Today it is fashionable to have a house in the village. When the townspeople acquire old huts, sometimes in the hallway they see unusual objects left by their previous owners, the purpose of which is a mystery to young people. Who in the 21st century remembers what the rocker looked like? Representatives of the older generation recognize this “retro”: they saw in childhood how grandmothers transported water from a well, river, or spring. So, we will talk about the device that for centuries people used to wear buckets or other goods - linen for rinsing in the river, cucumbers, sand on their shoulders.
Different and necessary
A wooden arc with hooks or recesses at the ends (straight, bent, carved) was indispensable in everyday life. Types of vectors in different areas differed even within the same region. For example, in the Kamyshinsky district of the Volgograd region, on the Dubovka farm, products from a strong board narrowed to the ends with a recess for the shoulders, with long metal hooks (chains) were more common. Bent specimens prevailed in the village of Rybinka, Olkhovskiy district.
One way or another, a rocker, a rocker is something without which people could not imagine their life. In the villages of the distant hinterland, today you can see how deftly people carry water, throwing the "help" over their shoulders. This is caused by the desire to preserve national customs, develop crafts, or severe necessity - the question is a separate article.
Excavating layers of the XI-XIV centuries in the region of Veliky Novgorod, search engines noted the presence of a large number of arched objects. These were obtained by arching and fixing steamed wood, which, having cooled, kept its shape. The process of using the gizmo looked especially artistic: women spread their arms like bird wings, hugging the "arc" on steep shoulders (holding the rocker).
Gear lever
In Western Europe, the issue of moving weights was solved using a round stick in cross section. Russian peasant women sometimes used the same if necessary to transport linen after rinsing in the river. The severity was distributed wisely: one end of the stick fit onto the shoulder of the hostess in front, the other took the partner from behind.
Until we have finally plunged into the depth of the topic, let us recall other interpretations of the word "rocker". The meaning is everyone who studied at school, heard when a physics teacher talked about the levers of mechanisms that have a fulcrum in the middle. It is noteworthy that this is the name of a long thin pole, with the help of which water is taken out of the well (better known as the "crane"). And that's not it! In nature, there is a large dragonfly, growing up to 73 mm in length. Her "name and surname" sounds like a "big rocker."
However, back to the topic. Looking at a beautiful, sometimes painted arc, some curious experimenters, arriving in the village, light up: I’ll put a thing on my shoulder and easily and proudly bring home full buckets of a well “aqua”! A minute after the first attempt, many people want to drop the “construction” on the ground - hellish labor.
Worked since childhood
As soon as the rural Aksigny carried the rocker? This is how much they trained before swimming with their grandmothers along their native street? They also managed to stop and talk with friends, without removing the luggage. The old men assured: "A man is strong as long as he can carry water on the beam."
Children were taught to work from an early age, and God himself ordered the youths (7-15 years old) to be active helpers of their parents - in the house, on the field. They went for the key voditsa. The meaning of the word "rocker", young workers were not puzzled, wore, trying not to spill the precious liquid, along the way shifting the "arc" from one shoulder to another, so as not to rub.
Pitching is bad
According to the ritual, along the way for water, you need to hold the rocker in the right hand, and the buckets in the left. Filling the vessels, they picked up on the shoulder that which is behind, then the front. Someone stronger, crouching, raised both buckets (sometimes on the principle of a bar). When wearing, we followed the balance, which was ensured by the dimension of the step. They say that the buckets that were worn in the recesses carved at the ends of the carry were the least “hanging out”.
Not only the wives in Russia were well-versed in the yoke. This skill should have been mastered by the bride. They checked it like this: a young woman in a container decorated with ribbons will bring spring water without spilling a drop, the mistress will be good. When torn walking heavy buckets sway, the contents splash. Too slow, uncertain steps pacifies the load, but quickly exhausts the strength.
Tail of a funny dog
Craftsmen cleverly scooped from a reservoir or a well with a bucket on the beam, from the shoulder. Despite the fact that the vessel was slightly supported on the hook by hand, there were losses - the bucket floated away or sank. Is it not messy - every little thing in the house costs money! But this is not the mess, the chaos about which the well-known phraseological unit “smoke beam” has developed.
The meaning is interpreted as noise, din, clutter, unbridled gulba, turmoil. It turns out that at first it symbolized smoke coming out of the black (chicken) hut of the poor. There were dwellings in Russia, heated by a furnace without a chimney. The combustion products left the room through the fiber window (if there was none) through the door with a black curved tail. Depending on the weather, the outlines changed, foreshadowing either rain, or storm, or sun. Gradually, the value began to characterize confusion, bustle, booth.