Blessed earth and stone powder against diseases and other discomforts (part 1)
(Use in The Netherlands and Belgium)
Already a long time ago it was a popular tradition (popular belief and folk medicine) to use blessed earth (sand, clay, and so on) and stone powder as a medicine against diseases and other discomforts. Stone powder and earth could get these qualifications in different ways: a priest blessed them or they came from the (immediate surroundings of the) grave of a holy person. They could also come from the place where a holy person (a saint) did something special or from the place where he died. People could get stone powder for example by scratching it from church walls or stone crosses. Probably we could say that the church authorities wouldn't have liked this way of scratching that stone powder because it resulted in damaging the churches and crosses. Actually such stone powder and earth have similarities with relics. For example Catholics in The Netherlands and Belgium know the use of relics in connection with their saints. There we also have the connection with blessed earth and stone powder. Although the number of places where you can get such earth and stone powder in these countries diminished, the habit still exists. In The Netherlands and Belgium we found six of those places.
Churches and chapels with blessed earth
The
Sint Gerlachuskerk - Houthem-Sint Gerlach
We find the Sint-Gerlachuskerk (church) in the Dutch province Limburg
in Houthem-Sint Gerlach (municipality Valkenburg aan de Geul).
Approximately in the middle of the church we find the tomb of Saint
Gerlachus. In the open space under the tomb lies a heap of 'sand' (image 1). An
information sign explains us this is 'blessed sand'. When we take a
closer look, we see that it isn't actually sand but limestone powder
that origins from limestone sediments in the region. This limestone was
deposited about 65 million years ago during the Upper Cretaceous. But
for the use it doesn't matter that it's limestone powder and not sand.
Next to the heap of limestone powder lies a trowel and there are little
plastic bags available. Believers can put some powder in the bag and
take it home. There is also a hand brush available to clean the floor
if some of the powder is spilled.People use the blessed powder to cure
sick animals. They also believe that if some of the powder is mixed
with their corn supply the mice and rats will stay away. They say that
if a little bit is thrown in the stables, the cattle and horses stay
healthy. It's even good for plants and flowers if it's added to the
soil in which they grow. Summarizing: according to the people who use
the powder it's good for many things.
At the origin of this all we find the knight Gerlachus who lived during
the twelfth century. At a certain moment Gerlachus decided to change
his life. After many years of penance he became a hermit on his estate
in the neighborhood of Houthem-Sint Gerlach. According to the tradition
small miracles happened around his grave after he died. Now the people
began to take home little bits of the earth from his grave because they
believed it had special power. Even parts of his mortal remains such as
pieces of bones were desirable objects. Such phenomena were not
uncommon in the past. Nowadays we still find remains of saints as
relics in churches. At a certain moment the practices around the grave
in Houthem-Sint Gerlach got a more structured manner. Since that moment
the 'sand' became available in a decent way.
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| Image 1. The tomb of Saint Gerlachus with the blessed 'sand' in Houthem-Sint Gerlach (The Netherlands) |
The
Sint
Gerlachuskerk - Banholt
In Banholt (municipality Eijsden-Margraten) in the Dutch province
Limburg we also find a Sint-Gerlachuskerk. The 'sand' (here also
limestone powder) is blessed in this church each year on the Name day
of Saint Gerlach in January. With the blessed powder they fill 150
little plastic bags and then deposit them around the statue of the
saint in the back of the church (image 2). When we visited the church in March
only ten of these bags were left. It seems the powder is still very
popular! People use the 'sand' to throw it in the stables to keep the
cattle healthy. In Banholt people ask Saint Gerlach to protect them and
their cattle and other animals against sickness and diseases.
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| Image 2. Little bags with blessed 'sand' in the Sint Gerlachuskerk in Banholt (The Netherlands) |
The
Sint
Catharinakerk - Montfort
In the Sint Catharinakerk in Montfort in the Dutch province Limburg
(municipality Roerdalen) Saint Anthony is worshipped. Next to his
statue in the back of the church we find a bucket with blessed sand (image 3).
With the trowel in the bucket the worshippers - who come from near and
far - can take some sand. They throw this sand on their fields to make
them more fertile. They also throw it in the stables to protect the
cattle against sickness and evil. The blessed sand in the bucket is
building sand. It's bought in a D.I.Y shop. In the church the priest
blesses this sand.
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| Image 3. The bucket with blessed sand in the Sint Catharinakerk in Montfort (The Netherlands) |
The
Goddelijke
Zaligmakerkerk - Hakendover
Hakendover lies southeast of Tienen in the Belgian province Flemish
Brabant. The place is well known under Catholics because of its
'paardenprocessie' (horse procession) that happens each year on Easter
Monday. On that day pilgrims and animals are blessed by the priests en
there is a horse race over the fields. Pilgrims can take some blessed
earth on the cemetery that lies around the church (image 4). They can use this
earth to protect against all kinds of evil and disaster. They also
throw it on the fields and mix it with the food of the cattle. We find
this blessed earth on the cemetery at the back side of the church under
a roof. In the past this construction was closed with an iron fence.
There you could at certain moments buy a little bit of earth from a
woman who stood inside of the construction. Nowadays you don't have to
buy the earth anymore. You can take a little bit of it when you visit
the cemetery.
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| Image 4. The blessed earth lies under a roof at the cemetery of Hakendover (Belgium) |
The
Sint
Evermaruskapel
- Rutten
Rutten (municipality Tongeren) lies in the Belgian (Flanders) province
Limburg. In the Sint Evermaruskapel (chapel) of Rutten we can see a
small pit in the floor that is closed with a tile. This pit contains
blessed earth which the people can take home in little bits (image 5). They put
it in the food of sick animals to cure them. They also throw it on the
fields. But the people who believe in the effect of the earth also use
it themselves to help against diseases and discomforts. A woman who
visits the chapel tells us the earth is good for nearly everything. She
puts it in a small bag under her pillow when she goes to sleep. She
also gives the earth to other people to help when they have problems or
when they are sick. According to the woman the blessed earth helped one
of those people to get rid of polyps.The earth in the pit in the chapel
is fine grained and looks like powder. The man who takes care of the
pit and its earth, tells us that he gets this earth from the meadow
around the chapel. Before he puts the earth in the pit he sieves it en
he takes little stones out of it. Therefore it looks like powder.
According to the legend the holy Evermarus was killed here when he and
his companions were resting after they came back from a pilgrimage to
Santiago de Compostella in Spain. In the tenth century his grave was
found on the meadow that lies now around the chapel. First the people
build at that spot a wooden chapel. Nowadays we find the grave of Saint
Evermarus in the stone chapel (build in 1784) at this place. Each year
on the first of May there is a Sint Evermarus celebration to remember
the fact that the holy man and his companions were murdered.
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| Image 5. The pit with blessed earth in the Sint Evermaruskapel in Rutten (Belgium) |
The
Saint
Mortkapel - Haillot
Haillot (municipality Ohey) lies in the Belgian (Wallonia) province
Namur. In the chapel of Saint Mort (15th century) people can take away
some 'holy' earth. They put it in the food of the animals to let them
stay healthy. They say the cows give more milk when they eat this
earth. We find this earth in a hole under the altar around a big stone (image 6).
This stone probably is a standing stone ('menhir'). Unfortunately we
can't say for sure that this stone is a standing stone because the
proper research to confirm this has never been done. We even don't know
how deep the base of this stone is under the surface. But it shouldn't
be strange to think this stone is a standing stone. Not so far away
from the chapel, - also in Haillot - stands the 4500 kilogram heavy
'Pierre de Diable' (Devils Stone). And this is a real standing stone.
People come to the chapel of Saint Mort to pray when they have
headaches and toothaches. We see in the pit with earth pacifiers
(dummies) for young children. They are in all probability left behind
as ex votos (votif offerings) to seek grace or to give thanks. This
phenomenon is known from more churches. These pacifiers indicate that
people use the earth from this chapel not only for the animals but also
for themselves.
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| Image 6. The altar in the Saint Mortkapel with the hole and the big stone (Belgium) |
The description of the locations is a snapshot. It's always possible that situations change at a later moment and that locations don't look the same anymore.
Text: Jan Weertz
Pictures: Jan and Els Weertz