56 TRAVELLING VOICES
function. Through all of Slovenia, there are only 12 places where prangers can be found. And these places thought that their intriguing heritage is worth celebrating. Every year they have a festival called “prangerijada”, held at a selected pranger site. Negova has already hosted the event twice. The prangerijada not just connects these small communities, but it’s something to be excited about, to wait and prepare for. Apart from the rich cultural and entertainment programs, what makes this festival really unique is the replaying of some of the pranger trials, with the actors wearing medieval costumes. Based on original written sources from the Maribor Archives the Negova group stages a show called “Fishing like that”. Among the enthusiastic participants who turn the old text into an entertaining (and very funny) play, you can find the mayor’s wife or the former principal of the Negova primary school. The central characters in the trial are the hungry peasants who steal fish from the castle pond, although they claim that they had the right to fish. At the end of the play the noblemen turn out to be greedy and stupid and the peasants, of course, clever. This play is performed in other fairs and events too. Once the guests of the Slovenian lawyers meeting even had the privilege to see it - and think about its morals.
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The pranger, the “pillar of shame” in Negova.
Walking towards the Negova castle, you’ll pass by a large rock, standing lonely on the side of the road. It’s gray, doesn’t look interesting at all - you probably won’t even notice it. But if you know what it is, you will certainly stop. The writing on its side gives you a little clue. It says: “Honestus rumor alterum patrimonium” (A good name is a second inheritance). The stone is called a pranger, a “pillar of shame” - a punishment device dating back to 1686. How did it work? Convicts were tied to the stone, and depending on the weight of their offence, they had to spend hours or even a day there without food and water. The pranger was usually placed where most people gathered: next to the church. So the people could see and also judge the lawbreakers, sometimes by insulting, mocking, beating or more often by throwing filth, like rotten vegetables on them. It was enough to steal fish from the castle pond to end up on the pranger, but adulterers, troublemakers and other minor violations were punished too. The pranger seems a much less serious punishment than a longer prison (or a death) sentence, but sometimes the humiliation was so significant that the convict had to leave their home and move to another place because of the shame. So much for the good name you left for your descendants. Prangers were in use till the end of the 18th century - but in a way they still have a unique
SLOVENIA / Negova Castle
Crime and punishment
the prangerijada not just connects these small communities, but it’s something to be excited about, to wait and prepare for
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