2012 Schuttersfeest in Schimmert

Today was the annual Oud Limburgs Schuttersfeest (Old Limburger Shooting Festival); held at the Schimmert Sports Field. The Schuttersfeest is a competition between the various shooting organizations in south Limburg (The Netherlands and Belgium). These clubs, called "Schutterijen" in Dutch, are remnants of the old Shooting Guilds or Militias that defended the towns and villages in the old days. 

The schutterij, civic guard, or town watch, was a defensive military support system for the local civic authority. Its officers were wealthy citizens of the town, appointed by the city magistrates. In the Northern Netherlands, after the formal changeover in civic authority after Beeldenstorm, which depending on the town, was sometime between 1566 and 1580, the officers had to be a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. Its captain was usually a wealthy inhabitant of the district, and the group's ensign was a wealthy young bachelor (often recognizable in group portraits of Schutterijen by his particularly fine clothes and the flag he is carrying). Joining as an officer for a couple of years was often a stepping-stone to other important posts within the city council. The members were expected to buy their own equipment: this entailed the purchase of a weapon and uniform. Each night two men guarded their district in two shifts, from ten till two, and from two till six, closing and opening the gates of the city. At a set time each month, the schutters would parade under the command of an officer.

The idea was that, for every hundred inhabitants, three would belong to the schutterij. The Dutch Mennonites were excluded from a position in the schutterij in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries and paid a double tax in lieu of service. Roman Catholics were permitted in the lower regions. Persons in the service of the city (such as the minister, the city-physician, the teacher, the sexton, the beer-bearers and peat bearers), and the city's Jews, did not need to serve. The beer and peat bearers had to serve as the town's firefighters instead.

In 1748 the Doelisten demanded that stadholder William IV allow the bourgeoisie to appoint the militia's officers, but William refused, since in some towns the bourgeois could not even be considered as candidates for these offices. By the second half of the 18th century the schutterij were inactive (sometimes only exercising once a year and with the ill or rich buying their way out of service) and only of importance to Orangists.  Patriots tried to breathe new life into the schutterij in 1783 or to create an alternative - in many cities, exercitiegenootschappen (military-exercise societies), vrijcorpsen (free corps) or voluntary schutterijen arose which anybody could join and with officers chosen democratically. 

The system of schutterijen no longer worked after five hundred years, but survived the French occupation until finally king William I set up professional police forces. In 1901, the schutterijen were abolished but they still sort of exist in the Limburg region as private clubs.

Many of the clubs today proudly trace their heritage back to the authentic organizations and in many cases there was no loss of continuity. So you'll see on their signs dates as far back as the origins of the village's militia. I saw one Schutterij today with the date 1553 on its sign.

The Schuttersfeest begins with a march through the town or village. Each club is led by a young boy or girl carrying a sign indicating which guild it is. The sign usually shows their Patron Saint, town of origin, and date of origin. They are followed by the bielemannen or sappers carrying large axes. They function in the old days was to clear the way of obstacles. They wore false beards to hide their identity because these militias were often used to put down local civil unrest and riots.

They were followed by the Drum-Major and the marching band. The Drum-Major uses his staff and hand gestures to control the band; not just their music but also their marching. He indicates when to start, stop, makes turns, etc.

The band is followed by the "marketensters" who are sort of a "women's auxiliary". They carry a market basket with provisions and a small wooden keg filled with brandy or some other sort of distilled drink.

After the marketensters come the King and Queen of the guild and several of the higher officers and retainers. I didn't take any photos of them on the parade.

Last, come the "soldaten of fuseliers" (soldiers or fusiliers). They took commands from an officer or NCO of some sort who in turn took his cues from the marching band to their front. 

The parade, or "optocht" in Dutch, ended at the sports field shooting grounds on the west side of Schimmert. It was an unusually warm day so as soon as they were done marching most of them stripped done out of most of their uniforms to cool off. One female was a heat casualty and fell out on the sports field. Medics immediately treated her on the spot.

The Schuttersfeest had limited food available at two concession stands and there was a large fest tent with a band, food, and drinks on site. Nearer to the shooting area was another "beer tent" but no food concessions.

Every aspect of the club was judged and scored. The king and queen was judged near the gazebo. I have no idea what the criteria were but each judging took about 20 minutes so it must have been comprehensive. They were asked a lot of questions and their outfits were closely scrutinized. All the silver plates on the king are the plates from predecessors. The next pair to be judged is standing by in the background.

The Marketensters were also judged and it was also very comprehensive. They each had to show the contents of their market baskets, answer questions, show their uniforms, and then demonstrate their process for presenting a shot of brandy to one of their soldiers. All this was done in front of two judges who were keeping score. In this picture the Marketenster was tapping a shot of brandy from her keg and then she walked over to her soldier and presented it to him to drink.

The band was judged on another field where they had more room to march and play. They were judged on their uniforms, their music, their marching ability, etc. Each group marched or did in-place drill for at least twenty minutes while they were being judged.

Lastly, the soldiers were judged. They also were judged on their uniforms, static Drill and Ceremony, manual of arms, and marching.

All the while the actual shooting competition was going on. The shooters take ten shots at elevated targets ("birds"), which are small (15mm) blocks held in a frame with ten targets to a column. These frames are 20 meters high.

The shooters use huge guns weighing 15 kilograms (36 lbs). The guns have open sites so there is no magnification of the tiny targets. They fire huge lead bullets, 12 or 16 mm in diameter (.47 or .63 caliber). Most shooters would take one or two shots and then rest while someone else held the weight of the weapon.

These are big and popular events in Limburg. If you like band music, marching, D&C (drill and ceremony), and a very unique shooting sport, this might be something you would be interested in. You can view the association's calendar at this LINK. Just click on the sub-menu "kalender" and look for a "Schuttersfeest" entry. The 75th anniversary of the Oud Limburgse Schuttersfederatie will take place on 23 September 2012 at Ellikom, Belgium. It looks to be about a thirty minute drive from Schinnen.