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* Dr Andreas Anderha lden, born in 1947, studied medicine in Berne and Basel and then spent a year as a medica l assistant before opening his own family prac- tice in Sachseln (Obwa lden) that he ran until retirement. He is author of the works Gebresten, Pest und Badestuben (2013) and Vom Siechenhaus zum Kantonsspita l (2015).

Wildmaa und Wildfrai an der Älperchilbi in Lungern. Wildmaa and Wildfrai at the Älperchilbi harvest festival in Lungern.

(Photo: obwalden-tourismus.ch)

As preparations were underway for the anniversar y celebrations marking 200 years since Engelberg joined the canton of Obwa l- den, the idea arose to investigate whether the much-discussed dif ferences in charac ter between people f rom Engelberg, Obwa lden and Nidwa lden might have a genetic basis. For ty-one people f rom the three va lley com- munities went under the microscope for the study – and the resu lts were surprising. In the early 16th centur y, human- ist Glareanus announced that the people of

people of Engelberg are descendants of a dif- ferent tribe who set tled in the va lley much ear- lier in histor y. Another surprising resu lt is that the non-Celtic Engelbergers – at least ever y f if th resident – show traces of Ita lic heritage, which cou ld a lso be a resu lt of the trade routes. The DNA testing company carr y ing out the study made the following statement about the resu lts: “There is clear ev idence that Engelberg is genetica lly closer to Obwa l- den than to Nidwa lden. This resu lt is likely to prove a hot topic for discussion, par ticu-

the principles they hold dear. Astonishingly, Prof. Wy rsch made the following predic tion in 1946: “If, in times of peace, an Unterwa ldner were to receive the honour of being elec ted to the Federa l Council, it wou ld surely be someone f rom Obwa lden.” This predic tion came true in December 1959, when Ludwig von Moos was elec ted to the Council. As for the likelihood of a person f rom Nidwa lden making it onto the Council, Prof. Wy rsch conceded that: “In wild and stormy times, the Nidwa ldners may have a chance.” Nidwa ldners have misrepresent, themselves. They are more open and receptive to the f ine and per forming ar ts than Obwa ldners, something which is ev i- dent in their rich theatrica l life and variety of clubs and societies, including the f lamboy- ant Stans carniva l society, which wou ld never have emerged in Obwa lden or elsewhere. They specia lise in play ing with appearances and taking silly things seriously. The Nidwa ldners are a lso charac terised by a f ier y passion and emotiona lity. They like to seize the moment and put a ll their eggs in one basket without hesitation. They ac t fast, and fast of ten equa ls rash. We know f rom histor y that Nidwa ldners never betray their principles, and wou ld rather die than even give the appearance of compro- mise. In shor t: Nidwa lden leaves much more room for feelings, emotions and impu lses than Obwa lden – which isn’ t to say that the Obwa ld- ners have no feelings or emotions, of course! As the Celtic Engelbergers have been liv- ing in the va lley since the Midd le Ages – long ver y dif ferent persona lity traits. They are happy to let themselves go, to express themselves, to put them- selves on display, to put on an ac t, to reinvent, or even

before it became a monastic set tlement – there are slight dif ferences in charac ter between them and the Sarnen va lley Obwa ldners. For example, Engelbergers feel ver y strongly about their independence. They are uncompromising, loya l, and ac t with prudence, composure and deliberation. A strong tendency towards ba- roque conv iv ia lity and community spirit can be seen in Engelberg, possibly inspired by life at the Abbey. The Engelbergers demonstrate a clear capacity for abstinence and a hea lthy level of toughness. They ac t with tenacity and

Obwa lden, Nidwa lden and Engelberg have noble Ro- man ancestr y – a declaration that earned him an enthu- siastic reception f rom our forebears and that enjoys popu larity to this day. How-

larly given that Engelberg separated f rom Nidwa lden and joined Obwa lden.” The unexpec ted f inding cou ld explain the dif ferent menta lities that charac terise, to var y ing

persistence. These par ticu lar traits are a lmost cer tain ly the resu lt of the harsh and austere life that many Engel- bergers experienced before the turn of the 20th centur y and the advent of tourism.

Engelbergers and Obwaldners descend from different Celtic tribes.

Engelbergers feel very strongly about their independence.

ever, it has now been discovered that we do not in fac t hail f rom Ju lio-Claudian stock. The majority of people f rom Obwa lden (“Obwa ldners”) are descendants of a Celtic tribe f rom Western Europe who moved to the A lpine region some time before the bir th of Christ. The popu lation a lso includes some Ibe- rian, Slav ic and Ita lic descendants. This is prob- ably a genetic relic of the former trading route, as before the construc tion of the Teufelsbrücke bridge in 1230, the most impor tant nor th- south connec ting ax is led over the Brünig, Grimsel and Gries passes. The vast majority of people f rom Nidwa lden (“Nidwa ldners”) are of A lemannic heritage – tribes f rom nor thern Germany who moved south in the years 259/60 AD, crossing the Rhine for the f irst time and set tling on the Swiss Centra l Plateau. There is on ly a sma ll trace of Celtic genetic materia l present in Nidwa lden today. Most people f rom Engelberg (“Engelbergers”), like those f rom Obwa lden, are of Celtic origin. However, the

degrees, the relationships between the three va lley communities. We can f ind a ver y ac- curate description of these dif ferences in a lec ture given by Nidwa lden academic Prof. Jakob Wy rsch (1892-1980) on 27 May 1945 in Stans, entitled “The People of Unterwa lden”. Wy rsch began working at the Wa ldau uni- versity psychiatric hospita l in Berne in 1934 , where he was then senior consu ltant f rom 1945 to 1962. Prof. Wy rsch became an exper t in his subjec t and, fearing no reprisa ls, prov ided a ver y incisive description of the charac ter traits of the people liv ing in our va lley communities. He described the Obwa ldners as far more level-headed than the Nid- wa ldners, possessing diplomatic v ir tues such as patience and circumspec tion. Obwa ldners, he wrote, plan for the long-term and are not easily f lustered. They will give way in disagreements over minor mat ters and can easily adapt to a ltered situ- ations, yet are uny ielding when it comes to

It was exciting to discover that the Engelbergers, Nidwa ldners and Obwa ldners have dif ferent genetic roots, even if this was a somewhat tongue-in-cheek experiment. We a ll know that the people of our three va lley communities sometimes have a dif ferent men- ta lity, but who can rea lly say if these dif fer- ences have a genetic basis? We a lso don’ t know if this knowledge will fan the f lames of the banter between the communities, but there is one thing we do know for cer tain: Ever yone liv ing on this ear th is a descendant of humans who f led f rom East Af rica as climate ref ugees some two to three million years ago. In this sense we are a ll, in fac t, Af rican. And who knows – perhaps one day the climate will a lso force us or our descendants to migrate again.

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blick zurück | looking back

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