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szmyt

nonstylized dancesmap
Sometimes different dances are disguised under the same name, as it is the case of the dance kowol, or szmyt. Depending on the region, the dance has a completely different structure and character, nevertheless retaining the same name. In Mazovia it was a dance performed by women only and might have had a magical or ritual meaning. In Silesia and in Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) the kowol, just like the szmyt in Ziemia Lubuska, was an imitation of the work of a blacksmith. Most variants consisted of two parts: turnovers or jumps and whirling in pairs, like in the polka or oberek.
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In Mazovia and in the Opoczno region the name of the dance doesn't derive from the name of the profession but from text of the song or rhyme accompanying the dance. In Mazovia the dance had the rhythm of the mazurek and quite a fast tempo, in metre 3/4. In villages around Wilanów and in the region of Urzecze (right bank of the middle Vistula river), only women performed the dance. They would start in pairs, standing opposite each other in the half open position. Then, having hooked their right elbows, they made a turn in place (with the sun), walking in the mazurka step. Next, sometimes with a clap, they changed elbows and turned in place against the sun. With time, new dancers would join the dance, each time doubling the number of pairs involved. Old villagers from the Kampinos Forest in Mazovia knew a dance called śmyt which had been adopted from Dutch settlers. The dance had quite a fast tempo, in 2/4 metre, and was performed by four dancers: two women and two men. The dancers would join right hands: a man with a man, a woman with a woman. In the first part of the dance, they jumped from one leg to another, throwing the free leg to the front, while chanting "Śmyt, śmyt, śmytu, śmuty, śmit!". In the second part, the dancers would release the grip, make a half turn to the right, and form pairs holding each other in a closed position. They then would whirl in a circle like in the polka, moving against the sun. The kowalik was a two-part dance known in the region of Opoczno. Its name came from the call "Zagrajcie kowalika!" (Play the kowalik!) that the dancer(s) addressed to the musicians. In the first part, dancers formed a row or stood in pairs one after another and slowly moved towards the musicians. After singing the song, the dancers switched to a closed position and whirled like in the oberek, moving around against the sun.

 

Dąbrowska, Grażyna W. Taniec ludowy na Mazowszu. Kraków: PWM, 1980.

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

Dekowski, Jan P.; Hauke, Zbigniew. Folklor regionu opoczyńskiego. Warszawa: Centralny Ośrodek Metodyki Upowszechniania Kultury, 1974.

Skrok, Zdzisław. Mazowsze nieznane. Warszawa: Stanisław Kryciński, 1999.