{"id":13330,"date":"2021-09-03T16:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T16:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=13330"},"modified":"2021-09-03T16:04:15","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T16:04:15","slug":"the-story-behind-a-strange-german-greetinghamburgs-wassertrager-hans-hummel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-story-behind-a-strange-german-greetinghamburgs-wassertrager-hans-hummel\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story Behind A Strange German Greeting: Hummel, Hummel!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;ve wandered the streets of Hamburg, you may have heard a weird greeting. One shouts\u00a0<em>Hummel Hummel!<\/em>, and the other will answer <em>mors, mors!\u00a0<\/em>And they&#8217;ll just move on with their day as if nothing happened. What does that greeting mean, and where does it come from? It&#8217;s a cute story, and there is quite some historic significance to it that can be seen to this day.<\/p>\n<h1><strong>The <em>M\u00e4rchen\u00a0<\/em>of Hans Hummel<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lions-M\u00e4rchenstunde: Hummel Hummel - Mors , Mors! (Folge 19)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/j-AafMDq1J0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Back in the day, many people in the German city of Hamburg did not have access to clean drinking water. While a river runs through the city, and it is known for its many waterways, a lot of that water was\u00a0<em>verschmutzt\u00a0<\/em>(polluted) with\u00a0<em>Abwasser\u00a0<\/em>(n, waste water) from\u00a0<em>Brauereien\u00a0<\/em>(breweries), or the canals simply acted as a sewage system. So, if you wanted clean water, you needed to go fetch some water at\u00a0<em>der Brunnen\u00a0<\/em>(well). If you didn&#8217;t want to\u00a0<em>schleppen\u00a0<\/em>(to schlepp) all that water around town, you could pay for\u00a0<em>der Wassertr\u00e4ger\u00a0<\/em>(water carrier\/water boy). He could bring the water all the way from <em>der Brunnen <\/em>into your home! <em>Wie praktisch <\/em>(how practical)!<\/p>\n<p>One infamous\u00a0<em>Wassertr\u00e4ger <\/em>of Hamburg was <strong>Hans Hummel<\/strong>. His actual name was Johann Wilhelm Bentz, and he lived from 1787 to 1854. Hans is a <em>Rufname <\/em>(m, forename) of Johann. Hummel comes from a <strong>Christian Hummel<\/strong>, a known man who had lived in Bentz&#8217;s house. According to the <em>M\u00e4rchen<\/em> (n, fairytale, urban legend), he was a\u00a0<em>missmutiger Mann\u00a0<\/em>(sullen man), who was always <em>am schimpfen\u00a0<\/em>(cursing) due to the <em>schwere Last\u00a0<\/em>(heavy burden) of the water he had to carry. Because the\u00a0<em>Wassertr\u00e4ger\u00a0<\/em>could not put their buckets down easily, they were an easy victim of teasing children. Especially Hans Hummel was loved by the kids, as he would always react strongly to their teasing. One day, they shouted\u00a0<em><strong>Hummel, Hummel!<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>to annoy him. While he would normally just walk along and shout things at them, this time was different. He put down his buckets, and ran after those brats. But they were quicker than him, and fled in all directions. But one child stopped in his tracks to pull down his pants to Hummel and show him his bare buttocks! This did not annoy Hummel further, but actually made him laugh.\u00a0<strong><em>Mors, mors! <\/em><\/strong>he said. Mors is a word from Hamburg that means <strong>&#8220;buttocks&#8221;<\/strong>. This reaction shocked the children, and it changed their relationship to the root. From now on, every time they would meet, the kids would shout\u00a0<em>Hummel, Hummel!\u00a0<\/em>and Hummel would answer\u00a0<em>Mors, mors!\u00a0<\/em>And so, a new greeting was born that is being used to this day.<\/p>\n<p>There is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hamburg.com\/sights\/memorials\/11747510\/wassertraeger\/\">alternative version<\/a> of this story, too. Here, he simply shouts at the kids in anger, as he cannot put his buckets down,\u00a0<em>mors, mors!<\/em>, meaning as much as &#8220;kiss my ass!&#8221; in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/plattduutsch-plattdeutsch-low-german\/\"><em>Plattdeutsch<\/em> (Low German)<\/a>. Nice greeting!<\/p>\n<p>So if you hear\u00a0<em>Hummel Hummel! &#8211; Mors, Mors!<\/em>, it&#8217;s simply a friendly greeting between two Hamburgers. Hm. It feels weird to write it like that.<\/p>\n<h1><strong>What&#8217;s left of Hans Hummel<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div id=\"attachment_13331\" style=\"width: 693px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/utViXRpCE9s\" aria-label=\"Julia Solonina UtViXRpCE9s Unsplash 683x1024\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13331\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13331\"  alt=\"Hamburg Hans Hummel M\u00e4rchen Hummel Hummel Mors Mors\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-683x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-233x350.jpg 233w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13331\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hamburg (Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@julie_soul?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Julia Solonina<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/s\/photos\/brunnen-hamburg?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Hans Hummel is an icon of Hamburg. He <a href=\"https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hans_Hummel_(Stadtoriginal)\">is now known<\/a> as a\u00a0<em>Stadtoriginal\u00a0<\/em>(&#8220;city original&#8221;, a person with original, recognizable traits), and he is a bit like a <em>Wahrzeichen <\/em>(n, emblem) of the city. There are many <em>Denkm\u00e4ler<\/em> (n, memorials) and <em>Orte\u00a0<\/em>(m, places) named after Hummel, such as the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.travestreifzug.de\/Sehenswertes\/Hummelbrunnen\"><em>Hummelbrunnen<\/em><\/a>. Furthermore, in the early 2000s, there was a\u00a0<em>Skulpturenparade\u00a0<\/em>(sculpture parade) set up by the city. More than 100 statues of Hans Hummel made of glass fiber were placed all around the inner city. While most were\u00a0<em>versteigert\u00a0<\/em>(auctioned off), some can still be seen in the city, for example in front of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Panoptikum_Hamburg\"><em>Panoptikum<\/em><\/a>, Germany&#8217;s oldest wax statue museum. And at the corner of the <em>Memel-Haus<\/em>, you can find a statue of <a href=\"https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hans_Hummel_(Stadtoriginal)#\/media\/Datei:Kinderskulptur.Mors.Mors.Memel-Haus.Hamburg.jpg\">a child that shows you its <em>mors<\/em><\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>Do you want to learn about other (more common) ways that Germans greet each other? Check out <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/german-greetings\/\">our post on German greetings<\/a><\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Have you heard of this greeting before? Are there other odd words and greetings you&#8217;ve heard before? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"233\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-233x350.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Hamburg Hans Hummel M\u00e4rchen Hummel Hummel Mors Mors\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-233x350.jpg 233w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/09\/julia-solonina-utViXRpCE9s-unsplash-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 233px) 100vw, 233px\" \/><p>If you&#8217;ve wandered the streets of Hamburg, you may have heard a weird greeting. One shouts\u00a0Hummel Hummel!, and the other will answer mors, mors!\u00a0And they&#8217;ll just move on with their day as if nothing happened. What does that greeting mean, and where does it come from? It&#8217;s a cute story, and there is quite some&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-story-behind-a-strange-german-greetinghamburgs-wassertrager-hans-hummel\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":13331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,10,913,547385],"tags":[945],"class_list":["post-13330","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-literature","category-traditions","category-travel-geography","tag-german-greetings"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13330"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13334,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13330\/revisions\/13334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}