Activities
With courage to wear a hat - the Telfer Schleicherlaufen
Tyrolean tradition shows its creative side at the Telfer Schleicherlaufen. Numerous other figures cavort around the Schleicher and the carnival symbol Naz.
Extravagant hats, animals and colourful dresses - no, we're not at the horse races in Ascot, but at the Schleicherlaufen in Telfs in the Tyrolean Inn Valley: a picturesque, funny and wild affair - and one of the great carnival customs in Tyrol. Every five years, the people of Telfs get out their robes and masks, dig out the "Naz", their carnival figure, and get ready for the big parade in February. Around 500 men then parade through the village as lurkers, laners and bears, as Krouta (tortoise), savages and heralds. We know from official bans that this was already the case 500 years ago. Newspaper reports, drawings and photos from 1890 onwards also confirm this: The figures and parades have a long tradition, but just as much scope for new ideas.
The Telfer Fasnacht takes its name from the Schleichers, the central group in the parade. They wear youthful, fine masks, white blouses, colourful trousers and collars. A bell on their back is a must - it rings when the Schleichers dance and jump in the "Kroas". The most important thing, however, is the headdress. In the past, a high pointed hat with a bead of colourful cloth was enough, but since the 19th century there has been a lot going on on the Telfer heads. Every Schleicher tinkers with his hat in secret or has an artist design an unusual model for him. During the procession, flower arrangements, animals, mermaids, carved figures of saints and craftsmen pile up on the hats - eagerly awaited by the public and yet not the only attraction at the Telfer Schleicherlaufen.
Early in the morning, the sun is prayed for good weather. The procession begins with fanfares, heralds and the Four Seasons on horseback. The savages, who make room for everyone else, wear wooden masks, wooden clubs and grey-green, flowing robes, for which sacks of tree beards are used. Good humour comes from the musibanda, rebellious rebellion from the laners. They argue with the gendarmes and look after their "favourite child", the Naz, with schnapps and cigarettes. The "offspring" of the animals are different: The group of bear drivers and "bears", as seen in many carnivals, have been joined over time by exotic animals: Elephants, monkeys, camels, tortoises, giraffes and others.
They all make for a colourful, lively parade in the afternoon. The Naz is then allowed to lead his foolish reign for a few more days before he is symbolically "buried" again on Shrove Tuesday. And then it will only be five years until Telfs will once again be saying: "The Fosnocht is free."
