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| {{Short description|Axe-like weapon use by shepherds}} | |||
| The '''valaška''' is a long, thin and light ] used in the past centuries by Slovaks in the rural parts of the country as a weapon, stick or a tool. It has symbolic historical and cultural connotations and is used as a prop in many traditional dances like the '''odzemok'''. The valaška was popularized by the Slovak historical legendary figure ], a forest robber who robbed the rich and gave to the poor. | |||
| {{More citations needed|date=June 2019}} | |||
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| ]") shepherd in ], sporting a shepherd's axe (], c. 1837)]] | |||
| The '''shepherd's axe''' is a long thin light axe of Eurasian origin used in past centuries by ] in the ] and in other territories which comprise today ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite book|last=Forster Bovill|first=W. B. |title=Hungary and the Hungarians|year=2008|pages=79|quote=A ''fokos'' is an instrument with the head resembling that of a tomahawk, and may be used as a walking stick |isbn=978-0-559-52429-5}}</ref> The features of a shepherd's axe combine a tool with a walking stick, that could be used as a light weapon. It has symbolic historical and cultural connotations and is still used as a prop in many traditional dances, for example the ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-02-15 |title=Odzemok (1*) – Slovakia |url=https://folkdancefootnotes.org/dance/a-real-folk-dance-what-is-it/1st-generation-dances/odzemok-slovakia/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=Folkdance Footnotes |language=en}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | ==Names== | ||
| Depending on the language, the axe is called as follows: {{langx|hu|fokos}}; {{langx|cs|valaška}}, lit. "Romanian";<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | first=J. B. |last=Havránka |encyclopedia=Slovníku spisovného jazyka českého | publisher=Československá akademie věd |title=valach |pages=sub voce |date=2011}}</ref> ] (depending on the region): ciupaga, rąbanica, obuszek, cekanka, wataha, wataszka, the latter two from Romanian ''vătaf'' ("master shepherd");<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Niță-Armaș |first1=S. |last2=Pavlic |first2=N. |last3=Gămulescu|first3=D. |date=1968 |title= L'influence roumaine sur le lexique des langues slaves |journal=Romanislavica |issue=16 |pages=99, 114}}</ref> {{langx|ro|baltag, secure}}; {{langx|rue|валашка, valaška}}; {{langx|sk|valaška}}, lit. "Romanian";<ref>{{cite book|last=Matzenauer|first=A. |title=Cizí slova ve slovanských řečech|year=1880|pages=89–90}}</ref> {{langx|uk|бартка, bartka, топірець, topirets'}}).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-02-15 |title=Odzemok (1*) – Slovakia |url=https://folkdancefootnotes.org/dance/a-real-folk-dance-what-is-it/1st-generation-dances/odzemok-slovakia/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=Folkdance Footnotes |language=en}}</ref> | |||
| ==Appearance== | ==Appearance== | ||
| {{Unreferenced section|date=June 2019}} | |||
| A valaška is a smaller light-weight axe on a long straight wooden shaft with a metal butt. The length of the shaft is slightly above 1 ]. The shafts were usually engraved as their owners had plenty of time for the creation. The metal axe on top is small and thick. It is sharp on one side while the other side can be used as a hammer. The top of the axe is always formed in a way that it would fit in one's hand and could be used as a walking stick. | |||
| A shepherd's axe is a light ] with a long and straight wooden shaft, often with a metal butt. The length of the shaft is usually slightly more than 1 metre. The shafts were usually engraved as their owners had plenty of time for crafting. | |||
| A small metal head-piece is sharp on one side while the other side is flat and can be used as a hammer. The head-piece is formed to fit comfortably into the hand so the shepherd's axe could be used as a walking stick. | |||
| Today's valaškas are mostly decorative, some having a golden or silver head and many are considered a work of art. | |||
| Today's shepherd's axes are mostly decorative, some having ] or ] head-pieces (mostly brass, iron, chromed iron, wood or aluminum – it is rare that any axe head would be made of solid gold or silver). Many are considered works of art (esp. those made up to the 1960s by highlanders). They were skillfully stamped/adorned according to ancient tradition. The main motifs were the sun, stars (whirl), comets, tree of life, flowers, trees such as fir or spruce, and various geometric designs. Some smiths used many different, elaborated stamps. | |||
| ⚫ | == |
||
| Valaškas were mostly used by ]s, because they are a versatile tool, providing a small axe, small hammer and a walking stick. It can not, however, be used to cut heavy trees. A valaška is an inseparable tool of a ] or a Slovak forest robber as well as a heavy decorative belt. | |||
| == History and usage == | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| The first written mention of the shepherd's axe comes from Emperor ]'s court.<ref name=Dem>, 2009-09-04, in Hungarian</ref> It is also depicted on ] imagery (see ]).<ref name=Dem/> | |||
| The first users of the shepherd's axe were Eurasian nomads.<ref name=Dem/> Many of them were found in ] graves.<ref name=Dem/> Besides the common ] varieties, Avar influence too can be felt on the Hungarian shepherd's axes.<ref name=MTA/> | |||
| In the 9th century, ] warriors used light axes on long shafts, called ''fokos'', in their military arsenal during their ].<ref name=MTA> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202083323/http://arpad.btk.mta.hu/14-magyar-ostorteneti-temacsoport/279-honfoglalas-kori-fokosok-baltak-es-bardok.html |date=2020-02-02 }}, ], Zsolt Petkes, in ]</ref> Apart from them, the ] and also the ] and ] used similar weapons.{{Citation needed|reason=Idem|date=May 2018}} | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| ] | |||
| ] shepherds brought their shepherd's axes into ] when they migrated along the ] and ] from the 14th through 17th centuries.{{Citation needed|reason= This needs primary or secondary sources from those centuries for the ample migrations implied here. Also sources for the evidences that they had that axes when they arrived. Since the line above implied that they were adopted. For me this is propaganda at best|date=May 2018}}{{better source needed|reason= The cited page states only that in the Middle Ages, Vlach shepherds transferred Balkan elements to the Carpathians|date= November 2024}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Reychman|first=J. |title=Peleryna, ciupaga i znak tajemny|year=1971|pages=68}}</ref> These were used by shepherds as versatile tools, providing a small axe, a supplemental hammer and a walking stick. Although a shepherd's axe could not be used to effectively cut down heavy trees, it was still able to cut smaller branches. | |||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| In ] and ], shepherd's axes were inseparable tools of native shepherds, together with heavy decorative belts. In the ], the shepherd's axe was popularized by local historical legend ]. | |||
| ] | |||
| In ], modified axes were also used as martial weapons by Hungarian warriors in the ], used, for example, in the 18th century in ] against Austrian soldiers. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Hungarian ] leader ] and his soldiers used shepherd's axes as weapons. Hungarian shepherds in the northern regions used them also as tools. | |||
| ]) from ]]] | |||
| Many people of the ] region were depicted holding ''bartka'', particularly members of the local peasant resistance of the 19th century known as opryshky, often being associated with their more prominent leader ]. | |||
| == Present-day usage == | |||
| ⚫ | At present, shepherd's axes are still made and sold as souvenirs and for decorative purposes. They are also still used in many traditional dances. Occasionally they may be seen in the ] parts of the country where older men still use them as walking sticks. They are rarely used as tools or weapons. | ||
| == Gallery == | |||
| <gallery> | |||
| Image:Klimek3.jpg|] holding a ciupaga | |||
| Image:Wladyslaw Skoczylas - Janosik.jpg|] holding his valaška | |||
| Image:Thokolyi.jpg|] holding a modified fokos | |||
| Image:Bajurak.jpg|Opryshok Vasyl Bayurak holding ''bartka | |||
| Image:Obst WPD bartka.jpg|Depiction of ''bartka'' by Severyn Obst (1882) | |||
| </gallery> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| <references/> | |||
| {{Slovakia topics}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 13:15, 30 November 2024
Axe-like weapon use by shepherds | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Shepherd's axe" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The shepherd's axe is a long thin light axe of Eurasian origin used in past centuries by shepherds in the Carpathian Mountains and in other territories which comprise today Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Romania and Hungary. The features of a shepherd's axe combine a tool with a walking stick, that could be used as a light weapon. It has symbolic historical and cultural connotations and is still used as a prop in many traditional dances, for example the odzemek.
Names
Depending on the language, the axe is called as follows: Hungarian: fokos; Czech: valaška, lit. "Romanian"; Polish (depending on the region): ciupaga, rąbanica, obuszek, cekanka, wataha, wataszka, the latter two from Romanian vătaf ("master shepherd"); Romanian: baltag, secure; Rusyn: валашка, valaška; Slovak: valaška, lit. "Romanian"; Ukrainian: бартка, bartka, топірець, topirets').
Appearance
| This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
A shepherd's axe is a light axe with a long and straight wooden shaft, often with a metal butt. The length of the shaft is usually slightly more than 1 metre. The shafts were usually engraved as their owners had plenty of time for crafting.
A small metal head-piece is sharp on one side while the other side is flat and can be used as a hammer. The head-piece is formed to fit comfortably into the hand so the shepherd's axe could be used as a walking stick.
Today's shepherd's axes are mostly decorative, some having golden or silver head-pieces (mostly brass, iron, chromed iron, wood or aluminum – it is rare that any axe head would be made of solid gold or silver). Many are considered works of art (esp. those made up to the 1960s by highlanders). They were skillfully stamped/adorned according to ancient tradition. The main motifs were the sun, stars (whirl), comets, tree of life, flowers, trees such as fir or spruce, and various geometric designs. Some smiths used many different, elaborated stamps.
History and usage
The first written mention of the shepherd's axe comes from Emperor Qin Shi Huang's court. It is also depicted on Scythian imagery (see sagaris). The first users of the shepherd's axe were Eurasian nomads. Many of them were found in Avar graves. Besides the common Eastern steppe varieties, Avar influence too can be felt on the Hungarian shepherd's axes.
In the 9th century, Magyar warriors used light axes on long shafts, called fokos, in their military arsenal during their invasion of Central Europe. Apart from them, the Bulgars and also the Alans and Slavs used similar weapons.
Vlach shepherds brought their shepherd's axes into Central Europe when they migrated along the Carpathian Mountains and Dinaric Mountains from the 14th through 17th centuries. These were used by shepherds as versatile tools, providing a small axe, a supplemental hammer and a walking stick. Although a shepherd's axe could not be used to effectively cut down heavy trees, it was still able to cut smaller branches.
In Slovakia and Poland, shepherd's axes were inseparable tools of native shepherds, together with heavy decorative belts. In the Slovak culture, the shepherd's axe was popularized by local historical legend Juraj Jánošík.
In Hungary, modified axes were also used as martial weapons by Hungarian warriors in the early modern period, used, for example, in the 18th century in Rákóczi's War for Independence against Austrian soldiers. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Hungarian Kuruc leader Imre Thököly and his soldiers used shepherd's axes as weapons. Hungarian shepherds in the northern regions used them also as tools.
Many people of the Halychyna region were depicted holding bartka, particularly members of the local peasant resistance of the 19th century known as opryshky, often being associated with their more prominent leader Oleksa Dovbush.
Present-day usage
At present, shepherd's axes are still made and sold as souvenirs and for decorative purposes. They are also still used in many traditional dances. Occasionally they may be seen in the rural parts of the country where older men still use them as walking sticks. They are rarely used as tools or weapons.
Gallery
-
Klemens Bachleda holding a ciupaga
-
Juraj Jánošík holding his valaška
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Imre Thököly holding a modified fokos
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Opryshok Vasyl Bayurak holding bartka
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Depiction of bartka by Severyn Obst (1882)
References
- Forster Bovill, W. B. (2008). Hungary and the Hungarians. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-559-52429-5.
A fokos is an instrument with the head resembling that of a tomahawk, and may be used as a walking stick
- "Odzemok (1*) – Slovakia". Folkdance Footnotes. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- Havránka, J. B. (2011). "valach". Slovníku spisovného jazyka českého. Československá akademie věd. pp. sub voce.
- Niță-Armaș, S.; Pavlic, N.; Gămulescu, D. (1968). "L'influence roumaine sur le lexique des langues slaves". Romanislavica (16): 99, 114.
- Matzenauer, A. (1880). Cizí slova ve slovanských řečech. pp. 89–90.
- "Odzemok (1*) – Slovakia". Folkdance Footnotes. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- ^ Magyar Demokrata, 2009-09-04, in Hungarian
- ^ Honfoglalás kori fokosok, balták és bárdok Archived 2020-02-02 at the Wayback Machine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Zsolt Petkes, in Hungarian
- Reychman, J. (1971). Peleryna, ciupaga i znak tajemny. p. 68.
