Tribe of the Likatier
The Likatier tribe is a new religious movement whose members live in a communal community. Critics call them a sect . The group was founded in 1974 and has its center in Füssen in the Allgäu . The name refers to the Celtic - Vindelician tribe of the Likatier , who settled in the area around the Lech . According to its own information, the tribe had 166 members in June 2003 (according to the website of the youth organization there have been 250 since 2006), 65 of them adults (36 men, 29 women), 45 young people and 56 children.
History and goals
The group was founded in 1974 by Wolfgang Wankmiller (1958-2019) from Füssen, who acted as its head. Initially it was called “PFA (Planet For Absolution)”, from 1993 “Stamm Füssen Eins”, until in 1998 it was renamed “Stamm der Likatier”.
In the first few years, according to their own statements up to 1990, the members were mainly active in local politics in various parties; environmental and homeland protection as well as more proximity to the citizen are stated as goals. The group tried to achieve its goals through multiple memberships of the same person in different parties. Ultimately, this also led to party exclusions.
The Likatier tribe names the development of their own culture as the most important goal, but according to their own statement, "(...) the individual members of the tribe are not obliged to participate in this culture". The fields of interest and activities mentioned on his website are a mixture of local traditions and spiritual topics of various orientations and origins. Furthermore, ecological ideas such as bioregionalism and deep ecology as well as alternative forms of life play a role.
The tribe is not free of hierarchies, but is divided into so-called tribal circles. These differ in the varying degrees of participation of its members in community life, in whose innermost circles there are the so-called "owls", who are the "real bearers of the tribe" in consensus on "all important questions" such as: B. decide on the "cultural development of the tribe" or the admission of new members. External representations often see the tribal founder Wolfgang Wankmiller in a prominent position within the group. However, the group's self-portrayal does not describe such a position within the tribe. Within the tribe there is an unspecified neo-pagan spiritual culture and belief in a mother goddess.
Since 2003 the community has been a member of the Global Ecovillage Network Europe , a European association of eco-villages .
Since the group is striving for economic independence, numerous properties have been acquired and their own companies have been set up, which has repeatedly been vehemently criticized by opponents.
Since 2005, the group has been offering so-called introductory seminars in which interested guests and new members can take a look at life in the outer tribal circles.
Youth camps have also been organized since 2005, in which, in addition to members of their own youth group, young people from outside the tribe can also take part.
Criticism and public
Controversies have arisen with the local population since the time of political activity and increasingly in the course of growing economic activity and the acquisition of real estate in the city of Füssen, and a citizens' initiative was founded against the group, which is regarded as a sect. The affiliation of companies to the tribe was recognizable to the extent that leading members of the management team also held key positions in the management of various companies. When this became known through the media, business partners partially stopped working together. The local newspaper initiated by Wankmiller was also discontinued in 2002, as was the magazine of the same name "Stämme" later published by the in-house publisher Pegasus. The then mayor of Füssen, Paul Wengert , was one of the critics, but in an interview he also criticized the media coverage of the tribe. Other points of criticism, which u. a. relying on reports from dropouts are exploitation and economic dependence of members.
The founder of the group, Wolfgang Wankmiller, was a former city councilor and honorary member of the Junge Union and has repeatedly been the subject of tabloid press coverage.
Many of the critical comments are based on guesswork, since the tribe practically did not do any public relations for a long time. This changed in 2003 with the creation of its own website and was also perceived by critics as a positive change. Since 2006 there has been a more differentiated perception, which is also reflected in the press.
Child abuse
Reports of child abuse within the group found particularly strong and supra-regional interest . There was a trial against a member of the tribe who worked as a cook there. The convicted man was sentenced to two and a half years in prison at the end of January 2001 after a mother of two reported him against him for child abuse. Sexual assaults on girls between the ages of five and fourteen years have been proven.
Although the community distanced themselves from the man's behavior, she and her founder continued to be associated with the event.
Connections to Thomas Hornauer
The owner of the Telekontor company and the former operator of the B.TV and Kanal Telemedial television channels , Thomas Hornauer , maintained "loose" contacts with the community according to his own statements. Hornauer described this in his “Orange Table” program on April 9, 2008 as follows: In the past, he had a company belonging to the Likatier tribe carry out the age check for his telephone erotic hotline in Füssen and a company belonging to the tribe in Füssen had a house rented. Hornauer also emphasized that the tribe was not a sect; he was referring to the sect commissioner of the Bavarian state government.
The contacts with the group played a significant role in the discussion about B.TV's license withdrawal, which took place in July 2004.
Unauthorized banking
The District Court of Augsburg sentenced the financial officer of the tribe 10 July 2008 due to illegal banking transactions to a prison term of one year, the sentence was suspended. In addition, she was obliged to pay a fine of 8,000 euros and transfer it to various charitable institutions. The funds were raised as an alternative investment.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.newcomer.in/aktion/die-spiele/
- ↑ a b http://www.ezw-berlin.de/html/15_383.php
- ↑ "Obituary: He was considered a glitzy sect leader". In: Allgäuer Zeitung. January 8, 2019.
- ↑ http://www.likatien.de/likatien/chrono.php/cPath/info_chrono
- ↑ http://www.likatien.de/likatien/legalitaet.php/cPath/info_legal
- ↑ http://www.likatien.de/likatien/aufbaukreise.php/cPath/info_aufbau_aukr
- ↑ Christiane Rodenbücher: Wankmillers empire bleeds out financially . ( Memento from July 31, 2005 in the Internet Archive ), Sunday newspaper Bavaria 21/2001.
- ↑ Interview by Christiane Rodenbücher with the mayor of Füssen, Paul Wengert: "My accusation never left anything to be desired in terms of clarity". ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), Sonntagsblatt Bayern 28/2001.
- ↑ Claudia Jacobs: SEKTEN: Who sleeps with whom. In: Focus 6/2001. February 5, 2001, accessed October 14, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c Nils Klawitter: affairs: "I want warriors" . In: Der Spiegel . No. 11 , 2003, p. 206 f . ( Online - Mar. 10, 2003 ).
- ↑ Christiane Rodenbücher: "Der Jesus vom Forggensee" ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), Sunday newspaper Bavaria 5/2001.
- ↑ Andreas Wagner: No future for the esoteric station. In: welt.de . July 18, 2004, accessed October 7, 2018 .
- ↑ http://www.spd.landtag-bw.de/index.php?docid=1931
- ↑ Chief Financial Officer of the Wankmiller Association condemned in Augsburger Allgemeine, July 10, 2008
Web links
Own representations
External presentations
- Sebastian Sigler: Füssen is fighting the Wankmiller sect. In: The world. November 27, 2001. Retrieved April 26, 2019 .
- Claudia Jacobs: SEKTEN: Who sleeps with whom. In: Focus 6/2001. February 5, 2001, accessed October 14, 2018 .