History / Dacians in Poland [18]

Many people seem to know that there was a Celtic presence in Poland, and sometimes like to attribute the Cotini to the highlanders (Gorale). However, given other particularities of the presence of Lepita culture in southern Poland including Krakow, and the presence of Setidava in what is the historical Polish region of Kalisz.

To be fair, Celts were not meant to be mountain people. They thrive in the fields and lowland forests. The life of the mountaineer was meant for the Carpathian and Balkan peoples. The Goral people and their brethren the Boykos, Lemkos, and Hutsuls all bear strikingly similar culture, dialect, and physical appearance that make them feel closer to each other than a Goral to say a Silesian. There are as well many ties to Romania.

The tribe of the Costoboci lived not only around Moldavia and Romania, but may have in fact originated in southern Poland. This tribe, apart from their falxmen, was known for their warriors that wielded a simple bronze axe in one hand with a shield in the other, such an axe that may remind one of a particular ciupaga that the Gorale incorporate even into their folk dances. The physical characteristics of the Slavic highlanders is also distinctly Carpathian, with strong Cromagnid and Dinaric features being prevalent. The dialects are hard to reconcile with other lowland Slavic groups, with many archaic words leading to Daco-Thracian and Illyrian origin that are difficult to translate.