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Siuda Baba is an old Polish folk custom, celebrated on Easter Monday and surviving today in only a handful of villages surrounding
A Siuda Baba procession is made up of eight or six people – young men aged 20–24: six (or four) ''Krakowiacy'', the Gypsy and Siuda Baba. Before they start on their route, preparations are made. The group meets at the Gypsy's home, where they don their costumes: Krakowiacy wear traditional regional folk attire; Siuda Baba – an old, dirty skirt, a necklace made of potatoes, chestnuts, or wooden beads, a scarf used as a pouch for a box with the soot-lotion mixture. The Gypsy wears black trousers with small, black scraps sewn on, a black shirt and hat. The Gypsy's whip is an important accessory: the Gypsy cracks it when entering someone's yard. The faces and palms of both the Gypsy and the Siuda Baba are thoroughly covered with soot. They carry a supply of pre-prepared mix of lotion and soot used for smearing passers-by. The regional costumes worn by ''Krakowiacy'' used to be handmade, but since the 1970s have been replaced with factory-made outfits. The current ones have been financed by European Union's 
If they go to people they don't know, the Gypsy, after cracking his whip, politely asks the hosts to allow the group to enter. Refusing them might result in minor negative consequences: marking the door handle, mailbox or other household items with the soot/lotion mixture. If the hosts agree for Siuda Baba to enter, the Krakowiacy begin singing. Sometimes the proceedings take place in the yard, on the porch or at the door. After the opening query: "Will you receive the resurrected Christ?" and if the answer is affirmative, the Krakowiacy sing Easter-themed songs, shaking the cart and the jingles attached to their belts.
Then suddenly a line about Siuda Baba is inserted in the song lyrics in an unexpected moment. Suddenly Krakowiacy sing "Where's Siuda Baba..." and Siuda Baba barges into the house and with the Gypsy's help, smears everyone (especially girls, who should be found first) with the soot mix. The hosts give the departing group a piece of Easter cheesecake or some other refreshment and place some money in the cart. The procession continues until late in the
evening.
Children and onlookers follow her, shouting:
The men who participate in the proceedings are usually aged 20–24 and motivated by the prospect of fun, visiting friends and collecting donations. They follow a number of rules – the roles of characters are clearly defined, the ones participating for the first time usually carry the cart. The Gypsy is often a hereditary role and the secret of manufacturing the whip is passed down the generations, as is the skill to crack it well. Only unmarried men can be members of the Siuda Baba procession. When an older brother, who performed the role of Gypsy gets married, the younger brother inherits the role and learns how to crack the whip.
Due to population migration, some of the new inhabitants of Lednica Górna are unfamiliar with the ritual. Some are very enthusiastic when visited by a Siuda conduct, treating it as a
Siuda Baba is an old Polish folk custom, celebrated on Easter Monday and surviving today in only a handful of villages surrounding Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
. The character of Siuda Baba is performed by a local man who dresses up as a shabbily clothed woman whose face is blackened with soot
Soot ( ) is a mass of impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolysed ...
. Siuda Baba walks from house to house, accompanied by other characters – a Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
and ''Krakowiacy'' (men dressed in traditional outfits). The group visits houses, collecting donations and smearing girls' faces with soot.
The custom's origins
The tradition calls upon Slavic spring rites of banishing winter.Barbara Ogrodowska, ''Zwyczaje, obrzędy i tradycje w Polsce''. Warsaw: Verbinum, 2001, p. 190. Legend tells of a pagan temple that once was active nearLednica Górna
Lednica Górna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wieliczka, within Wieliczka County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Wieliczka and south-east of the regional capital Kraków. ...
. The temple stood near a stream in the holy grove
Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...
on a hill named Kopcowa Góra. Once a year, in early spring, the priestess protecting the holy fire left the temple walls to search for a successor. The girl she chose could not buy herself out; girls would therefore hide wherever they could. Siuda Baba symbolises the priestess; soot is used to blacken Siuda Baba's face, as the priestess was not allowed to wash or leave the temple. Another interpretation suggests the new priestess' face had been blackened to mark her as the successor.
The inhabitants of Lednica Górna name different locations for the holy spring and temple: most frequently the sources of the Leda stream. The springs, located in the village, are shrouded in mystery and rarely shown to strangers.Julian Zinkow, ''Krakowskie podania, legendy i zwyczaje (oraz wybór podań i legend jurajskich)''. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Platan, 2004, p. 216-218.
The custom survived only in villages and towns surrounding Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
. Christian elements have later been added to the legend, and as a result the Siuda Baba enactment is presented on Easter Monday in Lednica Górna and in the nearby city of Wieliczka
Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of ...
.
The role of Siuda Baba is performed by a local man who dresses up in rags and blackens his face. He also wears a necklace made of chestnuts or potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
es and a large basket on his back. The same character in Wieliczka carries a large cross in one hand and a soot-dipped whip in the other, and is alone.
Siuda Baba walks from house to house accompanied by another man, dressed up as a Gypsy, and four young men wearing traditional ''Krakowiak'' costumes, although this requirement is not always met. Siuda Baba (in Wieliczka) or one of the men (in Lednica Górna) is equipped with a cart and collects donations. The group chases passers-by, blackens their faces with soot and sometimes douse them with water.
The ritual
A Siuda Baba procession is made up of eight or six people – young men aged 20–24: six (or four) ''Krakowiacy'', the Gypsy and Siuda Baba. Before they start on their route, preparations are made. The group meets at the Gypsy's home, where they don their costumes: Krakowiacy wear traditional regional folk attire; Siuda Baba – an old, dirty skirt, a necklace made of potatoes, chestnuts, or wooden beads, a scarf used as a pouch for a box with the soot-lotion mixture. The Gypsy wears black trousers with small, black scraps sewn on, a black shirt and hat. The Gypsy's whip is an important accessory: the Gypsy cracks it when entering someone's yard. The faces and palms of both the Gypsy and the Siuda Baba are thoroughly covered with soot. They carry a supply of pre-prepared mix of lotion and soot used for smearing passers-by. The regional costumes worn by ''Krakowiacy'' used to be handmade, but since the 1970s have been replaced with factory-made outfits. The current ones have been financed by European Union's rural development
Rural development is the process of improving the quality life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas.
Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of ...
funds. The group lugs a cart adorned with a statue of Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
– a place for donations. The cart is prepared by local girls.
The conduct usually follows a pre-planned route and is led by the Gypsy, who usually runs in front to reach the next house as soon as possible. A Siuda Baba's visit begins with the Gypsy cracking his whip. Depending on the level of acquaintance between the visitors and the host, the visit can begin in two ways – if the hosts are close friends, the boys don't hesitate to enter without explicit permission. If they go to people they don't know, the Gypsy, after cracking his whip, politely asks the hosts to allow the group to enter. Refusing them might result in minor negative consequences: marking the door handle, mailbox or other household items with the soot/lotion mixture. If the hosts agree for Siuda Baba to enter, the Krakowiacy begin singing. Sometimes the proceedings take place in the yard, on the porch or at the door. After the opening query: "Will you receive the resurrected Christ?" and if the answer is affirmative, the Krakowiacy sing Easter-themed songs, shaking the cart and the jingles attached to their belts.
Then suddenly a line about Siuda Baba is inserted in the song lyrics in an unexpected moment. Suddenly Krakowiacy sing "Where's Siuda Baba..." and Siuda Baba barges into the house and with the Gypsy's help, smears everyone (especially girls, who should be found first) with the soot mix. The hosts give the departing group a piece of Easter cheesecake or some other refreshment and place some money in the cart. The procession continues until late in the
evening.
Children and onlookers follow her, shouting:
Siuda Baba celebrations in modern times
The men who participate in the proceedings are usually aged 20–24 and motivated by the prospect of fun, visiting friends and collecting donations. They follow a number of rules – the roles of characters are clearly defined, the ones participating for the first time usually carry the cart. The Gypsy is often a hereditary role and the secret of manufacturing the whip is passed down the generations, as is the skill to crack it well. Only unmarried men can be members of the Siuda Baba procession. When an older brother, who performed the role of Gypsy gets married, the younger brother inherits the role and learns how to crack the whip.
Due to population migration, some of the new inhabitants of Lednica Górna are unfamiliar with the ritual. Some are very enthusiastic when visited by a Siuda conduct, treating it as a tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural ...
; others clearly dislike it and do not open the door. Local residents who are well acquainted with the tradition believe that having one's face blackened by Siuda Baba brings good luck for the coming year; a smeared girl may expect to get married soon. Anyone spotted attempting to clean the soot off will be smeared again.
"Ledniczanie" – the Lednica Górna Association – supports the tradition and encourages young people to keep it alive. Siuda Baba is the symbol of Lednica Górna and frequently appears on local handmade items.
See also
* * *References