LL-L "Folklore" 2001.12.10 (02) [E]

Tue Dec 11 05:25:09 UTC 2001

======================================================================
 L O W L A N D S - L * 10.DEC.2001 (02) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Web Site: <http://www.geocities.com/sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/>
 Rules: <http://www.geocities.com/sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/rules.html>
 Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
 Server Manual: <http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html>
 Archive: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html>
=======================================================================
 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
=======================================================================

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Folklore

Dear Lowlanders,

Some introductory descriptions of Low Saxon folklore of Northern Germany
(with Saxon heritage of "Low German" as their focus, but heavy on the
Eastphalian side) are found in Otto Lauffer's _Niederdeutsche
Volkskunde_ (Leipzig: Quelle & Meyer, 1923), of which our own Edward
Sproston kindly sent me an extra copy.  Below please find the gist of
some of it (with my transliteration of Low Saxon, and with my notes
within curly brackets).  Please bear in mind that these are only some of
many folkloristic traditions.  I will not discuss traditions such as
those of witches and werewolves, unless there is strong demand for this
among our subscribers.  I assume that, even though I will write the
following in the present tense, since the book was written much of this
cultural heritage has been forgotten among ordinary people.

It would be interesting to see if and how these folkloristic traditions
exist in other Lowlands areas.

Enjoy!

Reinhard/Ron

***

Aquatic Creatures:

Especially inland bodies of water are believed to be inhabited by
aquatic folks.  Females are known as _Waterjunfern_ ~ _Waterjumfern_
{_Junfer_ ~ _Jumfer_ 'young woman', 'virgin'} or _Watermöhmken_ {"water
aunties/women"} for whom water lilies (_Mümmeln_ or _Mümmelken(s)_)
bloom.  {In some Low Saxon dialects, _Waterjumfer_ also means
'dragonfly'.}  Throwing flat stones across water to make them skip is
called _'n(e) Waterjumfer smieten_ {"to throw a _Waterjumfer_}.  A male
human-like creature inhabiting inland waters is known as _Hakenkerel_ ~
_Hakenkeerl_ {"hook fellow"}, _Hakenmann_ {"hook man"} or _Brunnemann_
{"well man"}.  He tends to be evil and seductive, pulling or luring
individuals into his realm of the water's depth.  {This is very much the
same in West Slavic folklore of Eastern Germany, e.g., the
Sorbian/Lusatian _wódny muz^_ "water man," similar also to the _Nix_ or
_Wassermann_ in German folklore.}  A spirit of the open sea is the
_Klabautermann_ {whose name comes in many different forms, for instance
_Klabauter_ or _Klabater_ or even _Krabater_}.  Mostly, he is the
benevolent, protective spirit of a seagoing vessel  He may warn the crew
of danger.  A counting verse from Veerlannen/Vierlande {now a part of
Hamburg}:

   Daar in 't groot Water,
   Daar huult 'n Klabader.
   Wer 'n Klabader huuln höört,
   De wull bald sien Schipp verleert.
   Een, twee, dree.
   Spring uut de Ree!

{  Out on the ocean
   A _klabader_ is wailing.
   He who hears a _klabader_ wail
   Will soon lose his ship.
   One, two, three.
   Jump out of line!}

Subterranean Creatures:

There are traditions in which giants are featured, but dwarves dominate
among mythological subterranean creatures that occasionally come up to
visit the world of people.  {They are called _Dwargen_ ['dva:g=N], sg.
_Dwarg_ [dva:x], _Quargen_ ['kva:g=N], sg. _Quarg_ [kva:x], or
_Ünnereerdsche_ ['Yn3,E.I3tSe] "subterraneans" in most dialects.}  They
live in subterranean caves or in mines, where they guard their
treasures.  In the Southern Hanover area {where Eastphalian dialects are
spoken}, they are known as _Männeken_ 'little man/men', also as _swarte
Männeken_ {"black little man/men"} or _fale Männeken_ {"pale little
man/men"}.  They may be evil or benevolent.  Their evil doing accounts
for failures in bread baking and beer brewing, so poorly baked bread is
known as _Quargesback_ {"dwarf's baking"}, and poorly brewed beer is
known as _Quargesbru_ {"dwarf's brew"}.  Evil dwarves like to abduct
people's newborn children, especially those that have not yet been
baptized, putting in the place of a baby a _Wesselbalg_ {['vEs=l,ba.lx]
'changeling'), a misshapen dwarf's child with a large head.  This is why
a light has to continually burn next to a woman and her newborn child
until the time of baptism, ideally no more than three days after birth.
{Connected with this are many dwarf traditions in German-speaking areas,
also with traditions in Germany's originally Slavic-speaking areas, such
as the Sorbian tradition of the _lutki_ "little people," sg. _lutk_,
that constitute a tribe of their own and may collaborate or compete with
human communities, one of their idiosyncrasies being a language that
abounds with negative forms.}

Domestic Creatures:

There are other types of dwarves, namely goblins that live in people's
homes, mostly in hidden nooks and crannies or on roof rafters.  They
tend to be helpful, assist in chores and may even help to bring
happiness and wealth to a household.  Related to these appear to be the
_Alrüneken_ {cf. German _Alraunen_ 'mandrakes'} which, although they
tend not to live in people's homes, can bring wealth, usually by way of
chimneys.  {Any connection with the pre-Christian roots of the
Sinterklaas/Santa Claus tradition?}

Demons:

Pre-Christian demon beliefs appear to continue in numerous devil story
traditions.  The devil is known by numerous names {usually replacing the
frequently tabooized name _Düvel_}, such as _Füerdrake_ {"fire dragon"},
_Gluuswans_ {"Glowing Tail"} or _Teckelmucker_ {?}.  He flies through
the air, and a shooting star appears whenever he visits a witch.  He
likes to tempt people and will occasionally throw things through
chimneys into houses, sometimes bad things and sometimes nice gifts such
as food or money.  It is customary to say {in Eastphalian} _Teckelmucker
het wat ebrocht_ {"Teckelmucker has brought something"} if something
unexpected is found in the house.  If anyone sees the devil fly he or
she ought to call out _Halfpart!_ {"Half part!"} to make the devil throw
half his loot down to him or her.  {There seems to be a connection
between this and the Sorbian, i.e. West Slavic, tradition of the
tempting, often helpful dragon (_zmij_) that commutes by way of
chimneys.}

Spirits:

Human souls, either of the dead or of the sleeping and dreaming, appear
as smoke, wind, snakes, mice or toads.  The restless spirits of the
departed, for instance of people who committed suicide, are condemned to
haunting, _wallen gahn_ {or _ümgahn_ "to go around"}.  Souls of farmers
who cheated in their lifetimes, such as having moved boundary markers in
their own favor, will appear as fiery ghosts known as _Stakenklopper_
{"stake hammerer(s)"} or _Landmeter_ {"land measurer(s)"}, haunting the
fields while holding glowing stakes or chains in sultry summer nights.
This tradition tends to be connected with that of the will-o'-the-whisp
or jack-o'-lantern, which is often believed to be a dead person's
haunting soul.  In the Southern Hanover area it is known as _Anneken med
der Lüchten_ {"Annie with the light"}.  {_Spööklicht_ "spook light"
tends to be the name in other dialects.  There are similar traditions in
German-speaking areas (_Irrlicht_) and in Slavic-based traditions of
Eastern Germany, surviving in the Sorbian tradition of the
_bl/udnic^ka_.}

The _Korenmoimeke_ {Eastphalian, elsewhere _Kornmöhm(e)_ "corn/grain
aunt/woman"} or _Korenwief_ {Eastphalian, elsewhere _Kornwief_
"corn/grain woman"}, in some areas the _Arftenwief_ {"pea woman"},
usually a white-haired hag wearing tattered clothes, is a spirit that
inhabits fields or gardens and will abduct children that stray too far
off while playing or picking flowers.  {This is related to the German
tradition of the _Kornmuhme_ or _Roggenmuhme_, also to the Sorbian
tradition of the _Pr^ipol/dnica_ "midday woman," a woman in white who
kills people that work in fields in the blistering sun, unless they
manage to answer her riddles or tell her tales within a given amount of
time.}

==================================END===================================
 You have received this because your account has been subscribed upon
 request. To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l"
 as message text from the same account to
 <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or sign off at
 <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
=======================================================================
 * Please submit postings to <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>.
 * Postings will be displayed unedited in digest form.
 * Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
 * Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
   to be sent to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or at
   <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
 * Please use only Plain Text format, not Rich Text (HTML) or any other
   type of format, in your submissions
=======================================================================