Paper short abstract:

Practitioners of radiesthesia in the West import, from other regions, notions which are in fact of European origin, thus producing even more heterogeneous realities. An ethnographic look shows how European parascientists partially integrate foreign systems into their own.

Paper long abstract:

Water-dowsing (which later became known also as "radiesthesia") was first elaborated in XVth century Europe. The process of its subsequent worldwide diffusion is also well documented, especially during the colonial period. Ethnohistorical data clearly shows that there was no similar practice whatsoever anywhere in the world before the arrival of Europeans. However, many present-day theorists and practitioners of radiesthesia are striving to give it exotic origins. Most notions they import are in fact of European origin. However, in the process, they combine their already highly heterogeneous divination system with various systems of divination and healing from several other regions of the world, producing even more complex practices. An ethnographic look at this evolution provides a standpoint on the way European parascientists are often fascinated by foreign systems and how they partially integrate them in their own activities.