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Devilishly conscious of tradition: the Ardinga Turmdeifen

2021-11-03T05:08:39.434Z


The Ardinga Turmdeifen are out and about as Krampus. To maintain this tradition, meetings with other groups are planned - and other members are welcome.


The Ardinga Turmdeifen are out and about as Krampus.

To maintain this tradition, meetings with other groups are planned - and other members are welcome.

Erding

- When the days get shorter and the nights longer, the time of old myths and customs approaches with Advent. Krampusse and Perchten are then out and about wearing scary masks to drive out the winter with a lot of noise. For almost three years now, the “Ardinger Turmdeifen” have been campaigning for the revival of this tradition. Club chairman Benjamin Leichtenberger was born in Freising, but lived in the Allgäu for a long time. "Klaus driving is very widespread there, every place has its own Klausen group," reports the 33-year-old, who missed the hustle and bustle after moving to the Erding district.

Without further ado, he founded his own group with his wife Christine and Fabian and Jasmin Reiter.

“I was fascinated by the customs as a child,” explains Fabian Reiter, who grew up in Prien and now lives in Grünbach.

Before founding the association, a fundamental decision was made: "Do we want to be Krampus or Perchten?"

The "Ardinga Turmdeifen" see themselves as a Krampal group.

“We are very family-friendly, the children don't need to be afraid of us,” says Christine Stark-Leichtenberger.

The most important props of the wild figures are the wooden masks that mask carver Martin Speth created for them in Pocking.

The individual pieces are hand-carved by the master and provided with horns and hair according to the buyer's wishes. “Every mask reflects the person, and when you put it on, you become a different person,” explains Fabian Reiter. The two-meter-tall man, who in normal life works as a draftsman for the State Building Authority of Upper Bavaria, is one meter taller with his mask thanks to the long horns. “That's why we can only perform outdoors,” jokes Benjamin Leichtenberger, who is currently training to be a driving instructor. The Krampus usually wears a shaggy fur robe with the mask, which then gets its own name, and possibly a bell strap.

“I made a lot of things myself for my witch clothes,” reports head witch Jasmin Reiter (27), who works as an industrial engineer at BMW.

The self-employed florist Christine Stark-Leichtenberger becomes a devil with a mask and wears a coat with bells.

“At 3.5 kilos, my mask is the heaviest, there are six horse tails used as hair,” says the 36-year-old finsinger.

The Turmdeifen are out and about on various Krampus runs in the district, but are also booked for Christmas parties at companies and associations as well as for appearances at Christmas markets.

In order to bridge the corona lull, a Santa Claus service was offered for the first time last winter.

"That went well, the children and parents were enthusiastic and booked us again for this year," they happily.

The association now has ten members and would like to expand. "We are still looking for young people and also children who are interested in the old customs and want to join us," explains Benjamin Leichtenberger. A children's and youth department is being set up, to which 14-year-old Katharina and three-year-old Felix Leichtenberger already belong. "The children are fully integrated with us and are allowed to take part in the runs," assure the Turmdeifen, who want to teach the young members not only the traditions but also skills such as tying a rod.

Activities include excursions to meet other Krampus groups or exhibitions on the topic, plus a monthly get-together in the restaurant by the swimming pool in Erding.

The chairman is happy about anyone who is interested, but he admits: "The investment is not that small either, because you have to reckon with 600 to 1000 euros for a mask, plus the clothes."

The Ardinga Turmdeifen can be seen in action on December 12th at 6 p.m. at the Christmas market in St. Wolfgang and on December 18 at 6 p.m. at the Divers diving center in Aufkirchen.

Information on https://ardingaturmdeifen.de/

GERDA AND PETER GEBEL

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-11-03

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