There are the historical facts of the Great Migration of the German settlers from Europe to the British Colonies in America. Then there are the folk tales that relate to the unseen mechanisms behind this Migration.
Every good Deitsch person, regardless of religious identity, should recognize Francis Daniel Pastorius as the foremost leader of the Deitsch nation. There were plenty of others who operated throughout the Colonial and Early Republic eras to bring about the creation of Germantown, PA, and the spread of the Deitsch nation down the Appalachian Mountains and into the Midwest.
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| Pastorius Monument, Vernon Park, Philadelphia |
There's a backdrop story to this Migration, though, and it falls into the misty folk memory of the old Teutonic gods and goddesses. This is not a new story. Although Holle is sometimes conflated with the Gnostic Sophia in different versoins of this tale, Her role in the creation of the Deitsch nation is a longstanding myth in Braucherei and Hexerei.
The gods and goddesses were saddened by the compulsory conversion to Christianity and all of the strife that the folk had suffered as a result of the persecution by the Church and the subsequent religious wars. The deities had sent tribes out from the north to settle distant lands, such as Iceland, and to try to keep the believers isolated. However, the deities guide but do not force humans to make the right decisions, and the ruling classes continued to embrace the power that the Church power structure imbued in them.
Thus, the folk continued to lose its way due to leadership by greed- and power-driven rulers.
The Thirty Years' War served as the breaking point in the deities' patience. They watched as interdenominational war plagued the lands of the Germans, wiping out huge portions of the population of the German states, with Württemburg losing 75% of its population! The economy of Central Europe was destroyed, and the political importance of the Palatinate was thoroughly obliterated.
The goddess Holle was horrified by the destruction that took place all around Her lands. She recognized that the folk were stuck in a cycle of religious confusion and war, with blame to be laid primarily at the feet of the leadership that cared more about power and control than about the folk's success. She, therefore, subtly guided the most peaceful of the folk, regardless of religious identity, to lead the Migration.
Holle's hand became a moving force in the Migration through the manipulation of the leadership to bring about an emigration for any reason. The targeted lands were the relatively peaceful colonies of the Americas. The most desired people were the peasants, serfs, and farmers, who remained a step closer to the Old Ways than did the ruling classes. Among these folks would be the healers of Braucherei and the practitioners of Hexerei; these groups would carry the Old Ways with them to the New World. The agricultural folk had no desire to destroy; instead, they looked to nurture an independent life in a peaceful land.
The deities aided the Migration at every step, even if credit were improperly being attributed to the power structure of another religion. Upon arrival, though, the conflicts of Europe quickly eroded; religious bodies that were at each other's throats in Europe found themselves sharing resources in America. The Deitsch moved into the hinterland of the Colonies, kept peaceful relations with the Lenape, sympathized with the slaves in the South, and used their skills to build the countryside.
As the peace spread over this land, now called Deitscherei in the regional vernacular, Holle took a seat upon the mountain pillar known as Hexekopp (Hexenkopf), from which She would watch the progression of Her new nation, the Pennsylvania Germans, now called the Deitsch, as they embraced the old deities and recognized the rightful place of humanity on the Tree of Life (Lewesbaam).
This is how Holle came to be the Mother of the Deitsch Nation.
This is how Holle came to be the Mother of the Deitsch Nation.
