Die Butzemannbrenning

"The Burning of the Butzemann," also known as "Die Butzemannverbrenning" and a few other terms.

The Butzemann is constructed at Grundsaudaag (Groundhog Day) out of selected and preserved remnants of last year's harvest and the lingering spirits of those remnants are then activated (along with the  physical material and the clothing to house them) through a ritual that Urglaawe inherited from Braucherei. He is given a name, which includes the patronymic and surname of his lineage, which is tracked from generation to generation. He then wards over the land that he is assigned. There is even one story of Butzemenner being trained by Dunner to thwart a marauding Frost Giant in mid-springtime.

Throughout the growing season, the Butzemann is nurtured and honored. Around the autumn equinox or as certain crops' harvests are completed, the Butzemann's duties are fulfilled. The activated plant spirit remnants prepare to retire. Due to the activation of the physical material and clothing (or, in our case, the shell) of the Butzemann, it now becomes imperative that the Butzemann be ceremonially burned. Braucherei tradition tells us that the burning must occur no later than Allelieweziel (Oct. 31). Tradition tells us that, if a Butzemann is not burned by the appointed time, the retired plant spirit will follow Holle as She sets out upon the Wild Hunt/Furious Host. Once the plant spirit departs, the clothes or the shell remain activated, thus becoming attractive to other spirits. The neglect of a Butzemann is considered an inhospitable act, thus adding a stain that makes the shell more attractive to baneful spirits.

If a baneful spirit occupies the shell, it becomes what is known as a Butz, which is linguistically related to Puck and pucca. A Butz is very much a bogeyman, and there are quite a few tales of neglected scarecrows wreaking havoc across the countryside. Many Deitsch folks remember being told to get back into bed on Christmas Eve or "the Butzemann will get you!"

Now our Butzemenner have been small so far, mostly due to my lack of artistic ability. Now that more of our folks are embracing the tradition, I expect more human-sized Butzemenner to show up. I should add, too, that there is a Verbot (taboo) in Braucherei against donning any clothing that has ever been on an activated Butzemann. I have encountered several explanations for this forbiddance. The one most cited is that the activation continues to attract spirits, thus inviting madness. Other explanations include 1). viewing the wearing of the clothes as theft of the clothes; 2). the wearing constitutes an effective stealing of the plants' spirits, thus creating a hex and a major stain on the Wurt of the offending party; 3). if the offending party is the landowner, the descendants of the Butzemann (read: next years' crops) may fail as a result of the dishonor done to their father. In a similar vein, each Butzemann should have his own clothes.

Many people seem perplexed by anyone even wanting to wear an item that had been on a scarecrow outside for nine months. This requires one to look at history. In the past, whether distant or as recent as the Colonial era, there were many wanderers and vagrants going from location to location. Sometimes their clothes became more shoddy and tattered than the clothing of the Butzemann. Thus, we can see one reason for which a person might take a Butzemann's clothes. 

A few years ago, a colleague in another Braucherei guild reported to me that their guild's oral lore included a story of a woman who took a section of clothing off of a Butzemann, made some patches from it, and sewed the patches inside the seams of a jacket. She then gave the quilt as a gift to another individual. This, of course, constitutes a hex or a curse.

In recent decades, references have been made to a "Butzefraa" or a scarecrow with female conventional attributes. The fact that our tradition has always had the Butzemann carry masculine attributes is no accident. Allelieweziel is also a time honoring males and masculine energies. In particular, tradition tells us that we are to recognize (and to be grateful for) the contributions and sacfices that males make for their families and communities. The timing of this honoring may have its roots in the culling of herds before winter. Similar awareness and gratitude are expressed to females and feminine energies at Grundsaudaag. Also, the earth is the physical mother of the coming year's crop, and the Butzemann represents the physical father, bringing the spirits of those plants from which the seeds come that give rise to the next crop. 

Although the Butzemann is associated with Allelieweziel and Distelfink's Butzemannbrenning typically takes place on the same day as the Allelieweziel Sege, the two events are actually separate rituals linked together by the need to burn the Butzemann by the Allelieweziel deadline. 

We wish everyone a blessed Allelieweziel. Take some time to honor your ancestors, for they are we, and we are our descendants. 

Macht's immer besser!

Zisadaag

September 28 is the celebration of the Festival of Zisa, patroness of Zizarim (now Augsburg). Also, in the 1st century BCE, the Romans, under Titus Annius inauspiciously picked this date for an attempt to seize Zizarim. They discovered during the siege that there were far more people, including warriors, in the city (due to the festival) than they had anticipated, and the Romans suffered a major defeat.

Her presence is still visible in present-day Augsburg, where the city symbol is the pine cone, which is also a symbol of Zisa. The Catholic Church eventually burgled Her likeness as Mary the Undoer-of-Knots (Maria Knotenlöserin), and in that context, Her presence is seen in a painting that has recently been restored in the Rathaus in Augsburg. The Church of St. Peter am Perlach stands on the grounds of Her temple at Zisenberg in Augsburg.

Information can be found (mostly in Latin) within Grimm’s “Teutonic Mythology” (I, 291-299). I believe Nigel Pennick wrote about it in one of the volumes of “Tyr,” but I am not at home to check which volume and page numbers. Also, James Chisholm includes it in “Grove and Gallows” (page 63 or 73, again, I am not at home to check the exact page number).

This is one of Urglaawe’s more important festivals....

Losset uns die Zisa heele!
Hail Zisa!

Hollerbeer Haven, Summer 2012

The .PDF version of the Summer 2012 edition of Hollerbeer Haven is now available for free download. This is a fairly large file, so please be patient during the download.

This issue covers topics such as our folks' experiences at Trothmoot 2012 and our Hoietfescht and Freyfaxi event/ The plant of the quarter is Monarda Punctata/ 

Mach's immer besser!

Fuffzehfux

Tonight is the observance of the arrival of the Frost Giant called Fuffzehfux (FUFF-tsay-FOOX, with the primary stress of FUFF and secondary stress of FOOX), whose name means “Fifteen-Fox.”

The Oley Freindschaft’s lore of Fuffzehfux again is very similar to that of Dreizehdax and Vatzehvedder, with Dunner’s presence again forcing the retreat, and the Giants give up their attempt to destabilize the land, thus allowing for the planting of all crops and herbs.

The Parryville-Harrity Freindschaft’s variation differs again.

In that version, Fuffzehfux is reputed to be more cunning than his two compatriots. Rather than coming forward boldly, he attempts to sneak around across the countryside to make sporadic attacks on the land. However, Dunner had trained the Butzemenner during the Vatzehvedder attack to combat the Frost Giants. Each Butzemann now defends his turf against Fuffzehfux. Fuffzehfux is said only to be successful on lands without a Butzemann’s presence, though Dunner does remain present to oversee the Butzemenner in their actions and eventually steps in to force Fuffzehfux to retreat into the mountains in the north.

The overarching theme of this version is that Dunner has now fully prepared each Butzemann to defend his land against any baneful wight attacks. If a Butzemann can thwart a Frost Giant, then he could also thwart entities like a Hexewolf. The Frost Giants desist, and the full planting  goes forward.

Rob  :)

Vatzehvedder

Now with Dreizehdax (I guess I should try to provide an approximate pronunciation: DRY-tsay-DAX, with DRY being the primary stress and DAX being a secondary stress) has fled, we observe overnight tonight the arrival of Vatzehvedder (FAHT-tsay-FED-dahw with the primary stress on FAHT and secondary stress on FED. The ending –er sound in Deitsch differs strongly from an –er ending in either English or Deutsch).

The interpretation of this Frost Giant’s name is one that has posed some challenges. A literal reading of it would present the name of “Fourteen-Fathers,” but that makes little sense in the context of the oral lore. An audio transmission of the name would provide another option: “Fourteen-Feather” or, perhaps more significantly, “Fourteen-Quill.” The current-era spelling of this name would thus be “Vatzehfedder,” however.

In the case of “Fourteen-Quill,” there is a possible link between the reference to the quill and a porcupine. If this is the case, then the understanding of the Frost Giant’s name would reflect upon his disposition as “Fourteen-Porcupine.” This is, however, only a theory.

The lore of Vatzehvedder, as transmitted with the Oley Freindschaft Braucherei guild, is very similar to that of Dreizehdax. The Frost Giant attempts to bring chaos to the land but is forced by Dunner to retreat.

A variation of the lore is transmitted through the Parryville-Harrity Freindschaft. The Dreizehdax portion is the same, and, indeed, Dunner does force Vatzehvedder’s retreat. However, in this version, Dunner provides instruction to the Butzemenner (plural of Butzemann or the scarecrow that was spiritually activated at Groundhog Day) on how to combat the Frost Giant. This is seen as part of the Butzemann’s preparation for protecting the property and crops throughout the season. The Butzemenner learn from Dunner and observe Him removing the chaotic threat from the land.

The last Frost Giant will visit tomorrow night.

Dreizehdax

Overnight tonight is the observance of the arrival and retreat of the Reifries (Frost Giant) Dreizehdax (Thirteen-Badger), who attempts to undermine the restored order of the land that was established by Holle's return on Walpurgisnacht.

Dreizehdax is thwarted by Dunner and is forced to retreat.

Hail Dunner! :)

The Glory of Walpurgisnacht and the Moifescht

This weekend witnessed a flurry of Walpurgisnacht activity across the region. On Sunday, Distelfink joined with the Norsewind tribe for a beautiful ceremony at the Sacred Oak in Oley, PA. Along with a tip of the hat to the site's Lenape predecessors, we honored our deities and ancestors. This was truly a blessed event. We celebrate the bonds of friendship and frith that are expanding throughout the Heathen community.

The tribes' combined altar by the Sacred Oak

The small stream (Heffners Runn or Heffner's Run, though there may be other names in English and Lenape) that feeds the roots of the great Sacred Oak carried away the flowers with our well wishes to the deities, the ancestors, and the Lenape warriors and tribe. We are honored to have access to two significant Lenape legacies (the Sacred Oak and the Warriors' Ring nearby), and their contributions to the Deitsch colonial survival must not be forgotten or ignored. Similarly, the long-standing friendship of the Deitsch and the Lenape is well recorded historically. We must reinvigorate these bonds and celebrate our shared love for this land.

Heffners Runn

Walpurgisnacht began at dusk on April 30 (30. Oschdret). By Urglaawe reckoning, dusk begins the next day, so the event starts actually at the onset of May 1 (1. Wonnet). We welcomed Holle back to the land with a large fire that represented the end of the Dark Half (Dunkelhelft) of the year. 

Feier im Brischtol

Holle's return to Hexenkopf (with visits to other locations, such as Hexebaerrick and Hexefeld) also means an end to the Wild Hunt (Wildi Yacht). In Urglaawe tradition, Holle now changes Her focus from seeking the lost souls of the departed to reinvigorating the land. The wights (Wichde) that accompanied Wudan and Her on the Hunt now return to the land and to the streams and rivers. 

At this time of the year, we focus on the compassion (Mitleid) that Holle holds up to us a virtue. This understanding is reflected in the "fairy tale," which is more aptly called a "folk tale," of Frau Holle. In the story, Holle rewards the diligent girl for her acts of compassion towards the baking bread and the ripened apples while punishing the lazy girl who ignores both. Industriousness and generosity are also known aspects of Holle's personality and disposition towards humankind, and it is our responsibility to embrace these virtues in order to build community and Fruchsfriede (frith).

Dawn on May 1 brings the Moifescht (Mayfest), also known as the Wonnetdanz (Joy Dance). The Wonnetdanz is represented in the decorating of the Maypole or Queschtbaam. Between now and the Midsummer (Summer Solstice), we are to recognize the joy of life. Celebrate love, family, and friends. By now, New Year's Resolutions should be in effect and the seeds of change should be planted. We are in the Rebirth phase of the Lewesraad (Cycle of Life), and our spirits should be rejuvenated along with the land.

Moifescht greetings and blessings to all!

Hail!