Valais counts as a Swiss canton with lively traditions. While there is no way around transforming them, considering global conditions and exposure to other cultures, the Valais value their customs and want to preserve their essence.

 

Tanja Frey explores five updated Valais traditions: 1) In the past, traditional costumes were worn almost daily. Now women only wear them at special occasions. 2) There are many variants of the recipe for the traditional vegetable pastry “Gommer Cholera.” 3) New and old folktales still entertain the Valais. 4) Many of the masks worn at the Lötschentaler “Tschäggättä” carnival are now inspired by movies and comics. 5) Staged as cow wrestling matches, the black Valais Eringer cows compete their chosen adversaries for establishing the hierarchy within the herd. The farmers crown the winner as “queen.”

 

Tanja Frey devotes her website to Valais customs, contemplating future manifestations of Valais cultural life and offering her own interpretations of a choice of traditions for discussion.