History of Buabefåsnåcht (Boys’ Carnival)

Roots and early history:

The boys of Imst observed the men’s carnival accurately ever since it had existed and of course they tried to imitate it. Children’s customs such as the children’s carnival in the Tyrol have been documented for a long time. In the school chronicle of Imst we read about the youth’s enthusiasm for carnival in 1829 – not even the strict teachers during that period were able to do something about it: “Yesterday’s afternoon became a holiday because of the unexpectedly performed carnival spectacle, the so-called Schemenlaufen. Because of this old deeply rooted custom it was not possible to bring the pupils – who don’t like to stay in school anyway – inside the school building and to teach them.” A well-known picture which was painted by Karl von Lutterotti shortly afterwards shows the Schemenlaufen on Imst’s main square with children as spectators but not as participants.

“Wild” children’s carnival throughout Imst:

It can be assumed that the boys have always created their own carnival in their own way. Old participants of the Schemenlaufen can tell about totally unorganized boys’ masquerades in different parts of Imst such as the Lehngasse, the back part of the Widum, the Schustergasse and the Floriangasse where they lived and took part. They didn’t pay special attention to clothes, masks and other equipment – they took what they could get. The Gwandle (clothes) were often sewed together from cloth rests, the Larvle (masks) were made of paper. In fact it was a shortage of almost everything but not of boys’ enthusiasm. The first photos of those “wild” unorganized boys’ carnival activities were taken in the 1930s.

An organized Kinder-Schemenlaufen (children’s carnival) in 1938:

In 1938 the journal “Tiroler Anzeiger” reported about a Kinder-Schemenlaufen (children’s carnival) which was organized by the local carnival committee the first time. It was performed by 46 boys three days after the Schemenlaufen – completely according to the adults’ model. The parade started at one o’clock in the afternoon, the Umzug (the central part of the carnival) began at two o’clock and took several hours. Finally the young participants were invited for a snack in the “Gasthof Krone”. At that time already this children’s parade was seen as an important and indispensable part of Imst’s carnival.

Post-war period: Fear for the carnival’s originality:

In the post-war years at first groups of young boys performed – in the absence of men which hadn’t been at home yet – little carnival parades throughout the town of Imst again. Old carnival participants were glad to see that ongoing enthusiasm of the young generation but were also concerned about the risks of such unorganized masquerades. Far too long there was no real Schemenlaufen, far too less adults were here to give the young boys detailed information about the local carnival. Besides during the war and afterwards many people from other regions found their new home in Imst. Their children also wanted to take part in these strange usages of the long established families of Imst but they were often totally clueless. The locals who worried about the originality of the carnival of Imst decided to take the boys and their carnival ambitions under their wings. According to the chronicle a Kinderfasnacht (children’s carnival) under the watchful eye of adult carnival participators was performed in 1948.

Kinderschemenlaufen (children’s Schemenlaufen) 1950:

In 1949, after the legendary first Schemenlaufen in the post-war years, the carnival committee decided to organize a Kinderschemenlaufen (children’s Schemenlaufen) in the following year. This Kinderschemenlaufen was memorable despite snowfall; 146 boys took part, among them seven pairs of Roller and Scheller.

The second major event of Imst’s carnival:

Since then, many things happened. The Kinderschemenlaufen (children’s carnival) which was renamed to Buabefåsnåcht (boys’ carnival) in 1983 (to avoid misunderstandings) has gradually developed to the second major event of Imst’s carnival. More than 400 participants and 10.000 spectators make clear statements and prove that the protagonists of the local carnival don’t need to worry about the future.