The Rural Voice, 2003-08, Page 37Hailing' ii4by' water through dowiir j Ot
dit'i'ling isn't quite a /rrst art 1»'t
fry Larry Drew
hile scientists and
practitioners may disagree
whether dowsing, or
"divining" as it was called in our
area, actually works, it is certainly a
fascinating part of our rural heritage.
In fact, dowsing is not a faddish
devotion concocted by any new-age
cult but rather an age-old practice
that was handed down to us by early
European settlers whose ancestors
had lived with the traditions of
dowsing for centuries. The
knowledge of dowsing really
survived into this modern and
scientific era thanks to the traditions
that were upheld in rural
communities.
History has it that most early
wells were first located by a dowser
from the community. There were
probably several dowsers ready for
hire in any township, right up to and
including the 20th century. Many of
us, myself included, have memories
in our childhoods of dowsers being
called upon. My father-in-law recalls
such a dowser engaged to find a good
spot to dig a well on their
neighbour's farm m Kent County. He
recalls this traditional dowser
showing up with a Y-shaped branch
34 THE RURAL VOICE
to locate the best spot to dig. This
local dowser insisted on a willow
branch, explaining that "willows like
water". With the two tips of the top
of the "Y" held firmly in his palms,
the other end would wiggle and point
downward when the dowser walked
over a great spot to dig. Of course
you can probably guess how this
story ends — it worked!
But many scientists would argue
this was more than a mere
coincidence — it was probable;
arguing that good wells can be dug
almost anywhere in North America if
the wells are dug deep enough. But
that theory doesn't hold water either
if the story of an old-time dowser
who could also predict the depth of
the well is true. A gentleman in
Thunder Bay shared his recollection
of an elderly Finnish woman from
that area who could predict the depth
of a water seam by counting the
number of times her dowsing wand
bobbed up-and-down over the spot
that had been chosen (also by
dowsing) for a well to be dug.
Apparently, she used a "fresh stick of
poplar, two or three feet long, with
the thick end the diameter of her
thumb". Reportedly, she would hold
The basic technique for using the
"L -rods" is to hold the wires loosely,
leaving them free to swing with as
little friction as possible. Walk
slowly with the "L -rods" pointed
straight ahead. A reaction is when
the wires begin to swing and cross
over one another.