Buabefåsnåcht – History

Roots and early history

It is to be expected that, since olden times, boys have carefully observed and tried to imitate the carnival festivities of adults – just as they did with many other things. Children's customs, including the children's carnival, have been documented in Tyrol quite early on. In 1829, the Imst school chronicle reports about the ‘Fasnachtsfieber’ (Carnival-fever) of the schoolchildren in Imst, a passion which could not even be condemned by the strict teachers of the pre-revolutionary period: "Due to the unexpected carnival play performed yesterday, the so-called 'Schemenlaufen' here, the entirety of yesterday afternoon turned into a holiday, since, due to this procession, it was deemed impossible to gather the students –  many of whom do not like attending school anyway, but are merely present due to the old, deeply-rooted custom." – Children can also be found among the spectators in a well-known aquarelle by Karl von Lutterotti, depicting a carnival scene on the city’s main square – there were no boys attending the festivity itself, however.

A wild children’s carnival in old parts of Imst

It is safe to assume that, from then on, the boys held their own carnival festivities – on their own terms, of course. Seasoned participants of the Fasnacht still vividly remember their unorganized version of the Schemenlaufen, held in side-alleys of the town. When it came to costumes, masks and other equipment, the children were not picky; they took what they could get. Their clothes were mostly made of fabric scraps, their masks of paper. More or less everything was lacking – except for the participants’ excitement. The first depictions documenting the boys’ shenanigans date back to the 1930’s. 

1938: An organized children’s carnival

In the year of 1938, the ‘Tiroler Anzeiger’ first documents an organized ‘Kinderschemenlaufen’, which took place 3 days after the initial event. The 46 participants, much like their older role models, strictly followed the customs of ‘Zurfen’, ‘Gangle’, and, of course, splashing their teachers with water – with a few time-related hiccups, though. In the end, all helpers and participants were rewarded with a hearty meal at the local Restaurant, the ‘Krone’. Back then, the children’s carnival was considered just as important as it is to this day.

Post-war times: fear of the Fasnacht’s originality

Due to the lack of grown men in the years after the Second World War, it was groups of young boys first hosting their own carnivals, in separate corners of the town, though. Old participants were overjoyed with the indominable passion for the transition, but they also feared for its integrity due to the wild nature of the makeshift processions. It had been too long since an actual Fasnacht took place in Imst, too little men were present to properly advise the boys on all things carnival. Besides that, many families migrated to the town after the war in hopes of changing their lives for the better there – and, while, according to families long native to Imst, their offspring should play just as big a role in the Fasnacht as their own, they had no clue of what the tradition was actually about. It was feared that the integrity of the carnival was at threat, and it was therefore decided that the boys were to be supported by former participants. A newspaper article from 1948 reports a boy’s carnival under strict supervision of these experts.

Children’s Schemenlaufen, 1950

After the legendary Schemenlaufen of 1949, it was decided by the committee that a children’s version was to be held in the following year. Said carnival is recounted to be especially memorable for the 146 participants, even with the terrible weather conditions. There were a total of 7 Roller- and Scheller-pairs that day.

The second big event in Imst

Since then, a lot has changed; the ‘Kinderschemenlaufen’ was renamed ‘Buabefasnacht’ in 1983, order to clear up any misconceptions, and has developed to be an event almost as big as the Schemenlaufen itself. More than 400 participants, and over 10.000 visitors are the evidence to support this claim, and one can guess why the boys now get to perform two whole years before the men do.