It’s the climax of Easter time, Pentecost is coming.
What ? But no ! Pentecost, therefore, also brings its share of traditions. A little lost, you might say. Never mind, we will name a few. The Pfingstknechte or Pfìngschtknachtce parade is not a fashion show, but a very old Alsatian custom, now almost extinct. The procession originally brought together the farmhands, the Knachts, then with the disappearance of this profession the young boys of the village. On the day of Pentecost, the Pfingsknacht (literally valets of Pentecost) marched through the streets of the villages and stopped at each house to beg for food in preparation for a great feast, to celebrate the return of the beautiful sunny days and nature’s bounty. In this staging, there was always a main character. Its small name depends on the corners of Alsace but remains linked to Pentecost (Pfingste in Alsatian). On the other hand, it is either a somewhat clumsy masked figure, or rather puny:
Pfingsknettel, Pfingstklotz: Knettel and Klotz mean club, big stick, stump or log; a metaphor for heavyweight.
Pfingstbutz: Butz is a mask or dummy.
Pfingstpflitteri: in the Haut-Rhin, the Pflitteri is a man without strength, a sickly being.
The Pfingstbutz from Marckolsheim or Baldenheim is also called Schnackeballer, the one who barks at snails. His superpower is to hunt pests that attack the development of plants.
In Pfaffenheim, but also in villages in the vineyards like Orschwihr and Bergholtzzell or on the plain like Andolsheim, Sundhouse and Sainte-Croix-en-Plaine, the procession is linked to rites linked to the fertilizing rain. The Pfingstpflitteri of Pfaffenheim parades on the back of a donkey. He stops to address the crowd. But, he is interrupted in his speech by being thrown into the water of a fountain. He comes out of the water and sprays the crowd.
In Friesenheim, Herbsheim, Soufflenheim, the Pfingstbutz is a character with a face blackened with soot. He is crowned with a bunch of immature barley; the Kornbusche. He is preceded by a boy who cracks his whip and followed by others who recite verses in order to receive food.
It is indeed each time an agrarian ritual, which makes it possible either to invoke water for the harvests, or to rediscover the system of gift-against gift: giving food to farmhands to motivate them and that they work well during the summer, and that it gives good harvests. It’s true that in restaurants, I’ve always found it silly to tip after the meal. Motivation level, there is better. Tomorrow, I will tell you about another tradition of Pentecost, religious this time, the Rohràffe.