The section Here I get away is a collaboration with the Huus van de Taol and talks about Drenthe and its stories. This year, 9-year-old Mans Snijders won the Grada Eding-Askespries at the ‘t Aol Volk’s horse-drawn carriage competition in Emmen.
Mans Snijders has just come out of his shoes and is standing on his head. “I’ll be happy to go swimming soon,” e puffs.
Waitum
Mans lives in Wachtum together with his father, mother and sister. “When I look through the window in the dining room, I see meadows and trees. We also often see hares and deer walking.”
The young Wachtumer loves his village and sets off on his bicycle. A tour around the ash tree, seeing friends and grandpa and grandma on the farm. “I enjoy riding the tractor there with my cousin. Then we listen to a secret channel. Sometimes children in my class say: ‘That’s not music, is it?’ I don’t care about that. I think it is beautiful.”
Drenthe language
Mans was raised in Dutch. “But my father speaks Drenthe well. He plays in the band Bruunsma.” Zölf talks Mans a little Drèents with his cousin. „ Moi I think it’s a nice word”, he laughs intimately and raises his finger. The fact that Man’s foal takes Drèents to such an extent came well when he competed with Deu in the foal competition of ‘t Aol Volk. “With my grandmother and my grandfather I hear what Drenthe sounds like and then I know how to pronounce it,” she explains.
For the carnival competition, Theo Bruinsma wrote the poem Smangs veur Mans. “I thank him very much for that. It suits me so well. When my mother read the text for the first time, she had tears in her eyes,” says the 9-year-old as she sees Mom punch her throat.
Mans is the fifth generation of his family who attends the Markeschool in Wachtum. “There is a teacher who can speak Drenthe and who helps children to study the Drenthe poems, but otherwise I don’t hear any Drenthe at school,” says Mans. “There are also children who speak Drenthe at home but not at school.” He’s still thinking about it. “Maybe they are afraid that someone will laugh at them?” The young Wachtumer would find it nice if people spend more time chatting in Drèents. “If you want it, just do it!”
Grada Edings-Askespries
That deu Mans himself was full of enthusiasm in front of a full hall in the Atlas Theater in Emmen. He wasn’t nervous about the horse riding competition. “You stand on stage, breathe calmly and start. I did everything from memory and really enjoyed doing it.”
With his visual performance, Mans moved not only the jury members, but also the people in the hall. “At the awards ceremony they said: ‘The 3rd prize is for…’ and that wasn’t me. ‘The 2nd prize is for…’ and that wasn’t me either. Then I thought: my goodness, I can’t be first, can I? Well, yes!” He also won the Grada Eding-Askespries for the best performance of the evening. “Two cups and a cash prize, fantastic!”
Mans will perform his poem again on October 20 and 21. Dizze maol on Skonnerd at the story route Ellert and Brammert in the dark . “I am looking forward to that. I hope I have time to walk the route myself. That seems really exciting to me!”