Masopust

Kratký masopust - dlouhá zima.
Short carnival - long winter.

Carnival is celebrated in many parts of the world. It combines a number of
old fertility rites and customs like the driving out of winter. Its existence and origins are well documented in early mythology and primitive drawings. In the center of primitive religious rites and rituals stand the mask, the dance and the procession. The human desire to disguise, to assume a different role, is as old as humankind itself.

Roots of the carnival traditions can be found in ancient Greece and Rome. Carnival in Rome became popular around the middle of the second century as a way to feast and act wild before the somber days of Lent. Wearing costumes
and masks, they celebrated Bacchus and Venus and all things pleasurable.

From Epiphany (Den Trí králu) until Ash Wednesday (Popelecní streda), the
people in the Czech Republic celebrate a season of merrymaking and masquerading called masopust. Masopust is the Czech name, whereas the
Moravian equivalent of Fasank or Fasánek obtains its name from the German
Fastendiendst.

This tradition dates from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in the Czech lands and is exuberantly celebrated even today in small villages. Literally, the word masopust (like its English counterpart "carnival") means "good-bye to meat." This is a time of plenty, in which butchering and pork feasts are traditionally held along with pre-Lenten carnivals. These celebrations have traditionally been both the most colorful and the wildest
folklore events held.

This carnival tradition has been passed down most of all in Moravia, although it is also celebrated in Bohemia, with each village having its own version of the celebration. While it has many supporters, it also has its critics - especially among the clergy!

A universal feature of masopust is the wearing of masks, thought by the religious historian Mircea Eliade to represent the dead who are likely to return to their homes at this topsy-turvy time. Also, when the New Year was
celebrated at the vernal equinox, these rites were meant to strengthen the
sun and welcome its return.

A multitude of masks - whose significance and symbolism are no longer well
known - are present in the parades. The most popular human characters are
devils, chimney sweeps, cow herders and ringmasters. The most popular
animals are bears, goats, dogs, sheep, rams, pigs, chickens or a horse that
carries a bag in his mouth and collects doughnuts into it.

Many of those in costume already have their tasks cut out for them, such as
the bears that scare the little children. A villager may also be dressed
like a monster known as the Rychtár with a mare's head, frightening the
children and threatening the girls who spin if they spin on days when they
shouldn't.

Bruna, another terrifying creature, reminds one vaguely of a giraffe, a
camel or a goat and may be adorned with fantastic horns. This animal
sometimes walks alone but is often accompanied by a herd of odd-looking
attendants, persons disguised in every possible way.

While noisily singing, shouting and dancing, the costumed characters make
their way from home to home, where the families offer them food and drink.
They may play tricks on the children, tease the maids, and at the end
distribute little gifts. The procession usually ends in the pub, where the
eating, drinking and merrymaking often continue until morning.

In the border region between Moravia and Slovakia, dancers walk around in a
procession carrying wooden swords intertwined in a closed chain. This custom is the ancient sword dance symbolizing the eternal cycle of life and seasons and belongs to the group of dances celebrating the sun. In Strání, the
people still perform the dance in folk costumes. In the Horazdovice and
Strakonice regions in Southern Bohemia, they act out a comic wedding during
the procession. In Dobrkovská Lhotka near Trhové Sviny, you may also see a
chorus of carolers during the festival.

Those who are celebrating enjoy using a variety of noisemakers on this
holiday, and a favorite one is a wooden ratchet (rehtacka). This ratchet
comes in many sizes. Most of them work by waving them in the air, which
causes them to spin with a loud clatter. In some villages they have ratchets
so big that they're like wheelbarrows, and you have to push them down the
street!

The carnival celebration peaks on the last few days before Lent, when young
and old attend dances at the village inn. The preparations for masopust,
starting on "Fat Thursday," usually involved the slaughter of a pig and the
serving of the traditional Czech meal of roast pork with sauerkraut.
According to tradition, this was a day filled with eating and drinking to
keep your strength up all year long.

The main masopust celebration begins on Sunday with a rich dinner. It is
then followed by dancing, entertainment and fun all night long. Bright and early on Monday morning, masqueraders and musicians meet in the
village square and then parade around the village. They stop in front of all
the homes and dance or perform a short skit. The homeowner then asks for
small favors of the group "that there be no hard feelings during the days of
merriment." He then pays them doughnuts, bacon, eggs, kolácky, etc. for
their efforts.

Monday continues with feasting and dancing, and in some villages they have
dances for married couples only. According to one superstition, the height
to which the grain will grow depends on the height the farmer's wife (or
daughter) can jump while dancing!

Many sayings and proverbs are attached to this season, such as "The farmer
who dances a lot will have a good crop of wheat" or "The flax will grow as
high as the farmer's daughter can jump."

The name of the day before Ash Wednesday is masopustní útery. On that day,
the parade goes around the village again, ending with a dance at the inn.
This dance is the most festive of them all, with everyone joining in.

The women of the village bake a large and beautifully decorated pastry
wreath. When it's ready, they place it on the table, form a circle around it
and dance. The men try to break through this ring and get a piece of the
pastry wreath. The man who accomplishes this must then treat the women with candies. Once the cake is reached, the men bid on the remaining pieces.

As midnight nears, the young folks make preparations to "bury" Fasank" - the
bass fiddle. They dress the bass fiddle in a woman's dress and drape it with
ribbons as a symbol of music and cheerfulness. They then lay it on the chairs and the group, in the circle, and "tearfully" proclaim its praises and the sorrow of parting with the happy times and music it represents. A number of them then carry the bass fiddle in a mock funeral procession around the hall until the stroke of midnight. At this time, all merriment ceases and all depart for their homes to start the observance of Lent.

In some regions, the figure they are "burying" is Bakus, represented by a
figure of an old man. In Milevsko, the town folk have carried out this custom
since the Middle Ages. In olden times, Bakus walked around the pubs on
carnival Monday and Tuesday.

The procession of Bakus consisted of the comical characters of his wife and
child, a gravedigger, a sexton, a priest, mourners and altar boys. They
carried Bakus, who was wearing a dress stuffed with straw, on a cart.

On Popelecní streda they would "bury" him in the brook which went through
the square. His "burial" in the snow at a brook or a pond used to be rather
dangerous for the person who represented him! Once, when a man playing the
part of Bakus died from cold, the authorities outlawed the custom. The last
procession devoted to Bakus occurred in 1864.

However, this was not the end of the masked festivities. During the
preceding years, other comical characters began joining his procession. By
1862 there were whole parades of masked figures. With Bakus no longer at the
front of the parade, others took his place of prominence, and a different
one was featured each year. This is not to say that Bakus was never seen
again! Every so often he'd make a guest appearance in one of the parades!

The masked parades in Milevsko take place on masopustní útery to mark the
end of carnival. The modern form of processions dates back to 1862. They
developed from medieval folk plays dealing with St. Barbara, St. Nicholas,
St. Lucy, St. Dorothy, the Three Kings and others.

Typical masks in Milevsko include an old hag with a basket, a beanpole,
Bakus, a sausage seller, a barber, a bear tamer, a chicken farmer and many
others. New masks have also appeared over the years.

A committee, consisting of chosen local residents, voted on each individual
who wanted to perform in the parade. It was a great honor to participate in
these parades and the committee limited inclusion to the residents of
Milevsko.

The townsfolk systematically carried out advertising for the event. Two
weeks before the holiday, men with paintbrushes would wander about, painting various rhymes about the festivities on the shop windows. The next week, they tacked up humorous posters throughout the city. And finally, on "Fat Thursday," several costumed characters would walk the streets of the city,
inviting people to the festivities on masopustní útery.

Do you have more information on this tradition?  The above information is a compilation of material. Accreditation will be given to those who provide specific information.  Contact Petr Chudoba  All Rights Reserved. Copyright (c) 2002 by Petr Chudoba. 
 

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