traditional dance, thaur fasnacht festival, nr. innsbruck, austria 8 02 09

Fastnacht or Fasnacht is the pre-Lenten carnival in Alemannic folklore in Switzerland, southern Germany, Alsace and western Austria. The processions, songs, dances, costumes and lyrics of the Fasnacht traditions (Schemenlaufen) are ancient and rooted in pagan traditions of the Alps.
The processions aim to get rid of the demons of winter and awake the spirits of spring, The larger processions or Schemenlaufen is held only once every four years (2004, 2008 and so on). However, there are smaller events held on an annual basis. Traditional processions of the Perchten welcome the springtime. The Schönperchten (beautiful Perchts) represent the birth of new life in the awakening nature, the Schiachperchten ("ugly Perchts") represent the dark spirits of wintertime. Farmers yearn for warmer weather and the Perchtenlauf (Run of Perchts; typical scenery) is a magical expression of that desire. The nights between winter and spring, when evil ghosts are supposed to go around, are also called Rauhnächte (rough nights)

I took this particular video showing traditional Tyrolean dance group which was part of large procession in the village of Thaur, outside Innsbruck. Note there are no women in this footage. Groups where female characters such as witches and maids feature are played out by men in this particular procession while women seem to take a minimal role sometimes taking on male personas.

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Tags:

• paganism
• pagan
• festival
• masks
• Lent
• witches
• percht
• carnival
• fasching
• fastnacht
• Austria
• Tirol
• Tyrol