Ratiboř

The portages in Ratibor have already been mentioned on the municipal website in the video "Oak at the sewer". Further research in the archives and available materials for this now forgotten history of the portals in Ratiboř has revealed many interesting facts. Doc. Daniel Drápala, head of the Institute of European Ethnology at Masaryk University in Brno, a top expert on the history of the Portaš family.

What do we actually know about the portages?

The original name of the troop, Věrní Valaši, was replaced by the word Portáši during the 17th century. One version states that the word was derived from the Latin word porta (gate). The Portáši protected mainly the Moravian border with Hungary, which was threatened by raids of Turks and Kurucs (soldiers of the Hungarian cavalry - hussars who served in the Habsburg army). Furthermore, the service of the porters was to ensure the safety of the population, to defend the inhabitants against brigandage and crime in general, to catch deserters from military service, to accompany soldiers to war, to pursue smugglers. The eastern border was not safe at all at that time. Too many deserters from the war, who often became bandits, were roaming the important trade routes and roads. The imperial army could not defend the border.

The first of the Portacean Corps was the creation of the "Loyal Wallachians", who were to solve the security of the region in 1638. The corps was made up of reliable men, mainly of the Catholic faith, mainly impenitent and physically fit. In the following years, the Kuruts came to our region and began to plunder and ravage the modest dwellings of the Wallachians. The Portasts successfully intervened against them.
However, between 1641 and 1666, the Portacees were dissolved several times and then reconvened. In 1717, however, it was finally established for good.

At the time of the 18th century Ratiboř was part of the Hradiště region. There was a porter's station with a headquarters and porters from other villages served here. Local men served in other portage stations.

At that time, the porters became the centre of interest for young girls, especially because of their good financial security, which was of great importance in the poor Wallachia region. For the men, their physical prowess also contributed to their prestige.

As time went on, porters were also required to be able to read and write. The service was lifelong, and the old porter was represented by a family member or friend. When an old porter died or was killed in the line of duty, the widow received a monthly stipend from the deceased. The main armament of the porters was a handgun called a bowstring or formerly a púlhák with an extended barrel. They also carried a walasket, a short sabre and a shoulder bag for bread called a sajdák. In it or in a special bag they used to carry ropes. They also carried a canteen and a rope with a lead ball at the end, which was used as a lasso to catch criminals, and then a quiver for dust and lead. The porters acquired their armaments at their own expense.

Despite the very positive results of the porters' service, the Moravian Estates decided in 1829 to submit a proposal to the Emperor to disband the porters. The main reason for this was the financial burden of maintaining them. According to a decision of the Diet, compensation was subsequently paid to those dismissed. Many porters went back to the farming or trade they had once abandoned when they entered the service.

It has not been possible to trace the location of the portage station in Ratibor. However, we have a fairly good record of several men who left to serve at other stations and of men from other villages who served at the Ratibor station.

Porters who served in Ratibor and belonged to the Hradiště region

• des. Straňák Martin from Hrozenkov / Bystřice, Ratiboř, from about 1741 to 3 November 1771
• Ondráš Martin z Hovězí / Ratiboř, Halenkov, from 1728 to 12 December 1772
• Mikuláštík Pavel of Jasenná / Jasenná, Ratiboř, from 1740 to 5 March 1770
• Macháň Mikuláš / served in Ratiboř from about 1741 to ????
• Adámek Jan z Pržna / served in Ratiboř from about 1741 to 18 July 1772
• Kratina Jura / served in Ratiboř from about 1741 to ????
• Ondráš Martin z Hovězí / Ratiboř, Halenkov, from 1728 to 12 December 1772
• Rákoš Adam from Hrozenkov / Jasenná, Ratiboř, Hošťálková, from 1741 to 1779

Ratiboř porters serving in other stations of the Hradiště region

• Špaček Jan of Ratiboř / Halenkov, from 1741 to 17 February 1771
• Špaček Tomáš of Ratibor / Hošťálková, from 22 June 1771 to ????
• Škrla Jura of Ratibor / Březová, Halenkov, from 1740 to 11 January 1777

Excerpt from a short story book

Finally, I am attaching an excerpt from the short story book by Josef František Karas: Portášské historie, published in 1926. An excerpt from the short story Na Křížovém:

...Johanna herself knew that it was not going to end well, but she was not going to give in, yes, rather death than portly love!
Jura had fled to the mountains, he was not allowed to appear in the village except at night, the lordly dragon and the porters lusted after him. So he went up to Křížový, lived for a time on that hill, where there were many rocks, and wandering holes, and all sorts of hiding-places; he wandered between the Black Bar and the Sickle, or sat on the summit, shaved by the gales, just above Semetín, and looked round about. There were beautiful panoramas, the valley of the Bečva rushing from Jablůnka to Meziříčí, the hills above Pržno, the groves, Březovjákov and the hills around Mikulůvka, Oznice, Lazů, Bludná, Holý vrch to the west, the mighty Čerňava, the Javorník of Keleč behind Sochová, sometimes long, billowing veils of mist above them, and the peaks grey, sometimes reddish glows over bluish forests, wide as lakes, Vsetín to the east, behind it Dušná, Cáby, Lušovka, as if someone had sown mushrooms of the strangest shapes, blackish gusts among the mountains, a mixture of colourful tones, always attracting the eye with something new, whether in the misty shadows or in the morning glows as charming as the cheeks of a beloved whore and the laughter of a delighted child...

Reviving the traditions of Portland

Twenty years ago, an effort to re-establish and especially to revive port traditions began in our region. For example, new modern portash choirs were established in Valašská Bystřica in 2003 and in Rusava in 2007. One of the founding members in Valašská Bystřica was Ratibořan Antonín Hajda.

The history of the portals in Wallachia can be found in the book Portals - History and Tradition by Daniel Drápala, published in 2017. There is also a very interesting website of the "Wallachian Portash Choir" – www.portasi.cz

Not so long ago, we could see Jan Krajcik, a municipal policeman, together with two porters at the Ratiboř fair in a period uniform. One of the porters was Antonín Hajda. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to revive this tradition at the fair.

Stanislav Haša

Sources

[1] DRÁPALA, Daniel. Portáši: history and tradition. Brno: Masaryk University, 2017. Ethnological studies. ISBN 978-80-210-8831-3;
[2] DRÁPALA, Daniel. Under the name of the Wallachians and the Portáš - terminological debate. Ethnographic Review XVII. 2007, no. 3, pp. 170-177, available online;
[3] KUNZ, Ludvík. On the recruitment of port people and their material status. Naše Valašsko 9, 1946, pp. 65-75; 10, 1947, pp. 89-90;
[4] KUNZ, Ludvík. The port station in Jasenna. Annual Reports of the Vizovice Museum, 1940, pp. 19-22;
[5] VÁLEK, Josef. Portáši. Our Wallachia 2, 1931, no. 1, pp. 12-16;
[6] KARAS, Josef František. Portáš history: features from the 18th century. Prague: B. Kočí, 1926;
[7] State District Archive Vsetín. The estate of Josef Válka. Porters, swordsmen, robbers. Inv. no. 354, card 16;
[8] State District Archive Vsetín. The estate of Karel Kobliha. Book 96, card 14, 21;
[9] www.portasi.cz;
[10] gistralik.muni.cz/data/04_prostorove_dimenze_portase.pdf