257:. The police officer leads the procession, marches in the front and chooses the route. Police officers stop cars passing by to give the drivers "holiday fines" and knock on the doors of nearby houses so the hosts admit the procession and offer the participants some refreshments. The police officer collects donations offered by passers-by, drivers or other people. The person playing this role must be sociable and able to integrate the group and make people laugh.
330:-like head coverings featuring openings for eyes and mouth. The symbolic horse is the most important element of the outfit. It takes the form of a horse's puppet, made from two plastic hoops and covered with white fabric. The hoops are usually cut out from plastic buckets (earlier – flour sieves). Red accents appear on shoelaces, as mask contour lines, on the top of the balaclava, or as symbolic drawings of a horse's head and tail.
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The old couple is an inseparable pair who carry together a large, wicker, straw-lined basket. The characters' task is to sing and dance for the visited hosts and collect donations into the basket: eggs, alcoholic drinks, sweets. The woman dressed up as the 'old woman' wears strong makeup, since in
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suggested that the horse and the bear are an allegory of departing winter. However, Andrzej Brencz invalidated this theory: the procession takes place in spring only because the time of the celebration has been shifted, as often happens with rituals. It has been proven that similar processions of
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The musicians usually – but not always – come from the local community. Dressed in colourful clothes, they march along with the others, sometimes for hours, singing and playing folk or popular melodies. The music had a number of functions: it provided a rhythm for the procession; integrated the
175:, the Greys are recalled by the oldest community members, who know the tradition from pre-war sources. A Greys procession had been photographed by the first cameras available in the region. Although the custom's origins differ from those of Western and Central
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The procession is composed of various characters – some of them are key figures and are present each spring. Each year those are the greys (usually half a dozen or so), a group of chimney sweeps, the old man and woman, policemen and musicians.
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the past men took this role and the makeup had been a playful way of impersonating the other gender. The old woman's clothes are kitschy and multicoloured, she wears an apron and a headscarf. The old man wears loose clothes and a hat.
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Today the people participating in the custom dress up in white clothes and face masks with holes for eyes and mouth, while puppets of horses are tied to their waists. Andrzej Brencz suggests that the ritual refers to
231:, a traditional procession popular across Greater Poland. Today the bear wears fluffy, brown clothes and a mask. A chain is tied around the bear's waist and its jangling alerts residents about the Greys' approach.
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Today this traditional procession draws a crowd of participants, followers, residents and their families. The group has an informal leader, often drawn from the community's leaders: members of the
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111:. The procession is named after the Grey Horse – the main character in the procession. In the past, the procession was led by a rider on a grey horse (or a man leading two grey horses).
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procession members with the audience (popular melodies allow the onlookers to feel involved). Finally, it gives a host entertaining the Greys an opportunity to dance or sing.
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demonstrates that similar processions take place in areas where villages are close to each other. The area where the Easter Greys tradition is observed stretches between
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are connected to old, ritualized magical rites, which were supposed to transfer the strength of the green twigs to the person being hit with them”.
307:-makers). Stanisław Błaszczyk observed: “they pelt children with mud, but kids still return to be chased away screaming, only to come back again”.
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The custom of smearing is well known in Polish ethnography – for example, in the customs observed in
Greater Poland a similar role is played by
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they do the same, but also spill water over each other. Each of the shepherds walks from house to house and whips others with twigs”.
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made from short pieces of rope to whip the legs of the passers-by. These characters enliven the procession and chase the children.
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twigs were commonly used for this purpose, which is a reference to the tradition of whipping with green twigs on Easter Monday.
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Each year there are about half a dozen Greys in
Chobienice. The character is dressed up in white clothes, often made from
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Andrzej Brencz notes: “Probably the custom of Easter whipping and the other custom of whipping people with twigs on
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One of the roles of the Police
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are a popular ludic element and appear every year. Their task has been to smear people with
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way of selecting procession characters: this character resembles the leader of similar
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The origins of the custom are not clear: the name suggests parades of grey horses.
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This article is about a Polish Easter custom. For a village in Poland, see
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The Greys' task is to chase children and smack passers-by with whips:
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mentioned the custom: "On the second and third day of Easter in the
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Pogranicze polsko-niemieckie jako pogranicze etnograficzne
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470:, map no. 16, Poznań: Wydawnictwo UAM, 1978, pp. 13-14.
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416:, t. 11. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, 2005, p. 95.
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was traditionally tied with a straw rope, typical for
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Siwki - zwyczajowe pochody przebierańców na
Wielkanoc
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The colourful procession borrows motifs from similar
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528:Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 2006, pp. 120-122.
453:means "gray horse". See: Langematz R., Nedo P.,
71:The map of Polish Easter processions devised by
483:. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 2006, p. 210.
269:A Chimney Sweep smearing a girl's face with tar
359:, or whipping, takes place... In Michałów and
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591:Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 2006, p. 190.
481:Wielkopolski rok obrzędowy. Tradycja i zmiana
131:) on grey horses took place in the region of
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539:Poznań, Polska i świat usłyszą o żandarmach
414:Atlas Języka i Kultury Ludowej Wielkopolski
190:or the Farmers' Wives Association members.
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295:procession characters called "dirtiers" (
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206:and the Chimney Sweep, Chobienice, 2015
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906:Culture of Greater Poland Voivodeship
167:The Greys as celebrated in Chobienice
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56:) is a regional tradition rooted in
575:, Wrocław-Poznań, 1962-1967, p. 66.
494:"Siwki Chobienice - naszemiasto.pl"
627:Polish folk customs and traditions
412:, map and commentary no. 854, in:
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589:rok obrzędowy. Tradycja i zmiana.
526:rok obrzędowy. Tradycja i zmiana.
139:), as well as in the regions of
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778:Funeral of ĹĽur and a herring
911:Easter traditions in Poland
500:(in Polish). Archived from
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374:The Old Man and Old Woman
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457:, Bautzen, 1968, p. 164.
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427:"siwek - SĹ‚ownik SJP"
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115:Stanisław Błaszczyk
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770:Easter palm
718:Gregorianki
666:Podkoziołek
537:A. JarmuĹĽ,
449:In German,
368:Good Friday
282:shoe polish
151:, often on
54:grey horses
48:(literally
900:Categories
862:Katarzynki
818:Noc Kupały
754:Siuda Baba
738:Emaus fair
508:2015-11-15
436:2015-11-15
392:References
293:Green week
173:Chobienice
77:Międzychód
35:Chobienice
866:Andrzejki
750:Ĺšmiergust
730:Święconka
726:Pucheroki
571:, t. 23:
328:balaclava
317:bed linen
245:syncretic
149:Christmas
133:Pomerania
121:‹See Tfd›
16:Tradition
858:Zaduszki
710:Marzanna
654:Gromnica
451:Schimmel
301:smolarze
221:carnival
215:The Bear
118:riders (
81:Wolsztyn
52:, as in
850:DoĹĽynki
838:ZaĹĽynki
822:SobĂłtka
798:Maypole
790:Żandary
786:Rękawka
766:Walatka
762:Pisanki
682:Ostatki
678:Zapusty
658:Jemioła
573:Pomorze
361:Dobrzyń
303:, lit.
250:ĹĽandary
145:Masuria
875:Attire
854:Dziady
845:Autumn
813:Summer
705:Spring
698:Kolęda
694:Herody
690:Comber
633:Winter
554:, in:
431:sjp.pl
356:dyngus
343:willow
297:Polish
255:Poznań
141:Warmia
125:German
85:Poznań
37:, 2015
794:Siwki
782:RoduĹ›
742:Turki
646:Turoń
638:Konik
351:Chełm
319:or a
286:whips
105:Siwek
46:Siwek
42:Siwki
31:Siwki
21:Siwki
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278:soot
239:The
225:bear
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