Buława and buzdygan are war maces , often fancifully decorated, symbolizing various positions of power. Both names are of Turkic origin. Although originally the Eastern weapons - Egypt, Iran, Turkey, India - they have become symbols of military commanders of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (PLC) and also later of Dnieper Cossacks.
There were four top commanders in PLC, originally nominated by King for particular war expeditions or defence actions, later nominated or elected for life:
Hetman wielki koronny, Grand Crown Hetman
Hetman polny koronny, Field Crown Hetman
Hetman wielki litewski, Grand Lithuanian Hetman
Hetman polny litewski, Field Lithuanian Hetman
Grand hetmans were the number one military commanders in PLC, second to the kings. The field hetmans were their deputies, but also holding significant power. The word hetman is probably derived from the German "Hauptmann" - the captain, or from the Turkic "otoman"/"ataman".
Buława was an attribute of a hetman. It was made of a handle and a round or pear-shaped head, richly decorated in gold, silver and precious stones. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulawa
Buzdygan was a flanged mace, usually with 6 or 8 flanges, made of brass or steel, sometimes covered with silver or gold material, sometimes decorated with precious stones. It represented authority of Polish colonels, lieutenants and standard-bears. pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzdygan
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mace_(club)#Eastern_Europe
![Typical bu�awa of Polish hetmans, 16th century](https://polishforums.com/archives/2010-2019/user_files/uploaded/52107/1133006_1_o.jpg)
Typical bu�awa of Polish hetmans, 16th century
![An example of buzdygan](https://polishforums.com/archives/2010-2019/user_files/uploaded/52107/1133006_2_o.jpg)
An example of buzdygan