Woodpecker (tradition)

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The "woodpecker" goes hunting!

The woodpecker is an old traditional figure in northeast Bavaria. It is a variant of Bercht or Percht , which is widespread in the Upper German language area . Like other winter folk characters (e.g. Pelzmärtel , Knecht Ruprecht ), it combines pre-Christian rituals with the Christmas season and used to serve as a child horror .

distribution

The figure of the woodpecker appears in eastern Upper Franconia (districts Wunsiedel and Hof ) as well as in the northern Upper Palatinate ( district Tirschenreuth ). According to Erich Straßner there are or were similar forms of names in today's Czech territory: Sperte in the Egerland , Sperchta in the Tepler highlands , šperechta in the Hanna (Moravia) . These presumably older forms of the name, which may have been brought to the east by settlers from the Upper Palatinate, show that the name is related to Percht. Later the "r" in the name was dropped in the area of ​​origin, while it was retained in the eastern forms.

regional customs

The woodpecker appeared or occurs regionally differently on December 23, 24, or 31. In some areas it was invisible. You had to bring her leftover food into the garden, at a crossroads, a field or to the edge of the forest or shake fruit trees for her to appease her ("feed the woodpecker"). In return, it was believed, she would ensure a rich fruit harvest in the next year. Elsewhere, the woodpecker was and is depicted by villagers in disguise, with straw and a beak being the most common elements. Other elements of the paneling can be old clothes, sheets or towels with slits for eyes (sometimes with blood splatters) and iron chains. The woodpecker carries a large pair of scissors or a sickle as well as a grindstone, with which it symbolically slits open the stomach of naughty children and stuffs them with straw. In the old days she would appear suddenly and chase through the village. To do this, she shouted "wetz de, wetz de - Baach aafschnei'n (drag yourself, drag yourself, cut your stomach open)". The children and adolescents who had been waiting for them ran away screaming and disappeared into the houses. If the woodpecker ever reached a younger child before they could get to safety, they were careful not to touch the child so as not to frighten them even more. According to a survey by local historian Harald Fähnrich from Upper Palatinate, the custom was practiced in this way in 25 families in the Tirschenreuth district until at least 1979 . More modern variants of the woodpecker are less scary and look significantly more human. They no longer speak threatening words, the children come close to the woodpeckers (who, unlike in the past, often appear in groups) and exchange leftovers for sweets. The event is embedded in a village festival. The custom can still be proven today in Tirschenreuth , Konnersreuth , Münchenreuth (Waldsassen) , Maiersreuth near Neualbenreuth , Schönficht and Pleußen . Corresponding recent studies for Upper Franconia are missing.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Erich Straßner: Berchtengestalten in Ostfranken. Reprint from the yearbook for Franconian regional research, volume 24, born in 1964
  2. ↑ a b c article on the woodpecker on Focus Online
  3. ↑ a b c Article about the woodpecker on onetz.de
  4. ↑ Harald Fähnrich about the woodpecker on onetz.de