Besom
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A besom () is a
broom A broom (also known as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a ...
, a household implement used for sweeping. The term is mostly reserved for a traditional broom constructed from a bundle of twigs tied to a stout pole. The twigs used could be
broom A broom (also known as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a ...
(i.e. '' Genista'', from which comes the modern name "broom" for the tool), heather or similar. The song " Buy Broom Buzzems" from
Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...
refers to both types of twig. From the phrase ''broom besom'' the more common ''broom'' comes. In Scotland and Bulgaria, besoms are still occasionally to be found at the edge of forests where they are stacked for use in early response to an outbreak of fire.


Description

As a result of its construction around a central pole, the brush of the besom is rounded instead of flat. The bristles can be made of many materials including, but not limited to straw, herbs, or twigs. Traditionally, the handle is of hazel wood and the head is of birch twigs. Modern construction uses bindings of wire and string (instead of the traditional split
withy A withy or withe (also willow and osier) is a strong flexible willow stem, typically used in thatching, basketmaking, gardening and for constructing woven wattle hurdles.
) and the head is secured by a steel nail instead of a wooden
dowel The dowel is a cylindrical shape made of wood, plastic, or metal. In its original manufactured form, a dowel is long and called a ''dowel rod'', which are often cut into shorter ''dowel pins''. Dowels are commonly used as structural reinforceme ...
.


Cultural associations


Besoms and flying ointments in early modern witchcraft

A number of different recipes for "flying ointments" have survived from the
early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
,Hansen, Harold A. ''The Witch's Garden'' pub. Unity Press 1978 some of the constituents of which not only have hallucinogenic properties but are fat-soluble and could have been absorbed transdermally. Certain researchers have speculated that the stereotypical image of the witch "flying" astride the broomstick of a besom may derive from traditions concerning the use of broomsticks or other staves by women to apply psychotropic ointments to their
vagina In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular sex organ, reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The #Vag ...
l or anal
mucosa A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It ...
.Harner, Michael J., ''Hallucinogens and Shamanism'', pub. Oxford University Press 1973, reprinted U.S.A.1978 Chapter 8 : pps. 125–150. The active ingredients in flying ointments were primarily plants in the nightshade family
Solanaceae Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...
, most commonly ''
Atropa belladonna ''Atropa bella-donna'', commonly known as deadly nightshade or belladonna, is a toxic perennial herbaceous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae, which also includes tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant. It is native to Europe and Western Asia, i ...
'' (deadly nightshade) and ''
Hyoscyamus niger Henbane (''Hyoscyamus niger'', also black henbane and stinking nightshade) is a poisonous plant belonging to tribe Hyoscyameae of the nightshade family ''Solanaceae''. Henbane is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great B ...
'' (henbane), belonging to the
tropane alkaloid Tropane alkaloids are a class of bicyclic .2.1alkaloids and secondary metabolites that contain a tropane ring in their chemical structure. Tropane alkaloids occur naturally in many members of the plant family Solanaceae. Certain tropane alkaloi ...
-rich tribe Hyoscyameae. Other tropane-containing, nightshade ingredients included the famous mandrake ('' Mandragora officinarum''), '' Scopolia carniolica'' and '' Datura stramonium'', the thornapple. The alkaloids
atropine Atropine is a tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic medication used to treat certain types of nerve agent and pesticide poisonings as well as some types of slow heart rate, and to decrease saliva production during surgery. It is typically give ...
,
hyoscyamine Hyoscyamine (also known as daturine or duboisine) is a naturally occurring tropane alkaloid and plant toxin. It is a secondary metabolite found in certain plants of the family Solanaceae, including Hyoscyamus niger, henbane, Mandragora officina ...
and scopolamine present in these solanaceous plants are not only potent (and highly toxic) hallucinogens of the
deliriant Deliriants are a subclass of hallucinogen. The term was coined in the early 1980s to distinguish these drugs from psychedelics such as LSD and dissociatives such as ketamine, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as opposed to th ...
class, but are also fat-soluble and capable of being absorbed through unbroken human skin. Another ingredient listed frequently in the various flying ointment recipes is the even more toxic ''
Aconitum napellus ''Aconitum napellus'', monkshood, aconite, Venus' chariot or wolfsbane, is a species of highly toxic flowering plants in the genus ''Aconitum'' of the family Ranunculaceae, native and endemic to western and central Europe. It is an herbaceous pe ...
'', which has (among others) the English common name ''wolfsbane'' (i.e. "slayer of wolves").


In Russia and Ukraine

In
Russian culture Russian culture ( rus, Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii, kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern cultu ...
, the besom or ''venik'' () has historically had both good and bad connotations. It was seen as a place behind or under which a
domovoy In the Slavic religious tradition, Domovoy (, literally " he oneof the household"; also spelled ''Domovoi'', ''Domovoj'', and known as , (''Domovik''), (''Domovyk'') and (''Damavik'')) is the household spirit of a given kin. According to th ...
would hide, and similarly to the broom it was sometimes associated with the occult. However, it also sometimes served as a protective
amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...
, as well as a tool for
fortune-telling Fortune telling is the spiritual practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115–116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle ...
. A venik was also often not thrown away, instead being ceremonially burned during Maslenitsa. The venik's cultural significance extends outside Russia: in
Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast (), also referred to as Odeshchyna (Одещина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative centre is the city of Ode ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, a large venik statue (six metres tall) was erected to commemorate the 620th anniversary of the foundation of Savran, a settlement in the area, which was recognized as the largest venik monument in the world.


See also

* Kumade rake * Jumping the broom


References


External links

* {{Contemporary witchcraft Magic items European witchcraft Cleaning tools Brooms