plate. Of course, you have to know how to address it. The manner of dowsing is unusual, for you leave the rod at home on the plate, where it turns and gives its indications until you go to the right spot.37 One does not usually look for folklore in big cities, but Krause had the happy idea of collecting that of Berlin. There he found the belief that on every hazel-tree there grows a dowsingrod once in seven years. Only a child born on Sunday, who has the true faith and who is quite innocent, can find it, and then only on St. John's Night. To such a child all the treasures of the earth stand open.38
35 Ibid., pp. 104-5,
36

No. 159.

A. Kuhn, Mdrkische Sagen und Mdrchen, (Berlin, 1843), p. 33o. und Gebriuche aus dem 37 W. von Schulenburg, Wendische Volkssagen 204-5. Spreewald, (Leipsic, 188o), pp. 38E. Krause, " Abergldubliche Kuren und samtiger Aberglaube in Berlin und nichster Umgebung gesammelt in den Jahren 1862-1882," Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie, (Berlin, 1883), Bd. xv., p. 89.

The Folklore of Dowsing.

123

A dowsing-rod in Bavaria, where its use is well-known,39 should be cut with a new knife from a white hazel. This should be done in the name of the Trinity before sunrise during the night of St. John's Day, Good Friday, or a Sunday during new moon.40 At Vohenstrauss, in the Upper Palatinate of East Bavaria, a dowsing-rod must be a forked rod of hazel or willow. Such a rod is used for discovering thieves, stolen things that have been buried, water, and the end of an illness. A true dowsing-rod must be obtained from the same year's growth of a young tree at a given time on a given day (neither specified), with three upward cuts and immediately baptised, given a name, and three crosses made over it with the hand. It will then be an infallible oracle, subject only to the condition that a cross is made over it before each occasion of use.41 A dowsing-rod in the Lechrain, South Bavaria, is a one-year-old forked twig which has been cut on St. John's Day, Twelfth-Day, during the night of ShroveTuesday, or before sunrise during new moon. While cutting the rod, you say,-" I cut thee, dear rod, that thou mayest tell me what I do ask thee, and not move thyself till thou hast found the truth." 42 At Wurmlingen and Tuttlingen in South-West Bavaria they will tell you that a dowsing-rod must be a twig one year old with forks of equal length, which has been so hidden during the celebration of the mass that it was blessed. With such a rod all treasures can be found,43 as is proved by a lengthy
S9See,

e.g., J. A. Schmeller, Bayerisches W6rterbuch (Stuttgard and

1836-1837), Bd. iii., p. 171 ; Bd. iv., pp. 119, 310.

Tiibingen,
40

A. Quitzmann, Die Heidnische Religion der Baiwaren, (Leipsic and Heidelberg, 1860), p. 27. 41 Fr. Schdnwerth, A us der Oberpfalz : Sitten und Sagen, (Augsburg,
1857-9),
42

Bd. iii., pp. 216-7, ? 12.

Karl, Freiherr von Leoprechting, A us dem Lechrain : zur deutschen Sitten- und Sagenkunde, (Munich, 1855), p. 98. 43 A. Birlingir, Volksthiimliches aus Schwaben, (Freiburg-in-theBreisgau, 1861-2), Bd. i., pp. 338-9, No. 569.

124

The Folklore of Dowsing.

folktale in which one achieves prodigies in that direction.44 Dowsing folklore is widely distributed in Switzerland.45 In North Switzerland the rod with which you can find whatever you desire must be prepared thus :-A man born in Libra must cut from a hazel-tree a forked twig which has grown about sunrise. He must say,-" God greet thee, noble twig! With God the Father I searched for thee, with God the Son I found thee, with God the Holy Ghost I cut thee. I conjure thee, twig, by the might of the Allhighest, to show me what I order thee, and may that be so sure and true, so pure and clear, as was Mary the Mother of God a pure virgin as she bore our Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ! Amen ! " 46 In Basel the forked hazel-rods used by the " Brunneschm6kers " 47 for the discovery of springs, as the name indicates, must be cut between the hours of twelve and one during the night of Good Friday.4s Dowsing has also left traces in the folklore and dialects of Aarau, the capital of the canton of Aargau,49and of Lucerne.50 In the latter district fish bones, as well as hazel-rods, are
44Ibid., Bd. i., pp. 87-8, No. 118; cp. C. Lyncker, op. cit., p. 104,
No. 159.

45E.g., E. Hoffman-Krayer,

in Schweizerisches Archiv fifr VolksBd. iv., (1900), p. 243; A.

kunde, (Zurich), Bd. iii., (1899), pp. 173-5; Kiichler, in ibid., Bd. iv. (1900), pp. 241-3.

aus der Schweiz, 46 Th. Vernaleken, A lpenzagen : VolksiTberlieferungen aus Vorarlberg, Kirnten, Steiermark, Salzburg, Ober- und Nieder6sterreich, (Vienna, 1858), pp. 415-6, No. 128. 47G. A. Seiler, Die Basler Mundart, (Basel, 1879), p. 43, s.v. " Brunneschmdker." " 48Ibid, pp. 163-4, s.v. d'Haselstude." Worterbuch in der Lautform der Leerauer 49 I. Hunziker, Aargauer
Mundart, Aarau, (Aarau, 1806-12), 1877), pp. 40, s.v. Bd. ii., p. 503, " brhnne ";
212,

s.v. " ruete." See also T.

and 50 F. J. Stalder, Versuch eines schweizerischen Idiotikon, (Basel

s.v. " zu Brunnen."

Tobler, Appenzellischer Sprachschatz, (Zurich, 1837), pp. 80, 440.

The Folklore of Dowsing.

125

used for dowsing.51 In the Rhaetian Alps it is believed that a forked hazel-rod, grown at sunrise, and broken off by one born in Libra, can find treasures and veins.52 These Alps lead us into Tirol, where folklore connected with dowsing is universal.53 It is believed that forked hazel-rods, cut during Midsummer Night, are the best dowsing-rods,54 though in the Innthal Good Friday is considered the auspicious day for this purpose.55 According to one native the rod must be taken from a white hazel-tree with three cuts from a new knife. This should be done before sunrise on a new Sunday, that is, a Sunday in new moon, and in the name of the Trinity. The rod should then be baptised in the name of Caspar if it is intended to search for gold, Balthasar for silver, Melchior for water.56 This particular detail we meet here for the first time; rods actually inscribed with these names have been found.'5 Another account adds the particulars that the rod should have grown at a cross-roads, and that it may also be cut before sunrise on St. John's or Twelfth Day, or during Christmas Night when the bells are being rung, but then, apparently, the twig must be one a year old.58
51 A. Lfitolf, Sagen, Briuche, Legenden aus den fiinf Orten Lucern, Uri, Schwiz, Unterwalden und Bug, (Lucern, 1862), p. 371, No. 340 (b.) 15 F. J. Vonbun, Beitr4ge zur deutschen Mythologie, gesammelt in

Churrhaetien,

(Chur, 1862), p. 127.

-3 J. Nepomuk [Mahlschedl], Ritter von Alpenburg, Mythen und Sagen Tirols, (Zurich, 1857), pp. 392-4; I. V. Zingerle, Sitten, Briiuche
und Meinungen des Tirols, (Innsbruck, 1871, 2nd edit.), pp. 104, 149, 187, 189. but see p. 187, No. 1543, 54 I. V. Zingerle, op. cit., p. 104, No. 890; p. 189, No. 1560.

Ibid., loc. cit. See also id. " Wald, Baume, Krauter," Zeitschrift fiir deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde, (G6ttingen, 1853), Bd. i.,
56

65Ibid.,

p. 149, No. 1281.

p. 327.

-5 [P. Lebrun], Histoire critique des pratiques superstitieuses, (Rouen and Paris, 1702), tom. ii., p. 635. 58 J. Nepomuk [Mahlschedl], op. cit., p. 393.

126

The Folklore of Dowsing.

In North Moravia a dowsing-rod for finding treasures should be made of hazel.59 There is a Czech belief that a dowsing-rod should be a white hazel-rod which has been cut on Good Friday with three cuts made with a new knife, and which has been wrapped in a white cloth and thus baptised in the name of Caspar, Balthasar, or Melchior, according to whether it is to be used for the discovery of gold, silver, or water.60 A tale is told that a long time ago, in a valley of the Carpathians, a woodcutter and his wife lived in great poverty. Once the woodcutter said to his wife,-" If we could but succeed in finding the wizard's rod all our need would have an end at one blow." " But how is to be recognised the tree from which the wizard's twig has to be broken? " asked the wife. " For that," replied her husband, " you must walk through the whole wood, and at the hour of midnight you must listen to find which tree begins to sing; from that one you must then quickly break off a twig, and run as hard as you can to get out of the wood. Then, during the next full moon, you must run round the whole valley, striking every rock you pass with the wizard's rod. When you chance upon the right rock it will split and form a cave. Going into it you will find endless treasure, and then we are rich folk. All this was told to me by the mountain spirit, to whom I once rendered a great service. Often already I have spent nights in the woods, but always I have failed to find the tree." From this time both together often wandered through the wood. One night there was such a tempest outside that the wife did not venture out. Only the man huddled himself in his cloak and made his way out. Suddenly he noticed that it was
59W. Miiller, Beitrige zur Volkskunde den Deutschen in Mihren, (Vienna and Olmiitz, 1893), p. 265. Casopis so J. V. Hou'ka, Druha sbirka pover narodnich v (echich," Musea, (Prague, 1854), vol. xxviii., p. 533. Cf. J. V. Grohmann, (eskbho " Aberglauben und Gebriuche aus Bohmen und Mahren," Beitrige zur Geschichte B6hmens, (Prague, 1864), Bd. ii., p. 215, ? 1485.

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not raining where he stood, while barely two paces away the fearful tempest raged around him. Mechanically he stayed in his place and awaited the departure of the storm. Thus approached the midnight hour. Then the tempest stopped, and, as the woodcutter was about to go on, suddenly the tree which stood behind him softly began to sing. Quickly he turned round, clambered up the tree, broke off a twig, and ran hurriedly away. He reached his home quite exhausted, and showed his wife the find. Scarcely had the next night of full moon come round, when he was already in the valley with his wizard-rod, running around and knocking everywhere. One of the big rocks suddenly burst open. He was about to go in, but jumped back with fright as he saw a man standing before him. But the man nodded in a friendly way and so he went in, when he was almost blinded by heaps of diamonds. In his ignorance he took it all for glass and left it lying. Instead he so loaded himself with gold that he could hardly drag it out, and threw away the rod. As he went out the old man looked at him meaningly, to remind him that he had left the wizard-rod behind. But the woodcutter thought he was being threatened, and ran away with his treasure. Only at home he remembered the little wand, and it was now clear to him why the old man had looked at him so meaningly. Quickly he ran back, but the rock was
closed.61

I have quoted this characteristic and beautiful folktale to illustrate the narrow line that separates the wizard-rod, or rod of power, from the dowsing-rod, a line that sometimes, as in the present tale, cannot be drawn. It would unfortunately take me too far afield to consider rods in general in the present paper.62
61

Th. Vernaleken, Mythen und Brduche des Volkes in Oesterreich,

hazel-rods, see A. von Herrlein, Die Sagen des Spessarts, (Aschaffenburg, 1851), pp. 65-6; E. Meier, op. cit., pp. 245-6, No. 268 (ii) ; A. Liutolf,

(Vienna, 1859), pp. 143-5, No. 24. 62 For beliefs and legends of various types about rods, especially

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The Folklore of Dowsing.

To return to our survey, the Magyars also have magical rods and hazel-rods.63 If any one desires to find treasure, on the last day of the year he sacrifices a black hen and goes to a hazel-tree. There he buries the heart, throws away the feathers, and hangs the bones on the tree. The rod must be cut with closed eyes and at a single stroke, while a prayer is spoken. He must then hop three times round the tree on his left leg, at the same time repeating the prayer. He may then take the rod home and proceed to prepare it thus :-before sunrise on New Year's Day he must strip the rod and moisten it with blood drawn from his left leg and arm. Before doing this he reduces the bark to ash, and causes an innocent girl to mix this into unsoured bread, which is to form his next food. A certain widow whom Wlislocki watched during such a performance in 1883, said,-" I give blood to the rod. She gives me its bark, which I consume; in this way we are bound to each other, betrothed as it were, and when the moment is come when my strength has reached the time when it must break out, then the rod must show me exactly where is hidden the treasure which I am appointed to raise." This " strength " is a mystical quality and is hereditary. Wlislocki also gives the prayer which is referred to in this account, as it was spoken by a woman,-" Holy Christopher, hear my prayers ! Seven serpents have the evil spirits sent into my body, with which they steal my understanding, with which they steal my strength, with
op. cit., p. 371, No. 340 (a) ; F. J. Vonbun, op. cit., p. 127 ; id., Die Sagen Vorarlbergs, ed. by Hermann Sander, (Innsbruck, 1889, 2nd edit.), pp. 127-9; J. F. Vonbun, Volkssagen aus Vorarlberg, (Vienna, 1847), pp. 7-8; id., " Volkssagen aus Vorarlberg," Die deutschen Mundarten, (Nuremberg, 1856), Bd. iii., pp. 21o, No. i; Th. Vernaleken, Alpenzagen, (Vienna, 1858), pp. 290-1, No. 208; J. Nepomuk [Mahlschedl], op. cit., p. 392 ; I. V. Zingerle, " Wald, Baume, Kriuter," Zeitschrift ftir deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde, (G6ttingen, 1853), Bd. i., p. 327 ; J. E. Waldfreund, " Volksgebrdiuche und Aberglaube in Tirol und dem Salzburger Gebirg," in ibid., Bd. iii. (1855), pP. 339-40. 63 A. Ipolyi, Magyar Mythologia, (Pest, 1854), P. 402,

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which they waste my heart! Gracious Christopher, shatter with thy golden hammer the heads of these snakes ; with this crown of serpents [which she held in her hand] order them peace ! Loyally I remember every hour thy every day that the sparks of thy strength which is in me may not light but once into a golden fire, into a diamond fire, into a carbuncle fire, which shall light us in our bridal night! Help me, holy Christopher, with the might of thy
hammer!
Amen!"64

According to Wlislocki also, the gipsies have a belief that during Passion Week the hazel-snake, which at other times lives hundreds of miles deep in the earth, comes up to lay its eggs in the roots of the hazel-tree. Anyone who can capture the snake, or reach one of its eggs, attains to great wealth. A hazel-twig, broken off on Good Friday Night where the serpent has laid an egg, helps the owner to find precious metals, buried treasure, and water. In order to discover whether the twig has been cut at the right time, it is taken to the place where he suspects the presence of treasure, making no sound, lest the Phuvush or earth-men should kill him. When the rod turns, a white flame bursts from the ground ; this the seeker must beat with his hazelrod as he circles round it thrice, saying,-" Earth-man, earth-man, if I can find the gold, I shall desire your welfare. Three chains shall I have made. One for God, of purest gold; one of bright silver, for the Holy Child; the third, forsooth, for Mary, holiest of all women ! Be gentle to me in the name of God ! " The treasure can then be taken, so long as no word is spoken and the seeker does not look round.65 We have now surveyed the most characteristic examples of dowsing folklore, but before I conclude I ought perhaps
64

H. von Wlislocki, A us dem Volksleben der Magyaren, (Munich,

pp. 87-89.

1893),
65

Id., Volksglaube und religioser Brauch der Zigeuner, (Munster, i.

pp. 146-7.

W., 1891),

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to make a few observations of a theoretical nature. A great many theories have been put forward in explanation of the facts here brought together,66 most on very slender bases. For instance, Krauss records a practice in Herzegovina and Montenegro, according to which, as soon as the Sippenfest or family-feast has begun, a boy stands before a picture of the patron of the house, holding in his hands a forked rod; round the rod is wound a candle made of yellow wax. According to Krauss we are to recognise in this, " quite unmistakeably," the wiinschelruote of the ancient Germans."' But I fail to see the slightest reason for this assertion. The wishing-rod is certainly found as far back as in Old High German,68 and frequently in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries,69 but the word was then
68 For miscellaneous discussions of this kind, see H. B. Schindler, Der A berglaube des Mittelalters, (Breslau, 1858), p. 218 ; A. W. Buckland, Anthropological Studies, (1891), pp. 140-159 ; C. Meyer, Der Aberglaube des Mittelalters, (Basel, 1884), pp. 84-6, 92, 120, 128; L. A. J. W. Baron Sloet, De Planten in het Germaansche Volksgeloof en Volksgebruik, (The Hague, 1890), pp. 80-6; id. " Het Volksgeloof aan het bovennatuurlijke in het rijk der planten," De Gids, (Amsterdam, 1881), Vol. XLV.

ii., pp. 231-5.

For dowsing folklore in general, see also T. F. T. Dyer, English Folk-lore, (188o), pp. 31-4; id., Folk-lore of Plants, (1889), pp. 265M. R. Cox, in Papers and Transactions, The Inter270, 287;
H. Friend, national Folk-Lore Congress, 189i, (1892), pp. 439-42; Flowers and Flower Lore, 1892, (2nd edit.), pp. 285-7, 535-8 ; R. Folkard, M. Busch, Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics, (1884), pp. 113-5, 362-4;

Deutscher Volksglaube, (Leipsic, 1877), pp. 134-7 ; J. Brand, Observations on Popular Antiquities, ed. by Sir Henry Ellis, (1888), pp. 760-2 ; G. H. Kinahan, ' Notes on Irish Folk-lore," Folk-Lore Record, (1881), vol. iv., p. io6; G. Nerucci, " La Bacchetta Divinatoria," Archivio per lo studio delle Tradizioni Popolari, (Palermo, 1884), vol. iii., pp. 79-82; L. J. Vance, " Three Lessons in Rhabdomancy," The Journal of American Folk-lore, (Boston and New York), vol. iv. (1891), pp. 241-6; D. M. Cary, " Dowsing and Josing," Word-lore, vol. i. (1926), pp. 4-6. 67 F. S. Krauss, Sitte und Brauch der Siidslaven, (Vienna, 1885), p. 54. 68 E. G. Graff, Althochdeutscher Sprachschatz, (Berlin, 1834-8), Bd. i., p. 905, s.v. " uunskiligartal "; vol. ii., p. 489, s.v. "hasilriuta "; vol. iv.,
" uunschiligarta." 207, s.v.

69Sir W. Barrett and Th. Besterman, op. cit., p. 6.

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I3

used in reference to rhabdomantic and magical practices, and the relation between these rods and dowsing-rods is a matter of great difficulty. The attempt has repeatedly been made to find a paternity for them in Scandinavian mythology. But so speculative are these theories that different authorities have variously associated the dowsingrod with Balder,70 with Thor,7 and with Wotan.72 A number of theories have been put forward on the assumption that the dowsing-rod is always believed to be necessarily of hazel. Thus Lippert suggests that hazel is used because the dead used to be buried under hazel-trees,73 an assertion that is more than doubtful. Menzel sees in the rod a symbol of reincarnation.'4 Mannhardt associates the rod with the belief in the possibility of acquiring the gold of the sun and the treasure of the clouds.'5 To Mrs. Philpot the idea underlying these rods was " that they were animated by an indwelling spirit, probably by the spirit of the tree from which they were cut." 76 Keary, after discussing the oracular powers of the whispering leaves of the oaks of Dodona, of the Appolonic laurel at Delphi, and of the fabulous ash Ygdrasill, proceeds to say that " the divining rod has inherited its qualities from the divining tree." 77 Then the rod has been assimilated with the wand of
7oA. A. Afzelius, op. cit., vol. i., pp. 18-9. Napier, op. cit., p. 125. 72 J. Grimm, op. cit., Bd. iii., pp. 347, 813-6 ; of. Bd. iii., pp. 102, 188 ; K. Simrock, Handbuch der deutschen Mythologie, (Bonn, 1887, 6th edit.), p. 182, ? 66; of. pp. 88, ? 35 ; 498-9, ? 132. 7 J. Lippert, Christenthum, Volksglaube und Volksbrauch, (Berlin, 1882), pp. 478-9 ; of. p. 649. 7' W. Menzel, Odin, (Stuttgard, 1855), pp. 153-4. 76W. Mannhardt, Die G6tter der deutschen und nordischen V6lker, (Berlin, I86o), p. 206; cf. W. Schwartz, " Die Wiinschelruthe als Quellen- und Schatz sucher," Zeitschrift des vereins fiir Volkskunde, (Berlin), Bd. iii., (1893), pp. 72-6). '7 Mrs. J. H. Philpot, The Sacred Tree, (1897), p. Io3. 77 C. F. Keary, Outlines of Primitive Belief, (1882), p. 62.
71 J.

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The Folklore of Dowsing.

Hermes, which is sometimes figured as a forked rod,78 and figures of Mediterranean idols have been found bearing forked rods as symbols of their power.79 But, notwithstanding some suggestions to the contrary,so it is fairly clear that dowsing was unknown in classical times,s81 if only from the absence of references to the practice. Pliny, who had a sharp eye for this sort of thing, has a good deal to say about water and its discovery, but nothing of dowsing. We may be sure that Varro's lost Virgula divina dealt merely with divination. Still better reason for this opinion that dowsing was unknown at this time is the fact that, so late as the fourth century A.D., Cassiodorus (Variarum, III. liii.) praises water-finders without allusion to our subject; and the same applies to such specialist works as the sixth-century De Re Rustica (IX. viii.) of Palladius and the (probably) earlier De Architectura of Vitruvius (VIII. i.). Many of the ideas to which students were led by discoveries along these various lines, were summed up in a completely scholarly way by Adalbert Kuhn, a mythologist of the old school. Postulating the forked shape of the rod, which he imagined to be its universal and distinguishing characteristic, he took that shape to represent the human body, and to symbolise lightning and the thunderbolt, and thus, finally, to incarnate the god of lightning.82 So much for myths and myth-makers.
A ufsidtze aus den Gebiete der classischen 78 L. Preller, A usgewi4hlte Alterthumswissenschaft, ed. by R. K6hler, (Berlin, 1864), p. 154. D. Guigniaut, Religions de l'antiquitl, (Paris, 1841), 79 F. Creuzer-J. tom iv., plate Ivi. bis; cf. J. W. Tyndale, The Island of Sardinia, (1849), vol. iii., pp. 221-2. 80E.g., W. Robertson Smith, Lectures on the Religion of the Semites, (Edinburgh, 1889), p. 179 n. 5. 81 E.g., C. Boetticher, Der Baumkultus der Hellenen, (Berlin, 1886),
pp. 232 et seq., and passim. 82 A. Kuhn, Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des G6ttertranks, (Berlin 1859), pp. 204 et seq. ; cf. J. Fiske, Myths and Myth-Makers, (Boston, 1873), PP- 37 et seq.

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All such theories fail because it is attempted to trace the origin of dowsing through the forked shape of the rod or through its being a hazel-rod.83 This shape, however, is neither its original nor its universal form. In the oldest references even more than in contemporary practice the instrument used varies in all ways. The substance of which the rod is made may be any kind of metal and wood; the rods may be manufactured articles such as tongs, snuffers, or even (be it whispered) a German sausage. It is clear, therefore, that if the origin of dowsing is to be found it must be sought through the practice and not through its instruments. On these grounds it is impossible to connect dowsing with any of the numerous ancient divinatory practices. From the point of view of folklore we can only say with the learned William Pryce that " it is impossible to ascertain the date or personality of the discovery, which appears to me of very little consequence to posterity; but perhaps we may not be far off from the truth, if we incline to the opinion of Georgius Agricola, in his excellent Latin treatise De Re Metallica, that 'the application of the inchanted or divining rod to metallick matters took its rise from magicians and the impure fountains of inchantment.' " 84 To that I would only add that if this little problem is to be solved at all, I believe it can only be done along purely psychological lines.
THEODORE BESTERMAN.
s8 But see Anton, Ritter von Perger, Deutsche Pflanzensagen, (Stuttgard and Othningen, 1864), p. 241. 84 W. Pryce, Mineralogia Cornubiensis, (1778), p. I13. The passage from Agricola is at p. 27 of De Re Metallica, (Basel, 1556).