A dancing masquerade jumped right in front of my lens and showed it an image “for the pleasure of the male eye” that our great-grandfathers’ generation would have considered shameful. Yes, Mardi Gras used to be debaucherous holidays – people wanted to enjoy some joy, food, alcohol and let loose between the fasts of Christmas and Easter. On Sunday, a parade of masquerades in the open-air museum in Khuim gave an indication of how the carnivals used to take place.
It rained all day and on the way to Kouřimi I always had the feeling that I would be alone in the Museum of Folk Buildings, at most with the masqueraders of the Mardi Gras parade, unless of course the bad weather deters them too. Who would voluntarily go out in a slot like that, right?
Arriving at the parking lot showed me that I was a bit wrong (understand, I’m completely off). It was full. A lot of people came to see. And it was worth it. As it later turned out, in addition to the perfectly prepared parade of masquerades, I was also to become one of the unplanned attractions of the attractions.
Having one of the costumed girls smear my face with soot was pretty cool, it was part of the atmosphere. Most of the other visitors and journalists did the same. A little dirt and legacy is fine, right? But…
Faces are indulgent, but it’s not Cinderella
Part of photography is that you have to run sometimes. There’s a parade, you’re taking pictures. He passes by and you start, overtake him and you can take pictures again. My stellar Mardi Gras moment came during a sprint around the rychta from Bradlecká Lhota. The ground was soaked with rain, gooey mud everywhere.
Swish, the world sways slightly, I instinctively hold the cameras. Slap. And I’m already rolling by the fence in the mud. Right in front of the first masquerade of the Mardi Gras parade, which is a brightly colored magpie merrily swinging a whip.
The masquerades (as they call themselves) very politely tried not to laugh for the whole round. I probably couldn’t do it in their place. So, to the black painted faces, I added some pretty brown mud stains on my knees and elbows. I think I could easily join the parade as such a modern figure. For example, I would certainly stand out well next to clean chimney sweeps.
Mass release tour in the Museum of Folk Buildings in Kouřimi. | Photo: Tomáš Vocelka
A holiday that has survived from pagan times
Speaking of the parade and carnival in general, people haven’t had it taken since ancient pre-Christian times. Of course, it has changed over time, but it is based on pagan holidays that were associated with the end of winter and the arrival of spring. The oldest masks are also derived from here, which include a bear and a mare. The bear in particular used to be a divine animal, a symbol of fertile power and the annual awakening of the world after winter.
By the way, ethnographic articles tell about the fact that bear masqueraders were obliged to dance in every building with the housekeeper and teenage girls (precisely because of fertility). In some areas, it is said that bears, not knowing today’s hypercorrectness, even pounced on women and tried to knock them down into the snow. The symbolism of this action probably does not need to be explained in detail.
A season full of village weddings
Mardi Gras was also associated with fertility in another way – it was traditionally the period when the most weddings of the year took place in the villages. We’re talking about the few weeks between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday here.
The whole period during which people went off between two church fasts was a bit untied. It ended on Shrove Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. It was on Tuesdays that the riotous masquerade parades took place. They went around the whole village, music played, singing and dancing during the visits.
Dancing is part of the carnival. Lots of dancing. | Photo: Tomáš Vocelka
The merriment in the parade escalated in proportion to how many masqueraders went home. It was a good custom to treat them with schnapps. In addition to a glass of something sharper, the masqueraders were also given doughnuts, pastries or meat.
At midnight on Ash Wednesday, the fun jumped. Lent began before the most important Christian holiday of the year, Easter.
Lessons learned about weddings in a chest cottage
I was already heading back to the car, but I decided to take a peek at one of the cottages. The room contained a table and painted chests and cupboards. “The girls mostly got them as wedding gifts,” the open-air museum worker began.
Girls didn’t have it easy back then. “Notice the pattern on the cabinet door. You can see the cut flowers in the vase,” I listen to the explanation. “This was to remind brides that their beauty is fleeting, just like those cut flowers.” Well, I don’t know how such a pessimistic message would go down with today’s brides on their wedding day.
The wedding and wedding night took place at the bride’s place, then the groom brought her home. “He took her there first—showing her the table, the stove, the barn, the stables, and finally the bed,” the description continues. This somehow determined what her next life would be like.
I then wondered for a while if I would rather live in the time of the pagan Great Goddess in the matriarchy, in the rigidly Christian patriarchy, or in today’s crazy cancel culture. But I haven’t come to any conclusion yet… What about you?
