French Canadian traditions

[hunter*]

My mom was a very conservative Christian, but I once overheard her say her mom was a witch. I was a child and she was talking to another adult about how scary her childhood was.

I spent very little time with my grandma, but I'm having more and more interesting memories of her. Things are starting to make sense that have confused me about my childhood and even my relationship with my mom as an adult.

I have no contact with my mom right now and she would NOT welcome any questions on this topic.

My grandma was born in Canada of French and Native American descent. She was born very poor I'm told and moved to the USA as a child. I remember her as a 9 of Pentacles lady except her falcon was 2 pedigree poodles that had won many awards at dog shows.

Everyone says I am just like my grandma. My mother only said that as an insult :-0 I'm realizing now my mom raised me like a mom who has a child that reminds her of her ex. Only I guess I reminded her of her mom the scary witch.

Grandma once stripped me down looking for "the mark". She told me it was lower on my leg, because it had been watered down by mom's non firstborn daughter's blood. She seemed pleased with me that I had anything at all and treated it like it was significant, but said little.

Were there any common hereditary traditions in Canada that my grandma might have been born into?

[Toby Stimpson]

I dont really see how, since french canadians were and for the most part are very strongly Catholic. Especially the Quebecois and Acadians. There was connections with the Metis and Natives, but I've never heard of witchcraft traditions, and if there are I'd be skepticle about any descent over hundreds of years. Is it possible they were just really talented herbalists that were labelled as witches?

[hunter*]

Is it possible they were just really talented herbalists that were labelled as witches?

Absolutely! I know very little. Just snatches of memories. Things often overheard while playing that no one thought I was listening. Also the body language and way I remember certain adults interacting with each other. Things I cannot really put my finger on. Just a real sense of a lot of background stuff going on that was not being dealt with up front, especially when my mom was around.

Whatever grandma was up to, I think it was more than one generation, but I have no feeling that she was connected to any family of power in society during her childhood, or for several generations back. She was treated with a huge amount of respect by her visitors and that made an impression on me as a child. I knew people thought she was special and not for money. It was obvious she had money but chose not to use it. And my dad's family and my early childhood were far more financially affluent than my maternal grandmother's. I was used to how the affluent and socially powerful were treated. This was something different and more real.

Maybe hedgewitchery? I think I remember mom making some comments about things related to hedgewitchery type practices. That was what was so scary to her, I think. I don't remember the words mom used, just the pictures that formed in my child's mind as a result of her words.

[Faelon_Moon_Hawk]

You might want to research your grandmother's heritage, find out what tribe she was part of and their beliefs, and also on the european side of the family for french folk lore that was probably brought over from the old world, and even regional Quebec/Lake Champlain basin lore.

I've tried researching local vermont folk lore with little success online, the same with abenaki beliefs & traditions. I think local college/university library's would be more helpful in the search.

The closest tradition i've seen to either what you or i see is the Appalacian tradition, but that is based more in the southern appalacian mountains of the midatlantic states.

[Fireyone]

French canadians were not only catholic, but the clergy made sure they stayed uneducated thus easier to control. It wasn't until the latter half of the 20th century that french canadian families were actually able to own their own bible.

Although there were many women (and men such as my grandfather, a "ramancheux" who could fix backs and necks and articulatory ailments with his hands) who had talents for healing, stopping blood, talking to the dead and to the spirit world, as in any society, it was particularly hush hush in Quebec because of the prevalence of a very oppressive catholic church. Any of those talents were attributed to the Saints and Holy Spirit.

[Ben Gruagach]

I don't know if it will be much help, but you might find the following book helpful. It's folktales collected in upper Michigan but there are a lot of them that reminded me of stuff from when I was growing up in eastern Ontario right by the Quebec border.

"Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers" by Richard M. Dorson (http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/submitRare.cgi?author=Richard+M.+Dorson&title=Bloodstoppers+and+Bearwalkers&keyword=&isbn=&order=PRICE&ordering=ASC&binding=Any+Binding&min=&max=&exclude=&match=Y&dispCurr=USD&timeout=20&store=ABAA&store=Alibris&store=Abebooks&store=AbebooksAU&store=AbebooksDE&store=AbebooksFR&store=AbebooksUK&store=Amazon&store=AmazonCA&store=AmazonUK&store=AmazonDE&store=AmazonFR&store=Antiqbook&store=Biblio&store=BiblioUK&store=Bibliophile&store=Bibliopoly&store=Booksandcollectibles&store=Half&store=ILAB&store=LivreRareBook&store=Powells&store=Strandbooks&store=ZVAB).

(One of my francophone friends in high school had a relative -- I think a grandfather -- who was a "bloodstopper." I don't remember much more than that.)