Freedom & Beekeeping: The Kurpie People
The beautiful Kurpiowska Forest in north-central Poland is home to the Kurpie people, one of Poland’s most distinct ethnographic groups. Historically, the Kurpie were free of serfdom, lived off the forest through beekeeping and hunting, and created a rich and interesting culture. Today, they proudly maintain their heritage by organising various local events, such as the Kurpie Wedding in Kadzidło or the Kurpie Honey Harvest near Myszyniec.
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Kurpiowska Forest near the village of Jeglijowiec, photo: Andrzej Sidor / Forum
Next to the town of Ostrołęka, in the Mazovia region, lies the beautiful Kurpiowska Forest (Puszcza Kurpiowska). This forest, now much less dense than it used to be, covers an area of about 800 square kilometres.
In the beginnings of Poland’s statehood in the 10th century, the forest was mighty and inaccessible. Because of that, and also due to its unfertile lands, it didn’t seem inviting to settlers. Therefore, for a long period, the area remained largely uninhabited and served as the hunting grounds for Polish rulers.
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In the Middle Ages, the lands of the Kurpiowska Forest were almost uninhabited. Up until the 14th century, Mazovia’s eastern and northern parts were among the least populated areas of Poland. Settlers came to the wild forest only in the beginning of the 15th century or, to be more precise, after the year 1410 and the victorious war against the Teutonic Order.
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From mazowieckiszlaktradycji.com, trans. MK
Those who eventually came to live in the forest typically lived off the woods in small settlements and worked as beekeepers, hunters and lumberjacks.
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Kurpie or tree fibre shoes, photo: Museum of Kurpie Culture
In the early 16th century, the Kurpiowska Forest became royal property, which meant that its inhabitants were subject only to the rule of the King or Queen of Poland. The local peasantry weren’t bound by obligations to the nobility, meaning they were free of serfdom.
This gave the locals a unique sense of freedom, a sense that was amplified when they were granted the right to bear arms in order to protect themselves from the wild animals living in the depths of the forest. Life in the woods was harsh but could also be rewarding, as beekeeping was an important branch of the economy at the time:
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The production of honey and wax was becoming more and more significant, especially in the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century. (…) Honey was used for various drinks, for medicinal purposes, wax was needed in liturgical settings (candles) and for crafts – whitening fabrics, (…) carpentry, etc.
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From the 2010 book ‘Kurpie’ by Bernard Kielak
The locals were united by the shared sense of freedom and the hardships of living in the remote woods with unfertile lands. They started to develop a specific local identity and eventually came to be known as the ‘Kurpie’ people. This name was derived from the word kurp used to describe a shoe woven from tree fibres. The inhabitants of the woods often wore these shoes as they proved to be more practical in the woods than conventional footwear. Because of that the forest dwellers gained the name ‘Kurpie’.
It ought to be said though, that originally this name (which first appeared in the 18th century) was derogative. It was coined by those living near the forest, envious of the Kurpie’s freedoms. However, over the years, the name in question evolved into a positive denotation of the ethnic group living in and around the forest.
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A beehive at the Adam Chętnik Kurpie Open-Air Museum in Nowogród, photo: Piotr Płaczkowski / Reporter / East News
17th century Poland saw an increase in serfdom obligations and this caused many peasants to abandon their homes and seek refuge in the free lands of the Kurpiowska Forest. That’s when the population of this region, known as Kurpiowszczyzna, started to grow rapidly.
Villages like Kadzidło and Myszyniec appeared in Kurpiowszczyzna and the woods started to be cut down on a large scale to make room for agriculture. Due to these processes, the traditional forest-based economy of the area collapsed by the 18th century and, primarily, the Kurpie people became farmers. However, the Kurpie retained their beekeeping traditions – many of them kept beehives at their farms.
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They continued to keep bees in apiaries located on their farms, which included wild hives taken from the forest. Also box hives were used.
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From ‘Kurpie’ by Bernard Kielak
Kurpie also preserved and developed their unique and rich culture, which varies in different areas of Kurpiowszczyzna. For example, Kurpie living in the Kurpiowska Forest (also known as the Green Forest) created a somewhat different identity than the Kurpie that settled in the nearby White Forest in the 18th century. There is so much to cover, it’s hard to fit it all in to just one article, so let’s take a look at some of the most distinctive elements of Kurpie culture in general.
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A Kurpie cut-out by Genowefa Baczek from the village of Gleba, photo: Andrzej Sidor / Forum
The element of Kurpie culture that’s probably best known in Poland are Kurpie paper cut-outs. Kurpie women started creating them in the 19th century and used them to decorate the interiors of their homes. At first the cut-outs were made only from white paper, but soon colour designs appeared. Interestingly, the intricately decorative cut-outs were originally made with sheep shears, which must’ve required quite a bit of dexterity.
The most popular designs of traditional Kurpie cut-outs include openwork star-like shapes, birds and leluje. Here’s how the latter are described by ethnographer Bernard Kielak, an expert on Kurpie people:
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They consist of a stylised tree with a more or less complex crown, which is grounded in a quite thick base, also adorned with cuts; on the sides of the main tree, depending on the creator’s invention, there can be smaller trees, shrubs, flowers, human figures or animals, especially forest ones.
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From ‘Kurpie’ by Bernard Kielak
On the outside, Kurpie houses, which were typically wooden, also had decorative elements. The side facing the main street of the village was adorned by special arrangements of beams that played with the sunlight. Meticulously cut pieces of openwork were visible above the windows and the traditional gable roof featured adornments. The endings of the roof ridge sported carved figures such as horns or animal heads.
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The Nowogród Girls’ Vocal Group in Kurpie costumes, photo: Marek Maliszewski / Reporter / East News
Another distinctive element of Kurpie culture is the folk costume. Maria Samsel, director of the Museum of Kurpie Culture in Ostrołęka, describes women’s traditional garb:
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The traditional festive ladies’ Kurpie costume consists of: a 'czółko' – a rectangular piece of headwear made of black velvet and adorned with sequins, artificial flowers and ribbons, fastened at the back of the head; a 'wystek', or a close-fitting, sleeveless corset with a front fastening; and a skirt which the Kurpie call a 'kitel'. (…) This skirt is arranged so that it has folds in the back; its front is covered by a white apron decorated with crocheted lacework.
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From ‘Kurp to Człowiek Dumny z Tradycji’, a 2017 interview with Maria Samsel by the daily Rzeczpospolita, trans. MK
Here it might be worth adding that one of the natural riches of the Puszcza Kurpiowska is amber, which can be found in the ground. In the 18th century, local artisans began using amber to create necklaces and rosaries, or decorate different objects. Today this practice is fading, but there was a time when locally-made amber necklaces were an important element of Kurpie women’s costume.
The men’s costume, on the other hand, consists of a grzybek or a brown felt hat adorned with a red ribbon, a white linen shirt, a red cloth jacket and white linen trousers with red stripes down the sides. Interestingly, shoes woven from tree fibre are not actually a part of Kurpie folk costumes – they were eventually substituted by more conventional footwear. Men wear black, calf-length boots, whereas women wear court shoes or boots
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Zbójna Vocal Group & Zbójna Kurpie Band, photo: Andrzej Sidor / Forum
The Kurpie also developed a unique dialect, which is said to be similar to 17th century Polish. One of its most recognisable features is that it includes a greater number of vowels than mainstream Polish. For instance, the Kurpie vowel ‘ë’ sounds like a mix of the Polish vowels ‘e’ and ‘a.’ Also, certain words in the Kurpie dialect differ from their counterparts in official Polish. For example, the Kurpie word chójka means pine, whereas in Polish it’s sosna.
The charming Kurpie dialect was used in everyday speech but also in the numerous songs created by the Kurpie people. Almost 800 of them can be found in the four-volume book Puszcza Kurpiowska w Pieśni (Songs of the Kurpiowska Forest) published in the years 1928–1934 by Father Władysław Skierkowski. Skierkowski served as a Catholic priest in Kurpiowszczyzna in the early 20th century and became fascinated with the local folklore. For years, he collected and wrote down traditional Kurpie songs. Here’s an excerpt from the lyrics to one of the tunes:
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Mary where are you going, where are you wandering,
To the forest I go, where you go hunting,
Go on Mary, go on, in a hurry we’ll be,
We’ll gather berries, and we’ll be happy
Kurpie songs often featured a slow, wistful melody and were sung with intensity. However, cheerful and rhythmic tunes may also be found among them. They were performed acapella or, in some cases, with the accompaniment of a band. A traditional Kurpie folk band includes a fiddle, a drum, a clarinet and a pedal accordion.
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Kurpie Farm, a department of the Museum of Kurpie Culture in Ostrołęka, photo: Marek Bazak / East News
The Kurpie are known to have bravely participated in Poland’s wars and uprisings, such as 1794’s Kościuszko Uprising – a failed insurgency against the partitions of Poland. Nevertheless, their lands eventually fell into the hands of the partitioning powers.
In the 19th century, Kurpiowszczyzna began to suffer from overpopulation, which led to emigration from the region. An especially big wave of migrants, often young people, left the area of the Kurpiowska Forest at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. Many of them went to other European countries or America, where they encountered and adopted foreign cultural influences. Those that later came back to their home region often distanced themselves from local traditions, for example, by no longer using the Kurpie dialect. This, as well as the modernisation of Poland which undermined traditional social structures, led to the erosion of Kurpie culture. This erosion was furthered by the World Wars, which brought about great destruction and change.
However, in the 20th century conscious efforts were made to preserve Kurpie culture. The 1930s saw the creation of groups like Carniacy or Dąbrozianki, which presented Kurpie songs and dances. In 1975, the Museum of Kurpie Culture, which showcases the history and art of Kurpie people, opened in Ostrołęka.
The annual festival of Kurpie culture Wesele Kurpiowskie (Kurpie Wedding) has been organised in the village of Kadzidło since 1994. This joyous event revolves around the staging of a show based on Kurpie wedding traditions (one of which was that the bride should dance with every guest at the wedding!). Interestingly, the show occasionally features a real groom and bride and results in an actual marriage taking place. Additionally, Kurpie Wedding features things like musical performances and presentations of local handicrafts.
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The Carniacy group at Kurpie Honey Harvest, photo: Michal Florek / Forum
Another major event in the region is the Miodobranie Kurpiowskie (Kurpie Honey Harvest), which has been held every August near the town of Myszyniec for over 40 years. Beekeepers from Kurpiowszczyzna and neighbouring areas showcase their honeys, bee pollens and wax products. The event always features the staging of a show about Kurpie beekeeping traditions and includes performances by Kurpie folk groups.
In 2016, the first textbook for learning the Kurpie dialect was published by the Ostrołęka-based Kurpie Association, which was founded in 1996 to cultivate Kurpie culture. Nowadays, the Kurpie dialect is taught in the schools of Kurpiowszczyzna.
It’s safe to say that traditional Kurpie culture has been well preserved and that modern Kurpie people are proud of their unique local identity and are glad to express it. Maria Samsel puts it this way:
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Today [Kurpiowszczyzna] is a prosperous region of happy people who are in touch with their past and traditions and are proud of their Kurpie identity.
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From ‘Kurp to Człowiek Dumny z Tradycji’, trans. MK
Written by Marek Kępa, Jan 21
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