Schafscheid

Medieval Färrich on the Belalp

Sheep path over the Steigle , Belalp

The Schafscheid is the division of the sheep coming from the summer in the Alps to their respective owners. The Schafscheid, which is part of the traditional tradition, is usually associated with a village and folk festival or a shepherd's festival with a Sunday mountain mass (Belalp) and has become a tourist attraction. The Schafscheid von Guggisberg BE was first mentioned in 1662.

After the alpine journey and about three months of summer pasture, the alpine descent takes place . After the dangerous collection of the wild grazing sheep up to 3000  m through the Sanner or Samner, a one to two-day hike follows narrow, stony paths into the valley, where on a traditionally set day (first Thursday in September, the Monday after the Federal Prayer Day etc.) the Schafscheid takes place.

Abtrieb and Schafscheid work according to ancient rules and have archaic features. The herd of a few hundred to a thousand sheep is herded into a large Färrich ( Valais German = Färricha), a special pen , with which other smaller Färriche are connected with gates. The flock of sheep is now driven apart and the individual animals per owner are locked in one of the small ponds, where they can be picked up.

Traditional sheep shedding in Switzerland

• Schäful : Belalp (municipality of Naters VS) on the last weekend in August
• Jaun FR on the Monday after the Federal Prayer Day, for the 416th time (2010)
• Riffenmatt (municipality of Guggisberg BE) on the first Thursday in September
• Riederalp , Bettmeralp , alternating annually

Tungsten cracks

The traditional Schafscheid in Riffenmatt took place in 2011 with almost no sheep. Around 400 animals from the Rüschegg sheep breeding cooperative had already been fetched from their alp on Stierengrat in the municipality of Boltigen at the beginning of July because a wolf had killed over two dozen of the animals there.

literature

• Thomas Schuppisser, Michael T. Ganz: embrüf, embri: The homecoming of the sheep. here + now, Publishing House for Culture and History, Baden 2010, ISBN 978-3-03919-161-1 .

Web links

• Documentary video - Head and Collar for a Thousand Sheep

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Schafscheid on the Belalp
2. ^ Shepherd weekend 2010 ( Memento from May 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ Echo vom Jauntal ( Memento from September 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 4.3 MB)
4. ↑ Traditional customs as a "living cultural asset"
5. ↑ [1] How 500 sheep return home after a 14 hour march
6. ^ [2] Riffenmatt: Schafscheid almost without a leading actor