A shoulder yoke is a wooden pole for carrying two buckets of water or other loads. It can be straight or bent, with a fulcrum on one or two shoulders. Straight shoulder yokes were cut from a wide and flat board, but they were less convenient and popular than curved ones. With the help of a shoulder yoke, it was possible to carry heavy buckets of water for several hundred meters and not feel tired. The yoke was a tool used by women, a man with a shoulder yoke could be made fun of. It generally went out of use in the middle of the 20th century, but in some Russian villages the shoulder yoke is still used.
The wood for the shoulder yoke was light, strong, malleable, homogeneous and resistant to cracking. Most often, masters used birch, hazel, maple, and less often — pine and spruce. A board 5 to 7 cm in thickness and 135 to 210 cm in length was selected as a work piece for the shoulder yoke. Each piece was chopped to obtain the desired thickness and bent. To fix the shape, the shoulder yoke was soaked in a pond, steamed over the fire or buried in the ground at the site of the future bonfire. Metal pads with hooks for hanging buckets were attached to the ends of the shoulder yoke. Sometimes it was painted, decorated with carvings and colorful ribbons. The decorated shoulder yokes were used on holidays and celebrations.
The shoulder yoke in Rus was a vivid folklore image, which is found in many fairy tales, riddles and proverbs. For example, the proverb “A craft is not a yoke, it won’t pull your shoulders” or the riddle “Two brothers want to fight, but their arms are too short.” Carrying water and goods with a shoulder yoke was subject to specific rules. On the way to get water, empty buckets were to be held in the left hand, and the shoulder yoke — in the right. A full bucket on the shoulder yoke was fixed first from behind, and then from the front.
One of the rites of the Udmurt wedding is carrying water from a well on a yoke, a so-called “bride’s test”. In order to build a successful marriage and demonstrate household skills, the bride carried water on a yoke and tried not to spill a single drop, while the guests from the groom’s side hindered her efforts, and the groom and his friends, on the contrary, protected and helped her.
The wood for the shoulder yoke was light, strong, malleable, homogeneous and resistant to cracking. Most often, masters used birch, hazel, maple, and less often — pine and spruce. A board 5 to 7 cm in thickness and 135 to 210 cm in length was selected as a work piece for the shoulder yoke. Each piece was chopped to obtain the desired thickness and bent. To fix the shape, the shoulder yoke was soaked in a pond, steamed over the fire or buried in the ground at the site of the future bonfire. Metal pads with hooks for hanging buckets were attached to the ends of the shoulder yoke. Sometimes it was painted, decorated with carvings and colorful ribbons. The decorated shoulder yokes were used on holidays and celebrations.
The shoulder yoke in Rus was a vivid folklore image, which is found in many fairy tales, riddles and proverbs. For example, the proverb “A craft is not a yoke, it won’t pull your shoulders” or the riddle “Two brothers want to fight, but their arms are too short.” Carrying water and goods with a shoulder yoke was subject to specific rules. On the way to get water, empty buckets were to be held in the left hand, and the shoulder yoke — in the right. A full bucket on the shoulder yoke was fixed first from behind, and then from the front.
One of the rites of the Udmurt wedding is carrying water from a well on a yoke, a so-called “bride’s test”. In order to build a successful marriage and demonstrate household skills, the bride carried water on a yoke and tried not to spill a single drop, while the guests from the groom’s side hindered her efforts, and the groom and his friends, on the contrary, protected and helped her.
