The Tschäggättä of the Lötschental
In a remote Swiss valley, in the weeks before Lent, figures in grimacing wooden masks and shaggy furs roam the villages after dark, ringing cowbells.
What was reported
In the Lötschental, a valley in the Swiss Alps, young men put on the costume of the Tschäggättä in the days before Lent: huge carved wooden masks with bared teeth and horns, sheep or goat skins, and cowbells hanging from their belts. They stalk through the villages at dusk, chasing and frightening anyone they meet.
Local stories say they recall bands of robbers, or the spirits of the dead and of winter, who had to be driven out before spring.
Explanations offered
Masked winter processions like this are found across the Alps. The Tschäggättä masks, each carved by hand and handed down, are a prized folk art. It's a living tradition, and visitors come to see the processions.
- When
- Every February, for centuries
- Where
- Lötschental, Valais, Switzerland
- Witnesses
- The people of the Lötschental
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
More from Switzerland