The exclusiveness of Oeteldonkers

Every year during Carnaval, all the inhabitants of the city Den Bosch in the Netherlands, which is called 'Oeteldonk' during Carnaval, gather themselves to party as 'Oeteldonkers' for three whole days. During Carnaval, every city gets an alternative name This name often has something to do with the dialect of that region or with an historic event that is typical for that city. Every year, Den Bosch becomes ‘Oeteldonk’ which translates itself to Frog-Hill; an 'is a frog and a 'donk' is a sandy hill.

Carnival is a tradition that is celebrated in the Netherlands every year, as well as in lots of other countries all over the world. In the Netherlands, it is called ‘Carnaval’ and mostly celebrated in the southern parts of the country because these used to be the Catholic regions. The first day of Carnaval is always exactly six weeks before Easter Sunday, as these are the last days before people would start fasting.  

Every region also has its own traditions but in Den Bosch, the capital city of the province Noord-Brabant, Carnaval is celebrated in a way that is completely different  other regions. The Oeteldonkers have their own unique clothing, unique music and unique habits. In this article I will look at the indexes that make someone a real Oeteldonker and how this defines the way they celebrate Carnaval. 

The origin of Oeteldonkers

Firstly, to understand Oeteldonkers it is important to understand where the tradition of Oeteldonk comes from. Carnaval has been celebrated for over 550 years now. But somewhere around 1880, the parties got out of hand too often. People were drunk openly on the streets and the festivities often ended in great fights. he bishop then started to interfere because he wanted to cancel the Carnaval tradition, due to all the problems it brought with it.

Instead of obeying this order, the inhabitants of Den Bosch came up with some ideas to protect their folk festival and to keep the tradition of Carnaval to themselves. They came up with what was called ‘the Oeteldonk formula’. Every inhabitant would be dressed as a farmer during Carnaval, that is why everyone started to customize their own dark blue blouse: a ‘kiel’ in Dutch. That is what the cattle farmers wore in those times. A father, later a prince, was chosen to be at the top of the festivities. On October 1st 1882 ‘de Oeteldonkse Club’ was established, they had to make sure that all the ideas were executed correctly and help to guard the festivities.  From that moment on, Carnaval in Oeteldonk was celebrated every year.

here is another day that is part of Carnaval and is also celebrated annually: namely the eleventh of the eleventh, which is 11 November. Eleven has been known as the crazy number for centuries now. Some say that the reason for this is probably because it is the number before twelve, which is seen as the perfect number. There is no explanation for why people celebrate 11/11 because it is not sure when people started this tradition and why. Nevertheless, it is an important day for Carnaval because it now marks the beginning of the Carnaval season. owever, this day has only been officially celebrated in Oeteldonk since 2010.

Another important part of the Oeteldonk tradition is the frog. As mentioned earlier, the name Oeteldonk literally means Frog-Hill. Oeteldonk is based on a higher place than its surroundings. In medieval times, this was a strategic place because from a hill you could see your enemies approaching. Also, this was the only dry sand dune in the scenery; it was surrounded by swamps made to prevent the city from intruders and attackers. Legend says that this swamp was filled with frogs. This has not been proven but the frog has still become the most important symbol of Oeteldonk. This symbol constructs meaning to Oeteldonk; for all the Oeteldonkers the frog is connected to Carnaval. Miller-Idriss (2018) quoted de Saussure (2017): “One characteristic of a symbol is that it is never wholly arbitrary; it is not empty, for there is the rudiment of a natural bond between the signifier and the signified.” In the case of Oeteldonk this is that the signified, namely the frog, is always linked to the signifier, namely Carnaval. 

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/neo-classicism/a/canova-repentent-magdalene

How to become an Oeteldonker

De Oeteldonkse Club brought out “De 11 geboden”the 11 commandments. These are eleven rules that you have to follow if you want to celebrate Carnaval in Oeteldonk. Rules include that you have to wear red, white and yellow and that you have to dance to the music of the different Carnaval clubs. However, some other rules aare that everyone is welcome and that no one is worth more than another person. In one way, you could thus say that these rules try to include as many people as possible. But this is not entirely true since you are only included if you adapt to the standards of Oeteldonkers.

Adapting to these rules can be seen as a form of identity work (Maly and Varis, 2015). According to Maly and Varis: “The features are rarely organised at random; when they appear, they are presented and oriented towards as ‘essential’ combinations of emblematic features that reflect, bestow and emphasise one’s ‘authenticity’ as a specific kind of person. In the case of tan Oeteldonker, the features that one owns reflect the specific kind of person they want to be. This includes wearing the right outfit and colours but also showing the right behaviour according to the eleven commandments.

Oeteldonkers can be described as a social group, namely an old school social group. To understand the dynamics of a social group, according to Maly and Varis we have to look at: “(...) the identity indexicals that produce ‘authenticity’ as members of specific populations, the accompanying authenticity discourse, as well as the material (online and offline) infrastructures, and the consequent material effects in (e.g. urban) spaces they entail.”, (Maly and Varis, 2015). 

At first, being an Oeteldonker was quite easy: you had to live in Den Bosch and wear a 'blouse. However, the identity indexicals for Oeteldonkers have become more complex, for a great part because of digitalization. is not only about looking the right way, being an Oeteldonker is now also about showing the right behaviour online and keeping up with trends. There is a certain degree of enoughness (Maly and Varis, 2015) having enough indexes to be considered an authentic Oeteldonker. Enoughness literally means that: “(…) one has to have, display and enact ‘enough’ of the emblematic features in order to be ratified as an authentic member of an identity category.” 

The identity indexicals for being a true Oeteldonker have become more complex, for a great part because of digitalization

The most crucial aspect of the Oeteldonk indexicality, a rule that is also mentioned in the eleven commandments, are the colours. The colours of Oeteldonk are red, white and yellow. These are a combination of white and yellow, which refer to the pope, and red and white, which refer to the flag of Noord-Brabant. These colours are seen everywhere; on the streets, in the cafes, on the decorations and on the people. Every authentic Oeteldonker owns a scarf and matching gloves in the right colours, which should be worn throughout Carnaval. You will immediately recognize someone who is not a real Oeteldonker if he or she is not dressed in the colours of Oeteldonk. Girls try to add some accessories to their outfit, like earrings or bracelets in red, white and yellow. Also, a lot of people like to paint the Oeteldonk flag on their cheeks or even all over their face. Wearing the right colours is definitely an index for being an authentic Oeteldonker.

Also, in addition to wearing a blouse, as mentioned above, you have to decorate this blouse with emblems and accessories. Every year, de Oeteldonkse Club comes up with a theme for Carnaval and every year gets its own emblem. Inhabitants of Den Bosch and surroundings can send in a handmade design for the emblem and the jury of de Oeteldonkse Club will decide which design is chosen. You will recognize an authentic Oeteldonker for having a series of yearly emblems on  'kiel'.

However, due to digitalization, the internet has become more important these days for choosing which new emblems to buy every year. For example, in 2017 a boy from Den Bosch created an “America first, Oeteldonk eleventh” emblem and sent it to some friends as a joke. There is a social media account called Oeteldonk Online, and his friends sent the design to this account. Oeteldonk Online then used the emblem in a video where they talk about Oeteldonk being the best city in the Netherlands. This was meant as a joke, of course as a satire against Donald Trump’s statements.

One woman then decided to turn this design into a real emblem and  made two of them. But because this emblem was shared heavily on social media, more and more people started sending messages via Facebook to the designer, saying that they wanted to have such an emblem. Eventually, a waiting list was created and people could only order the emblem via Facebook. This is the perfect example of how digitalization is getting more and more important to Oeteldonkers. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SrpARP_M0o

Lastly, the most important part of the appearance of an Oeteldonker are the 'Oetels': the frogs. Frogs, just like the Oeteldonk colours, can be found everywhere throughout the city. They are most prominent on the 'kiel' of every inhabitant, but frogs are also in every logo, every emblem and every cafe. If you are not wearing any kind of frog, you are not considered an Oeteldonker at all. Some people sow plush frogs onto their 'kiel' or paint a frog on their face. 

https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/vbdbmx/gurls-talk-free-the-nipple

The behaviour of an authentic Oeteldonker

Apart from all the indexes of appearance, authentic Oeteldonkers have some behavioural indexes as well. If you want to celebrate Carnaval in Oeteldonk, there are some rules you have to obey. If you do not follow these rules you are excluded by other Oeteldonker

The eleven commandments state that everyone should speak the language of "kodder en gein", which means that everyone should talk in a nice way to one another and not take everything too seriously. In practice, this is not always the case. During 11 November this year, a friend of mine from the province of Drenthe wanted to celebrate Carnaval with me. Naturally, he did not own a 'kiel' or any accessories in the colours of Oeteldonk. Since my brother was not celebrating 11/11, he could lend his attires and I brought these with me to the city. My friend was  so we decided to go inside a bar already and I would hand the clothes over to him when he got inside. However, when my friend showed up at the door of the bar, the bouncer would not let him in since he was not wearing Oeteldonk clothing thus was not an authentic Oeteldonker. I had to come to the door and my friend had to get changed in front of the bouncer just to show him that he was indeed “a real Oeteldonker”. This is a perfect example of why Oeteldonkers can be seen as a social group. According to Becker (1997): 

“ALL social groups make rules and attempt, at some times and under some circumstances, to enforce them. Social rules define situations and the kinds of behaviour appropriate to them, specifying some actions as "right" and forbidding others as "wrong." When a rule is enforced, the person who is supposed to have broken it may be seen as a special kind of person, one who cannot be trusted to live by the rules agreed on by the group. He is regarded as an outsider.” 

From the perspective of an Oeteldonker, it is mainstream how they celebrate Carnaval and that makes everyone who does not participate in these rules an outsider

When you put this in the perspective of Oeteldonk, the outsiders are the people that do not obey the rules that are enforced by the Oeteldonkers. They cannot follow the behaviour that is appropriate so that makes them deviant.

However, an interesting view is if we turn this around. The whole southern part of the Netherlands celebrates Carnaval, but Oeteldonkers are the only ones who do not dress up, because they wear a 'kiel' all the time, and see themselves as a different group than other people. In that case, we could say that people who celebrate Carnaval are mainstream and the Oeteldonkers are the deviants. The mainstream are the attitudes and actions shared by most people. Since Oeteldonkers are a very small part of the total of people who celebrate Carnaval, they could be seen as the ones who are deviants. However, from the perspective of an Oeteldonker it is mainstream how they celebrate Carnaval  that makes everyone who does not participate an outsider (Becker, 1997).

This man is considered an "authentic Oeteldonker" because he is wearing a kiel https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/neo-classicism/a/canova-repentent-magdalene

The online aspect of Oeteldonk

Oeteldonkers also show behaviour on social media that is typical for them. For example, on Instagram you have the option to add a location to a post. After Carnaval 2017, people would post pictures of Carnaval and add as location “Oeteldonk 2018”; after Carnaval 2018, people would post pictures with the location “Oeteldonk 2019”, and so on. This is not a written rule but it has been an online tradition for Oeteldonkers for the past few years. Nobody is exactly sure why and even the Oeteldonkers themselves do not know the reason behind this, but  is typical for Instagram pictures of Oeteldonk. People who are not from Oeteldonk do not participate in this trend so mentioning this location is part of what it means to be an authentic Oeteldonker.

Also, almost every popular cafe or bar in Den Bosch has a Facebook page where they share news that concerns Carnaval. Every year a lot of bars make their own emblem and you can make a reservation for that or win those via their Facebook page. Once you own the emblem, you will have priority during Carnaval if there is a line to get into that bar. Once you show the emblem to the bouncer you can skip the line.

Another example of how social media are used for Oeteldonkers is by sharing special discounts or have contests so people can win exclusive Oeteldonk gear. Bakeries make special Oeteldonk cakes and share pictures of that on social media so people will order those. To be a real Oeteldonker means to follow the news about Carnaval on social media and be up-to-date about contests to win exclusive things.

This is an example of how social media can create an even clearer distinction between Oeteldonkers and non-Oeteldonkers, because for example you are excluded from certain bars if you do not own the right emblem. Social media might be seen as a tool to level inequality but often the opposite is true Boyd2015). As she states in her book: “(…) existence of new technology neither creates nor magically solves cultural problems. In fact, their construction typically reinforces existing social divisions.” This is clearly visible in the case of Oeteldonk not being accessible to everyone; if you are not living in Den Bosch you have probably never heard of the most popular bars, thus are not following these bars on social media and as a result you will not be up to date about the yearly emblems. This indeed reinforces social divisions.  

Furthermore, social media also plays an important role in the music that is played during Carnaval. The eleven commandments state that everyone should dance to the music of the different Carnaval clubs. Every year, new or existing artists bring out Carnaval songs which they post on their Facebook or YouTube. An example of 2019 is this song, which is about Oeteldonkers wanting to send other people away, back to their own part of the Netherlands. These songs are shared by Oeteldonkers so that as many people as possible will hear it. People who are not from Den Bosch are probably not interested in these songs because they do not understand the dialect that is used by the singers or they do not hear these songs at all because they are not in  circle of people on social media. These people are instantly recognized as outsiders by Oeteldonkers because a true Oeteldonker is acquainted with the new songs. This makes the music played in Oeteldonk unique and mostly liked by inhabitants of Den Bosch because they are the only ones who understand it.

Also, the music is only played during Carnaval and never during another time of the year. Social media is crucial to this important part of the Oeteldonk tradition because without music there would be no party. Without social media there would be less new Carnaval songs every year and this new music keeps the tradition modern.

In conclusion,

Oeteldonkers can be seen as a social group who consider themselves mainstream but are seen as outsiders by the rest of people who celebrate Carnaval. It is possible to be a part of this community if you are an outsider but it is difficult. Also, you have to have enough indexes to be considered an Oeteldonker; you have to buy the right commodities, know all the right songs and  the right behaviour on social media. It is not enough to only wear a coloured scarf or to know some traditional songs by heart. All of the characteristics mentioned in this article need to be present to be considerd authentic. 

References

Becker, H. S. (1997), Outsiders, London: Free Press

oyd, d. (2015). It’s complicated, London: Yale University Press

Maly, I & Varis, P. (2015), The 21st century hipster: on micro-populations in times of super-diversity, the Netherlands: European Journal of Cultural studies

Miller-Idriss (2018), What Makes a Symbol Far Right? Co-opted and Missed Meanings in Far-Right IconographyeDCFRAOC, 123-135

Official Oeteldonk page, https://www.oeteldonk.org 

Wikipedia, Carnival in the Netherlands, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_in_the_Netherlands