What is
Staff: staff with a curved upper end (DCVB, or., occ., mall.). Tool of the shepherd and the pilgrim.
How is
- Straight wooden stick with curved handle (common wood in Mallorca, check: wild olive, hackberry).
How is fa
- The green branch is bent with fire or an already twisted branch is used (local technique, please verify).
Com s'usa
- Support on the march and on the road.
- The curve hooks the sheep's leg or neck.
- The herd is kept in the pleta, uncultivated land enclosed by a wall where the cattle graze (Mall.), and rests in the sestador, which in Mallorca is a stable or covered corral (DCVB).
Vocabulary
- gaiato / gaiata — staff. Pronunciations: gəјáto (Artà, Llucmajor, Inca), giéto (Felanitx), gəátu (Sóller).
- pleta (Mall.) — pasture fence.
- sestador (Mall.) — covered corral.
- «Fer pleta d'una thing» – destroy it (Mall.).
- «Gaiato i senaieta, i viure esquena dreta» – it is said of someone who asks for alms while being able to work (Mall.).
History
- 1490: "un gayato per anar a romiatges" (DCVB).
- 1606: "corral or pleta de moltons" (Aguiló, DCVB).
- 1703: "the bestiar must be in the sestador" (arx. de Felanitx, DCVB).
On veure'n
- Shepherds of the Serra and Pla; livestock fairs.
Why is it design
- One curve, two functions: support and hook.
- Made from the branch: the tree already gives the shape.
For the project
- Series of shepherd's staffs collected in towns, with name and wood.
Frequently asked questions
What is Gaiato?
Staff: staff with a curved upper end (DCVB, or., occ., mall.). Tool of the shepherd and the pilgrim.
What are the traditional words for Gaiato?
Some words: gaiato / gaiata, «Fer pleta d'una cosa», «Gaiato i senaieta, i viure esquena dreta».
Sources
- dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=gaiato
- dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=pleta
- dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=sestador
Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.