Melsungen's carnival clubs comment on “Indian costumes”

HNA Melsungen's carnival clubs comment on “Indian costumes” Article by Eike Rustemeyer • 6 hours Melsungen's carnival clubs comment on “Indian costumes” Ban costumes worn by indigenous peoples? This is what the carnival clubs in Guxhagen, Melsungen and Empfershausen say about it. Melsungen district - The carnival session begins in a few days on November 11th and shortly before the fifth season, many fools are wondering about the right costume. There are a few things to keep in mind: For example, authentic police uniforms are prohibited by law. There are heated debates about costumes that are intended to represent the indigenous population of North America. The accusation: cultural appropriation. We asked the carnival clubs in Guxhagen, Melsungen and Empfershausen what costume bans they might have. Few no-gos for carnival clubs “We don’t have any direct no-gos,” says Silke Lottis, chairwoman of the Blaue Funken Guxhagen carnival society. There are no restrictions at the children's carnival, apart from the fact that authentic dummy weapons are prohibited. The same applies to the women's carnival, where there is always a costume theme. Native American costumes are not a problem for her: “Honestly, I don’t understand the debate,” Lottis continues. After all, if someone dresses up as a Maori, i.e. as a native of New Zealand, no one would complain. Carsten Barthel, chairman of the Melsung carnival club, says something similar. “We give a motto every now and then, but the implementation is entirely up to the visitors,” says Barthel. He “haven’t seen a Native American costume at an MKC event in a long time.” Carnival: dummy weapons are taboo And even if a guest were to wear such a costume, it would not be a problem for the chairman. You try to limit the guests' choice of costumes as little as possible. The only requirement: no authentic weapons. “We are staying out of the debate. I think that’s a bit exaggerated,” explains Irena Freudenstein from the Carneval Club in Empferhsausen. She couldn't imagine that a Native American would be bothered by a carnival costume. “We’ve never had anyone draw negative attention to us with a costume,” she says. “ What we don’t tolerate are uniforms from the Nazi era,” says Freudenstein. (Eike Rustemeyer)