Jump to content

Broom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Several terms redirect here. For other uses, seeBroom (disambiguation),Broomstick (disambiguation),Push broom scanner,andWhisk broom scanner.
Sorghum-made brooms with long handles as well as shorthandles

Abroom(also known as abroomstick) is acleaning toolconsisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety ofbrushwith a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with adustpan.

A distinction is made between a "hard broom" and a "soft broom" and a spectrum in between. Soft brooms are used in some cultures chiefly for sweeping walls of cobwebs andspiders,like a "feather duster",while hard brooms are for rougher tasks like sweeping dirt off sidewalks or concrete floors, or even smoothing and texturing wetconcrete.The majority of brooms are somewhere in between, suitable for sweeping the floors of homes and businesses, soft enough to be flexible and to move even light dust, but stiff enough to achieve a firm sweeping action.[citation needed]

The broom is also a symbolic object associated withwitchcraftandceremonial magic.

Video of aJapaneseconstruction worker cleaning up his construction site with a Japanese broom

Etymology

[edit]

The word "broom" derives from the name of certain thornyshrubs(Genistaand others) used for sweeping.[1]The name of the shrubs began to be used for the household implement inLate Middle Englishand gradually replaced the earlierbesomduring theEarly Modern Englishperiod. The songBuy Broom Buzzems(byWilliam Purvis1752–1832) still refers to the "broom besom" as one type ofbesom(i.e. "a besom made from broom" ).

Flat brooms, made ofbroom corn,[2]were invented byShakersin the 19th century with the invention of thebroom vice.[3] A smaller whisk broom or brush is sometimes called a duster.

Manufacture

[edit]
See also:Shaker broom vise
Making brooms, 2012

In 1797, the quality of brooms changed when Levi Dickenson, a farmer inHadley, Massachusetts,made a broom for his wife, using the tassels ofsorghum,a grain he was growing for the seeds. His wife spread good words around town, creating demand for Dickenson's sorghum brooms. The sorghum brooms held up well, but ultimately, like all brooms, fell apart. Dickenson subsequently invented a machine that would make better brooms, and faster than he could. In 1810, the foot treadle broom machine was invented. This machine played an integral part in theIndustrial Revolution.[4][5]

United States

[edit]

One source mentions that the United States had 303 broom factories by 1839 and that the number peaked at 1,039 in 1919. Most of these were in theEastern United States;during theGreat Depressionin the 1930s, the number of factories declined to 320 in 1939.[6]The state ofOklahomabecame a major center for broom production because broom corn grew especially well there, with The Oklahoma Broom Corn Company opening a factory inEl Renoin 1906. Faced with competition from imported brooms and synthetic bristles, most of the factories closed by the 1960s.[6]

Magic

[edit]
Francisco Goya'sLos Caprichos:¡Linda maestra!( "The Follies: Beautiful Teacher!" ) – witches heading to aSabbathon a broomstick

In the context ofwitchcraft,broomstickis likely to refer to the broom as a whole, known as abesom.The first known reference towitchesflying on broomsticks dates to the 11th-century Islamic traditionalist theologianIbn Qudamahinhis book al-Mughnī ( The Persuader ). The first reference towitchesflying on broomsticks in Europe dates to 1453, confessed by the male witchGuillaume Edelin.[7]The concept of aflying ointmentused by witches appears at about the same time, recorded in 1456.

InMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1939 film,The Wizard of Oz,theWicked Witch of the Westused a broomstick to fly overOz.She also used it to skywrite "Surrender Dorothy"above theEmerald City.The WizardcommandsDorothyand her three traveling companions to bring the Wicked Witch's broomstick to him in order to grant their wishes. Dorothy carries it to the Wizard with theScarecrow,Tin Man,andLionafter the Wicked Witch's death.

InDisney's 1940 filmFantasia,Mickey Mouse,playingThe Sorcerer's Apprentice,brings a broom to life to do his chore of filling a well full of water. The broom overdoes its job and when chopped into pieces, each splinter becomes a new broom that flood the room untilYen Sidstops them. This story comes from a poem byGoethecalledDer Zauberlehrling( "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" ). The Disney brooms have had recurring cameos in Disney media, mostly portrayed as janitors, albeit not out of control or causing chaos such as in the original appearance.

This flight was also inBedknobs and Broomsticksas well asHocus Pocus.

InEswatini (Swaziland),witches' broomsticks are short bundles of sticks tied together without a handle.[8]

Flying brooms play an important role in the fantasy world ofHarry Potter,used for transportation as well as for playing the popular airborne game ofQuidditch.Flying brooms, along withFlying carpets,are the main means of transportation in the world ofPoul Anderson's Operation Chaos.

TheFlying Broom(Turkish:Uçan Süpürge) is afeministorganization inTurkey,deliberately evoking the associations of a Flying Broom with witches.

In wider culture

[edit]
  • TheMétis peopleof Canada have a broom dancing tradition. There are broom dancing exhibitions where people show off their broom dancing skills. The lively broom dance involves fast footwork and jumping.[9]
  • "Jumping the broom"is anAfrican-Americanwedding tradition that originated in marriages ofslaves in the United Statesin the 19th century. Its revived popularity among African Americans is due to the 1976 novelRoots: The Saga of an American Family.[10]"Jumping the broom" was a marriage tradition in pre-Christian Britain and possibly through wider areas of Europe, such as Scandinavia and the Baltic Germanic tribes.[citation needed]Broom grows widely throughout Europe and Africa.
  • DuringWorld War II,American submarine crews would tie a broom to their boat'sconning towerwhen returning to port to indicate that they had "swept" the seas clean of enemy shipping.[11]The tradition has been devalued in recent years by submarine crews who fly a broom simply when returning from their boat's shake-down cruise. This tradition may stem from the action of the Dutch admiralMaarten Trompwho tied a broom to his main mast after defeating the British admiralRobert Blakeat theBattle of Dungenessin 1652. This has often been interpreted as a message that he would "sweep the British from the seas". This story remains unsubstantiated,[12]but may have its origin in the tradition of hoisting a broom as a sign that a ship was for sale,[13]which seems more likely as Tromp had captured two of Blake's ships in the battle.[14]
  • InBhojpuri,it is calledBaṛhanī(prosperer), as it is believed that it's prospers the family and house.[15]

Literature

[edit]

But a Broom-Stick, perhaps you will say, is an Emblem of a Tree standing on its Head; and pray what is Man, but a Topsy-turvey Creature, his Animal Faculties perpetually mounted on his Rational; His Head where his Heels should be, groveling on the Earth, and yet with all his Faults, he sets up to be an universal Reformer and Corrector of Abuses, a Remover of Grievances, rakes into every Sluts Corner of Nature, bringing hidden Corruptions to the Light, and raises a mighty Dust where there was none before, sharing deeply all the while, in the very same Pollutions he pretends to sweep away: His last Days are spent in Slavery to Women, and generally the least deserving; till worn to the Stumps, like his Brother Bezom, he is either kickt out of Doors, or made use of to kindle Flames, for others to warm themselves by.[16]

  • InJ.K. Rowling'sHarry Potternovels andfilm adaptations,broomsticks are a common form of transport for wizards and witches. These are also used for the magical sport ofQuidditch,in which players use their broomsticks to fly around a field and shoot goals.

Politics

[edit]
Nigerian opposition politicians holding brooms at a campaign rally

For much of the 20th century, political cartoons and propaganda would often depict new or oncoming leaders sweeping away old, corrupt or unpopular figures.

The broom is used as a symbol of the following political parties:

Religion

[edit]
  • InJainism,monks and nuns have a little broom with them, in order to gently brush aside ants and small animals, to avoid crushing them. This is part of observing the principle ofAhinsā.[17]
  • TheShakersare often credited with the invention of the flat broom.

Sports

[edit]
  • Curling broom
  • Inbaseballandbasketball,when thehome teamis close to accomplishing a sweep (having won the first two games of a three-game series or first three games of a four-game series), some fans will bring brooms to the ballpark and brandish them as a way of taunting the visiting team (examples: Arkansas vs. LSU, 2011; Red Sox vs. Yankees, May 13–15, 2011 and June 7–9, 2011).
  • Inbroomball,broomsticks have their heads removed and are used to push a ball into a goal, on an ice surface. The game is similar to hockey, except players do not wear skates.
[edit]
  • Common soft broom in Indonesia
    Common soft broom in Indonesia
  • Carved reliefs on stone tomb doors showing a man dressed in Hanfu and holding a broom, Chinese Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD), from Lanjia Yard, Pi County, Sichuan province, Sichuan Provincial Museum of Chengdu, China
    Carvedreliefson stone tomb doors showing a man dressed inHanfuand holding a broom, ChineseEastern Han dynasty(25–220 AD), from Lanjia Yard,Pi County,Sichuan province,Sichuan Provincial MuseumofChengdu,China
  • A soft broom commonly used in Hainan Province, China
    A soft broom commonly used inHainan Province,China
  • Typical Filipino soft brooms (walís-tambô), Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines
    Typical Filipino soft brooms (walís-tambô),Banaue,Ifugao,Philippines
  • A hard-broom (walís-tingtíng) stall in the Philippines. Philippine hard brooms are often made from the hard primary veins of the leaves of the coconut palm frond.
    A hard-broom (walís-tingtíng) stall in the Philippines. Philippine hard brooms are often made from the hard primary veins of the leaves of the coconut palm frond.
  • A typical broom at a home in Haiti
    A typical broom at a home in Haiti
  • A broom with bristles traditionally made using broom corn
    A broom with bristles traditionally made usingbroom corn
  • A broom at a Rwandan home, made out of twigs
    A broom at a Rwandan home, made out of twigs
  • Turkey tail brooms
    Two 'turkey tail' style brooms made from broom corn
  • Japanese warrior sweeping the deck with a broom before killing himself.
    Japanese warrior sweeping the deck with a broom before killing himself.
  • Floor broom
    Floor broom
  • Street clean volunteer uses a broom, Earth Day 2021
    Street cleanvolunteer uses a broom,Earth Day2021
  • broom made of the stem of coconut leaf
    broom made of the stem of coconut leaf

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Shorter Oxford English dictionary, 6th ed.United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. p. 3804.ISBN978-0199206872.
  2. ^"How to make a broom".Ogden Publications, Inc.Archivedfrom the original on 2013-03-14.Retrieved2010-03-15.
  3. ^"Broom".Archivedfrom the original on 2009-02-02.Retrieved2008-11-05.
  4. ^"History of Early American Brooms and Broom Making - BroomShop".broomshop.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-09-18.Retrieved2015-09-29.
  5. ^Earle, Alice Morse (1898).Home Life in Colonial Days.Macmillan. p. 256.ISBN978-1-4556-0592-7.
  6. ^abFugate, Tally D."Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture".Broom Factories.Archived fromthe originalon November 19, 2012.RetrievedAugust 13,2012.
  7. ^Man, Myth and Magic:An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural.1970, edited by Richard Cavendish.
  8. ^Spooner, Samantha (15 October 2014)."From hippie bans to broomstick flying limits, here are Africa's most absurd laws".Mail & Guardian Africa.Archived fromthe originalon 29 October 2014.Retrieved29 October2014.
  9. ^"Broom Dance, Metisfest 2001".The Virtual Museum of Metis History and Culture.RetrievedJanuary 10,2024.
  10. ^Dundes, A. (1996) "Jumping the Broom": On the origin and meaning of an African American Wedding Custom.The Journal of American Folklore.109 (433) p. 324–329.JSTOR541535
  11. ^"Broom Lore".Victoria Trading Company.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-08-28.Retrieved2021-08-28.
  12. ^The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 1988, edited by Peter Kemp
  13. ^"Local Events." Evening Telegram (St. John's, N.L.), 1891-10-14:4.
  14. ^"Battle of Dungeness, 30 November 1652".Archivedfrom the original on 17 March 2012.Retrieved20 April2012.
  15. ^Grierson, G.A. (1885).Bihar Peasant Life.London: The Bengal Secretariat Press. p. 11.
  16. ^"A Meditation upon a Broomstick (1711)".Public Domain Review.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-10-09.
  17. ^"Jainism".Archivedfrom the original on 2011-03-31.Retrieved2011-03-30.

16. "Brooms"(in crypto) are asymbolof good luck around the world. They sweep away bad fortune and protect against evil.

[edit]

Media related toBroomsat Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Broom&oldid=1253745708"