Honorable Mention TOKYO-2016 Editorial / Photo Essay

The Egetmann Parade

  • Photographer
    Heinrich Wegmann

In Tramin (Nord of Italy), one of the most remarkable and oldest carnival traditions of Tyrol has been preserved: the so-called “Egetmann” parade. This carnival parade takes place only on Shrove Tuesday in odd years. Already weeks before this big event happens the whole village is in uproar. One of the most outstanding and at the same time most mysterious figures of Tramin’s carnival tradition is the “Schnappviech”, also called “Wudele” by the inhabitants of Tramin. From two-year-old boys to grown-up men, everyone slips under the sack of these creatures, which can reach a height of up to three meters. There exist many speculations where these legendary figures come from and why only in Tramin they have survived and developed further. What is known from many elderly Traminer – how the inhabitants of Tramin are called – is that the “Schnappviecher”, like many other figures of the Traminer carnival, stand for the expulsion of winter spirits and the welcoming of spring spirits. Dr. Josef von Elzenbaum who is a so called butcher of the “Schnappviecher” explains further: ‘This tradition starts each year on the 5th of December with the dangerous winter demon called “Krampus”. As the forces of nature are much stronger, people tried their best to get along with them, partly by homage partly by stealth. They conjured vernal fertility gods to bring luck to themselves and others. All this is an extremely valuable cultural cycle that persisted until today. Butchers, accompanying the “Schnappviecher”, slaughter one of the wild creatures at each village fountain. The symbolic meaning of this ritual is obvious: the butcher represents the spring that kills the evil winter spirits. Thus, the important tradition for farmers can be seen as a symbol for the magic of springtime. It remains a mystery where the model for this strange figure comes from. The pronounced dragon head of the “Schnappviech” suggests a representation of a superhuman being that can be found in both religious imaginations and folk legends and myths.