Yes, I'm a Yoke Bloke

"Auction is for a pair of antique wooden carabao yokes.  The carabao or water buffalo are ubiquitous in the lowland Philippines, and are the primary beast of burden. Likely from the province of Ilocos Norte, island of Luzon, northern Philippines. These two early 20th century specimens are very old and weathered.

 

Yoke, pamatok, paod (Tagalog), sangol (Ilocano)
Lowland Philippines
Wood
23" inches and 23.75" inches Long"

I just won this pair of antique wooden yokes on eBay  a few minutes ago. Perhaps I'll mount them for display in the future Aeron-ized office of my dreams or give them away as awards . Wherever these artifacts end up, I hope they will serve as constant reminders of our agrarian past and struggles. Confession: This makes three in my collection.:)

Comments

[Mk]

Wow! We call that "yugo", and I know exactly how to put that in the carabao's neck. My father used to design those, and was able to pass it on to my brothers. It just takes a good eye to look for a nice slightly curve branch of a good, strong tree. Got a lot of those in our farm. This photo reminds me of HOME. Thanks!

[Sidney]

I have the impression that carabaos are fast dissapearing as beast of burden in the Philippines. 10 years ago it was easy to see them working in the rice fields. Now you already have to search to see one.

[Armand]

Mk: So cool that you know these things firsthand. Running one's hands through the rough wood certainly gives the impression of the hard work these yokes have seen.

Sidney: That is really sad. I used to hear of carabaos being slaughtered for meat and that really didn't sound right.