Let's talk cromachs

[Tobus]

The b-side would be that the simple having of a stick is just a holdover from when having a stick was a more practical thing. Self-defense/deterrent...

Not to hijack my own thread, but that's still an everyday practical thing for me. Just last weekend I was hiking as usual, with my wife riding alongside me on her horse. We rounded a curve in the trail and there were two Rottweiler/Chow-cross dogs standing there. I slowly approached them and they seemed friendly enough, but then one of them charged my wife's horse. I was about to turn my hiking staff into a dog-beating club, but thankfully my wife has trained her horse on how to handle it. She put her horse in offensive mode and started chasing the dog to stomp it to smithereens (a task he seems to enjoy, although he's never actually stomped one that I know of). Anyway, the dog's owner rounded the curve a few moments later and put them on their leashes where they were supposed to be the whole time, according to the rules of the state park. He got a tongue-lashing from my irate wife.

Anyway, I won't hit the trails without my stick. Its intended purpose is for balance and all the other things you describe, but "club" is definitely on the list too, should it ever come to that!

[Chas]

I could be wrong, but I believe that this is staff of office - Chieftain of the Gathering or some such.

Regards

Chas

[HeathBar]

From what I read somewhere the shape of the cromach head has a purpose. The opening would be the right size for a sheeps neck making it easy for the shepard to control the sheep. And the little upturn (which is now mostly a carved thistle) has a purpose as well. If one of the sheep was giving birth, then the shepard could stick the staff in the ground and then hang a lantern from the upturn. This would leave both of his hands free to assist in the birthing. It makes sense, but it could just be a romantic legend.

I want to say that most Scottish made cromachs are made of hawthorne for the staff and a rams horn for the head. But I suppose it could be made from a shaped piece of wood as well.

I don't know if a market stick is considered a cromach. It has a much smaller opening in the head. This is used to grab the sheep by the leg.

[auld argonian]

Interesting...I grew up across the street from the Union Stock Yards in Chicago and saw lots of handlers use a more utilitarian version of the "shepherds' crook" while schlepping the sheep on to their final destination. They were only about four feet long at the max and had a larger hook on them...rather unlike the cromachs or the classic shepherds' crooks that one sees in representations of Biblical hi-jinks (those are probably more of a representation of what the artist was familiar with than something legitimately BCE anyway).

Best

AA

[Zardoz]

From what I read somewhere the shape of the cromach head has a purpose. The opening would be the right size for a sheeps neck making it easy for the shepard to control the sheep. And the little upturn (which is now mostly a carved thistle) has a purpose as well. If one of the sheep was giving birth, then the shepard could stick the staff in the ground and then hang a lantern from the upturn. This would leave both of his hands free to assist in the birthing. It makes sense, but it could just be a romantic legend.

I want to say that most Scottish made cromachs are made of hawthorne for the staff and a rams horn for the head. But I suppose it could be made from a shaped piece of wood as well.

I don't know if a market stick is considered a cromach. It has a much smaller opening in the head. This is used to grab the sheep by the leg.

Might just be semantics, or regionality, but in the sheep handling business (in which my wife is surprisingly well versed) the stick used to grab sheep by the leg is called a Leg Cleek and has a smaller metal hook.
The fancy horn or metal topped "market stick" is a decendant of the plain shepherds crook, but a bit of a "show off" stick to be taken to the market when buying/selling stock, etc.. The cromachs one usually sees on this forum and at Highland events remind me more of market sticks.

[BoldHighlander]

Might just be semantics, or regionality, but in the sheep handling business (in which my wife is surprisingly well versed) the stick used to grab sheep by the leg is called a Leg Cleek and has a smaller metal hook.
The fancy horn or metal topped "market stick" is a decendant of the plain shepherds crook, but a bit of a "show off" stick to be taken to the market when buying/selling stock, etc.. The cromachs one usually sees on this forum and at Highland events remind me more of market sticks.

You'd be correct "Z".

In an older (closed) thread I started back in 2008, there are some books listed on stick making, along with photos of Jock Scot's wonderful looking cromach you might find of interest.

You can view the thread here.

I've always wanted a curly horned one myself, like the one to the far right (below), though I also like the middle one as well



...these last two pics were on the older thread in the OP, but got lost somewhere:

[MacRobert's Reply]

Useful for establishing the depth of snow drifts before struggling through them.

[Akilter]

This may help.

http://knol.google.com/k/the-art-of-...der-tradition#

Search for stick making, or stick dressing which are more common terms to those involved in the art.

There is actually quite alot about it on the net.

Regards

[Drac]

While I've had never heard the term cromach, staves have been used in pagan ceremonies. Pagans are hardly unique in that though, to be very honest there are very few household items that haven't been used in religous ceremonies of many religons throughout time.

I wouldn't worry to much about the "occult" uses. If you look hard enough you will find a claim on just about anything you touch that is old enough from cards to brooms.

Jim

[auld argonian]

While I've had never heard the term cromach, staves have been used in pagan ceremonies. Pagans are hardly unique in that though, to be very honest there are very few household items that haven't been used in religous ceremonies of many religons throughout time.

Jim

The Lord Of The Rings by ol' JRR Tolkien abounds with characters who bear staves imbued with magic.

There's the Staff of Elrond, the Staff of Gandalf...

...I, myself, carry what is know (and feared) far and wide as "The Staff Of The Meyer And Bessie Feinberg Jewish Community Center"...it has aided me many times in fording streams, fending off Balrogs and finding the leanest corned beef sandwiches in any burg that I visit.

Best

AA