Popelmann

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The booger or booger is a legendary figure, a goblin or house ghost and a child horror figure from the Sudetenland .

Legend

The booger is described as a demon who is supposed to kidnap small children if they are disobedient or naughty. The black man has no face and covers his head and body in a white cloak. At night he sneaks into the houses of the children who are no longer protected by the good spirits because of their insubordination, puts them in a big sack and takes them away. When choosing his victims, he is accompanied by his partner Popelhole, who often checks the children in a final test to see whether they are basically good or bad at heart. They live together in the swamps near Jihlava , where the booger shows its other characteristics. According to legend, farmers near the swamps reported that the vain booger, especially after a thunderstorm, spent most of the time combing his hair while sitting on a dam. But when adults approached it, it immediately disappeared without a trace. As soon as he did not take care of the hair care, he danced happily with his companion or alone, which, despite his cruelty, earned him the reputation of an actually happy goblin in some stories:

“ Dance, dance, popelmann
around our lagoon;
oh if it weren't for the booger,
I'd give a thaler on it. "

In a modern version of the legend there is a whole series of boogers who met after their forays on the Booger Mountain and danced together.

Name origin

The name Popel probably comes from the Polish ruler Popiel II. He was considered to be particularly cruel, found a violent death and, according to legend, was eaten by mice. According to another theory, the term comes from the Silesian dialect . Here popping means to cover something, a booger or barley pople is a covered scarecrow .

reception

Gathering thundercloud - also popularly known as booger

Martin Luther saw in the booger a demon of Satan who acted as a counterpart to the guardian angels. In a book he recommended that parents threaten their children with the booger if they would not listen to them or should not show enough piety.

“ Dear child, one should say, if you don't want to be pious, your little angel will run away from you and the evil spirit, the black booger, will come to you. "

The Brothers Grimm included the booger and his companion in their collection of German fairy tales and also described them in their German dictionary.

In analogy to the impending disaster caused by the booger, approaching thunderclouds were described, which rose "like boogers". That is why black thunderclouds are popularly known today as boogers .

Spread of the legend

The legends about the booger found particular distribution in the Sudetenland. Because of the portrayals of Luther and the Brothers Grimm, the legend became known especially in the German areas. The curse: that the booger will get you! was just as common as the children's song The Popelmann :

“ The booger
is wearing a white coat
and is putting
all the lousy piggyback in a big sack . "

literature

  • Karl Friedrich Flögel : History of the grotesque comic: A contribution to the history of mankind . Liegnitz and Leipzig 1788.
  • Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm : German Dictionary . Hirzel Verlag, Stuttgart 2010.
  • Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm: German mythology . Dieterich'sche Verlagbuchhandlung, Mainz 1835.
  • Marie Kosch: German folk tales from Moravia. Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim 1988.
  • Malwine Riedel: Popelmann and Rüttelweib . Say from d. Braunauer Ländchen: Deutsch-Böhmerland 2, No. 17/8, p. 272 ​​ff.
  • Johann Wilhelm Wolf : Contributions to German mythology . Volumes 1-2. Dieterich'sche Verlagbuchhandlung, Göttingen / Leipzig 1852.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Drechsler: Customs, Customs and Popular Beliefs in Silesia. Volume 1. BG Teubner, Wisconsin 1906, p. 164 f.
  2. ↑ Hans Watzlik : Bohemian Forest legends. 2nd Edition. Aufstieg Verlag, Landshut 1984, p. 59.
  3. ^ Marie Kosch: German folk tales from Moravia. Georg Olms Verlag , Hildesheim 1988, p. 93 f.
  4. ^ Johann Wilhelm Wolf: Contributions to German mythology. Volumes 1-2. Dieterich'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung , Göttingen / Leipzig 1852, p. 343.
  5. ↑ Johannes Urban Kern: Silesian sagas, legends and stories. JU Kern Verlag, Harvard University 1867, p. VI.
  6. ↑ Jan Papior: Straps are good to cut from someone else's back. Poznan 2010, p. 88.
  7. ^ Karl Friedrich Flögel: History of the grotesque comic: A contribution to the history of mankind. Liegnitz and Leipzig 1788, p. 24.
  8. ↑ Martin Luther: Geist from Luther's writings or Concordance of Views. Leske Verlag, Darmstadt 1828, p. 746.
  9. ^ Karl Weinhold : Contributions to a Silesian dictionary. Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei 1855, p. 72.
  10. ^ Richard Beitl: Investigations into the mythology of the child. Waxmann Verlag , Münster 2007, p. 134.
  11. ↑ Richard Beitl: Investigations on the mythology of the child , p. 134
  12. ^ Friedrich Krauss: At the original source. Kramer Verlag, 1890, p. 288.