bavarikon4UInheriting Culture. Saint Sebastian Feast in Oberschwarzach
Every year, the Lower Franconian market town of Oberschwarzach holds a feast day in honour of Saint Sebastian (who died in Rome around 288), which dates back to a legendary plague vow from the 17th century. It has been celebrated since 1991 on the Sunday after 20 January, the saint's feast day. The celebrations include a procession with the Sebastiani flag, a service in the Catholic parish church of St. Sebastian, a visit to the cemetery and a wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial. The Oberschwarzach "Bürgerwehr" (Civil Defence Force) with their frock coats and top hats displaying their (now purely symbolic) military connection is firmly integrated into the custom. The village community and the local associations, including the Steigerwaldkapelle, are also part of the action.
In 1611, several people in Oberschwarzach died of the plague within a few days of one another. According to legend, the citizens vowed to Saint Sebastian, the patron saint for plague protection, that they would celebrate and honour him in the future if the town was spared the Black Death from then on. There is no evidence of the vow itself; the first written record dates from 1791, even though the feast day was celebrated earlier. The schedule of this festive occasion, including the church service and the procession of an "armed company with melodious music", is attributed to Pastor Gothinger, who was active in Oberschwarzach from 1768 to 1772. Since the late 18th century, there had been talk of a "Bürgerwehr", paramilitary units for territorial defence, which were disbanded in Bavaria in 1870. In Oberschwarzach, however, this remained integrated into the festivities. It is not clear from the sources when the dressing in frock coat and top hat - which originate from the bourgeois Biedermeier men's fashion - began. During the 1930s, the feast day was appropriated by nationalist "völkisch", then National Socialist commemoration of "heroes". In some cases, representatives of the SA took part and the religious beginnings of the celebration receded into the background.
Since 1946, the Oberschwarzach "Bürgerwehr" no longer marches with carbines, but is instead equipped with wooden rifles. The knowledge about the sequence and execution of the line-up as well as the formation of the procession is passed on orally from generation to generation and acquired independently by the participants. At present, only men take part in the march of the "Bürgerwehr"; women are intensively involved in the distribution of clothes, in the music and in catering.
Further information: https://www.ike.bayern.de/verzeichnis/000282/index.html
>> This collection is part of the holdings of "Inheriting Culture. Bavaria’s intangible cultural heritage list" of the "Institut für Volkskunde der Kommission für bayerische Landesgeschichte bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften".