The main element of horse harness is the horse harness. Knowing the features of the presented element, using high-quality material and fitting, experienced horse breeders greatly facilitate the maintenance of animals and their operation.
A horse breeder must have a good understanding of the quality and types of harness for horses
What does horse harness consist of?
A standard horse harness consists of the following parts:
- Clamp. Its purpose is to transfer traction capabilities to a cart or sled. The element should be placed around the neck in such a way that it does not burden the horse’s movement and breathing. A clamp that is too long or too wide can cause damage to the animal's body and reduce traction force. To securely fix the element, a strong leather harness is used, which provides braking.
- Bridle. This part of the horse harness is the most complex element of the harness. It consists of a bit, reins and a halter. The best option is to use a traveling bridle, which makes it possible to carry the animal with parallel reins. The reins can be made of leather or durable textile material.
- Girth and saddle. The presented parts of the harness are designed to hold the entire set and transfer the traction effect to the horse’s back.
- Harness. It fixes the position of the collar when settling, slowing down or moving the horse on the rise. The harness element is adjusted so that the palm fits between the seat and the rim buckles. The harness is made of several belts.
- The saddle supports the weight of the bow, shaft and clamp and transfers part of the traction to the saddle.
- Podbelly. This element of the harness additionally fixes the position of the entire structure, passes under the girth and is attached with its edges to the shafts.
The arc, by means of tugs, fixes the clamp with the shafts and serves as a vibration damper during sudden shocks or jerks.
Horses in collars
Types of harness
The harness must be made of high-quality materials and adjusted to the individual structure of the horse. Types of harness are divided into agricultural, travel and transport options. They have varieties according to the number of horses used: single, paired and multi-horse options:
- Single-horse Russian or European harness. This design can be made with or without arches. The arcless modification involves transferring the main weight of the cart through a harness. The version with arches is equipped with a collar, a supon, a saddle, a tug, shafts and a bridle with a harness.
- Line-by-line-drawbar sample. In such a harness you can use either a pair of horses or one individual. The efficiency of animals increases noticeably if you put a saddle and harness on them.
- Line-by-line model. Quite a simple, but not very easy to use harness. Traction in this design is provided by lines and a clamp. The option requires equipping the cart with a braking system to avoid injury to the horse.
- Cart variation. Types of this horse harnessing system have been known since people began to massively use animals in various sectors of the economy. The device consists of a line part and a drawbar, but today it is practically not used.
- Combined team. Classic European design with lines and shafts. The types of harness presented allow you to harness from 6 to 8 horses at the same time. The determining role for the correct operation of the part is played by the selection of animals based on height and strength. Hardy individuals are placed in the vanguard of the cart, harness horses are selected behind, which determine the turns of the cart, and tall, strong horses are at the rear of the harness, responsible for braking.
Horse in a European harness
Historical facts
The first types of harness for horses have been known since ancient times (according to historical finds, parts of the harness found by archaeologists date back to two millennia BC). Horse breeders attached great importance not only to the practicality and quality of the harness, but also to its beautiful design. The richer and more significant the owner of the animals, the more beautiful and brighter the equipment looked.
What the harness is made of plays important role in the efficiency of use and the influence of harness elements on the condition of the horse. In the Middle Ages, equipping harness with precious stones and materials lost its relevance, since horses were used mostly as cargo and work transport.
Starting from the middle of the 16th century, high-quality and beautiful harnesses came back into fashion. This was due to the appearance of carriages and horse-drawn carriages, which required appropriate registration.
Although horses have now been replaced by machinery and vehicles in many areas, their use has not completely lost its relevance. Horses help people in private farming and entertainment. Animals are widely used in sports and various competitions. There are even competitions for skillful handling of harnesses. Correctly put on harness allows not only to increase the coefficient useful action, but also to preserve the strength and health of our artiodactyl helpers.
Igor Nikolaev
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Good harness for a horse is no less important than the conditions of its maintenance and diet. It is high-quality harness elements that protect the animal from injury and reduce the load during work.
However, there are different harnesses, so novice horse breeders often face the question – which one to choose? We will consider the types and composition of horse harness in this article.
Harness - basic elements
The most common harness for a horse consists of a harness and a collar. Each detail must be suitable for the animal in terms of build and size, individual for each horse.
The importance of horse harness is emphasized by the fact that for a long time no money was spared on it and it was cherished like the apple of one’s eye. Most often it was made to order, carefully adjusted to a specific animal. Currently, ready-made harnesses can be bought either on the market or in a specialized store.
Main components harnesses are: a collar, a bridle for a horse, an arch, an underbelly, reins and a harness; additional elements are added if necessary.
Ready-made store harness is cheaper than custom-made harness, but no one can guarantee that all the elements of the purchased harness will fit the horse perfectly. In this regard, experienced horse breeders still recommend selecting each element separately, focusing on the parameters of a particular animal.
The clamp is the most important and mandatory harness element. It is through it that the traction force is transferred to the cart or sleigh. The collar must be placed on the horse's neck in such a way that it does not restrict freedom of movement and does not interfere with free breathing. It should not be too long or too wide. Otherwise, you can damage the horse's skin or cause other damage to it that reduces traction. To fasten this element correctly and securely, the harness must be strong and durable.
The purpose of the harness is to hold the collar in place, especially in those moments when the animal goes downhill or slows down after settling. It is adjusted in such a way that a human palm can be squeezed between the ischial tuberosities of the animal and the headband.
The harness consists of several belts. The harness is made from durable and high-quality leather, which gives it the necessary characteristics. The dimensions of this element must be determined accurately, based on the parameters of a particular animal. An incorrectly sized harness can lead to abrasions and other damage to the horse's skin.
Also, the reliability and service life of all harness elements greatly depends on the quality of the girth. It is made exclusively from good leather, since this material does not irritate the animal and fits tightly to its body.
Experts consider the bridle to be the most difficult part of a horse harness.
It includes: reins, a bit and a halter that clasps the horse's head. The most practical is considered to be the so-called traveling bridle, which makes it possible to lead a horse using duplicate reins and allows you to water it without unharnessing it.
Also, any harness must include reins, which can be either leather or textile.
This part of the harness, such as the saddle, is designed to secure and support the entire harness with the help of a saddle. The saddle is also involved in transmitting traction force and distributing it along the horse’s back. There are bedridden and hunchbacked nurses. The saddle is held on the back with a girth.
The saddle piece is passed through the saddle (hence the name), and then attached to the right and left shaft by its two ends. It is also responsible for supporting the weight of the bar, shaft and clamp, and for transmitting traction to the saddle.
The underbelly, like the midriff, is a leather belt. Both of these belts are connected to each other using a ring and attached to the shafts using loops. The abdomen also fixes the position of the harness on the animal. It is passed under the girth and attached at the two ends to both shafts. It is important to remember that the height of the shaft above the ground should be optimal - not too high, but not too low.
An important element of horse harness is the bow. With its help, the clamp is attached to the shafts using tugs. The arch also acts as a shock absorber in the event of sudden jerks or strong shocks, so it must be not only strong, but also elastic.
The shafts must be equal in length.
They are usually made from durable wood.
It is important that the harness is high quality and best suited the horse's size. In addition, it should be light and easy to repair.
Harness varies. According to its purpose, it is divided into:
- agricultural;
- transport;
- away
Agricultural, in turn, is divided into single-horse and double-horse.
Transport is intended for transportation large scales, therefore it usually involves harnessing several horses (two, four, six, and so on).
The traveling harness refers to the front harness, so the number of animals in it may vary.
All types of harness are also divided into single-horse, double-horse and multi-horse.
For agricultural work, a single-horse harness is most often used. When harnessed in pairs, the horses can stand next to each other, or they can stand behind each other. Let's take a closer look at these varieties.
Bridle structure for a horse
Single-horse
Single-horse harness can be arced or arcless. As the name implies, it is used to harness one draft horse. The arc consists of: an arc, a collar, tugs, a supony, a shaft, a nurse, a saddle, a harness, a bridle and reins.
When using the arcless version, the function of the collar is performed by the harness, taking on the main weight of the cart. It also includes: belt throats, shafts, bridle, reins and so on. Another name for such a harness is shaft-and-line harness. Often, in this version, shorter shafts are used, which are attached not to a clamp (which does not exist), but to a saddle lying on the animal’s back.
Line-and-drawbar harness
This option is equally suitable for harnessing one or two horses. The main part of this option is the drawbar, rigidly attached to the shafts.
However, especially if such a harness is used when pulling two-wheeled equipment, horses are often injured due to the fact that the drawbar puts too much pressure on the collar. To avoid this and increase the horse’s performance, experts advise wearing a saddle and tightening the lines with a saddle string.
This type of harness is very simple, but extremely inconvenient. This is due to the fact that during forward motion it is difficult to hold the cart. This type provides for the transmission of traction force from the clamp directly through the lines, without a shaft.
Due to their absence, when braking, the cart often runs over the horse, so it must have its own brake.
Cart type of harness
Provides for harnessing four horses at once, standing nearby with each other. Nowadays it is rare, most often in staged shows. This type of harness belongs to the line-drawbar type. Using the central drawbar, the central pair of animals is harnessed, and the side ones (right and left) are harnessed with lines attached to the wagons.
Combined harness
This variety is typical for European countries, and immediately provides large number horses (usually from six to eight). Such a harness includes both a drawbar with lines and shafts.
When using this option, the selection of horses based on height and strength indicators comes to the fore. So, the roots must be tall and strong so that they have enough strength to hold the cart.
Trailing horses (in pairs or threes with the main horses) are harnessed using lines and are responsible for turning the entire carriage. Horses called outriggers are placed in front of the rootmen. They are also harnessed using lines. Their main task is to set the general direction.
HARNESS, a special device used to transmit power from a draft animal to a cart or car; the harness should facilitate the correct movement of the cart or car and be comfortable for the draft animal; the harness is made up of elastic parts (belts) and spring parts (curved shafts, arc, etc.). To directly transmit the force of a draft animal through the shoulder connection, a collar or harness is usually used; further, the force is transmitted through shafts or lines, rolls and drawbars.
The clamps are usually made sliding, for ease of putting on the horse: they are put on over the head, less often - on the side of the horse (Forbrich system, Fig. 1). Both halves of the clamp, the so-called pincers, are tightened at the bottom with a rope or strap (supon). The clamp pliers are made of wood, lined with felt or wool and lined with soft leather; collar weight for working horses is 6-9 kg.
Belt, rope or flail lines go from the clamp to the rollers. Flails are considered the best; Hanging and swaying during work, such lines act as springs. Length of lines d.b. certain, because the depth of travel of the gun depends on it, increasing with long lines and decreasing with short ones. The lines are attached to the clamp 5-10 cm above the tugs going to the drawbar roller. To reduce the pressure on the collar, the lines are often tightened with a rope or belt (saddle strap) thrown over the horse's back and resting on the saddle.
Consists of a chest strap f (Fig. 2), up to 14 cm wide, with a slightly wider felt lining; the strap f is supported in front by the neck strap a; in the harness of working horses, from the saddle c there is another belt b, which supports the harness; the third strap d, coming from the saddle, ends at the bottom with a girth e. When drawbar harness Chains are often attached to the neck strap.
To attach the reins, a bridle is used (Fig. 3), which in working horses consists of belts: occipital a, frontal b, subpharyngeal c, buccal d, nasal, or ratchet, e and mandibular f; straps d and f are attached using bit rings; the reins g are attached to the same rings. In halters, the mandibular strap is connected to the subpharyngeal strap using a special chin strap.
Valki and vagi. A) With a single horse harness A simple wooden roller 0.7-0.9 m long is usually used. Notches are made at the ends of the roller (Fig. 4) to attach the lines. The middle part is usually bound, and an eyelet is made in this binding for threading a harness hook. The length of the windrow does not affect the correct movement of plows and other implements and is selected depending on the width of the horse, so that the lines coming from the windrow do not rub the sides of the horse. While iron rollers have not become widespread in our country due to their heavy weight and high cost, in America they are very common. More advanced rollers are equipped with devices that keep the lines from jumping off and support the roller when the horse rides in midair (Dowden system), but due to their complexity, we do not use them.
b) When harnessed the rollers are connected to the common roller (Fig. 5). The length of the wagon does not play a role when harnessing agricultural machines, but it has a significant impact on the correct movement of furrow implements (for example, a plow, a subsoiler). When harnessing, little attention is usually paid to this, but the working length of the shaft, i.e., the relative location of the rolls, d.b. strictly coordinated with the width of the furrow; otherwise, if the wagon is longer than the specified size, then the horse walking along the furrow will move the wagon to the left, in the direction of the unplowed field, which will cause an increase in the width of the furrow and an incorrect move of the plow.
V) With a three-horse harness vaga d.b. even more massive than with a pair of windows; location of the attachment point of the harness hook d. b. such that the distances from the ends of the rod are related to each other as 1:2. A steam-window with two rolls is attached to the shorter end (Fig. 6), and one roll is attached to the longer end.
In fig. Figure 7 shows a three-horse wagon of the Ransom system: the harness hook c moves along the comb of the wagon b depending on the traction force of the horses; the width of the parokonny vaga (in places marked with the letter a) can be changed depending on the width of the furrow.
Due to the inequality in the strength of horses, especially with a multi-horse harness, it is difficult to establish the correct length of the rolls and wagons; in addition, horses do not work with the same tension; As a result, the shaft becomes distorted during operation, which causes the implement to move incorrectly.
Therefore, the so-called constructions arose. equalizer harnesses, in which, when one of the horses begins to pull weaker, it is pulled back by the forces of the other horses, which forces it to strain its strength again. Of the equalizing three-horse harnesses, the three-horse composite roller of the McGoy system has become widespread (Fig. 8a and 86). By separating this vaga, you can get a single-horse roller and a separate double-horse roller.
G) With a four-horse harness, depending on the type of agricultural machinery, horses are harnessed either in one row or in pairs in a train. The first type harness (Fig. 9) is used for heavy disk cultivators and complex harvesting machines.
The main shaft AA is connected to two paired shafts BB, and to the latter are single-horse shafts SS. The train harness is used when working with plows and reaping machines, since, due to working conditions, horses cannot be placed in one row. The most common harness is in which the front and rear pairs of horses are connected by a chain or rope to the adjuster hook. The disadvantage of such a harness is that one pair of horses can work at the expense of the other if they are not friendly enough in their work. To avoid this, various systems of equalizing harnesses are recommended, one of which consists of attaching a block (Fig. 10).
The equalizing circuit AB covers a block C with a diameter of 15 cm, attached to the regulator. With this method of harnessing, each pair is dependent on one another: if the front pair B slows down, then at the same time the chain A of the rear pair of horses moves forward, causing the chain B to stretch, and the front pair involuntarily must pull; as a result, the force of two pairs of horses acts on the tool or machine in the same way.
d) With six and eight horse harnesses each horse loses 6% of its strength from each horse harnessed to it, and therefore these harnesses, in which the loss is 30-40%, are unprofitable and are used very rarely. In the case of a six-horse harness, it is possible to recommend the use of a McGoy calm, and the ratio of the lengths of the stem's arms should be. equal to 2:1; the front pair is connected to the long shoulder using a chain, and two rear pairs of horses are connected to the rear using the equalizing block described above.
Moderators. Since draft animals, especially horses, work with separate impulses, and the resistance of the soil during plowing and plants during harvesting is not the same, horses during work experience a number of shocks that reduce their performance. Therefore, it is common abroad to include special spring moderators in the harnesses, which take over during the push effective force, which is given to next moment, as a result of which sharp shocks of resistance forces are not completely transmitted to the draft animals. 3 harnesses with springs included in the lines or in the roll are used in Sweden (Siden system) and in the USA (Wilson system). The Rudolf Sakka plant produces special fuses for heavy plows and seeders, equipped with a buffer spring for a force of 600 to 1200 kg (Fig. 11).
Shaft harnesses are used extremely rarely in agricultural machines, since they hinder the control of the machine and implement and cause unpleasant and harmful shocks for the draft animals, due to a more rigid connection of the machine to the animals. The shaft harness is used directly only when working with a plow and roe deer; in other cases (horse rakes, seeders, mowers), a roller is also included in the harness, so that the force is transmitted to the machine directly through it, and the shafts serve only for turns (Fig. 12).
The drawbar is used when operating the machine in races and for transporting the machine to the field. The drawbar is connected to a shaft with rollers, which are usually located below to relieve the pressure transmitted through the clamps to the horses' withers. At the front, a chest roll is attached to the end of the drawbar, attached to the clamps. In heavy machines and implements, it is necessary to use a two-wheeled limber or a single-wheeled drawbar holder (Fig. 13), which would receive the shocks transmitted from them; The drawbar in this case consists of two parts: the rear, shorter one, which is rigidly attached to the machine and the front end, and the front, which is hingedly connected in the vertical direction.
3 harnesses for horse drives. When working on horse-drawn drives, especially when connected to a thresher, constant shocks are produced, causing horses to run unevenly. Therefore, it is useful to attach various spring devices, for example, Hoepfner systems (Fig. 14).
An oak or birch block 10 to 12 cm thick is attached to the carrier using bb clamps. In the middle, this block is separated from the carrier by an insert with; a hook d is hingedly attached to the end of the block and passed through the carrier. During operation, the block springs and the blows are softened, which has a beneficial effect on draft animals and preserves the gear transmission from breakage. For multi-horse drives, an equalizing harness should be used. Squares are attached to the carriers, to one end of which are attached the harness rollers, and to the other - rods going to an articulated quadrangle located above the middle of the drive. If one of the horses pulls stronger than the others, then the quadrangle is stretched into a rhombus (shown as a dotted line in Fig. 15) towards the stronger pulling horse; then the lagging horses pull back and involuntarily begin to pull more amicably.
3 team of oxen. The most common harness for oxen is the yoke, while the use of a collar, common in America, is less common in Europe. Due to the harnessing of oxen in pairs, the yoke is usually made in pairs, the so-called Hungarian yoke (Fig. 16).
The top crossbar is made curved in the shape of the withers; the lower crossbar - the collar - should also be curved; racks in the form of arcs are made with several holes for rearrangement in order to adjust the yoke to the size of the animal; the drawbar is connected to the top crossbar of the yoke by means of an iron rod. For single oxen harnesses, a head yoke is more often used (Fig. 17); By pressing on the forehead, this yoke harms the animal and reduces its performance.
When harnessing several pairs of oxen, in order to evenly distribute the resistance of the machine, special harnessing systems are used. The simplest harness is the Grossul-Tolstoy system, consisting of several leveling iron links (shtilvag) connected by chains. In fig. 18 shows a four-pair harness, consisting of three stems - a, b and c and four chains - d, e, o and p.
It is often made into a yoke, which is a wooden cross beam, naturally arched at both ends, with which it is placed on the front of the hump; a soft lining is placed at the end of the beam, the ends are covered with soft clamps; the drawbar of the gun is attached to the middle of the beam.
Harnessing camels to a mower is shown in Fig. 19, from which it can be seen that straps are put on the humps, and from them there are lines to the rolls.
Ox carts and bicycles.
Yes, these are the most common modes of transport on the island. And if the first endemic is used only by tourists, then the second – democratic – is used by both tourists and local residents.
Ox carts, a fairly common form of transport on the planet in the old days, are preserved, as many say, only in La Digue. Not a single advertising booklet or guide to the island is complete without a picture of a picturesque, good-natured ox harnessed to a simple covered wagon. Exotic. When I booked a tour to the Seychelles at a travel agency, I refused all transfers, but a transfer from the pier to the hotel on an ox cart was practically forced on me and I, driven more by curiosity than by the desire to ride a cow, agreed. Waited half an hour there was this cart at the pier, but instead an ordinary taxi arrived. In short, unlike most vacationers on La Digue, I personally have not ridden this type of transport. But I often saw how these same carts, at a snail’s pace, transport a dozen tourists, flushed from the heat and pleasure. Cab drivers do not have regular routes, but you can always find them at the “parking lot” near the pier in La Pass and make a voyage to any point on the island, as far as you have enough money and patience.
With bicycles everything is simpler, especially if you know how to ride it well. There are plenty of bike rental points in La Digue, both at hotels and private ones in every village. The cost is about 50 rupees per day. Most often offered mountain bikes, since almost all the roads on the island lead through rough terrain, and in some places these roads themselves are very reminiscent of very rough terrain. However, despite this, as well as the heat, which makes pedaling very tedious, bicycles are very popular. Near each restaurant or store there are special parking spaces for bicycles, and specially equipped ones.
But it remains a mystery to me why the La Digues have not yet taken advantage of such fruits of civilization as a bicycle bell, a rear-view mirror, and, especially, a flashlight. At night, it’s difficult to navigate the unlit roads of the island on foot, and even more so on a bicycle... However, you need to sleep at night... In short - I’m selling an idea - whoever wants to get rich - come to La Digue to do bike tuning...
There are, of course, regular cars on the island. One police car (but several police bicycles), one ambulance, several trucks, four or five taxis - one regular car, the rest - semi-truck jeeps with seats installed in the back along the sides. There are also “route taxis” - small Chinese Isuzu trucks, which also have seats installed along the side in an open body, usually chock-full of local residents. But I still haven’t figured out how to use these “minibuses”, because most often I used an even more popular island mode of transport than bicycles - with my own feet...
In conclusion, I’ll tell you about the road network of La Digue. The main road of the island runs along the west coast, it begins near Source d'Argent Bay in the village of Union, then passes through the village of La Reunion (about a kilometer), then leads to the village of La Passe with a pier (another kilometer), then begins to wind. towards the northernmost point of the island (and a little more than a kilometer), after which it sharply turns south and goes along the eastern, sparsely populated coast. In the end (after three kilometers) it ends in a dead end in the Bay of Furmi.
The other "main" road leads through the center of the island to Gran Bay. It starts at the pier in La Passe, then goes around the foot of the Ni d'Aigle ridge in a semicircle, at the flycatcher reserve it divides into two “sleeves”, one of which leads directly to La Reunion (the length of the segment is 800 meters), and the other continues its movement to After some time, another road separates from the “main road”, this time to Union (the distance to it is one kilometer), and then the “main” road, either going uphill or falling down, after a kilometer and a half. abuts the Gulf of Gran.
The last, most difficult road remains - to Belle Vue, on the Ni d'Aigle ridge. It starts not far from the flycatcher reserve (a branch from the “second main” road of the island), in a straight line you can cover a distance of about a kilometer, but that’s if you there are wings. If not, you’ll have to wind your way along the steep serpentine road for at least an hour...
In addition to the main roads I have listed, there are several more paths on La Digue that continue the directions of the main roads, for example from Union into the depths of Source d'Argent Bay, from Grand Bay in both directions along the coast - to the Grand Anse Bay in the south and Coco Bay in the north , from Belle Vue to the Ni d'Aigle ridge, but the latter is completely for trained pedestrians, not to say rock climbers...
§ 56. Draft animals: team and harness. § 57. Yoke. § 58. Drags, sleighs, skis. § 59. Wheeled carts, plagues. § 60. Lubrication of carts. § 61. Water transport. § 62. Barge haulers. § 63. Carrying goods. § 64. Literature.
§ 56. The Eastern Slavs have long had horses as draft animals. Vladimir Monomakh, at the congress of princes in 1103, paints the following picture of Russian agriculture of that time: in the spring, a peasant begins to plow on a horse, and a Polovtsian (Kumanin) wounds him with an arrow and steals his horse (The Tale of Bygone Years. 1103). The legend given in the “Elementary Chronicle” under 912 tells about the death of Prince Oleg because of his beloved horse, and the prince came to the place of his death on horseback. Dating back to 964, there is a story about Prince Svyatoslav, who during military campaigns slept without a tent, putting a saddle under his head, and ate thinly sliced horse meat.
Later, in Ukraine and Belarus, working horses were replaced by oxen, although not everywhere, but mainly in the steppes. In forests and along narrow forest paths, riding oxen is difficult. In recent decades, oxen in Ukraine and Belarus are again being replaced by horses, and for purely economic reasons: a bad horse is much cheaper than a pair of oxen. Sometimes cows are also used as draft animals.
As for the Russians, their working animals have always been and still are horses.
Belarusians often use horse harnesses to harness oxen. Among the Belarusians of the Chernigov province. in 1844 there was no wooden yoke yet; they put a horse collar on the oxen, cutting off the under collar, and used a bow (Esimontovsky). In 1895, among the Belarusians of the Vitebsk province. The ox harness differed from the horse harness only in that the collar was longer, and the under-harness was divided in two at the bottom: on oxen, the collar is not put on over the head, like on horses, but placed on the neck (Nikiforovsky). At the same time, Belarusians also know the yoke, and it is the oldest of all types of harness known to the Eastern Slavs.
62. Belarusian yoke for bull and horse. Minsk province, Slutsk district
Usually, the Eastern Slavs, when harnessing oxen, use a drawbar with a yoke, and horses - two shafts (Ukrainian goloblya) with a collar and an arc. We have already talked about the exception to this rule among Belarusians, who prefer a collar. On the other hand, Belarusians also know examples when they put a yoke on a horse; This happens in those relatively rare cases when a horse and an ox find themselves in the same working team. For this purpose there is a special yoke, shown in Fig. 62, the yoke is put on the horse over the collar.
The second, more consistent exception to this mentioned rule we find among the Ukrainians of the southwestern part of Ukraine. According to F. Volkov, the Dnieper is the ethnographic border here, to the west of which both oxen and horses are always harnessed with a drawbar, but without a bow or a collar. Shafts in Western Ukraine are found mainly in sleighs drawn by one horse, and especially in plows, as well as in the so-called bovkun harness, i.e. when only one ox or one cow is harnessed. This statement by F. Volkov is clarified by the message that in the entire northern part of Volyn, for example in Kovel and even Rivne districts, a horse is always harnessed with a collar and a bow (OR RGO, 1, 309, 323, etc.).
The Russians don’t even know about the drawbar team. If they need to harness two or three horses, they are more strong horse(rooter) are harnessed to shafts with an arc, and the rest (tethered) are harnessed without an arc; Rope or belt lines are tied to the tugs.
However, in winter, driving such a team through deep snow on country roads is impossible, since these roads are very narrow and are intended for only one horse. In such cases, they usually ride in a goose team, single file. This name indicates the similarity with the flight of wild geese, always flying in a line, one after another. With this method, the root worker is harnessed, as always, to a shaft with an arc; in front of him, with the help of long rope lines tied to tugs, a second horse is harnessed, and in front of it - a third. Afraid of getting stuck in the snow, the first horse does not turn out of the way, and the whole team runs together along the road. The coachman controls it with long reins and an even longer whip. However, among Russians only very wealthy people ride two or three horses.
As for horse harnesses, only elegant harnesses are made by special master saddlers. The peasants make their own working harness. The materials used are mainly hemp ropes and ropes made from linden bark and linden bast. The harness and tugs are made from hemp or linden bast. Belarusians make them with the same tool (the so-called flyers) with which they weave their own belts. Among the Belarusians of the Chernigov province. and among the Russian population of the regions bordering the Urals (Ufa province and adjacent areas), the belt is often completely absent. The under-knot (collar, quilt) is made of straw and canvas, less often covered with leather. Gouges are most often made from hemp rope, less often from rawhide belts. The saddle is made of felt, less often of straw, lined with canvas or leather, and sometimes it is woven from hemp rope; frame (Russian filly, Ukrainian block) - wooden or iron, with a clasp. The bridle (bridle, halter) and halter (Ukrainian lanyard), as well as the reins, saddlebag and supon, are also often made from hemp. Russians value good harness very much and at the first opportunity they buy elegant harness, decorated with tin plaques and bells. Most of all, the arch is flaunted: it is made high, painted and covered with carvings. However, for everyday work they use a low, unadorned arch.
Russians have a widespread superstitious belief that if a horse unharnesses while running, it means that marital fidelity has been violated.
In Fig. 64 shows a device (bhalo, bgalo) with the help of which arcs are bent; they are made from silver willow and elm; about this see below, § 58.
§ 57. Currently, the Eastern Slavs use two types of ox yoke. One type exists among Belarusians (see Fig. 61 and 62). This yoke is the same as the Bulgarian and Serbian. It is characterized by the absence of a lower horizontal crossbar running under the ox’s neck (Ukrainian pidgirlya, indicated by the letter b in Fig. 63), and the presence of the so-called kulbaki - a thin vertical rod with a curved lower end, which covers the bull’s neck on one side and from below. In Fig. 61 and 62 this headstock is designated by the letter d.
Another type is the Ukrainian yoke (Fig. 63), which is no different from the yoke common among many Turkic peoples, for example among the Karachais of the North Caucasus. This type is characterized by the presence of a lower horizontal crossbar (b) and four vertical crutches (c, d) running from the upper horizontal crossbar to the bottom. Of these four vertical crutches, both internal ones (d - Ukrainian snozi, snіzki, smik) are fixed motionless, and the external ones (с - Ukrainian and Belarusian splinters, Ukrainian zanіzki) easily move up.
The Ukrainian type of yoke undoubtedly developed from a more ancient one, which was never recorded among the Eastern Slavs, however, along with the described Ukrainian yoke, it is also found today among the Turkic peoples, especially among the Karachais. The Karachay yoke is distinguished by the absence of a lower horizontal crossbar (in Fig. 636), despite the fact that it has all four vertical crutches. The missing lower crossbar (Ukrainian pідгірля) is replaced by a belt covering the neck of an ox or donkey from below. The ends of this belt are tied to the middle and upper part of the outer vertical crutches.
Rice. 63, depicting the Ukrainian yoke, taken from the article by F. Volkov, fig. 61 and 62 with the image of the Belarusian yoke - from the article by A. Serzhputovsky. The Belarusian yoke (Fig. 61) is used when harnessing only one ox or one cow between two shafts, and the Belarusian yoke of another type (Fig. 62) is used for simultaneous drawbar harnessing of an ox (left) and a horse (right). Horses place a wooden frame over the collar. The ring (e) with which the drawbar is attached is placed in these cases not in the middle of the yoke, but closer to the ox, because the ox is stronger than the horse.
Below we present the terminology of the parts of the yoke, keeping the same designations as given in Fig. 61-63.
In some areas, not only the entire device is called a yoke, but also its top part(and, among the Ukrainians of Galicia and Kyiv). More often, however, it is called the bowl, bowl, shoulder. The lower horizontal crossbar (b) is called podgirlya, podgirlitsa, podshiyok. We have already given the names of crutches (c, d). The ring (e, f), which serves to connect the yoke with the drawbar (Ukrainian ві’я, війцев), Ukrainians call kabluchka, kolachik, obluk, live bait, roskrut, Belarusians call kalach. This ring is tied to the yoke with a rope or belt, which is called prib_y (e), and attached to the drawbar with a stick (pritika, pritikach).
§ 58. The oldest cart currently existing among the Eastern Slavs should undoubtedly be considered a sleigh. In the swampy places of the North, until recently they were consumed not only in winter, but also in summer. An ancient custom required that the deceased be taken to the cemetery on a sleigh, even in summer; in some places this order has been preserved to this day.
The oldest type of sleigh has also been preserved, the so-called drags, drags, drags, and bow. In Siberia, two thin birch trees are cut down to transport hay, a horse is harnessed to their trunks, like shafts, and hay is placed on the branches. This device is called a die. Usually, however, portages, or drags, are two long poles with the ends steeply bent upward; these poles are connected in two places by crossbars. The straight ends of the poles serve as shafts, and the bent ones, facing upward, drag along the ground. Sheaves, hay, bags of grain, etc. are placed on such a drag - naturally, in small quantities, so that a weak horse has the strength to carry them away. Sometimes a body woven from branches is attached to the middle of the poles.
The simplest type of sleigh itself is called drovni by the Great Russians. There is not a single metal part in them, not even a single nail (see Fig. 65). The firewood is placed on two runners 240 cm long, curved at the front. They run parallel to each other at a distance of 55 cm. Each runner is supported by 4-6 vertical posts (hoofs, singular hoofs, Ukrainian hoofs), approximately 30 in height see in fig. 65 such spears, 4 pairs. The spears are firmly tied in pairs with branches of elm, bird cherry, birch, hazel, etc. (the so-called ligatures). Straight tetrahedral beams (Russian naschep, overlap, Ukrainian namorzhen) are mounted on the upper ends of the spears. In Fig. 65 one such beam is presented. The upper ends of the curved runners (the so-called head) are also firmly connected by a wooden frame coming from the front pair of spears (Sevrus. chapovitsa, stuzhen; Ukrainian flag).
Shafts are attached to the first or second pair of spears on both sides. They are fastened with a ring of hemp ropes (Russian zaverten, Ukrainian zaverten): they fold it in half, twist it several times in the middle and wrap it around the hoof; the loops at the ends are also folded together, and the ends of the shafts are passed through them, on which a special notch is made. Passing the shaft through the loop, it is held with its front end back, and when the loop is in place, the front end of the shaft is lifted and thrown forward; in this case, the ring is tightened around the hoof.
Sleighs of this design are mainly used for transporting goods. They are used for driving different types body Simplest type such a body is shown in Fig. 66. It is made of several bent wooden poles forming a frame and covered with linden bark. Under the body, a triangle made of tetrahedral bars is strengthened (Sevrus. chair, mallards, bends, bends; Ukrainian white, chair), the purpose of which is to prevent the sleigh from turning over. Sleighs equipped with such a device in most cases have a special name: sevrus. sledges, dissolutions, poshevni, and with an improved body - kosheva, whip, couch, semi-sledge, cart. In Fig. 67 shows an old sleigh from Glukhov, Chernigov province, which has a very complex body, similar to a carriage; they resemble the old Russian rattle, or kaptana, which also had doors, and often mica windows.
There is a device on which runners for sleighs are bent; This device is used by the northern Russians of the Yenisei province. It is called a balo (Ukrainian bgalnya) and resembles a device on which arcs are bent (Fig. 64), but the balo also has a manual winch for twisting a rope tied to the free end of the runner. Before bending the runners, prepared oak, birch or other branches are steamed either in special rooms, or in ovens, in baths, and sometimes placed in fresh horse manure. In the latter case, the runners are laid in rows at a distance of 15 cm from each other. The first row is laid lengthwise, the next one across it, etc., up to 10 rows of 25-30 runners each. In the spaces between each two rows, lay a layer of fresh horse manure about 20 cm thick and water it with water (a bucket of water for each runner). Boards are laid on top, and on them there is a layer of earth 10 cm thick. The runners lie there for about a month, after which they are bent while still hot.
The bent runners are dried. To prevent them from unbending, the ends are tied with a rope, connected with a board nailed to them (Ukrainian narvina), etc. In some places you can still find runners made from uprooted trees, that is, naturally bent (kopani, kopantsy). Such runners are stronger and heavier than bent ones. However, trees of this shape are more effectively used in the construction of punts - they connect the bottom of the boat with the sides.
As for skis, only hunters use them - in the North and especially in Siberia. Skis are usually made from pine wood. In the middle part of the skis there are straps (yuks) attached into which the foot is inserted. The length of the skis is usually 140-165 cm, width - 20 cm. The front and sometimes the rear ends are curved upward. The bottom is usually lined with skin from reindeer or horse legs (kamas, headers, hemmings) or birch bark so that the skis do not slide to the sides, do not creak, freeze to the snow and do not stick to it. At the rear end of the ski, the skin is placed with the pile in the opposite direction to slow down on steep slopes. Skis without camas are called kalgi. A skier's stick, equipped with a hook, which is used to clear snow from skis, is called a bunk, a cook.
§ 59. In 1869, the ethnographer K. Shabunin wrote that in the Pinezhsky district of the Arkhangelsk province. there are no wheeled carts: in the summer they transported firewood, hay, grain, etc. on sleighs (OR RGO, I, 11). In the coastal areas of Vyatka lips. wheels were introduced into use by the zemstvo administration only after 1869 (Kuroptev. Slobodskaya district, pp. 158 and 161). One can cite many such reports about the Russian North. It is quite obvious that wheeled transport came into use recently, at least much later than sleighs.
There are still many places in Siberia to this day where Northern Russians use wheels that are not bent from a single piece of wood, but made up of four jambs (roots), that is, from curved pieces of birch. Such wheels are much stronger than bent ones, but they are much more difficult to manufacture. Now the wheels, the rims themselves (Ukrainian όбід), are usually bent using a special device, which differs from the device on which the arcs and runners are bent, only in that it has a balo (South Russian circle, frets; Ukrainian baba, stump) full circle shape.
The prototype of wheeled carts can be considered rolls, i.e. those logs that were placed under heavy objects during their transportation. The Northern Russians have a special device (the so-called rollers) for transporting logs: two small wheels without spokes, mounted on a thick axle, to the ends of which shafts are attached. This device is often replaced by the two front wheels of a conventional cart. In some places, Russians call the entire cart rollers, while Belarusians call only the wheels.
Only the main parts of the cart are called the same by all Eastern Slavs. These are common names - colo, wheel, axis, ukr. all; rim, Ukrainian obіd. Smaller parts of the cart are called differently among individual East Slavic peoples; the origin of a significant part of these names is quite clear. Of the parts of the wheel, we should name the hub (Russian nave, mortar; Ukrainian koloda, well), spokes (Russian finger, knitting needle; Ukrainian knitting needle), tires (a name recently borrowed from German language), bushing (Russian bushing, bushing; Ukrainian matochina, middle).
The parts of the cart camp are as follows: droga - a beam connecting the front and rear axles of the cart (Russian droga, drozhina, dissolution, bed; middle beam - fox, podlisok, podlizok; Ukrainian podtok; at the strikers - razvora; in the middle of the cart - podgerst, pіdgeister, Belarusian trainee).
On the axis there is a pillow (Ukrainian nasad, Belarusian uzgalaven); check (Ukrainian zagvizdok).
A wooden or iron vertical rod passing through the front axle and through the cushion mounted on it - a shkvoren (Russian shkvoren, shvoren, core, trigger, pin or pin - the latter from the German Steuer; Ukrainian shvorin, shviren).
There are different types of wheeled vehicles. They differ from each other mainly in the structure of the body and their purpose. Oldest type- two-wheeled cart; it is still known to all Russians under the name oder, odrets (wood cart, ondrets), and among the southern Russians of the Tula province. is called Vorodun. Sometimes the two shafts of such a cart form one whole with the beams on which the body is mounted. Bida (Ukrainian) also has two wheels, but this is clearly the result of cultural influences.
Ukrainians distinguish between carts in which oxen are harnessed (ox woz, among the Chumaks - mazha), and those in which horses are harnessed (horse woz). The latter are lighter, and instead of an ox pole they often have two shafts. Ukrainians have widely adopted new borrowings from the West: German vans, known in Novorossiya as milkmen (from the Molochnaya River in Berdyansk district, where they were made by German colonists - Mennonites); trucks (Ukrainian khura) and the so-called furmanki (Ukrainian firmanka). The so-called bendyugs are common among both Ukrainians and Belarusians. The Ukrainian leternyak or leterny wiz is designed specifically for transporting sheaves, just like the Great Russian sheaf cart or grain cart. Among the Russian population of the eastern regions, a cart with a wicker body designed for riding is very common. They call it tarantas, karandas; Thanks to its long flexible rods that replace springs, it is also known as dolgusha, dolushka.
As for the body, its oldest type can be seen in Fig. 68, which depicts a cart from the Slutsk district of Minsk province, known as narad (the name is related to the German Rad - “wheel”). At the four corners of this cart there are four vertical pegs (Belarusian handle, Ukrainian ruchitsa), driven into the axle cushions. Above these pegs are arches of branches, the ends of which are attached to the side beams of the cart. This is the basis of the body. Boards of the appropriate length are passed through the handles on the sides of the cart, and the bottom is covered with linden bark or also boards - and the body is ready. When hauling manure, they usually simply take out the side boards on the field and dump the manure on the side; sometimes they turn the cart over on its side.
It happens that the same four columns at the four corners of the cart serve as the basis of a body constructed differently. The walls of this body are very similar to a ladder, so Ukrainians and Belarusians call it drabina, drabki, half-drabok. In Fig. 69 - photograph of a Belarusian rabin from Slutsk district of Minsk province. In this photograph, among other things, the lyushnya (luchna, lushnya) is clearly visible - an arched support, the lower end of which is attached to the end of the rear axle, and the front end to the upper beam of the body. It secures both the wheel and the body at the same time.
The Russians often make the same body from wooden arches, the tops of which are fixed on the road. Two poles (overlapping) are placed at the ends of these arcs, and the arcs themselves are covered with thin boards or linden bark, and sometimes braided with branches. Carts with such bodies are known among Russians as dissolution, erandak, pletyushka. Sometimes a round or oblong body woven from branches (Russian korob, korobok) is placed directly on the ditch. Belarusians make it quadrangular and from linden bast (Belarusian kosh, half-pork).
The heavy cart into which oxen are harnessed (the so-called mazha) is associated with the idea of the unique Ukrainian trade of the Chumaks (salt carriers), which has now disappeared. Chumaks were carters who went to the Sea of Azov for salt and to the Don for fish; at the same time they traded in fish and salt. Often a Chumak owned a dozen or more very strong carts, each harnessed to a pair of strong gray oxen. Chumaks never traveled alone, but gathered in a whole group (valka) and chose a leader (otaman) from among them. They grazed the oxen along the way and cooked their own lunches and dinners from the food they took from home. The otaman's cart always carried a rooster as a living clock; in Ukraine there were entire villages in which only Chumaks lived. In 1892 with the construction railway this fishery declined sharply and soon disappeared completely.
§ 60. Some peoples neighboring the Russians use oil to lubricate their axles. The Chuvash, before setting off on a cart, takes oil into his mouth, chews it, puts it on his palm and lubricates the axles with it. The Eastern Slavs, however, use exclusively tar to lubricate axles, which is also used in tanning leather (§84).
The best, so-called commercial tar, is burned from birch bark. This tar is not used as a lubricant, but only to soften leather. In the same way, tar from pine, and especially from pine roots, is now used to lubricate axles. Wheel tar is burned from a mixture of both types of wood.
An improved method of tar smoking, namely in iron boilers, was introduced in Russia only in 1730. Before that, the so-called burning in pits was widespread - a method that is still used today. Ukrainians call tar maidan - a word borrowed from the Turkish language. In some dry place, dig a conical hole in the ground, with the base of the cone upward. The walls of the pit are compacted, and a large vessel made of iron or clay is placed at the bottom and covered on top with an iron grate or something similar. Often, instead of a vessel, a lift is made, i.e. a small hole lined with clay or brick into which the tar should drain. From this lower (second) pit or from a vessel at the bottom of the pit there is a pipe for draining the tar.
The large upper pit is filled with birch bark and resinous wood, especially pine roots (the so-called resin). Moss is placed on top, and earth and grass are placed on it. The fuel placed in the pit is ignited through holes left on the side of the pit or on top. When the fuel ignites, they are covered with earth. Tar flows into the lower pit. Later, hot stones are thrown into the pit to remove moisture.
Even more common is tar smoking in large clay vessels, the so-called pots. Several of these huge pots are placed at the bottom of an oblong pit. They are closed with special lids, also made of clay, with funnel-shaped holes in the center. The same large pot filled with birch bark and pine firewood is placed upside down on the lid. All this is covered with earth, so that only 0.6 of the top trench is visible. Wood is being burned above it. In hot pots, birch bark and pine smolder and release resin, which flows into the lower pots.
§ 61. The most ancient means of transportation on water, preserved by the Eastern Slavs to this day, should be considered the raft, ferry and the so-called komaga. What they have in common is that they are all a combination of two or more floating objects.
Nowadays rafts are used only for rafting timber, but previously they were undoubtedly also a means of transportation on water. Rafts are made as follows: after lowering the logs into the water, they are tied together with branches, mainly birch. A ring (collar) is made from branches of such a size that it freely covers two adjacent logs: it is put on the ends of these logs (see Fig. 70). Then a long birch or pine pole is placed across these logs (Belarusian iron, Sevrus rom-shina); the clamp is bent over this pole. A wedge is driven into the loop of the clamp formed under the pole (see Fig. 70, right), thus tightly tying a pair of logs. The next pair of logs is tied to the same pole in the same way. Another such pole is placed on the opposite ends of the logs, and they are tied in the same way. 25-50 logs connected to each other form a link (the so-called chalen) of a single-row raft (Belarusian tarok) and from such links they then make up large rafts (sevrussian porom, Belarusian rake).
At the ends of a large raft there are oars (strokes) that act as a rudder. They are shown in Fig. 71. To make such a rule, two long logs are placed across the raft and tied with branches. A crossbar (dog beam) is tied to the ends of these logs and oars are inserted into the notches made on it. A hut for the raftsmen is also installed on the raft. Earth is poured near the hut, on which a fire is lit for cooking.
To moor the raft, they use a special stake (funny, Fig. 72). It is stuck into the shore, but often the raft drags with it both the joke and the worker who operated it. At the same time, the joke plows the ground like a plow.
Rafts for delivering firewood are called oplotnik, obrub, and those made up of several links are called koshma. Such rafts are fenced on all sides by a kind of cage made of long poles. The place where rafts are tied is called raft by Russians, and rum by Belarusians.
Komyaga (Fig. 73) is a small raft of two hollowed out tree trunks. Each of these trunks is a roughly processed trough, the kind from which cattle are fed. Among Belarusians, such a trough is also called kamjaga. Obviously, this meaning of the word is original (EVV, I, 553). Among the Russians, komyaga is known under various other names: logs, i.e., actually, a roughly processed trough for feeding livestock (the exhibit from Yaroslavl shown in Fig. 73, which
located in the Russian Museum in Leningrad), troughs, bats, beads (cf. Old Scand. Bussa). The Belarusian komjaga, the Northern Russian Olonets swearers and the Vologda chupas are made differently: a log is nailed to a trough made of aspen logs on each side.
A rower in a komjag stands with one foot in one trough, and with the other in the second and moves forward, pushing off from the bottom, that is, resting his pole on the bottom of the lake or pond. In a komjaga, consisting of one trough, they kneel. The same structure, consisting of two large boats with a canopy, is now known under the old name porom. It is intended mainly for ferrying carts across big rivers, where there are no bridges.
Boats are very diverse, but as the name suggests, their types are even more diverse. Most often, there are boats made from a single trunk, mainly from aspen (see Fig. 74, which shows a Belarusian boat from the Igumen district of Minsk province). Ukrainians and Northern Russians steam aspen boats over a fire: the boat is placed on poles at a height of one meter, a fire is lit under it and water is continuously poured over it. Curved spacers (sevrus. elastics, Ukrainian tsurki) are inserted into the trough steamed in this way, the length of which is gradually increased. Boards (heels, stripes) are stuffed along the sides, increasing the depth of the boat. Such a boat is called oak (old Ukrainian seagull, sevrus. naboynitsa, and without side boards shavings). The same boats, but simply dugout ones, which are not steamed or expanded over a fire, have other names (Sevrus. baht, Belarusian, daublenka, Ukrainian dushogubka). Boats made from a single trunk and having a keel are called kayak. The general name for small vessels is cheln (Ukrainian choven), boat.
Larger ships most often have names borrowed from foreign languages (Ukrainian galyara; Belarusian gilyara, Berlin, layba; Russian karbaz, sloop, barka, longboat, etc.). It is a widespread custom to name ships by the rivers on which they navigate or on which they were built. These are geese, belozerki, unzhenki, mokshas, kolomenki, suryaks, tikhvinkas and many others.
§ 62. Before the advent of steamboats on the Volga and on many other rivers, ships moving against the current were propelled by people; the barge haulers did this. A short thick rope (chipmunk) was tied to the mast of the ship, at the free end of which there was a block. A towline was passed through the block - a long rope, by which the barge haulers walking along the shore pulled the ship upstream. At the end of the twine there are loops (eyelets) at a distance of 6 m from each other. A strong rope (thin rope, tail) from 2 to 4 m long is threaded through the eye. A wooden ball (cheburakh, chuburok, chapurok) tied to the end of the rope holds each rope in a loop, and an iron ring is attached to the other end of the tail. A wide belt strap is attached to this ring and is thrown over the shoulder of the barge hauler. The strongest and most experienced barge hauler (bump) is in front, followed by the rest, and the last is again an experienced barge hauler, the so-called importer, who is obliged, among other things, to remove (pluck) the line from the stones and bushes to which it clings. The shore along which barge haulers walk is usually called a towline, towpath, or sakma. Sometimes the vessel is pulled by two ropes (on two lines) or an auxiliary line is tied to the main line (a pod).
The described method, in which the ship was pulled by people, was later replaced by horse traction, while the workers drove the horses pulling the line on the shore, or turned the gate to pull the rope with the anchor out of the water, with the help of which the ship moved (horse-driven ships, which replaced capstans, later displaced by steamships). With the advent of steamships, barge haulers turned into sailors, who to this day partially preserve the old traditions of Volga barge haulers. Raftsmen, who to this day are sometimes called barge haulers, have nothing to do with steamships.
Hauling is a trade that was mainly practiced by Russians. It was much less common among Belarusians. Back in 1905, I. Abramov observed Belarusians dragging barges loaded with stone up the Dnieper to the city of Smolensk. Burlatsky artels united people from the northern and southern Russian provinces, and such direct contacts contributed to the cultural rapprochement of these two groups of Eastern Slavs (§ 2).
In the old days, people considered barge haulers to be free, unbound people, “free Cossacks,” experienced people, familiar with the life of foreign lands and urban culture. This idea, however, has long since changed: the word “barge hauler” now means a rude, uncouth person or a homeless tramp, and villagers began to look down on these people.
§ 63. It remains to talk about the carrying of goods. Most often, the load is carried on the shoulders. In this case, they use a rocker (Ukrainian koromislo), which mostly has a curved, arched shape. However, Belarusians also have a straight rocker (Fig. 75). Russian women carry wet linen on yokes to the river, and they do not hang it in baskets at the ends of the yoke, but put it equally on both ends. It is considered especially dexterous to carry a beam with a load on one shoulder.
To carry cargo on the road, the Northern Russians have many devices on straps, like a backpack; these are crumbs, body (sevrus., Fig. 59), bag, pester. The same Northern Russian straps are sometimes attached directly to various vessels made of birch and linden bark; this is called wrapping a vessel, making a wrap on it. Baskets with small children are most rarely carried over the shoulders. South Russian and other Eastern Slavs usually do not wear bags on their backs,
and over the shoulder.
On navigable rivers, especially on the Volga, in Nizhny Novgorod and Rybinsk, there is a special craft, the so-called hookers, i.e. workers who move sacks of grain and other loads. They have a hook attached to a short rope, with which they hold a bag of grain on top of their shoulders. They sometimes have a special pillow on their back that reduces the pressure of the burden. A strong loader (hunchback) carries a bag weighing 150 kg on his back.
Among the rarer methods, mention should be made of carrying heavy objects on the head. This method is adopted by Russian traders, who often first place a soft round lining (made of leather, etc.) on the head, and then place a basket or vessel with different goods, most often food, on it. Northern Russians sometimes carry children older than one year behind their pouches, that is, those who can already hold the neck of the person carrying them with their hands. The child wraps his arms around the neck and his legs around the waist of the carrier, who supports the child’s legs with his hands.
§ 64. Literature. The harness and harness are discussed in the works: Esimontovsky G. Agriculture in the Surazh district of the Chernigov province. Part I. St. Petersburg, 1846, p. 51-53; ZHMGI. St. Petersburg, 1844, part XI, p. 250; ibid., part XII, p. 3-5; in the same place, 1845, part XV, p. 8, 17, 104; further, this is discussed in the works of Nikiforovsky, Romanov and Serzhputovsky, given in § 22. Fig. 61 and 62 are taken from the article by A. Serzhputovsky, and Fig. 63 - from the article by F. Volkov, named in § 6.
Sleighs and wheeled carts are discussed in the works of: Efimenko P. Handicrafts, latrines and some rural crafts in Sumy district. Kharkov, 1882 (Proceedings of the commission for the study of handicrafts of the Kharkov province, issue I, pp. 18 - 34);
Filippov N. A. Handicraft industry of Russia. Woodworking trades. St. Petersburg, 1913, p. 257-296; Rudchenko I. Ya. Chumatsky folk songs. Kyiv, 1874, XIII+257 p. Rice. 65 and 66 are taken from the article by N.A. Ivanitsky mentioned in § 22, but improved here by us; rice. 67 was made from a photograph of the Kharkov Museum of Sloboda Ukraine; rice. 68 - from the work of A.K. Serzhputovsky named in § 22; rice. 69 was made from a photograph belonging to the Russian Museum in Leningrad.
Tar is discussed in the book “Materials on the description of crafts of the Vyatka province” (issue III, Vyatka, 1891, pp. 1 - 216) and in the above-mentioned article by G. Esimontovsky.
About the ships: Kornilov I.P. About the timber industry along the Unzha River and about the construction near the mountains. Kologriva goose. - Ethnographic Collection of the Russian Geographical Society, vol. VI, St. Petersburg, 1864, p. 1-34. Rice. 70-72 are taken from the article named in § 22 by N. Ivanitsky; rice. 74 reproduces a photograph belonging to the Russian Museum. For ancient Slavic vehicles and carts, see Niederle L. Život stzrych slovanů. Dilu. III, swazek 2. Prague, 1925, c. 437-462.
About barge haulers, see: Vernadsky Iv. Research about barge haulers. - ZhMVD. Part XXIII. St. Petersburg, 1857, April, p. 71-118 and part XXIV. SPb., 1857, May, p. 1-42; Abramov I. Barge haulers on the Dnieper. - JS. XV, 1906, issue. 2, mixture, p. 35-36. On the attitude of the people towards barge haulers and their influence on folklore, see: Zelenin D.K. Great Russian fairy tales of the Vyatka province, Pg., 1915 (Notes of the Russian Geographical Society on the Department of Ethnography, vol. XLII), introductory article, p. XXVIII-XXXVI.