Interesting family marriage link to Romansh from Graubünden

Albula Alps

I discovered that my grandmother had a cousin who emigrated from Lombardia and settled in northern Wisconsin, where she married a man whose surname was Manni. When hearing of this in the past, or reading it on some family biography or obituary, nothing in particular registered with me. Manni is an Italian surname. After poking and prodding around recently, partly to examine where the Manni family originated, I found out that they were not from say Lombardia or the Veneto as expected... but were from Switzerland! My very next thought was TICINO! That would have been a very curious connection since the Swiss Italians are historically Lombard in culture and language, and especially the more particular Alpine cultural aspect of it. Of course, the migration of Ticinese were a California phenomenon, not at all what one would expect in Wisconsin.

Well, as it turns out, the Manni's were Romansh! The Romansh were an ancient people who clearly have a linguistic connection to Latin/Roman and historical Rhaetia. Sandwiched between Swiss and Austrian Germans to the north, and Lombardo-Venetians to the south, their particular identity has been marginalized and they've lost ancestral territory and sovereignty over the centuries. Actually the Romansh in Albula are surrounded by German speaking communities, so there's a slight geographical disconnect between the Romansh and Lombard speaking areas (they do connect on the northern Ticino border to the east). Jim Caviezel is one very famous American who is half Romansh and half Irish. The Manni family was from the Albula District or Albula Alps of Graubünden, with links to the Maloja District as well. I really don't know anything about this particular family of whom I share an affinity, but from sifting around their family tree I noticed that they have the coolest names! Men named Ivan, Jacob, and Emil; women named Veronika, Mimi, Naoma, and Sabina; surnames like Manni, Accola, and Bandli. My immigrant ancestors were more like Basilio, Santo, Bertillo, Giovanna, Coronata, and Theresa; with surnames like Calvetti, Brunelli, Fornoni, and Bellicini.

 

Engadin Valley

In Romansh, the surname Accola means "Neighbor," and they were something like neighbors back in the Alps; neighboring cultures so to speak. Of course, they were also neighbors in northern Wisconsin. Accola also means "tenant farmers" or a reference to a farming community. The 81 mile long Engadin Valley runs through these districts. Emgadin comes from the Romansh "Engiadina." The Romansh toponym Engiadina was first attested as Latin vallis Eniatina in AD 930. A derivation from the reconstructed ethnonym *Eniates (with a Celtic suffix -ates denoting "settlers, inhabitants", as in Licates or Atrebates) has been suggested, with the first part of the ethnonym in turn containing the name of the En [Aenus (Enus)]. By that derivation the name would mean lit. "Valley of the Inn people."

Rhaetian Railways snaking through the Albula and Bernina Alps

It's fun to have a family affinity to Graubünden; a pleasant surprise! I prefer the name Graubünden to Grisons; although it's named Grischun in Romansh, Grisun in Lombard, and Grigioni in Italian. Romansh is a Romance language originating from ancient Latin, just like Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Rumanian. The Lombard language, as well as the other languages and dialects of the Italian peninsula are all of a Romance linguistic origin; although a Lombard or Romansh speaker would not be able to communicate with say a Portuguese speaker any more than an English speaker could communicate with a German speaker even though they're both part of the Germanic branch of Indo-European... in all cases assuming that this was their only language. In fact, the three Alpine-Italian languages of Romansh, Ladin, and Friulan are considered to be Romance languages; they distinctly are not Italian or Lombard. In the above link in this paragraph, there's an good audio example of spoken Romansh. Friulan is related to Slavic, as many Slavs were invited into Friuli during the Middle Ages to replace the population decimated from the Black Death.

 

 

 

The Manni family and related clans were from the third (L-R) of the four Romansh areas above

The Albula Alps of Graubünden

The Great Alps,

Its massive mountains and valleys,

Its majestic peaks,

Its mighty forests, rivers, and lakes,

The land that shaped us!

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'Krampus' (2015) - film review - Part 1

Krampus - Official Trailer (HD)

Legendary

Krampus
DVD and Blu-Ray - http://amzn.to/2ehkhBw
http://www.krampusthefilm.com

Legendary Pictures’ Krampus, a darkly festive tale of a yuletide ghoul, reveals an irreverently twisted side to the holiday.

When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max (Emjay Anthony) is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.

All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family’s home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive.

The horror-comedy also stars Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Stefania Lavie Owen and Krista Stadler.

Krampus and his mischievous underlings have been created by the combined efforts of Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, both renowned for their epic work on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies and King Kong, among many others.

Written and directed by Michael Dougherty (Trick ’r Treat), Krampus is co-written by Zach Shields and Todd Casey and produced by Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni, Alex Garcia and Dougherty. The film will be released by Universal Pictures.


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Greeting card from 1900

Krampus

In Central European folklore, Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure described as "half-goat, half-demon," who, during the Christmas season, punishes children who have misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards the well-behaved with gifts. Krampus is one of the companions of Saint Nicholas in several regions including Austria, Bavaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Northern Italy including South Tyrol and the Province of Trento, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The origin of the figure is unclear; some folklorists and anthropologists have postulated it as having pre-Christian origins.

In traditional parades and in such events as the Krampuslauf (English: Krampus run), young men dressed as Krampus participate; such events occur annually in most Alpine towns. Krampus is featured on holiday greeting cards called Krampuskarten.

Origins

The history of the Krampus figure has been theorized as stretching back to pre-Christian Alpine traditions. In a brief article discussing the figure, published in 1958, Maurice Bruce wrote:

There seems to be little doubt as to his true identity for, in no other form is the full regalia of the Horned God of the Witches so well preserved. The birch – apart from its phallic significance – may have a connection with the initiation rites of certain witch-covens; rites which entailed binding and scourging as a form of mock-death. The chains could have been introduced in a Christian attempt to 'bind the Devil' but again they could be a remnant of pagan initiation rites.

Discussing his observations in 1975 while in Irdning, a small town in Styria, anthropologist John J. Honigmann wrote that:

The Saint Nicholas festival we are describing incorporates cultural elements widely distributed in Europe, in some cases going back to pre-Christian times. Nicholas himself became popular in Germany around the eleventh century. The feast dedicated to this patron of children is only one winter occasion in which children are the objects of special attention, others being Martinmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and New Year's Day. Masked devils acting boisterously and making nuisances of themselves are known in Germany since at least the sixteenth century while animal masked devils combining dreadful-comic (schauriglustig) antics appeared in Medieval church plays.

St. Nicholas, Krampus, and other characters in 1910

A large literature, much of it by European folklorists, bears on these subjects. ... Austrians in the community we studied are quite aware of "heathen" elements being blended with Christian elements in the Saint Nicholas customs and in other traditional winter ceremonies. They believe Krampus derives from a pagan supernatural who was assimilated to the Christian devil.

The Krampus figures persisted, and by the 17th century Krampus had been incorporated into Christian winter celebrations by pairing Krampus with St. Nicholas.

Countries of the former Habsburg Empire have largely borrowed the tradition of Krampus accompanying St. Nicholas on 5 December from Austria.

con't....


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A Survival of the Proto-European Horned God

Krampus, and his equivalent names in all Alpine countries, is a true ancient Alpine tradition. As covered here in the past, his equivalent in the Val Camonica is called Badalisc from the ancient Camunni language. Obviously this legend has been mixed with Christian themes, as the actual Proto-European god was not to have symbolized "evil," wasn't demonic, etc.. The horns or stags were a symbol of fertility and masculinity.

I wanted to review this film (they're actually working on 'Krampus 3' at this point), because when I was watching it for a second time just prior to Christmas, it occurred to me that Krampus had arrived as something of a Christmas film tradition... or as a "Christmas horror film." It ties into pre-Christian tradition, regional Alpine tradition, and from a mostly Christian perception.

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Valtellinese Emigration to Australia (1860-1960)

The beautiful Valtellina

The Valtellina is an Alpine valley which runs about 80 miles east-west, and is about 50 miles from the cities of Brescia and Bergamo, and the flat lands of the Po; so it's rather isolated from a historical point of view. The northernmost village of the Val Camonica, Edolo, is close to the village of Aprica of the Valtellina. The Aprica pass separates the two. The two valleys, their cultures, and their histories are very similar. The following article is from the Lombardi nel Mondo website. I did my best to translate it, often rewriting muddled portions in an attempt to get at what I thought was the true meaning. It at least gives some idea of the old experiences. You almost have to think of... perhaps movies which show very desolate locations, maybe set in the late 1800s. 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid', in the sequence when they went down to Bolivia, comes to mind. Beyond the east coast cities of Australia, maybe 100 miles inland, are the farmlands; and maybe that's part of where this took place. Of course, in 1860 or 1890, this was a very underdeveloped area. Later in the article, I think they were referring to maybe the 1940s or 50s. I remember of reading some really old accounts of what overseas employers, from the perspective of Europeans, thought of workers from certain regions... and what types of work they're good at. I recall something like.. people from the Italian Alps, Slovaks, Hungarians, etc. are good at heavy work. In other words, in contrast to modern perceptions, they didn't drag people all the way over from the middle of the rural Alps on the other side of the planet just to do very hard work that Aborigines or some little islanders could do.

'Valtellinese Emigration to Australia (1860-1960)'

From letters of migrants and third party migration development

From this we can understood the early migrations from the Valtellina, deepening the meanings and expectations of this history. Perhaps, as they had feared opponents of immigration, some of the early migrants to Australia were attracted by widespread tales of gold or of a country of plenty from emigration agents, but any such illusion was short-lived. The temporary emigrants were not on their way to a generic "Australia," but headed for specific locations, looking for a specific job. In Australia you could make some good gains, but at the price of a very hard effort and lack of any attractiveness and with great personal sacrifice. More often than not they found themselves engaging in grueling logging work in remote areas, cutting sugar cane in tropical heat, or risking their lives in underground mines. The rhetoric used by emigrants in the description of their travels is revealing: "making sacrifices" was the term used to talk about these migrations. Australia had become famous not as a country of plenty, but as a place of hard work. Since they were temporary migrants, they departed without knowing the language; and they did not come with women or families, and they did not sell their lands before leaving. Their goal was to make the highest profit in the shortest possible time, in the hope of a quick return home. They probably started with few illusions. The idea was to get through the burden of the work load stoically, sit tight and hope that they can maintain their  health and safety. Normally there was no intention to settle permanently.

The presence of Lombards in Australia, and more generally of people originating from Italy, was noted by the consuls and consular agents of Italians after the discovery of gold in the State of Victoria in 1851. The Valtellinese presence was known in those areas and to the agents of the shipping companies which operated in moving Swiss citizens not far from the border from Valtellina, in the Valley of Poschiavo in the Canton of

Rural Australia

Graubunden. Historically, these were the most common destinations of seasonal emigrants of Valtellina. After the first pioneers, Australia became part of the recognized world, and this recognition greatly influenced the development of future migrations. In Italy the chance to earn money were few, even in periods of greater well-being; as contrasted to the reputation of Australia as a source of earnings. Among other things, it was becoming a regular destination of those who hoped to increase their wealth, and not just of those most desperately in need. It was temporary migrants who intended to make a fortune. They were farmers and--with a majority of males being of working age, 20s or 30s--half of them were married, many with children. The desire of these people was to get out of the cycle of poverty, which neither the government, nor the charity institutions had eased. The bad harvests, the high cost of living, the lack of work, and the heavy load of fees and taxes were all factors responsible for departures. At that time the news of those who returned from Australia were "excellent," unlike those coming from America.

Returnees had described the unfavorable treatment accorded to them by the authorities and employers in America, while Australia had proved very hospitable. In the Valtellina, a culture of migration had developed, especially to Australia; thereby ensuring that in years to come, the majority of emigrants would follow already beaten paths. Several routes were opened in Australia since 1890. The most important would lead migrants to Western Australia, to regions where there was a focus on extractive activities and of the harvesting of timber. Especially after World War II, the northern regions of Queensland opened up in the sugar cane plantations. For many years the migrants made significant progress from the fruit of their labor, to the point that they began to consider settling permanently in the country. It was starting to become apparent that with these changes, people were deciding to make Australia their home. Their lives were simple but decent, and of which their old traditions and habits continued on. It was similar to their old village life, and less like Anglo-Saxon proletarian life. They toiled all day in the fields, pulling plows, but when they returned home in the evening to a nice home, bath, dinner, and a car to drive to town to the cinema. At the tables were always their native cuisine; lots of macaroni, salads, and buttered bread, along with cups of tea.

Source: Jacqueline Templeton, 'From the Mountains to the Bush: Emigration of Valtellinese in Australia (1860-1960) from the Letters of Migrants'; Tirano Museum, 2001

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"Alpini" band from the Val Camonica performing in Turin

"Alpini" band from the Camonica Valley performing under the arches of the Palazzo della Regione Piemonte, in Piazza Castello, on the night of May 7, 2011. 


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The "Alpini," from my understanding, is basically a traditional "Alpine cultural and mountaineering club." It's tied into "Alpini nel Mondo," a worldwide association, with branches as far as San Francisco and Capetown. You may recognize the traditional hats they have on--as well as the outfits--which is something along the same lines as the traditional German Alpine dress... Cisalpine-style. If this isn't "our culture," then nothing is..

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"Halfway up the mountain"

Two interesting surnames from the Val Camonica are "Mitterpergher" and "Mittempergher." Some months ago I tried using Yahoo Answers to find out what they might mean. They are very likely of Langobard origin, so I correctly assumed that the modern German language would be the closest fit. Two of the replies were interesting.

From Yahoo user "amphitryon":

A very interesting question: the Germanic sounding name is however not often found today in Northern Europe and seems to be centered in the area of Brescia (Italy) and more specific in the Valle Camonica. It dates back to the 6th century and the invasion of the Lombards.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/346673/Lombard

now to the name itself: Mezzomonte would be the Italian version, both meaning ''middle of the mountain'' (pergh = Berg = mountain in German. ''Mitte'' = middle in German. Mittempergher = ''mitten am Berg'' = at the middle of the mountain; the ''m'' after ''mitte'' coming from the German ''am'' - as in ''mitten am Berg''. The ''am'' is a form of ''auf dem'' - again the ending ''m''.

Mitterpergher = the ''r'' after ''mitte'' gives it the meaning ''one living halfway up the mountain''. I assume it means that the original family/clan lived halfway up the mountain.

I would join this club: http://camonica-club.blogspot.com/
and pursue my inquiries through them.

Good luck

Of course, they ended up looking at our own blog for much of that information. The meaning here is "one living in the middle of the mountain." The "er" personalizes it in German, as opposed to merely pointing out the geography of the mid-mountain point. In modern German it would be "Mitterberger." The "pergher," especially with that "gh," sounds very old. Although there is no way to know for certain, I wonder if the surname was from before the Langobards reached the Camunian Valley, of which the Camuni were basically "mitterperghers" by definition, or if that surname was a family name from some earlier period.

From Yahoo user "chrusotoxos":

The name seems indeed old, possibly Cimbrian in origin, and it is typical of some areas of the Eastern Italian Alps.

It means 'half-mountain', probably in the sense that the people with this name lived halfway up a mountain. The Cimbrian word 'pergh' is equivalent to the German 'berg', and they both mean 'mountain'. Most linguists today don't see a link between Langobards and Cimbrian, which is a bavarian language, but the issue is not settled. It is obviously an old name, so well done for researching your family over so many generations!

Another variation of the surname in the area is Laitempergher, meaning 'from the Latiem mountain', modern Scanuppia.

In German speaking countries there are a lot of variations, though, such as Leuenberger, Guggisberg, Von bergen...mountain life has been an important part of European life, and the Alps in particular are in the middle of it all and were very difficult to cross before roads, so I guess it's normal that many surnames remain from the time where mountain people were essential for travelers. :)
 

Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimbrian_language

This is probably closer to the real meaning of the surname. "One living halfway up the mountain." I was not familiar with the Cimbrian language. For example, the word "pergh" for mountain. Scanuppia is in Trento. The Cimbrian language was not from the South Tyrol, which is essentially German. As to whether or not it was a Langobard survival, or from a particular migration from Bavaria to Verona, Trento, and Vicenza eight hundred to a thousand years ago, is in question.

Another question is whether or not the Camunian surname "Mitterpergher" is of Langobard or Cimbrian origin? The Langobards took the Cisalpine region, and occupied the major cities and the surrounding farmland, and it's highly unlikely that a lone Langobard would climb up into the Camunian Valley to settle there. Of course, at a later time, a Mitterpergher may have migrated there.

Although the Cimbrian language didn't exist specifically in the Val Camonica, the same theory could apply. A Mitterpergher may have made their way there at some later point. After all, "pergh" is a Cimbrian word. It may have been a Langobard word as well.

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Guido von List: Part 13

I hadn't intended on making this into this type of "series," but as there are connections to the larger Alpine peoples of ancient times, I see fit to keep adding to this. One area, in which I had not anticipated tie-ins to our culture, was the connection of "primal words." However, some of List's concepts, especially regarding the precise fabric of ancient word patterns, are so deep that one would need to buy the book.

List seemed to believe that Wotanism was too large of a concept for the average person's daily life. He believed in what he called "Armanism," which was basically an elite priesthood who could study the finite details of the ancient concepts, and interpret it for the larger society. List believed that spirituality, art, science, architecture, education, etc., were "all one" within the Wotanist culture in ancient times. If ever was there a religion or spiritual tradition which did not conflict with science, it was Wotanism.

To clarify once again, I use the word "Wotanism" in the sense that it seems to tie in more with the expression of Odinism in central Europe, not the mainstream incarnation and related perception of the word. "Odinism" even specifically sounds Scandinavian. Actually, much of what is modern Odinism or Ásatrú, is largely "Norse mythology." If you look at Gaulish or Slavic spirituality and myth, it has close ties to Wotanism. Either through direct migration, or through more subtle spiritual influence, often the ancient spiritual traditions more-or-less referred to the same "All Father" (Wotan). Therefore, when I use "Wotanism," I'm referring to the larger European whole, usually in ancient times.

Guido von List's Armanic ideas were strongly entertained, long after his death, by the National Socialists; and it developed (along with the work of others) into what was called "Ariosophy," which was similar to List's Armanism. I just don't see exactly how that has to do with von List? Consequently, the Armanic concept itself has been demonized. People from the Tre Valli Bresciane ("Three Brescian valleys"), our people, invented the "hand held cannon" five centuries ago. Does this mean that our culture should be vilified as a result of how many people have been shot during the past five centuries?

I was going to place some Wikipedia text regarding Armanism here, but it was just "too anti-von List." It's like Christopher Columbus. He was a hero in his day, and a bad guy today; all because some "social scientist" who never placed his fingers in the Earth's soil or hammered in a single nail, said so. Of course, there's also the factor that our own Camunian ancestors were killed for their pagan faith; so wouldn't von List have been a hero to them, especially during "the burning times"? Perhaps we should consider this before we automatically demonize von List. I'm going to put out some information here soon which will really show what the Catholic officials and the Venetian state thought of us. They believed that we were a bunch of devils.

Because many sun symbols, from western Europe to India, have subtle similarities; this also becomes an area of perceived controversy. In other words, if you compare the circular swastika to the Celtic cross, it's quite obvious that it is the same symbol. The Odinic Rite sells t-shirts and material which features the circular swastika with the slogan "Heritage Not Hate." I can think of some symbols which were used politically, and where many innocents perished in its name, and yet not demonized at all. Aside from that, it should be noted that the "sun of the Alps" is a sun symbol as well. Personally, I can't see how anyone can divorce at least the basic Celtic cross--the circular one, crossed in the middle only--from any type of European neo-paganism.

List apparently wrote extensively about old folk traditions which were incorporated into Christianity; which is far from "the concept of renouncing the imposed foreign creed of Christianity and returning to the pagan religions of the ancient Indo-Europeans" (Wikipedia). It appears that most of the anti-von List ideas simply originate from an opportunity by some Christian concerns to smear paganism in general. So, are pagans "far right" now? Again, a good quote regarding 'Secret of the Runes' and von List by an Amazon.com critic:

This is a classic book on runic magic. A lot of New Age writers [copy] his occult ideas. The Right misunderstands him and the Left smears him. One of the most lied about men in occult history.

This book is well worth the price. Even though many of his ideas have been used by other occult writers, and some of his ideas on magic are standard New Age rite, it is always interesting to visit the source where these rivers sprung. Hopefully, all of Von List's books will be made ready to an English speaking market.

--Wyatt Kaldenberg, Amazon.com review

I wanted to add here that many cultures perceive that they lived in a type of paradise at one time, then something happened to foul it all up for them. I think that these ideas are often greatly exaggerated, but do have some truth to them. About as close as it can get to this, at least in the ancient world, seems to be the Etruscan civilization. They didn't have the philosophy and order of the ancient Greeks or Egyptians--although since the Romans destroyed almost all of their text, we'll never know for certain--they had better land and resources, plenty of technology, and were not "war-like." In fact, it appears that they didn't even have a definite bordered "Nation"; hence the name "Etruscan civilization," as opposed to "Roman Empire." As a "Padanist" (or for that matter, a "Langbardist," "Cisalpinist," or "Etrurianist."), I believe that they would have eventually and peacefully merged with the Umbrians, Cisalpine Gauls, Alpine tribes, etc, and formed a "northern nation"; the specific name of which, not being at all important.

I just didn't want it to sound like I was placing the Etruscans or Umbrians out of my spiritual idealism. Their technology was greater than the Teutons, and their spirituality was on the same level. They seemed to be as close to "living in paradise" as it was possible in the ancient world. The quality of life for the average Roman or Egyptian wasn't very good. There was a tremendous amount of slavery, classism, sexism, and general abuse. I don't just mean that in a modern political usage of terms, but also in a spiritual way. Perhaps the Greeks had something better, but I don't know enough about ancient Greece to say. The ancient Etruscans had great architecture, the institutions of civility, a great farming culture on great land, women had it fairly good, and there just didn't seem to be much strife.

From 'Secret of the Runes' pages 75-76, related to Armanism and society:

All of this is based on the fact that all Aryans or Teutons felt themselves to be one folk. On account of this, every individual, be he free-man or king, had to belong to the provider-class in order to prevent this class, as the main class, from being devalued. Everyone had, therefore, to be a farmer, that is "Ing-fo"--an original maintainer and perpetuator of the ancestors. The second class was the intellectually advanced, the intelligentsia, the rulers, the "teaching-class," to which the skalds, the high nobility, and the kings (princes, counts, etc.) belonged--without ceasing to be farmers. It has already been said on p. 56 above that "ar" means the sun and the law of the sun, and the earn, the eagle [Aar] is its symbol and hieroglyph. Therefore a member of the second class was called an Ar-man or Ir-man, namely a sun-man, Se-man. The Se-mans were the men of knowledge [Wissenden], and from them emerged the skalds--the priests of Wuotan--or better said their core group was the skalds, who, as priests and teachers were also the judges--for in those times "Wihinei" (religion) was simultaneously science and law. one believed what one knew--or at least intuitively recognized, and lived accordingly. Since the Semans, Irminons, Skalds, etc., were one and the same with the scholars, artists, etc., this second class is the "teacher-class"--in spite of the fact that it too belonged to the farmer-class--and is to be recognized as the root area of the activation of the Aryan spiritual work. Therefore, all original lines of the collective arts and sciences are to be derived from it. However, the skalds must remain the central focus in which all the diverse special manifestations of the hieroglyphics can be unified.

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