SCHWABISCHE "MAJOWKA" IN DER KROM -- A SWABIAN MAY FESTIVAL IN THE CRIMEAN REGION

The following translation is by Kim Kaul of Bismarck, taken from the 1957 Heimutbuch of Bessarabians, pages 224 – 225, and printed in the Heritage Review.

In the days when the czar ruled, the school year usually began on the first day of September and ended on April 3O of the following year.  The vacation lasted from May first until the thirty-first of August with May first being the first day of vacation.  This vacation was officially kicked off on the first day with a celebration by students and teachers alike.  May first was known as "Majowka."  Where a want for school celebration did not exist, the students were happy with an outing.  Many schools did not celebrate much at all.  Only a few of the elementary, intermediate and high schools had a celebration.

 At our teachers' institute in the Central German School System in Neusatz (in Crimean region), we celebrated the closing of the schools every year with speeches, music and songs, and presentations of several German and Russian plays. The May Festival was the test for all those who claimed they were Swabians.  Since 99 percent of the students and teachers were "dyed in the wool" Swabians, most of them spoke with genuine Swabian dialect.  The teachers and students used the Swabian dialect as their every-day language
and during the May celebration poetry was always recited in the Swabian dialect and skits were presented jn Swabian.  No other language was spoken, for 99 percent of the guests were Swabian and showed the greatest interest for the Swabian skits and food. Because the May festival was mostly generated from ·the Swabian spirit and language, it was usually known as the "Schwabische Majowka. "

Not only did the teachers and students take part in the festival, but also many relatives and other officially invited guests came from far and wide. They came in beautiful carriages with mighty horses pulling them to see their sons who were in great need of relaxation and they came to take part in the festival.  Even the old retired teachers flocked to the festival with their wives.  Old and young alike enjoyed the festival.  It was the only festival in the Crimean region where one could see German plays. Besides that, one could again see relatives and old friends and celebrate the reunion.  The number of participants fluctuated from 150 to 300 people.  How such a large festival proceeded will be explained in the following paragraphs.

Seeing the theater from the front, one could see that all the prerequisites were there for it to
be called a playhouse.  The school had a large empty theater -- seating was large enough for close to 300 people if a few stood in the halls -- that was built in very little time.  To make the stage look larger, a couple of wings were added.  In two closets on the stage hung costumes and wigs, with or without pigtails, and other objects that could be associated with the theater.  If there was something needed, it could usually be borrowed from the villagers -- such as furniture, clothes, dishes, etc.  In this way, everything that was needed could be had without great cost.

A festive mood prevailed at the May festival, a festive mood that took one's mind of the monotony of the everyday life and put it on one's role in the play.  Rehearsal for the play usually began in the end of February or the beginning of March (It was of great worth to start earlier on roles that required more time, such as Gagal's The Marriage or Schiller's Wilhelm Tell) and the practice under the guidance and supervision of the teacher usually resulted in a smooth performance that brought great pleasure to the spectator.

The introduction to the great celebration was usually held by the village parson, who held devotions.  The service was started and ended with a song by the choir.  The choir, which was a quartet from the school, sang the following song with powerful, practiced voices:  "May is forthcoming, the trees are budding .. ." which was like so many other folksongs that usually enlivened the festive spirit. Then the principal of the school gave a short welcoming speech and a summary of what was going to happen that day, with all of the events following after another in order.

As was the custom, there were two different plays which were the main feature of the festival.  In between, two or three small plays were acted out in the Swabian dialect.  During the intermissions either the choir sang or Russian or German poetry was recited. As an example, let's take the festival of 1913.  In the forenoon the comedy The Marriage by Gogol was put on; in the afternoon the condensed form of Schiller's Wilhelm Tell was acted out in the Fox Woods on Fox Mountain (so named because foxes lived in the rocks of the mountain).  The best Swabian plays were:

1. The Wife Seeker, which was about a man who thought he needed a wife but really only
wanted a maid.
2. The In-Laws Quarrel, which is about an argument between two neighboring farmers who were friends until their children became married and then their peace and friendship ended.
3, The Inheritance Creep, Which describes the clever ways of a man who tries to steal the
riches of his step-brother.

Different plays were presented at other May festivals, such as Minna of Barnhelm by Lessing, Kathy from Heilbronn by Kleist, The Reviser by Gogol, different peasant plays by Tschechow and a large number of comedies in the Swabian dialect.  During the celebration of the 300 year anniversary of the house of Romanov and its presence in government, we presented Shisnj Sa Zarja (The Life of the Czars) and were bestowed with great applause and a special praise and recognition from the school authority. The author of the play played the role of the first Czar of the Romanov’s, Michail Feodorowitsch.  The closing scene depicts the Czar on the throne with the sceptre and the imperial orb, with guards flanking both sides and courtiers all around.  The illuminating light made the scene fantastic.

The spectators applauded and were always satisfied with the performances.  The great crowds and spirit usually resulted in an expansion of the activities and greatly enhanced our achievements as amateur actors.  The influence upon the different nationalities (Russian, Ukranian, Tartaric, Turkish, Bulgarian, Greek, Armenian, Georgian, Karaymen) in the Crimean region was so great that there is no doubt that a German culture was instilled in them, a culture that did not play an underrated role in the spirited life of the Swabians.