Swastika in Cowboy Saddles

T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
C ow boy is a sy nony m giv en to an animal herder w ho herds cattle’s on plain
or hilly areas. Deriv ed by combining the tw o E nglish w ords, cow boy is said to
be deriv ed from the S panish w ord ‘v aquero’, meaning ‘boy w ho herd cattle’s’.
Traditionally riding on a horse back herding cattle’s or liv estock, cow boy s also
perform a multitude of other tasks like cooking, agriculture, animal husbandry
etc.
C owgirls are the girls or a woman who does the work of herding
c attle’s or other lives toc k. Sinc e women fac ed diffic ulty in
c limbing onto the hors e, they us ed s addle as a tool for riding
hors es in res pec table public plac es ins tead of travelling on foot
or hors es driven c arriages . T his enc ouraged young c owgirls to
expand their roles beyond doing bas ic hous ehold duties .
Swastika in Cowboy Saddles
Saddle is a s upportive material attac hed to an animal bac k us ed
to s upport the rider from s lipping through while riding the hors e.
Suc h s addles c an be s een in traditional E nglis h movies where a
beautiful cowgirl wearing jeans, boots, chaps, gloves and rounded hats performs the
herding chores similar to cowboys. Saddles bag are the bags that can be mounted on
the saddle to carry sundry items like water, food, blanket etc. Below is one of such
antique Saddle bags with sacred swastika symbol from the southwest USA
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Cowboy saddle with inscripted swastikas
Swastika in Cowboy Spurs
Spurs are the metallic or leather devic e attac hed to the heel of
the boot or s andal, featuring a s mall metal s hank us ually
attac hed to the wheel for movement. T hey are us ually worn in
pair for direc ting the hors e to move forward or lateral while
riding.
T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
Left is the spur with swastika made in Texas prison while on the right side, you
can see a spur attached to a wheel.
Some creative cowboys also added a small metal locally known as ‘Pajados’ or Jingo
Bobs to create a jingling bell like sound whenever their foot moved. This was often
used by crooks or thief to sign their arrival in the village or a particular area.
T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
One of such spur with swastika symbol producing a jingling sound
Swastika in Cowboy Watch fobs
Watc h fobs are attac hed on watc h c hains . Watc h fobs were very
popular among the c owboys in the early V ic toria era. A watc h fob
is not nec es s arily attac hed to a watc h c hain and c an be any
s mall dec orative item that fits ins ide a wais t poc ket.
T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
Antique watch fob with swastika good luck sign
Watc h fob are us ually metallic with dec orative elaborate
des igns . M any antique watc h fobs made of 2 4 c arat gold c an be
found in eBay and other auc tion s ites . Watc h fob made up of
bronze, s ilver, gold and bras s with dec orative des igns inc luding
good luc k s ymbol s was tika were quite popular among the c owboy
c ulture
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Bronze watch fobs made in the early 1920’s
Swastika in Cowboy belt buckles
O rnamental and beautifully des igned s tylis h buc kles were one of
the major attrac tions of the c owboy. I t is s aid that the
pers onality of the c owboy is determined by his belt and buc kle.
Stylis h Belt buc kles of c owboys were often us ed by H ollywood
ac tors not only in their movies but als o in their daily lifes tyle.
T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
Antique Belt Buckles with Swastika good luck Symbol
Buckles were made of steel, brass, silver, gold, bronze, leather etc. As the popularity of
cowboy style grew, belt buckles became a fashion trend and today, every gentleman
wear belt with stylish ornamental buckles. Belt buckles are adorned with flags, patriotic
symbol, birds, auspicious symbol like swastika, cowboy hats etc.
T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
1920’s American made decorative Good Luck Buckle with swastika symbol
Swastika in Cowboy belts
Buc kles c annot be popular without belts . C owboys us ed s trong
leather belts with a heavy buc kle as a s trategic weapon to beat
up loc al goons or thieves . Belt us ed by c owboys were made up of
rigid leather beautifully des igned with aus pic ious s ymbol like
s was tika, flags , eagles etc . A c tually belt s ets were very popular
thos e days whic h c ons is ted of many leather belts and c olorful
buc kles that c an be attac hed to the belt. Belt and buc kle was
c hos en from this s et depending upon the c olor of the
c lothes /apparels or c os tume worn on the body.
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Belts from the early 1930’s made in Texas
Swastika in Cowboy Bracelets
Brac elet made of bronze, bras s , c opper or s ilver was the trend
among teenage c owgirls and c owboys . Brac elets were
embos s ed with c olorful des igns and s ymbols like s was tika,
national flag, c ommunity flags etc . Brac elets were embedded
with c orals , gems tones , beads , s ilver and other minerals in
dec orative leaf patterns to make it more attrac tive and
appealing to young generations .
T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
Bracelets with swastika symbol
Swastika in Cowboy rings
Swas tika embos s ed E ngagement and weddings rings were quite
popular among the c owboys s inc e it meant good luc k for their
future. Rings s tudded with gems tones s uc h as rubies ,
s apphires , emeralds and prec ious metals like diamonds , gold,
s ilver, platinum etc were widely exc hanged between c owboys
and c owgirls as a token of friends hip, engagement or wedding.
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One of the swastika cowboy rings for sale on eBay
Swastika in Cowboy pendants and necklaces
In olden days, cowboys would gift expensive jewelry like pendants and necklace to their
bride on engagements and weddings. They often gifted a jewelry set consisting of ring,
pendant, bracelet, necklace, nose rings, earrings and anklets. Items of this jewelry set
were studded with precious stones and metals like gold, silver and diamond. Below are
two of such swastika necklaces
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Cowgirls swastika Necklace
Swastika pendants were also sold separately. When swastika became associated with
German Nazi party, such swastika pendants were treated as a bad luck symbol and were
destroyed or melted to create a new one. As a result, such American cowboy Jewelry &
pendants are very rare and are sold at a huge price on eBay and other auction sites.
Below is one of such cowgirl pendantTop of Form
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Cowgirls swastika Pendant
Swastika in Cowboy gun Holster
H ols ter is c as e of leather or s imilar material to keep pis tol, guns
or other weaponry items . I t is us ually des igned in s uc h a way
that it gets attac hed to a belt, s trap, or s addle eas ily for
c omfortable portability and trans portation. T here are many
H ollywood moves depic ting heroic and brave c owboys riding a
hors e and c arrying gun or pis tol in their hols ter attac hed to
s addle. C lint E as twood and J ohn Wayne are c ouple of s uc h
H ollywood ac tors and ‘G reat T rain Robbery' is one of s uc h
c las s ic movies . L ates t one on the lis t is ‘C owboy and A liens ’
where our J ames bond is depic ted as a c owboy fighting agains t
aliens . C owboy hols ter were very attrac tive, elegant, durable and
c omfortable and the popular one inc luded belt hols ter, poc ket
hols ter, wais tband hols ters , s houlder hols ters , and ankle
hols ters . T he mos t c ommon hols ters are worn attac hed to a
T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
pers on's belt.
T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
A meric an c owboy hols ter with a s was tika button
Swastika in Cowboy Tapadero
T apadero is a M exic an word whic h means a leather hood
c overing a s tirrup of a s addle. I t was us ed to protec t the boot
from s lipping or to prevent brus h enc ountered while working
c attle on the open range from poking through the s tirrup, injuring
or impeding the hors e or rider. I t is als o us ed as a s afety
prec autionary hood for young riders and learners .
Very rare vintage swastika Mexican cowboy Tapaderos
Conclusion
T his artic le is intended to rec laim the los t s ignific anc e and
importanc e of humanity earlies t s ymbol ‘Swas tika’. Swas tika is
derived from the Sans krit word “s vas tika”- "s u" meaning "good,"
T his artic le is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
"as ti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a s uffix. Swas tika s ignifies
the s ymbol of good luc k, pros perity, peac e and fortune. A fter its
as s oc iation with G erman N azi party, this anc ient s ymbol has
fac ed a s ad trans ition from a good luc k s ymbol to s ymbol of evil
and advers ity. Swas tika is s till widely us ed as a good luc k
s ymbol in A s ian c ountries like I ndia, C hina, J apan, Korea,
T hailand, V ietnam, I ndones ia etc . T his s ymbol has a great
s piritual meaning and s ignific anc e in H induis m and its derived
religions like Buddhis m and J ainis m.