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kowol śląski / blacksmith dance

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Depending on the region, the kowol can have a completely different structure and character. In Silesia, Wielkopolska and the areas inhabited by Lachy Sądeckie, it has been a dance imitating the work of a blacksmith, and it consists of two parts: a miming sequence imitating a blacksmith's work and a whirling polka danced in pairs. In Mazovia, Warmia and Mazury or in the region of Krosno, the dance took its name from the lyrics of popular song and it is devoid of any elements of mime (imitation of the blacksmith's work).
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In Silesia, Wielkopolska and in Ziemia Lubuska, the kowol (or szmyt – from the German Schmied meaning blacksmith) was a dance imitating the work of a blacksmith. A dance known under the same name (or similar: kowol, śmyt, kowalik) in Mazovia had a different structure, and its name might have been derived from the lyrics of an accompanying folk song or a rhyme. In the region of Krosno, the dance was performed to the song Kowala, kowala, grajcież mi wesoło... with characteristic swinging in place by couples in the first part of the dance and accented steps and clapping in the second part, when pairs are moving in a circle. The first type of the kowol (Silesia and in Wielkopolska) consisted of two parts and could be danced by any number of pairs. It had a moderate tempo in part 1 and a faster tempo in part 2, and a 2/4 metre. In the first part the male dancer got on the right knee, would rhythmically raise his right hand and then hit the knee with it once or three times in one bar (alternatively, he hit with his right hand his left fist placed on the right knee). This gesture is to imitate hitting hot iron with the blacksmith's hammer. The female dancer stood opposite her partner waving her apron and imitating the work of bellows. In the second part all dancing pairs dance the polka in the closed position, whirling around the hall, turning and moving at will in different directions. A similar version of the kowal was danced also by the ethnographic groups Lachy Sądeckie, Lachy Szczyrzyckie and Lachy Limanowskie. Lachy Sądeckie danced it to the folk song Jak kowale w kuźni kują, młoteckami mig, mig, mig..., and those from the Szczyrzyce region – to the tune Kowolu, kowolu, zróbze mi zomecek, zebym zamykała ślubny pierścionecek. In all Lachy groups the second part of the kowal is a lively polka.

Cieślińska, Alina; Krużycka, Helena; Pawłowski, Władysław. Folklor Ziemi Lubuskiej. Warszawa: Centralny Ośrodek Metodyki Upowszechniania Kultury, 1975.

Dąbrowska, Grażyna W. red. Taniec w polskiej tradycji. Leksykon. Warszawa: MUZA S.A., 2005/2006.

Glapa, Adam; Kowalski, Alfons. Tańce i zabawy wielkopolskie. Wrocław: PTL, 1961.

Marcinkowa, Janina; Sobczyńska, Krystyna. Folklor Górnego Śląska. Warszawa: Centralny Ośrodek Metodyki Upowszechniania Kultury, 1973.