Last modified: 2024-03-23 by martin karner
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Or two Mazza mallets Gules in saltire between four Mazza Balls of the same.
Željko Heimer, 25 September 2001
The emblem of Flerden from the 18th century shows two mallets and four balls of the so-called Mazza
Cula game, which has its roots in the 16th century. It was played by peasants in Romansh speaking areas of
today's Graubünden (English: Grisons; Romansh: Grischun) canton. It has survived in the three
communes of Flerden, Masein and Tschappina in Thusis circle, where it is played in spring and autumn
when the grass is short. The mallets (Mazzas), are handmade. A slightly conic piece of wood
(2225 cm) with a borehole is put on a hazel stick (100160 cm). The balls are wooden (mostly
balls for mending stockings). The targets (Larga) where the balls are aimed to are different objects
in the landscape, like stones, border stones, barn doors or manhole tops. The player or the team that
requires the fewest hits to hit the target has won. The ball is not being hit from the ground but from
the air. The player has to throw the ball in the air and then hit it with the mallet.
(Source: Pöschtli, 21.3.2024, regional newspaper in Grisons canton. Article [German] as PDF:
part 1, part 2)
Martin Karner, 21 March 2024