Charivari (pronounced ) is a piece of traditional

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

costume jewellery Costume or fashion jewelry includes a range of decorative items worn for personal adornment that are manufactured as less expensive ornamentation to complement a particular fashionable outfit or garmentBaker, Lillian. Fifty Years of Collectabl ...

made of solid

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

or of rare silver-plated chain, adorned with trinkets, gemstone, coins (or possibly medals), horn discs, carved

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...

teeth,

antler Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on ...

s, animal paws,

badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united ...

hair, or other

game A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (su ...

teeth.

Origin and use

The name charivari (from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''caribaria'' meaning "mess" or "madness") came into the German-speaking world during the

Napoleonic era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislativ ...

. At that time it had a secondary, more important, meaning of "pandemonium" or "commotion". This meaning has continued in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

and French until the present day. Bavarian men wear the charivari on the belt of their

lederhosen Lederhosen (; , ; singular in German usage: ''Lederhose'') are short or knee-length leather breeches that are worn as traditional garments in some regions of German-speaking countries. The longer ones are generally called ''Bundhosen'' or ''Kni ...

. The charivari traditionally served as jewellery or as a

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

for a successful hunt. For farmers it served as a valuable status symbol. The charivari probably originated from a

watch chain A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatc ...

, which was attached to the buttonhole of the costume shirt and hung from time to time with various hunting trophies. It could not be bought, was carefully preserved and was passed down in a single family through the generations. Some ancient charivaris can have a value of up to 10,000 euros (about £8,770). They are spread throughout the

Eastern Alps Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide and down the Liro River to Lake Como in t ...

and have become fashionable throughout Bavaria once more, being revived by the increasing popularity of local traditional costume clubs. The man's charivari is usually about in length and is made of 825-part or 925-part silver. The chain for women is usually much finer, usually made of so-called rose-plated "Erbsketten" and can also be adorned with small solid silver talismen with small pieces of antler or coins. Some unusual charivaris may be made from very expensive composite antlers or

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

teeth. In modern charivaris the animal materials are usually replaced with

cast metal In metalworking and jewelry making, casting is a process in which a liquid metal is delivered into a mold (usually by a crucible) that contains a negative impression (i.e., a three-dimensional negative image) of the intended shape. The metal is ...

trinkets.

Gallery

Charivari mit acht Anhaengern.JPG, Traditional Charivari - silver chain with pendants File:Charivarie_Nutria_Gebiss_sauzahn_bergkristall_Wildsau_kralle_huf_ametist_vogel.JPG, Charivari with many adornments charivari massing.jpg, Charivari with silver coins from the 19th and early-20th century from

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden ...

and

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

, including a commemorative coin of

King Ludwig II of Bavaria King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Moderner-Charivari.jpg, Modern charivari worn on

jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or Dungaree (fabric), dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis ...

References

{{Authority control Types of jewellery Culture of Altbayern

Origin and use

Gallery

See also

References