Women on the German island of Borkum are now out of danger on Saint Nicholas Day: after a media controversy, spankings administered by men every December 5 under a local custom are no longer tolerated.
The broadcast of a documentary on the German public channel ARD caused outrage, and even cancellations of vacation reservations on the island: it showed women being hit on the buttocks with cow horns by young men, disguised as “Klaasohm”, their faces covered with an enormous mask made of sheepskin and bird feathers. This year, the feast of Klaasohm (literally Uncle Nicolas, editor's note) “went peacefully – we are satisfied“, informed the police chief of this small island in the North Sea, close to the Dutch coast, in a press release published on Friday.
Mayor apologizes for violence suffered by women
Before this year's celebration, whose origins date back at least 200 years, a spokesperson for the company organizing the celebrations told journalists that the practice of spanking would henceforth be banned.
Borkum Mayor Jürgen Akkermann also apologized for not taking tougher action sooner against violence in the name of tradition, while emphasizing that similar customs also exist on the Frisian Islands. , neighbors of the Netherlands.
The organizing association also deplored a documentary giving “a distorted image“tradition while hitting women on the buttocks with a cow's horn”has never been at the heart of the festival“which aims to “bringing the island community together“.
The origin of this tradition is not entirely clear, it would be linked to the return of men to the island at the end of the fishing season, symbolizing their way of regaining control over this territory left to women.
This year, “around 500 people took part in the celebrations. Many spectators were also present“, wrote the police in their press release.
