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On Sunday night a friend and myself headed over to the Chienbäse (also known as Kienbesenzug) in Liestal from Basel to have a look at the parade. I had seen pictures before and it looked impressive, but to be there was a completely different experience. First of all I can't believe that this parade takes place without people being seriously injured, property being burnt. I joked on Sunday night about how if the parade was held in the UK or the US then the organizers would probably be sued because someone burnt their finger or shut down for safety reasons.
The festival dates back a long time as a children's lantern parade but they only started using the flaming bundles of wood and big carts in the 1930's. Basically the people of the town march, walk or even run down the hill, underneath a wooden archway in a building and then on down the road through the town carrying flaming bundles of wood that weigh up to 100kg over their shoulder. To increase the risk, the general public crowd the sides of the streets until they are literally centimetres away from the flames
It's not just the occasional crazy guy that does this, but hundreds of them, women and children as well!
Perhaps one of the most spectacular sights is not the people carrying the flaming bundles but the iron carts that are dragged around by 6 to 8 guys. These things are completely made out of iron, up to 8 foot tall and filled with very dry wood. The carts are then dragged along the same route and the flames leap between the buildings. The most worrying thing is that they stop every now and again with the cart in the middle of the road. The crowds literally cower away to get away from the heat and the flames. At one point I was on the outside row on the pavement and I thought the backs of my legs had actually caught fire!
Adrian Harper
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