Change in customs: discussion about the future of the Funken witches

Change in customs: discussion about the future of the Funken witches

Bihlerdorf, Deutschland - In the Allgäu, the traditional spark fire is accompanied by a controversial figure: the spark witch. This figure, which is supposed to drive away the winter due to the combustion on a stake, is increasingly criticized. The women's culture movement, represented by 77-year-old Elisabeth Brock, describes the representation of the witch as "macabre and offensive". She has been fighting this type of customs for 40 years and is committed to ensuring that the female figure is no longer used as a symbol at the stake. In her commitment, she made it to the Kempten city council and sees the witch burning as a punishment for women in a historical context.

These concerns are also loud in neighboring Vorarlberg. According to the Hittisau women's museum, only five percent of all sparks in the previous year did not burn witches in their customs. Historians emphasize that the witch is not one of the characteristic elements of a spark fire and that the tradition of witch burning was only introduced in the 19th century to preserve the customs. Cultural anthropologist Lydia Arantes points out that the younger members of the spark guild already consider alternative opportunities to modernize customs. UNESCO meanwhile checks whether sparking can continue to be recognized as an intangible cultural heritage.

tradition in change

The discussion about the need for the spark witch develops not only in critical statements, but also in the if -cunk sessions of the local fire brigades, where the members re -evaluate the custom. Some voices demand to abolish the witch figure. The historian Dr. Veronika Heilmannseder finds that the witch historically does not necessarily belong to the spark fire. This is also evident in the conversations among the younger members who question why a woman's figure is still necessary. Opinions are split - while some are firmly connected to the tradition, the other new perspectives on the relevance of these practices in modern society open up.