Archive for the ‘Culture’ Category
“It Giet Oan”: Eleven Cities Fever
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
The “Elfstedentocht” of 1997.
Photograph Wikimedia Commons
Ever since unexpectedly, after a very mild December and dreary gray Christmas, Jack Frost decided to pay us an extended visit, there is a buzz of excitement going through the Netherlands. Now that the ice has reached a thickness of about 10 centimeters (4 inches) some even dare whispering “it giet oan”. “It giet oan” is Frisian for “it’s on” and they are the magical words that announce that the infamous “Elfstedentocht” (Eleven Cities Tour) is on.
Once the words are officially spoken by the chairman of the Eleven Cities Tour organization it seems all Dutch go mad (even those not really into the event, can’t help making comments about it). They collectively pack up some warm clothing and skates and head for the north, to the city of Leeuwarden. Shops manage to get all things orange and Frisian on the shelves within a day and skate sharpeners make over hours.
Now what is this fuzz all about? What is this “Elfstedentocht” that gets a whole country into a frenzy also referred to as “Elfstedenkoorst” (Eleven Cities Fever)?
It is an epic speed skating tour of 200 kilometers (that’s about 125 miles and a minimum of 7 hours of skating!). It runs along lakes and canals with natural ice that pass through all eleven Frisian cities. The tour starts in the Frisian capital of Leeuwarden, then passes along Sneek, IJlst, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen, Franeker, Dokkum and ends up in Leeuwarden again. For the tour to take place, the ice needs to have a thickness of 15 centimeters (6 inches). Only then it is strong enough to carry the thousands of skaters that will join the race. Since a winter that cold only happens once or twice a decade in the Netherlands, the race is quite a rare event.
The first official organized “Elfstedentocht” took place in 1909. It was organized by Pim Mulier who became inspired to do so when he skated along all eleven Frisian cities himself in 1891. He also designed the cross that all participants, that manage to reach the finish, get. He was, however, not the first to skate that route. For centuries, skating had been a very practical means of transportation in cold winters for the Frisians. Skates were a cheap and fast alternative to walking on slippery roads. As early as the 1700s there have been reports of young men challenging each other to skate along the eleven Frisian cities as a proof of their strength, endurance and bravery (and I guess that impressing the girls has played some part in it as well ;o)).
Nowadays, the event is extremely popular with both men and women. Every time thousands of people show up at the start to prove themselves. Since the route has a limited capacity, however, the number of participants is now topped at 16,000. To prevent that many participants start but do not finish because they are physically unfit to ride the tour, some selection has been introduced by the organization. Only those who are a member of the “Elfstedentocht” association can join the tour. The only way to become a member is to have two members vouch for your capabilities to ride the tour.
Since cold winters are such a rare event in the Netherlands the official “Elfstedentocht” has only been held fifteen times: in 1909, 1912, 1917, 1929, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1947, 1954, 1956, 1963, 1985, 1986 and 1997. The most famous, or perhaps better infamous, of these tours was the one of 1963. During that tour weather conditions became very grim. There was a stormy east wind sweeping up drifting snow, the ice was full of cracks and temperatures plummeted to minus 18°C (that’s about 0.4 °F). Of the 10,000 participants that showed up at the start, only 69 made it to the finish and many had to be treated for frostbite.
The 1963 tour even inspired a movie “The Hell Of 1963″. If you like you can watch a trailer to get an idea or listen to the title song “De Hel Foarby” (Beyond Hell) sung by the popular Frisian pop group “De Kast” (also a nice chance to hear some Frisian singing! It’s a really beautiful language, at least to my ears). If you are wondering what the lyrics of the song are about, this rough translation by Google Translate will give you an idea. It beautifully illustrates the skating-to-prove-yourself-worthy-of-a-girl’s-love-theme that dominates the movie and shows that those Frisians can be very romantic indeed!
Personally I am not into skating that much (too cold!). But since so many people take much pleasure in the event, I sincerely hope that in spite of the announced short thaw period this weekend, the ice will keep on growing and soon we will hear: “It Giet Oan”!
Witte Wieven: Ghostly Ladies Of The Marshes
Friday, March 4th, 2011
White ladies living on barrows by Gerrit van Goedesbergh 1660.
Photograph Wikimedia Commons
Probably as long as people have roamed the earth and have been able to tell stories, they have enjoyed scaring each other with spooky stories about the creatures of the night. In the area where I live –Twente, in the eastern part of the Netherlands near the German border– one of the favorite spooky creatures is the “Witte Wief” which literally translates as “White Lady”. Some, however, argue that the word “wit” is derived from the old word “wid” which means “wise” and therefore “Witte Wieven” are not white ladies but wise ladies.
According to local folklore, these white ladies roam the marshes at night and lure people into the swamps to drown them there. They are also regarded as omens of death. On the other hand, there are sagas in which they appear as wise women that help and cure. Whether evil or good, they are always described as long-haired women with long white gowns. I once hiked in the moors here at dusk on a cold, misty autumn afternoon and I can assure you that it was very easy to mistake the wisps of fog for ghostly creatures in long white dresses. They are misleading also, making the trail hard to see. Ending up in the swamp was a real danger. A spooky experience indeed. However, scholars believe there is more to the story than creepy surroundings and a vivid imagination.
White ladies are not a specifically Dutch invention. They are part of a very old, pre-Christian, northern European tradition. France has Dame Blanche, the Irish have Sídhe and the Scandinavian countries have álfar (elves). They all are white, shiny creatures associated with death and wisdom. Scholars believe they all go back to the Völva, the high priestesses of the pre-Christian Nordic cultures. The Völva were wise women, usually from the highest classes that were highly respected because of their wisdom and power. They were well trained in the secrets of their religion. If you needed advice, even if you were a king, you would call upon a Völva to assist you with her wisdom. She usually did not live in a village but traveled on her own (sometimes accompanied by a group of young students) from place to place. These were the women that had knowledge about natural medicine, political strategies, meteorology and the like. Knowledge not shared by the common people. Knowledge that gave them immense power because it was intimidating. Power for which they were admired and feared at the same time. You did not want to make a Völva your enemy, for she could easily send death upon you.
The Völva are no mythological creatures. They are historic figures that for example the Romans commented upon in their travel logs, and they remained imported figures in daily life until the early Middle Ages. By then, Christianity had firmly settled in Northern Europe and the once so powerful Völva slowly disappeared. Her spirit survived, however, in the figure of the white lady.
I wonder, if some of this tradition of a strong female, a wise female, has also survived in Dutch and other Nordic cultures where women tended to be more independent and not subordinated to men in respect to their southern European sisters. For centuries travelers form the South have marveled at those big, blond, bossy Dutch women who legally had little rights (just as all European women had), but in practice just did whatever they wanted (which most other European women would never dare), and were still respected for it by their men (a nightmarish idea for most European men at the time).
Literacy: from luxury to everyday commodity
Friday, January 21st, 2011
Hurray, for mister Van Houten!
by Elias Spanier, 1874
Photograph Wikimedia Commons
Today, we almost take it for granted that we can send our kids to school at no cost at all. To be precise, we must send them to school: education is mandatory for children between 6 and 17 according to Dutch law. Home teaching is not allowed, and keeping your child at home for trivial reasons as an extra holiday can result in serious fines for the parents. It’s clear that education is taken very seriously in the Netherlands. However, it has not always been like that. For many of our ancestors, learning to read and write was a luxury far beyond their reach…
Middle Ages
Up until the late 1500s education was a rich man’s thing. Among the nobility it was customary to educate the firstborn son as the successor of his father. Private teachers would educate him in the art of reading, writing and calculating (all needed to run the estate he was to inherit) and politics, discussion and noble manners (needed to deal with political intrigues and acquiring a strategically chosen spouse). The second son would receive a decent military training, also given by private teachers. The third and other sons could opt to go into a monastery in order to get a proper education, which involved a generous donation to the monestary by their dad.
Daughters would be trained in music, dancing, reading and writing in order to become suitable spouses for financially interesting noblemen. Becoming a nun was a popular way to escape being married off and dedicate a life to science and art.
Ordinary people usually did not master reading and writing. They did not have much need for it either. Books were scarce and in everyday life it served no practical purpose. Youths would simply learn a craft by starting to work as young as possible. Fathers would teach their sons their own craft or send them of to be taught by a master craftsman. Daughters would be trained at home by their mothers to become mothers and housekeepers themselves. For both, calculation (by head) was a far more important skill to master than reading or writing. After all, that was a skill you needed to make money and spend it wisely.
