Madness in Mestreech: a Carnival lexicon
Alaaf is the official greeting during Carnival. It is repeated three times, while placing the top of the right hand not to the right side of the forehead, as is customary, but to the left temple. The “alaaf” greeting is used throughout the Rhineland and is possibly a parody of the strong militarism of the Prussians. The origin of the word may stem from the Yiddish “alaaf”, the first letter of the alphabet, and could refer to the head of the army. It might also be a pointer to “eleven”, the number symbolising the madness of Carnival.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Christian church and marks the end of Carnival. In earlier times, the length of the Lent celebration varied but it eventually began six weeks (42 days) before Easter. This provided only 36 days of fasting (excluding Sundays). In the 7th century, four days were added before the first Sunday in Lent in order to establish 40 fasting days, in imitation of Jesus Christ’s fast in the desert.
Carnival: the derivation of the word is uncertain, although it can be traced to the Medieval Latin “carnem levare” or “carnelevarium”, which means “to take away or remove meat”. This coincides with the fact that Carnival is the final festival before the beginning of the 40 days of Lent, during which Roman Catholic in earlier times abstained from eating meat. The historical origin of Carnival is also obscure. It possibly has its roots in a primitive festival honouring the beginning of the New Year and the rebirth of nature, though it may also be linked to the pagan Saturnalia festival of ancient Rome.
Dialect: during Carnival, everyone in Limburg seems to have forgotten their Dutch and only speak their own local dialect. Carnival texts - announcements, songs, newspapers and websites - are all written in dialect. And every city, town and village in Limburg has their own specific dialect, with different words and accents!
Eleven: the reason why eleven represents the fool’s number may be traced back to the old belief that one becomes mad after being bitten by an elf, a mythological diminutive spirit in the German folklore who delights in mischievous tricks. But the two number ones next to each other can also be seen as a sign of equality. During Carnival, thanks to masks and other forms of disguise, everyone is equal and all hierarchy is abolished. Eleven is also an evil number as it exceeds the ten commandments.
Flag: Maastricht boasts a new flag during Carnival. Its colours, red-yellow-green, can be seen just about everywhere in the Carnival decorations in the streets, shops, cafes, people’s costumes and music bands uniforms.
Herring: on Ash Wednesday it is customary to mark the end of Carnival by eating herring on the Onze Lieve Vrouw Square. This fish also symbolises the 40-day fasting time which starts on that day.
Key: on the day before the beginning of Carnival, the mayor of Maastricht hands over the (symbolic) key of the city hall to Prince Carnival. Only the Prince of Groet Mestreech (the city) receives the key. (Princes of all other carnival associations in Maastricht don’t receive it). This event marks the fact that the mayor and his councillors are not in charge anymore for the next three days, because the Prince and his Road vaan Ellef (Council of Eleven) take over the city, with the approval of the citizens of Maastricht. This “coup d’etat” happens as follows: the Tempeleers orally “attack” the mayor and his councillors in the city hall on behalf of the citizens of Maastricht. They argue over issues and political actions or non-actions that took place during the previous year in a carnivalesque yet polite way, making lots of fun. Then the mayor is allowed to “defend” himself and his councillors. But at the end they loose the “battle” and then the mayor is forced to hand over the key to the carnival Prince. The Prince reads a speech to the people in the city hall and from that moment on the prince and his Tempeleers are the rulers over the city. This is (also) the reason why the prince of the city of Maastricht is so important for carnival and the people of Maastricht.
Lent: it was the practice in Rome for penitents to begin their period of public penance on the first day of Lent. They were sprinkled with ashes, dressed in sackcloth and obliged to remain apart until they were reconciled with the Christian community on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter). In the modern Roman Catholic church, on Ash Wednesday the worshiper is marked on the forehead with a cross of ashes obtained by burning the palms used on the previous Palm Sunday.
Limburg: the Carnival celebration in Limburg is strongly influenced by the Rhineland Carnival, with Cologne as its main centre. The revival of Carnival in the 19th century coincided with a time when people felt nostalgic about the Holy Roman empire under emperor Charles V. Prince Carnival is actually an impersonation of emperor Charles V and his costume is inspired by garments worn in the 16th century. The Carnival’s parade is in many ways an imitation of Charles Vs entrance into the city. In Maastricht however, the shape of the Prince’s hat shows a clear influence of the Napoleonic rule in the Netherlands.
Mooswief is the most important symbol of the Maastricht Carnival. The Mooswief, whose statue stands on the Market square, is the patroness of the Maastricht carnival. The Mooswief is a woman who sells vegetables at the market. Most of the vegetables have grown on her land (mostly rented by her family) or backyard. There is a piece of history here: the Mooswiever lived just outside the old city walls. This area was not included in the city of Maastricht as it is now, but was formed by villages with their own city hall (the present day neighbourhoods of Sint Pieter, Borgharen, Itteren, Wolder, Biesland, Amby, Heer, etc.) A big replica of the Mooswief statue is put up on a pole on the Vrijthof for the entire duration of Carnival. On Shrove Tuesday at midnight, Carnival officially ends when everyone has sung the Maastricht anthem and the Carnival song of the year. The Prince then brings down the Mooswief and hands back his bonnet and sceptre to the city mayor.
Nonnenvotten are a typical speciality during Carnival. These fried pastries originally come from the town of Sittard, taste like donuts and look like knots. “Non” is a sterilised female pig, whose bottom is particularly round and fat.
Parade: during the Parade, the Prince is accompanied by his guards - called the “Kachelpiepers” in Maastricht - who parody the real army by dancing with flowers at the end of their rifles. The Prince and his guards are followed by “Dansmariekes”, representing the camp women who provided the soldiers with drinks, food and entertainment. Carnival associations’ orchestras and dance groups rehearse their repertoire and the new carnival song for the big parade while other members of the associations choose a theme for a float and start building and decorating it accordingly. This theme can be related to an important person or event in the news.
Prince Carnival: every year the Council of Eleven of each Carnival association comes together to elect the man who will be their Prince Carnival for the entire carnival season, which starts on 11 November (the first day of the 5th season or carnival season). The Prince does not necessarily have to be a member of the carnival association. For example: in Maastricht every neighbourhood has its own carnival association. They might choose someone living in that same neighbourhood, without that person being a member of the carnival association. Another example: a sportsclub might have its own carnival association. Their Prince will absolutely be a member of the sportsclub, but does not necessarily have to be a member of that carnival association as well. The Prince is invited to almost all carnival festivities in Maastricht from the moment he has been announced to the people.
Song: every year the people of Maastricht choose a new carnival song. It can be considered as a kind of song contest. Anyone can send in a song, after which a first selection is made by a jury. Then about ten songs are presented live and the public votes for the best song. Singers, choirs, bands, orchestras etc. are expected to be able to sing/play this song as soon as possible. At every carnival festivity - after the 11th of November there is a carnival activity somewhere almost every weekend, except for the weeks before Christmas - this song needs to be played at least once: when the Carnival Prince of Maastricht comes to visit the festivity.
Sunday: Carnival in Maastricht officially starts on Carnival Sunday at 12.11 pm, when the Momus cannon is shot 11 times on the Vrijthof square. The Mooswief, the symbol of Carnival in Maastricht, is also raised on a highpole.
Tempeleers: name of the most important Carnival association of Maastricht. The Tempeleers organise all important meetings and events related to Carnival, including the election of Maastricht’s Prince Carnival and the ‘Zaate Herremeniekes’ (Carnival music bands) contest. The Zaate Herremeniekes (Zaate meaning literally ‘drunken’) walk through the city, playing in bars and end up on the Vrijthof. During the Zaate Herremeniekes Concours a special jury awards every band with the “first prize”, even if the members of the jury publicly acknowledge that the band is too loud, too unorganized, too undisciplined, plays very badly, and whatever they can come up with. This contest is a real carnivalesque activity, with a carnivalesque jury, carnivalesque remarks and carnivalesque grades for the bands (like the grade 11) etc.). A statue of a Zaate Herremenie dressed in Carnival costume can be seen on the Vrijthof.
Vastelaovend is the common dialect name for Carnival in Maastricht. It is often thought to refer to the last evening before fasting. However, the word “vastel” can also be linked to the German words “Fas”, “Fasel” or “Vasel”, which are associated with the idea of fertility and growth. The Roman feasts of Bacchanalia and Lupercalia also marked the end of the winter and the beginning of spring, and celebrated the regeneration of nature. Later on, these festivities were influenced by Germanic spring rituals, when the winter spirits were chased away by crowds making a lot of noise and wearing costumes symbolising the ancestors and the winter spirits.
Women’s Carnival: in Cologne, where this tradition stems from, the event is called “Altweiberfasching” and takes place on the Thursday before the beginning of the Carnival. It is a kind of liberated “women’s day” where women storm town halls, banks and offices and snip or even cut men’s neckties. In Limburg, the “auw wieverbal” is a popular bal where people disguise as old women.
Source: Crossroads print edition, March 2003
Related articles:
- Maastricht Carnival song 2006
- The history of Carnival in Maastricht
- “Carnival is a feeling”
- De Tempeleers: guardians of the Maastricht carnival
