“Sabała’s Night” – the highlander “highwaymen” celebration

Abstract

This article relates to “Sabała’s Night” – a highlander celebration which is an example of an “invented tradition” in the sense suggested by Eric Hobsbawm. The author refers to the process of mythologisation, stereotyping and commercialisation of highland robbery in the Podhale region. She outlines the genesis and subsequent metamorphoses of this fabricated tradition which is based on the romantic legends of mountain highwaymen. While discussing the course of events, the author points to the elements borrowed from the past which have been creatively transformed to form the foundation of new “highwaymen” customs currently performed by Podhale highlanders during their festival. She explains the reasons which make the depositaries of highwaymen tradition treat “Sabała’s Night”, an event which is of a theatrical and at times even comedic nature, with particular esteem and absolute seriousness. She presents the engagement of the highlander’s intellectual elite into its conduct while taking into account the differentiation determined by sex. Finally, she shows how this event forms an unabated tourist attraction of the Podhale region and is listed amongst the most significant cultural events in this area.