Cantus 2009
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A cantus (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "singing", derived from ''cantare''), is an activity organised by
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
,
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
,
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, and
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
fraternities A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...
. A cantus mainly involves singing traditional songs and drinking
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
. It is governed by strict traditional rules. The use of this dates back a few centuries and was inspired by
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
student organisations; however some of the songs that are sung date back to the Middle Ages. Cantus probably shares same roots with commercium, sitsit and tableround. Currently, the world record for biggest traditional cantus is in the hands of the Eurekaweek, based in Rotterdam, who welcomed 4594 officially registered guests during their 2019 cantus.


Codex

The songs are compiled in what the students refer to as the
codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
, which contains the club anthems of most student organisations and hundreds of songs in various languages, such as Dutch,
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, English,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
, Latin and Afrikaans. They usually have easy and familiar melodies. Nearly all of the songs predate World War II and refer to either drinking, the student's (love) life or the history and past of the home country, city or region. For this reason, some songs are typically sung more by students of one city or another, e.g. students from Ghent will not sing songs about
Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
and vice versa, or they will simply replace instances of one city with another. Also due to the old nature of the songs, some of them have in recent years been controversial because they are perceived to be
sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...
,
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
or downright
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
. In Antwerp, Hasselt, Leuven and Aalst the codex used is that published by the KVHV (
Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond (KVHV) or the Catholic Flemish Students' Union is a political student society which concerns Flemish nationalism and conservatism. It accepts male and female members and has chapters in Ghent, Leuven, Antwerp, ...
or Catholic Flemish Students Union). In Brussels, the Flemish codex is published jointly by Polytechnische Kring and
Brussels Senioren Konvent Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. In Ghent they also used to use the KVHV codex but since 2012 the SC Ghent (Studentikoos Centrum Ghent) has started to publish a codex catering more specifically to the student societies in Ghent. And at the end of that same year the SC Ghent started publishing a codex for the societies in West Flanders, mainly Courtrai. The French-speaking students from Brussels use the Carpe Diem published by the Guilde Polytechnique or Les Fleurs du Mâle published by the Union des Anciens Etudiants de l'ULB. Those who are from Catholics highschools and universities of Brussels and Wallonia mostly choose Le Bitu Magnifique published by the Academicus Sanctae Barbae Ordo. The biggest Belgian codex is the Florex published by the Corporation Brabantia Bruxelliensis, both in French and Dutch, with more than 2300 pages divided into two parts.


Structure of a cantus

The cantus is led by the senior. In most cases, the senior is the praeses (president) of the student organisation that organises the cantus. He or she is responsible for keeping order at the cantus and can punish people who disrupt it. These punishments usually involve the drinking of beer in unusual, humorous or sometimes degrading ways if the culprit has committed a grave offence. The rest of the attending people are called the 'corona' (Latin for 'circle'). The senior can be aided by the ab actis and the cantor (Latin for 'singer'). Another group of people at a cantus with a special status are the so-called proseniores (singular: prosenior), former presidents of the student's club. A special group at the cantus are the so-called 'schachten' (in Dutch) or 'bleus' (in French). They often are freshmen or first-year students and have the lowest status at the cantus itself, but students can also decide to join the club later in their studies. Some clubs even include special rites for attaining the position of schacht, with the preceding status of fetus. The schachten are, among other things, responsible for the distribution of the beer. They are not part of the corona and are supervised by the schachtenmeester or schachtentemmer in less (Dutch for 'tamer of freshmen') (in French, they're called 'Président de baptême' or 'maître des bleus'), who answers only to the authority of the senior. People at a cantus use special formulae, usually in Latin. For example, after a song, a senior can order the corona to drink collectively. They can do this by either saying 'prosit corona' (after which the corona responds with 'prosit senior') a few times, or by using the formula 'ad exercissimum sanctissimi salamandris omnes commilitones qui adsunt, surgite', to which the corona replies 'surgimus' whilst rising ('onwards to the exercise of the most sacred salamander, all of you fellow students present, rise' and 'we rise'). Then the senior has the choice of either ordering 'ad libitum' (drink as you please, which should be 'ad libidinem' in more accurate Latin) or the more famous and notorious 'ad fundum' (literally: to the bottom, or drink until the glass is empty). The corona can also start such a drinking procedure if it collectively begins with 'prosit senior'. This is usually a manner of teasing the senior or testing their ability to withstand huge amounts of alcohol. Normally, people at a cantus are required to remain silent (although most seniors are fairly tolerant in this regard), and if they want to address the corona or the senior, they should ask the senior for permission first, by asking 'senior, peto verbum' (senior, I request to speak, lat. "I request a word"). They can reply by 'habeas' (lat. "you have it") or 'non habeas' (lat. "you do not have it"). Most of the time the request is granted. At a cantus, people wear hats and sashes that tell something about their status in student life (e.g. broad sashes for members of the presidium, small sashes around the right shoulder for commilitones and small sashes around the left shoulder for the schachten). Not all student clubs hold on to this tradition, however. In some towns the use of hats and/or sashes is identified with the
extreme-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
.


See also

*
Tableround (University) A tableround is a traditional academic feast known at universities in most Middle and Eastern European countries. At a tableround, tables usually are placed in the form of a U or a W, the participants drink beer and sing commercium songs. A more ...
* Belgian Codex (in French)


References

{{Reflist


External links


Guilde Polytechnique

Cantus: poetry book by Brad Dehler
Student societies in Belgium Student societies in the Netherlands Student societies in South Africa Academic meals Dutch songs