|
Walser
culture in Aosta’s Valley: History and
Tradition
Walser's history is really ancient: we can say
that it belongs in a remote Europe, really far from nowadays' one. It started in V century AD, whith one of the
numerous migration of Germanic people from its birthplaces in Northern
Europe; in this case they were the Alemannians, who originally came from
Southern Germany. Big Alemannians tribes moved southwards, colonizing
vast territories like nowadays' Oberland and Aare's Valley. Those men
lived in what is now known as Switzerland, once called Wallis.
During XII century AD the Alemannians moved
again, but in a different way: no more big population movings, but
little groups who explored unhabitated valleys, often reaching places
far from their homeland. Those Alemannians were called Walliser,
which means Dalesmen, a name which, with time, get shorter, Walser.
However, this migration ended before '400 AD.
The ancient Alp's travellers didn't have neither
the comfortable roads we have, nor the experience given by centuries of
alpinism. Their trips were made on foot, or by mule, on remote paths in
unknown forests. The Walser
used to move only with daylight, and in summer; what more, their
wanderings were charcterised by and extreme slowness, because of they
were moving with all their goods.
However, there's a substantial difference
between Middle Age and now: the way they thought the mountain was. Now
it's a border between different countries, but in these days it wasn't
so: for example, places like Savoie, Lower Vallese and Aosta were part
of Savoie's Dukedom.
To reach the beautiful valleys south of Rosa,
the Walser used mostly St.
Teodulo's Pass, which links Zermatt and Valtournanche, and Mount Moro's
Pass, wich links Saas and Anzasca's Valleys.
In Aosta's Valley those population founded many
villages; in Ayas they built north of Champoluc;
for example, St. Jacques' zone was known as "Canton des Allemands",
"Germans' District".
In Gressoney's Valley, instead, the Walser
founded Gressoney itself, and Issime. Also Niel village, in the Franco -
Provencal zone of Gaby, was founded by them. However, it's important to
undeline that only in Gressoney people kept remnances of their original
language, which is disappeared in Ayas.
In Ayas Walser's
presence is often ignored: the absolute lack of documents made difficult
even the dating of their arrival. Someone think it happened in the first
half of 1200 AD, but someone else is convinced that it was 100 years
earlier. Anyway, those colonizers settled in the
"Canton des Allemands", the wide rockyarea north of
Champoluc. The different languages created a kind of wall between them
and the locals, who spoke a French dialect: it's important to note that,
even in 1664, a mission of Capuchin monks arrived in St.Jacques could
not communicate with the population. Those, 400 years after their arrive,
still ignored the French language, or the Provencal.
The Walser
language, however, didn't live longer. It went unused and disappeared
during XVIII century because of their integration with the other
dalesmen.
In the "Canton", in addition to the
bigger villages, there were also numerous groups of houses, called hameaux.
In late '700, when the population were already melted, this zone counted
about 380 heads, so that's why the experts doubts "Canton"
ever had a population bigger than 500.
The most important village, even if not the
biggest, was St. Jacques. There population met for Sunday's Mass, and
for trading. You could also find guides who could
drive you above the mountains.
This village was also known for pera
doutsa manufacturing, a kind of rock known in Italian as
"pietra ollare", used to do cooking tools, like pots and pans,
exported even in Switzerland. They were called olle:
from there came the name we know, "ollare". "Canton"'s villages were dwelled all
year long, although they were built at altitude between 1900 and 2072
meters. They were, and they still are in some cases (Resy for example),
the highest villages of Europe. Through the years, however, those
villages knew the decline: during '700 were dwelled only in summer, and
a century later they were deserted.
An important feature of Walser villages were the canals, called Ru, used to water Ayas' fields. Anyone who spent some days in Ayas
will know Ru Corṭt, a water canal which runs for 25 kms and provide
water from Cime Bianche Pass to Col de Joux and forwards. Water was essential for agricolture. Formerly,
Ayas and Gressoney were characterised by the presence of numerous fields,
used by the locals to feed themselves; there were cereals such as oats,
barley and rye, while all the families used to have a vegetable garden.
Yet, there was a lack of fruit trees, although several Ayassins had
vineyards lower, in St.Vincent, Chatillon, Chambave and Nus.
Alpine population and modernity
In these days, obviously, mountain have known
many changes. Since 1800, the mountain population known slump: their
agricolture couldn't be compared with the one done in flatlands, while
roads and railways took to the lonely alpine people unknown comforts. While the growing industry asked for many and
many hands, in Ayas and bordering valleys the high altitude villages got
deserted, while the remnant population decided to live in the valley
floor's villages, as Champoluc. Breeding was the earniest activity, and
the cereal fields became meadows again, as it's today.
During the two World Wars, the mountain dwellers
were called to fight, and their communities maybe knew the worse days:
lack of youths, sent to farway battlefields, and their death unbalanced
the villages. It's enough to look at Ayas' Fallen Monument, built nearby
St. Anne's Church, to think what those terrible events represented for
those little communities.
From '60s on, however, mass tourism discovered
the beauties of Ayas. Places as Champoluc raised their importance, while
the locals found a new yield which still today supports Ayas and the
whole Aosta's Valley.
What is left from Walser, however?
Still today we can count 40 villages,
characterised by Walser
architecture, especially the rascards,
which can be admired in Champoluc's Old Village, or in Antagnod and St.
Jacques, but also in high altitude villages like Mascognaz,
Resy, Soussun
and Cuneaz.
Those age - long buildings, unique in the whole
world, are the most important bequest of an important and interesting
culture, precious for our Country and proud son of the Alps.
Would
you like to know more? Visit this page:
http://www.walserland.org/scoprire/cultura.htm
|