Beet spirits
Beet spirits are an autumn custom among children in various regions of Germany , Austria and Switzerland . A face is carved into a hollowed-out turnip (mostly fodder turnip , rarely also autumn turnip ) and illuminated from the inside by a candle. Depending on the custom, the children move through the towns in a procession or put the turnips in the window, next to the front door or in the front yard of neighbors and acquaintances, often asking for gifts . Unlike on Halloween , the children don't dress up.
Production of the beet spirit
In general, freshly harvested fodder beets or sugar beets are hollowed out with a spoon and decorated with a knife to create grotesque grotesque faces ("spooky figures"). The work of beet spirit carving begins with the selection of the beet. Natural bumps, warts, bumps and roots are included in the design. In some cases, only mouth, nose and eye openings are carved into the beets. Elsewhere it is common to design the beets by removing the surface to different depths. The aim is to make the beet spirit as "demonic" as possible.
history
The beet spirits join the various regional light, warmth and thanksgiving traditions. The origins of the custom are not clear. However, the current process of the beet ghost is very similar to the Irish-American Halloween with Jack O'Lanterns made from pumpkins , but with the main difference that no disguises are used. A demarcation between the two customs is hardly possible, despite the often heard claim that beet spirit carving has little to do with Halloween. This tendency is reinforced by the fact that in recent times, due to the declining cultivation of fodder beet, the much easier processing and the massive advertising and commercialization of the Halloween festival, pumpkins have been used more and more frequently instead of beets.
After the Second World War, there were also removals in some places, so there has been a "Riabagoaschterumzug" since 1956 on the occasion of the "Saukirbe" celebrated in the Rottweiler district of Göllsdorf , as it is also carried out in Bad Buchau and Ulm-Söflingen and other places. The Riabagoaschter are attached to poles and carried through the streets of Göllsdorf as part of a procession. The dialect poet Egon Rieble wrote his own "Riabagoaschterlied".
Individual regions
Riabagoaschtern: Baden-Württemberg and Bavarian Swabia
In Baden-Württemberg ( Upper Swabia ) and the administrative district of Swabia , the "frightful faces" , which are strongly reminiscent of the larvae and Schemmen (masks) of the Swabian-Alemannic Carnival, are carried from house to house in the evenings by small groups of children after their completion. Small songs or sayings are often performed, such as “We are the beet spirits and go from house to house, we ask for a gift, then we go home again!” Or “We are the beet spirits and are masters at carving; so give us good gifts, then we can refresh ourselves. " Another saying is: "We are the beet spirits and like to eat paste and if they don't have any, we ask for gifts!". In some places beet spirits are also called "Runklema" ("beet man") in dialect.
Kilbesingen
Schramberg area
On the penultimate Saturday in October, children with lanterns and beet spirits wander through the streets of Schramberg and the surrounding villages and hope to earn a few sweets by singing kilbes, traditionally apples, pears, walnuts and “guzle”.
→ See also: Kilbesingen
Furtwangen in the Black Forest
As in Schramberg, singing kilbes and making beet spirits, as described above, was still very widespread in the 70s and 80s, but has been falling steadily since then.
Moas: Vorarlberg
With this custom, from the beginning of September to around the end of October , people go from house to house with a carved pumpkin face - the so-called moo , which is supposed to remind of a moon face - and ask for something sweet with a saying, a song or a poem . In contrast to Halloween, however, no prank is threatened here if you don't get anything.
→ See also: Moas
Flenntippln: Upper Lusatia
Flenntippln is a word from the Upper Lusatian dialect . With this tradition of Upper Lusatia, children hollow out fodder or sugar beets and carve them into scary or funny faces. On the evenings before All Saints Day , the children put burning candles in them, walk through the villages and set up the Flenntippl in the front gardens of friends and neighbors. They then ring the doorbell and hide in order to receive candy if they are discovered. The name is derived from the words flennen for weeping and Tippl for potty , as the flickering of the candle makes it look like the Flenntippl is crying. In recent years, American Halloween has overlaid this custom more and more, but there are also efforts to preserve this tradition. Many communities and leisure centers organize a joint “Flenntippl carving” followed by a move.
Rubebötz: Thuringia
Rubebötz is a word from the Thuringian-Hennberg dialect. In high German translation it would mean "beet spirit". This is actually not a ghost or a Bötz , but a hollowed fodder beet with a carved, terrifying face. So that the whole thing looks really creepy in the dark, you put a candle or a light bulb in it. According to custom, Rubebötze are tinkered and set up around All Saints' Day .
Rummelbooze or Rummelbòòtzen: Saarland
The same custom is widespread in Saarland and some regions of the Palatinate, where the beet figures are called Rummelbooze , which can also be translated as "beet spirit". Rummel stands for fodder beet and Booze for disguise / disguise (cf. Faasebooze for people who wear a carnival costume). In Saarland, the Rummelbooze is usually placed in front of the front door or on a window sill so that it is clearly visible from the outside. In the past, it was also common to use a white sheet. In Saarland, the custom reached its peak in the 1920s to 1950s. In particular, the conversion of agriculture to maize instead of beet cultivation ensured that the custom has almost died out today. In Niedaltdorf and Oberperl, however , the village community has been trying to revive the custom for several years. A farmer therefore grows the beets again. In 2012, 160 fair boozen were created.
The dialect poet Patrik H. Feltes wrote a poem about this tradition.
Kipkapköögels: East Frisia
As part of the Protestant Martinisingen on Martin Luther's birthday, children wander around with lanterns and ask for gifts. The lanterns - the Kipkapköögels - used to be carved from beets.
Dickwurzmann: Central and Upper Hesse
In Hesse the hollowed beet is called Dickwurzmann, after the Hessian name Dickwurz / "Dickwurzel" for the fodder beet. A “hat” is cut off the beet and the meat is pulled out from there. A small hole for a candle is made on the inner bottom and finally the lid is put back on and fastened with nails. The thick root lantern is carried through the town in the evening or simply placed in the garden or next to the front door. The lantern is carried on a broomstick that is inserted into a hole on the outside of the turnip.
Rummelnacht, beetroot spirits and “Gloihniche Deuwel” in the Taunus and Westerwald
In some areas, such as in the Taunus is the hollowed Dick Wurzen the term Gliihnische Deijwel o. Ä. Customary.
In Meudt in the Upper West Forest, for example, the “beet spirits” go from house to house in autumn, without a specific date. With the saying, “We are the beet spirits, keep watch in front of the house. The Lord and Master lives inside and we go out a little “and with fodder beets lit by candles that are stuck on long branches, a sweet donation is asked here.
Pumpkin lotter: Styria
In Styria there are areas with strong pumpkin cultivation, where hollowed-out pumpkins with grimacing faces are made in autumn, which are called pumpkin lotterers. Traditional customs do not seem to be connected with it.
Martin train
In some places, mainly in the Rhineland, Martins torches are made from beets for the Martinszug .
See also
Web links
- Geisterzeit (PDF; 518 kB) - Article in the Sächsische Zeitung about the Flenntippln
Individual evidence
- ↑ Florian Rech: When the turnip becomes a nightmare . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung . October 29, 2012, p. B1 .
- ↑ The late autumn in Upper Hesse and the Dickwurzköpp article in the Gießener Allgemeine from October 24, 2010, accessed on November 16, 2010
- ↑ Dictionary in Hessian ( memento from July 8, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) of the Heidenrod community , accessed on November 16, 2010.
- ↑ Small Pumpkin Dictionary ( Memento from October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ V. Neumann / C. Hull: Pumpkin festivals. In: E. Hörander (Ed.): Halloween in Styria and elsewhere. Münster 2005, p. 167 f. ( online )
- ↑ see also Österreichische Zeitschrift für Volkskunde 56 (2002) p. 43, at GoogleBooks
- ↑ When turnips become lanterns ; Berlin: Evang. Rixdorf Church