Folkloristic market of Zoutelande, the Netherlands. Part Two.

This is the second and last part of my story about the folkloristic market of Zoutelande. This one is less text orientated and more of a photo post.

The best part of the market was the 'klederdracht show'. Klederdracht is the Dutch word for traditional costumes. I've always found the regional costumes of Zeeland to be gorgeous but you can rarely see them anymore. Now and then I would see a very old lady wearing one but the last time was years ago. During the show they showed the popular costumes how they changed through the time and told about the differences between the different villages and ages. One thing I know about the hair dress of my hometown is that a big poofy cap is for a unmarried girl while a small simple one means that you are married. Other than that... let's just say there are a lot of differences! Originally this place was a very religious one so that meant full body coverage with lots of reasons. That is the main reason that we don't wear it anymore; it takes to much time, there are too many rules and it is hot, especially in summer. Besides that it is expensive and very hard to find. I literally don't know any place where I could get those clothes. I talked about this with one of the guys from the performing group and he told me that I should join there group so I could find a costume for not a lot of money. And you know what? That actually didn't sound bad. It has always been a secret dream of mine to own or at least wear those traditional clothes once and I could learn even more about my birth place. I should keep it in mind in case I ever return to my home town for longer than just a holiday or weekend.













When there is a traditional market in Zeeland, ringrijden can't miss. Ringrijden a kind of sports and competition where you ride a horse at full speed and try to catch a ring with a lance. As the match progresses the rings get smaller and harder to catch. Whomever gets the most rings wins of course. Usually the horses get dressed up nicely with braids and ribbons in their manes. This is actually kind of a popular sports and nice for tourists ti watch at the some time. I especially love the announcer, it's always the same guy. He speaks in the local dialect and uses weird local expression and uses a lot of passion when speaking. A few weeks ago I was working while there was a ringrijden match in the main street and the announcers' booth was close to our bakery, so I could hear everything he was saying. I always snicker at his comments but this time he said something especially amusing; 'Noe breekt mien klomp' which translates as 'My wooden shoe breaks now' and means 'What the f*ck is he doing?'. It's the first time I heard that one. Loved it.


Got it!

Putting up the ring for the next contestant

Win!



testing the lance



Notes;

  • One part of the caps the ladies wear is made of almost a thousand folds. It is a difficult technique and the last lady who still made them recently stopped.
  • Klederdracht is expensive, difficult to put on, heavy and hot. But it looks gorgeous.
  • Every piece of clothing has rules regarding wearing it. Each piece also holds a different meaning. Big cap? Unmarried. Small cap? Married.
  • I've always liked the golden curly things on women's caps
  • My favorite part is the necklace. My grandmother also used to have one and gave it to my niece on her wedding day. How I wish I got one too. Since they are made of corals a lot of Chinese and other Asian tradesmen have bought up a lot of the necklaces so they are difficult to find now and expensive. 
  • Ringrijden is a typical sport of Zeeland.
  • There is another sport just like ringrijden, called sjeesjesrijden. The horse pulls a car with a man and his wife, both in traditional clothing, while the man steers the woman tries to catch the ring.
  • I am not good at the local dialects. Every village has its own dialect, but I grew up in the capital of the province where 'BBC Dutch' (let's just call it that ;)) is the standard.
  • 'Noe breekt mien klomp!'
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2 comments:

  1. I am moving to Amsterdam on Monday and I'm planning on exploring different places in the Netherlands. This one will be one of them! Great outfits!

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  2. I am happy to hear that Agness! It can be a bit of a dull place in winter, but in summer there are a lot of events like these markets (super touristy though!) and it's a good time of the year to go to the beach here. On another note, during summer this place is packed with tourists. But seeing the traditional outfits was one of the highlights of my summer (because I just love traditional clothes!)

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