Lajkonik: The Origin and Transformations of Krakow Folk Customs

According to a centuries-old tradition, a celebration of Krakow's Lajkonik takes place during the week of Corpus Christi. The oldest references to this custom come from the first half of the eighteenth century, the first known description is dated from 1820 when it was still organized by the de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Urban anthropology 1983-10, Vol.12 (3/4), p.279-318
Main Authors: Bujak, Jan, Pilichowska, Bogdana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Boat operators
Celebrations
Ceremonies
Dental calculus
Legends
Monasteries
Octaves
Palaces
Processions
Urban anthropology
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Summary:According to a centuries-old tradition, a celebration of Krakow's Lajkonik takes place during the week of Corpus Christi. The oldest references to this custom come from the first half of the eighteenth century, the first known description is dated from 1820 when it was still organized by the descendants of "wloczkow," or the guild furnishing wood for the city of Krakow and for the adjucent salt mines. This guild was founded in the Middle Ages (first mentioned in written sources in 1363) and was disolved after the third partition of Poland in 1795. The custom of Lajkonik, however survived the guild and was preserved among its progeny. Detailed historical analysis of the celebration proves that as late as at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the custom contained themes stemming directly from the thirteenth century Tartar invasions. During the last two centuries, however, the custom underwent profound changes, the reasons for which can be traced to the political and administrative changes caused by the lost of statehood following the 1795 partition of Poland, the fall of the guild, common disasters such as the 1850 fire of Krakow, general secularization of the custom etc. Today's gay festival, stripped of deeper meanings, consists of a colorful procession lead by the Lajkonik, or a man dressed in a Tartar's costume riding a wooden horse, who attacts the spectators with his mace before paying homage to the city mayor and officials.
ISSN:0363-2024