Cow horns and controversy: Borkum’s spanking competition hits a bitter word.
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German island banned from spanking girls on the bum with cow horns.
A centuries-old German custom, spanking girls on the buttocks with a cow horn to have fun Saint Nicholas, is going through the axe – leaving the nation divided.
The Klaasohm competition on the North Sea island of Borkum, lengthy a staple of native Saint Nicholas celebrations, has been thrust into the highlight following a damning report by German broadcaster NDR.
An historical custom
Whereas most Germans have fun Saint Nicholas Day by leaving their footwear out for a treat-filled morning shock, Borkum’s residents have taken the festivities to a completely totally different stage. It includes spanking girls on the buttocks with cow horns and leaping into crowds dressed as a flying cow. The leaping into crowds half is okay in response to regulators, however the spanking half.. not a lot. For years, younger males have dressed as “Klaasohms” and roamed the island, armed with cow horns, to strike girls on the buttocks through the night-time celebrations.
Daytime occasions see members in elaborate costumes of sheepskin and fowl feathers participating in innocent group wrestling matches. However as night time falls, the custom takes a darker flip. Secretly filmed footage by NDR reveals males chasing girls, holding them down, and hitting them as bystanders – together with kids – cheer on.
In nameless interviews, girls who participated within the competition spoke of their childhood pleasure for what they had been informed was a innocent recreation of hide-and-seek, solely to find the fact was way more painful. Many had been left bruised and unable to take a seat comfortably for days.
One former male islander revealed that criticising the competition publicly invitations backlash. “On Borkum, in case you say you need this to cease, you’re accused of disrespecting custom or bowing to outsiders’ opinions,” he defined.
‘It’s only a little bit of enjoyable’ – or is it?
Not everybody sees the ritual as an issue. Many locals, each women and men, brush it off as ‘innocent enjoyable.’ But the fact of some girls being left in bodily ache has sparked outrage throughout Germany.
To make issues much more sinister, if doable, organisers of the occasion have traditionally discouraged social media protection to keep away from exposing the identities of the costumed Klaasohms. Nevertheless, the latest exposé has pressured authorities to reply.
Authorities had been pressured to face the music.
Beneath mounting public strain, the organisers, Borkumer Jungens e.V. 1830, launched an announcement apologising for the violent components of the competition’s historical past, acknowledging it was “controversial by as we speak’s requirements.” They vowed to deal with “solidarity amongst islanders” and depart the violent rituals previously.
Native police have adopted a zero-tolerance method to violence, promising stricter enforcement in future celebrations.
Feminine protests and parallels
The NDR report has drawn comparisons to Austria’s Krampus traditions, the place costumed members traditionally whipped spectators. Lately, Austrian organisers have reined within the chaos, introducing security measures and discouraging bodily hurt.
However not everybody on Borkum agrees with the adjustments. A protest of 150 to 200 girls rallied for the preservation of the controversial competition, arguing that the custom is a part of the island’s cultural cloth.
The top of a painful chapter?
As authorities pledge reform, Borkum’s Klaasohm competition teeters on the point of transformation. Whether or not followers of the competition can retain the spirit of their beloved custom with out smacking folks with cow horns stays to be seen. For now, the cow horn’s reign as an instrument of festive cheer seems to be coming to an finish.
Will this be the yr Borkum leaves its spanking scandal behind?
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