Night crab
Nachtkrabb or Nacht (t) rapp is the name of a child scare figure in southern Germany and Austria that fulfills a similar function as the sandman . The night crab allegedly picks up children who are still outside after dark and flies them so far away that they never find their home again. The Franconian counterpart is called Nachtgiger .
Only in the more northerly areas of southern Germany is this figure called the Sandman.
The origin of the legend has not been conclusively clarified.
etymology
Krabb (also Krapp, Krabbe, Grabbe, Blackpe , from ahd. Hr aban ) is a name for the raven or other raven birds in Upper German dialects . It was obvious that these scavenging flocking birds were also thought to have all sorts of ominous effects, for example that the raven kidnapped children at night.
According to Grimm's dictionary , the term “night raven” included various birds, including owls and the night heron .
Possibly the name refers, similar to the rapping , but only to the "pitch black" color.
Variations
In southern Swabia, the night crab is a black mythical figure who puts children in a sack and takes them with them when they are still outside after dusk.
In Austria , the child horror figure is known as the night madder . It is described there as a huge, raven-like bird that kidnaps and eats children.
In central Thuringia, children are warned about the night ravens, who always appear in swarms and catch and take children who are not at home after dark.
The so-called good night madder is less common . In Burgenland, the story is told that a raven comes into the children's room , gently rocks the children to sleep and covers them. He should chirp a soft, sleepy melody.
Mardi Gras figure
As a bird-like figure, the night crab is also one of the carnival figures of the Murrhardt fools' guild; they can already be found on a mural in Murrhardt Monastery . The story of the night crab is often told on site in the Carl Schweizer Museum.
The real model of the Murrhardt carnival figure is probably the crested ibis or bald ibis , a dark feathered bird with a bare red face and a long, red, curved beak that lives in colonies and is able to make some eerie noises. It was also at home in Central Europe until about 350 to 400 years ago and is likely to have stimulated the imagination of carnivalists not only in southern Germany. Even Venetian masks with long red beaks should go back to the bald ibis.
Trivia
- Tatort: Nachtkrapp Sequence of the "Bodensee-Tatort", which includes the night crab as a guiding element
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ medieval-gewandung.net
- ↑ onomatopoeic ; The crow and the croak have the same root.
- ↑ Nachtrabe. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 13 : N, O, P, Q - (VII). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1889, Sp. 204 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
- ↑ Grünter Dodrowski, Paul Grebe u. a .: Duden. Etymology. Dictionary of origin of the German language. Bibliographical Institute Mannheim, Vienna Zurich. Dudenverlag 1963, ISBN 3-411-00907-1 .