Deep in the Engadine valley of Switzerland where Romansch is widely spoken, there is a village called Scuol, where a pagan tradition survives to this day: the burning of a straw man (Hom Strom) dating from ancient fertility festivals and possibly human sacrifices.
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- Scuol central square
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- Young men crack whips to assemble the population – remnant of a slave tradition?
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- Straw is being thrown out of a municipal barn for collection
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- A woman gives straw to schoolchildren
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- Schoolchildren carry straw to the square
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- School pupils make coffee and sweets for the participants
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- The strongest men pack the straw tightly around the pole
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- Everyone is helping to wind the straw
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- The result: a totemic pole guarded until dusk
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- At night Hom Strom is carried to a field outside the village
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- Men ward off evil spirits by spinning fireballs
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- At 8pm sharp Hom Strom is set alight
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- Everyone watches Hom Strom burn and sing a traditional Romansch song
[…] Hom Strom Deep in the Engadine valley of Switzerland where Romansch is widely spoken, there is a village called Scuol, where a pagan tradition survives to this day: the burning of a straw man (Hom Strom) dating from ancient fertility festivals and possibly human sacrifices. Wicker Man On Ice […]