River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1877-10-04
Queer Wedding Festivities.

Mr.. Baltic Grohman gives US an ac
count of wedding which he attended in
Brandenburg, a little Alpine hamlet in
the valley of the same name. He hal to
traverse a narrow bridle-path, which was
covered with snow to the depth of three
and in some places four or five feet; it
was seven hours battle with snow before
he reached the inn of the village in
which. the weddings are always held
He was moved to overcome these diff
culties because be had promised to honor
the wedding of charming young peas
ant girl with a special pOrtege of his own.
Counties outstretched hands," he says,
'brawny and muscular, small and plump,
clean and dirty, were Immediately
stretched out to greet me-" 1t was Sun
day, and the evening of the wedding
day; the bar-room, or gaststube, was
filled with young and old, fair and ugly
Brandenburghers. 1t is not usually the
custom to dance on the eve of the we'd
ding day, but, at his special request, his
old patron, the "Herr Vicar" very soon
put the musicians at work. In the dane
ing-roOm he was Immediately surround
ed by group of young fellows offering
him, as a mark of courtesy, their bright
eyed lasses. Finding choice easy, he
was soon dancing the pas seul-that is,
one couple dancing round the room,
while the others line the walls and fall
in at is termination. In Brandenburg,
and in some other valleys, the male
ncer encircles the waist of his partner
with both arms, while she embraces him
with both arms around the neck. For
the first few minutes of every dance the
motion of the whole group Is slow, and
the floor trembles beneath the iron-shod
shoes of these immense fellows. Sud-
denly the music changes, and with it the
entire aspect of the room. The man let
ting 90 his partner, begins series of
gymnastic capers and jumps; their heavy
frames display an unlocked for agility.
One of the cOmmonest movements is
to throw ones self on ones knees, fold
both arms over the chest, and bend back
wards until the back of the head touches
the floor and give few sounding raps on
the hard boards; then with one jerk the
man regains his erect position without
| touching the floor with his hands. In
another movement the man kneels down,
and with his bare knees beats a sounding
rat-ta-ta- tat on the floor. To jump up
high in the air and come down upon the
knees with full force is very common.
! All these capers are accompanied with
! loud, shrill whistling and peculiar
smacking sounds of the lips and tongue,
/ in imitation of the sounds made by the
/ black cock and capercailzie. The sound
/ ing slaps on the muscular thighs aud on
/ the iron-shod soles, of the heavy shoes by
by their great, horny hands, the growing,
! loud shouts, snatches of song, inter
mingled with shrill whistling and furi-
Gus stamping of the feet with the great
est possible force upon the floor, produce
a prodigious din. In Brandenburg and
one or two other Tyrolese valleys which
have particularly muscular fair sex. thu
girl, at the conclusion of her partnes
feats, catches him by his braces, and aid
ed by a corresponding jerk action of the
man hoists him up bodily. The youth.
balancing himself with both hands on
her shoulders, treads the ceiling of the
low room to the music, while she con-
tinues her dance round the floor. The
men are strapping fellows, and it must
be muscular young women who can pre-
form this feat. There are sometimes
four or five men hoisted at time, and
the singular spectacle adds much to- the
striking appearance of the ballroom.
The girls are fond of smoking, and are
seen treading the places of the dance
with a cigar or pipe between their lips.
The dances are short, and follow each
other closely. The intervals between
them are filed by the Schnaderhilpfei,
a short song or series of rhymes. sung by
a man. expressive of derision or defiance
towards some rival. 1t is sung by one of
the dancers standing in front the slightly
raised platform apon which the mu-
sicians sit; his sweetheart stands by his
side with downcast eyes and profuse
bushes on her cheeks. The object of
this affront viii compose his rhymed re-
PLY with great rapidity. In this way
/ al bards will continue to throw con-
ten of on one another for a considerable
length of time. The girl, If there should
be no refrain to her lovers song, has TO
stand in silence by his side. Love is the
subject of most of these songs. A girl
changing lovers, or refusing the hand of
an ardent wooer, forms a frequent and
welcome subject for Schnaderhilpfel.
The songs are generally of very dubious
morality 1t is not every young fellow,
however, who has skill enough to impro-
wise enc of these compositions. A good
many have to be satisfied with singing
one Of the usual national lays, and in
this the sweetheart joins.