Tinkering was a specific Slovak craft and Slovak tinkers, who made their living by mending the kitchen ware, tinkering, making and selling products from tinplate and wires, travelled all over Europe and Russia.
The origins of this occupation, which involved a lot of travelling, date from 18th and 19th centuries. Tinkers came from the poorest regions of isolated settlements. The cradle of tinkering was the environs of Trenčín and the region of Kysuce.
Tinkers sometimes left for two or three years. The apprentices were called džarek. Some tinkers became rich entrepreneurs.
Tinkers created their own folklore which included, apart from songs, an interesting dance called drotáriček, known especially in the Kysuce region.
It is possible to see beautiful samples of work of old masters and also of current craftsmen and modern designers using tinker technology in the exposure of tinker in Považské Muzeum in Žilina-Budatín.
Source: Dajama
