Hahnrupfen in Drehnow

A Living Sorbian Heritage

The Hahnrupfen — in Sorbian "Kokot łapanje" or "Kokota chwytanje" — is one of the oldest preserved harvest customs of the Wends and Sorbs in Lower Lusatia. It traditionally marks the end of the harvest and is celebrated in a number of Lower Lusatian villages each September. Drehnow (Sorbian: Drjenow), a small village in the Amt Peitz district, Spree-Neiße, is one of the places where the tradition is kept particularly alive.

The Ritual Today

Riders, dressed in traditional costume and on decorated horses, try to reach and "pluck" a hanging straw rooster — which symbolically replaces the live rooster of centuries past — at a gallop. Whoever succeeds is crowned Harvest King or Queen. The event is accompanied by a festive procession, brass band, and a traditional dance festival with Sorbian songs.

Sorbian-Wendic Identity in Brandenburg

The Sorbs (often called "Wends" in the Lower Lusatian dialect) are a West Slavic people who have lived in Brandenburg and Saxony for over 1,000 years. They are recognized as a national minority, and their language (Lower Sorbian) is still spoken in some communities in the Spree-Neiße district. Customs like the Hahnrupfen are not folklore, but living tradition — carried on by associations, schools, and families.

Drehnow in the Amt Peitz

Drehnow belongs to the municipality of Drehnow in the Amt Peitz and is located between Cottbus and Forst (Lausitz). The region is part of the Sorbian-German settlement area — official place names here are bilingual. The Hahnrupfen is a good occasion to get closer to the Lower Lusatian identity, which, although present in larger cities like Cottbus, has its most original character in the small villages.