Freiheitstrychler politicise Switzerland’s traditional bells

Switzerland’s traditional cowbells and treichels have become protest instruments, with the Freiheitstrychler giving the rural cultural objects a political meaning, SRF reports.

The sound of bells and treichels is associated with Alpine traditions, cows in pastures and idyllic landscapes. In recent years, however, the Freiheitstrychler have used treichel ringing at demonstrations against pandemic measures as a voice of protest.

“The treichel is neither conservative nor progressive,” said ethnologist Konrad Kuhn, who teaches folk culture at the universities of Basel and Innsbruck. At local customs such as the Ubersitz in Bernese Haslital, when people ring treichels between Christmas and New Year to drive away evil spirits, and Chalandamarz in the Engadin, which marks the end of winter, the processions have no political connotation, he said.

The context determines the meaning, Kuhn said. There is a major difference between playing a treichel to support the national football team and playing one at a demonstration.

Although agriculture has lost some of its economic importance, many agricultural objects still have strong value as symbols of identity, Kuhn said. He added that the Swiss People’s Party, known as the SVP, sought to strengthen its ties to the agricultural world by using its symbols politically.

Kuhn said traditions, unlike trademarks, are not protected. He recalled that in the early 1990s, during the campaign against Switzerland joining the European Economic Area, Christoph Blocher led groups carrying large treichels.

“The sound of a treichel has remained the same over the centuries. What changes is the meaning we attach to the ringing,” Kuhn said. He warned against reducing such symbols to a purely political interpretation.

Treichels and Schellen are made from forged sheet metal and are generally lighter than bells, which are cast from copper and tin alloys. Bells are mainly used at festive events and are rarely seen in pastures.

Kuhn considers the use of the cultural practice to promote a specific political position during the pandemic problematic. Cultural practices belong to everyone and should remain open and inclusive, he said. If they become instruments of division and are linked to a protest movement, a tradition risks losing interest and eventually disappearing.

The Swiss wrestling sport Schwingen followed the opposite path, Kuhn said. Once almost exclusively reserved for people whose families had Swiss roots for generations, it has opened in recent years to athletes with migrant backgrounds and gained popularity.

Kuhn hopes the same process can take place among treichel groups, allowing the tradition to shed the label attached to it by some groups.