It is one of the few dances in Poland which has a long recorded history. It was mentioned for the very first time in the tablature of Jan of Lublin in the mid -16th century and in the tablature of Wojciech Długoraj published in 1619. The dance is also mentioned in "Światowa rozkosz" by Hieronim Morsztyn (in 1624 the edition). The hajduk was very popular at the time, mainly thanks to the Hungarian influences and close contacts with Hungarians during the reign of Stefan Batory. The name of the dance derives from the Hungarian word "hajdútánc", i.e. infantry (but also robbers). It is a fast dance, with variable tempos depending on the set music, measured in the 2/4 metre. It is danced in pairs, solo or in groups. The male dancer plays the leading role in this dance and uses it to show off his skills in front of his female partner and other pairs. When dancing the hajduk, the yough perform the so-called "krzesane" and "zwyrtane" steps, as well as exemplary jumps, swipes of hand against the raised leg, deep knee bends, crawling on deeply bent knees and jumps similar to those of the frog.. The dance is lead by the master of ceremonies who begins the dance and calls any changes in the course and figures of the dance. When musicians take up the melody given by the master of ceremonies, other dancing pairs form semicircles, and while still singing they shift from one foot to the other in the stationary position. After the singing, when the leader calls "Hej!" and starts dancing, other dancers enlarge the distance between themselves to form a circle. A series of exemplary jumps and figures performed by dancers take place and,at the same time, female partners run around the circle of boys and jump over their extended or raised legs. The hajduk is later followed by displays of single pairs in the circle. In the area closer to Podhale, e.g. among highlanders of the Pieniny Mountains, the hajduk is an exemplary dance of single pairs, similar to the krzesany dance from the Tatra Mountains.

Marcinkowa, Janina; Sobczyńska, Krystyna. Tańce Beskidu i Pogórza Cieszyńskiego [Dances of the Beskids and the Silesian Foothills]. Warsaw: Centrum Animacji Kultury, 1996.

Romowicz, Maria. Tańce górali od Żywca [Dances of the Żywiec Highland] Warsaw: CPARA, 1969.