Coal mining

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The carbon beating - in fact ball hitting - means a verifiable since 1892 tradition in Nordthüringer space, especially in the region Nordhausen , Sondershausen , Schlotheim and Helbetal . It is part of the Easter tradition , because it only takes place on this date, only men move across the fields and beat a wooden ball - the so-called coal - in front of them.

history

The origin of the ball game coal beating was examined by folklorists for a cultic significance, as there is a clear reference to Easter. It is believed that the ball as a symbol stands for the spring sun, with the striking literally on the jumps should be helped. In this context, it was also established that in the opinion of the northern Thuringian population, the sun makes dancing leaps when it rises at Easter .

The rules found for playing the game differ from place to place, and the number of players, their equipment and the locations within the area were often only determined at the start of the game. Additional phenomena were invented for the actual game . Singing certain (funny) songs, visiting certain fixed points and the strict ban on talking to women are mandatory. Women as passive spectators were always tolerated.

Oldest evidence and dialect name

Source research carried out around 1980 revealed a significant increase in the number of games recorded for the year 1892. Since 2005 there has also been coal felling in a village in Brandenburg and since 2014 it has also been played in Berlin-Spandau.

Overview of the spread of coal mining in Northern Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony
place First mention in use today? Event day Name of the game (dialect)
Großberndten 1886 Yes Good Friday Coal mining
Schlotheim 1886? Yes Good Friday Coal mining
Wretched 1892 No ? Coal mining
Munchenlohra 1892 Yes Easter Sunday Head beating
Friedrichslohra 1892 Yes Good Friday Ball hitting
Kleinberndten 1892 Yes around easter Coal mining
Hainrode 1892 Yes Good Friday / Saturday Coal mining
Wernrode 1940 Yes Good Friday Coal mining
Holzthaleben 1955 Yes Good Friday / Easter Sunday Bunk slamming
Holzsußra 2001 Yes Good Friday Coal mining
Rockstedt 1979 Yes Good Friday Coal mining
Lausitz (Elbe Elster) 2005 Yes Good Friday Coal mining
Niederdünzebach 2016 Yes at the beginning of March Coal mining
Grains 2018 Yes Good Friday / Saturday Coal mining
Angry 2006 Yes Ascension of Christ Coal mining

Games similar to coal mining

Ball and ball games were already devised by ancient peoples, leather and fabric balls were used. In Germany you can still find the following games:

  • the klootschieten is in Friesland to Jever , played in winter. A metal ball is used and must be pushed across the floor.
  • the Eisboßeln is to Dithmarschen played in winter. A lead-filled wooden ball is moved on the ice surface or on the street.
  • different varieties of skittles and ball games

The sequence

Hainrode

Charcoal beating takes place on two days - Good Friday and Holy Saturday . Men and boys' teams compete, each forming two parties. The referee briefs all players and explains the rules before the game begins. Each party determines a captain, who fight to start the game (area code). Now the players are selected alternately, each player receives a number that is written down on his right or left shoe. If the number of participants is uneven, the last selected player - the chick - will be entered in both teams and must serve both teams (accordingly, he must also serve a penalty on both teams). The game accessories - the hammers, sticks, spare parts, etc. were marked as right or left before the start of the game .

After the stick has been inserted into the ground and covered with coal, the first player (right or left team) initiates the game. The point of impact of the ball becomes the tee point of the next player by planting the stick at this point and then placing the ball again.

When hitting, the players are cheered on by their team with a hammer - the opponents, on the other hand, scornfully scream clubs , because they wish the player should not hit the ball but the stick. Invalid strokes are when the ball falls down without any action on the part of the player or was only grazed when the stroke was made. Each player has only one stroke per round. After the end of the round, it is determined which team has come closest to the target point, the opposing team receives a minus point for this. The next round starts with swapping accessories, swapping right and left teams to prevent injustices.

The rules require that the ball must always be played from the point of impact, even if it is in a puddle or on the street. Since there are numerous obstacles (trees, hedges) to watch out for in the area, some penalty points are noted on the course of around 3 to 4 km, as nothing may stop the ball in its flight or move it backwards. The target point is a point defined at the start of the game.

After the end of the game, it is settled, penalty points are collected and the team with the lowest number of minus points wins.

Schlotheim

The oldest photo evidence of the Schlotheim coal mining date from 1914. The tradition is of course older.

After the Second World War, the Schlotheimer Freundeskreis around Hans Erdenberger took up the old custom of coal mining, since then the tradition of this group has been fully documented. Since Erdenberger's death in 1966, the "Hans-Erdenberger-Pokal" has been awarded annually to the best coal hammer in honor of Erdenberger. Around 40 active coal thugs, all men, fight for the Erdenberger Cup today. There are also isolated groups with women.

The coal beating traditionally always takes place on Good Friday. At eight o'clock the men meet at the old mill in Schlotheim. Here, individual groups of seven to nine people are first formed. Now it's a set route to Kirchberg, where the first mandatory stroke is made. It continues to the field barn, where the second mandatory strike takes place directly above the barn. The barn no longer exists, it was torn down. Therefore, it continues without this obligation. The path then leads back to the train station in Schlotheim. The points of all participants are counted and the result is announced.

Today there are numerous other groups that beat on different routes around Schlotheim, so that the number of local and numerous foreign coal miners with Schlotheim roots can be given as several hundred.

Lausitz (Elbe Elster)

In 2005, coal mining was played for the first time in Lausitz, a village in Brandenburg. Since then, a group of youngsters (the number increases every year) has played it every year on Good Friday, the rules being roughly adopted, although certain modifications have been made. So there is no fixed route, rather a new route and a new goal is determined every year, which is met. The playing time varies between 3 and 6 hours. Penalties are awarded for mistakes (short hit, stick hit, air hit, damage to equipment). The player who has the fewest points at the end of the day receives the "Horschtschn-Wanderpokal". The player with the most penalty points must in turn take the "Pömpel der Schande" for one year. There is also the rule that every year a "coal-cutting maiden" must be present in order not to anger the gods of coal cutting.

equipment

The following equipment is required for coal cutting:

The heather describes the striking tool with which the coal hammer knocks away the coal. A wooden block is attached to the handle ( hawthorn stick or fiberglass stick ). Coal cutters with a strong tradition use a hawthorn branch for the handle.

The coal is a ball made of wood. It has a diameter of about seven centimeters. At the bottom there is a small neck that is placed on the stick. To make it easier to find the coal in the field after the field, it is painted in bright colors.

The stick is a wooden stick about one meter long that is stuck into the earth. The coal is placed on it so that the coal whisk does not have to bend down so much when striking.

regulate

According to the basic rule, the coal must be struck from where it remained after the proponent hit. For good strokes, the group makes a communal murmur. Penalty points are awarded for bad strokes:

  • Shot distance below 20 meters: 5 points ( Ditsch )
  • only the stick is hit, the coal remains: 10 points ( Knüppelditsch )
  • neither coal nor clubs are hit: 15 points ( Windditsch )

Each bad hit can be repeated a maximum of two times. Then it's the turn of the next bat. Furthermore, penalty points are awarded for lost coals and battered pagans. Traditionally, a sum of money has to be paid as a penalty for this.

Another discipline is the mandatory strike. The coal has to be beaten through a barn. If this fails, there are 20 penalty points.

literature

  • Jörg-Michael Junker: The coal or ball hitting. An Easter custom that has been preserved on the Hainleite. In: Meyenburg-Museum (editor) Contributions to local history from the city and district of Nordhausen, issue 10, Nordhausen 1985, pp. 1–10

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pastor R. Reichardt: folk astronomy and meteorology people in northern Thuringia . In: Verein für Volkskunde (ed.): Journal of the Verein für Volkskunde . tape 9 . Berlin 1899, p. 230 .
  2. ↑ Jörg-Michael Junker: The coal or ball beating. An Easter custom that has been preserved on the Hainleite. In: Meyenburg-Museum (Hrsg.): Contributions to local history from the city and district of Nordhausen . Issue 10. Nordhausen 1985, p. 1-10 .
  3. ^ Karl Weinhold: Old Norse Life . Stuttgart 1937, p. 195-196 .