Postcard from Alsace: Fête de la Transhumance

We know that over in the UK you are battling with Storm Amy, so I’ll keep quiet about the fact that though it is raining here, it’s the only expected poor-weather-episode in our holiday. So we’ve decided to have an afternoon off, allowing me to send lots of postcards from the Fête de la Transhumance in nearby Muhlbach which we visited this morning, ahead of the deluge we’re currently experiencing.

Transhumance is the practice of taking cattle to spend the summer grazing in the lush upland pasture, before bringing them back down to spend the winter in their home community, Both ends of the season are times of celebration, and here’s transhumance in Seix, from our days in the Pyrenees.

The first people we met after we’d arrived were a group of three people in kilts tuning up their bagpipes. We greeted them in French, then reverted to English, assuming they were Scottish. But no! They come from Strasbourg, speak not a word of English, but are Passionate about Bagpipes, and here they were, ready to play their cornemuses for everyone’s bemusement and delight.

The Alphorn was originally used to call cattle. These days it’s the province of musical folklore enthusiasts and there were several bands of them playing today.

Then it was off to visit the donkeys who would be part of the procession of cattle (Don’t ask. No idea why).

On our way up to view the procession we found the tractor that carried so many of the cowbells the animals wear when in their summer pasture, to keep tabs on them.

Then finally, we could hear all those cowbells clanging away, announcing that the cows were on their way. In truth the cows weren’t happy, and many of them skittered nervously about. I don’t know how much the leading cows enjoyed their fancy headdresses either: but they didn’t complain. By now it’ll be over, and they can forget all about it till next spring, when they’ll be off up the mountain again.

We didn’t stay for the highpoint of the event for many of the locals, the large communal meal, thankfully under canvas. But before we went, we looked round the market: local cheeses, sausage, sweetmeats – cowbells too.

And as we were leaving, something else extraordinary. A procession of people, each holding a large cowbell, which they knocked on each knee alternately as they walked forward, producing a rhythmical cow-bell-dirge. Ouch! Poor knees!

After yesterday’s experience at Colmar, which was Tourist Central, jammed with visitors (like us …) it was good to be at a local celebration: crowded to be sure, but almost exclusively with locals, many of them chatting away in Alsatian, which is widely spoken here, particularly among the older generation.

We feel as if we’ve properly arrived here now.

P.S. WP’s AI suggests the following tags: technology; art; cats.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

54 thoughts on “Postcard from Alsace: Fête de la Transhumance”

  1. I love this tradition. Part of it was brought over to North America. My father, of German heritage, always took his cows to greener pastures in the summer and then brought them back home for the winter. By then he would have stored enough hay to last through the cold months. Of course, there wasn’t a big party for the cows like there is in parts of Europe. I would love to witness this one day.

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  6. What fun to be able to join a very local tradition like this! Alphorns I would have expected, but bagpipes not 😀 The cows’ headdresses are pretty but they look about as happy with them as a dog forced to wear a silly hat! Thank you for using your wet afternoon to share this with us. Amy is apparently causing some major issues further north, especially in parts of Scotland, but after a miserable Friday we’re enjoying a brighter day in London albeit with very gusty and chilly winds. Hope the weather brightens up for you tomorrow.

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  7. Unlike Sarah I was surprised by the alphorns – I thought they were exclusively Swiss, close neighbours, but still … More surprised by Strassbourgian bagpipe, I admit. Very charming picture telling of a local custom.

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    1. Apparently alphorns are all over the mountains in this particular part of Europe. Now Google ‘What’s the difference between alphorns and alpenhorns?’. Then you can be as knowledgeable as me.

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      1. I’ve never heard Alpenhorn (and I couldn’t find a reputable German language reference to this form) but who cares? Much more interesting it is – musically speaking – considered a brass instrument, just as a saxophone is a woodwind instrument.

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  8. Goodness, I can’t imagine anyone being passionate about bagpipes but thenit would not do for us to all be the same. I loved looking at the pictures and imagining myself back in France in our daughter’s village enjoying one of the local festivals.

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  13. Although my first experience of this festival was of my car getting caught in the middle of a drove of cows decked out with flowers and bells, I like this festival. It’s a wonderful way to announce a change of seasons.

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    1. We no longer have large appetites, tend to eat a main meal at midday and peck at something light in the evening. Our accomodation offers the use of a kitchen to put something easy together.

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  20. oh brilliant, you’ve got away from the hoi polloi, and to somewhere that is more Your Thing. it’s great to see these old traditions, I saw a harvest festival in Romania. seems the whole village turned out. It was brilliant

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      2. It’s a distinct language, not a dialect Sue. And while it IS spoken by many – we’ve heard it – it’s usually the older generations. Though I understand it’s making a comeback among the young too.

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      3. Actually, I think I did know that in the past! But thanks for clearing that app and interesting to see that it’s making come back amongst the young.

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  21. when we’ll be going off for our annual choral week in a lovely, lovely village in the Bernese Mountains next Saturday, we’ll also be able to view the ‘Alpabzug’ (the ‘coming down from the alps’) of the cows. There also always is a competition of the ‘best of’ and you can buy cheese from all the local producers. You’d find cheese 24 & even 48 months old (at astronomical prices) and you may slip through mud and cow dung. a truly memorable feast for young and old and for us, a remarkable beginning of our week of singing.

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  23. Pingback: Monday Portrait: a Vosgienne – From Pyrenees to Pennines

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