Ewolucja motywu „ręki”. Przyczynek do rozważań nad powtarzalnością i zmiennością w kulturze (na przykładzie Człowieka Ziemi: chłopa–poety)

The aim of the essay is to describe the phenomenon of the peasant hand motif in the art of folk poets as well as those who originate from the country. The literary texts and anonymous songs of the rural communities show the repeatability and the evolution of this motif. The author tries to build a bridge between the Gargas cave handprints, the hand of a serf, the hand of a folk poet by which he took his pen, finally of a conscious poet connected to the country culture, landscape and memory by his origin. A specific path of thinking chosen by an author, in which the times of serfdom and the peasant oppression take an important role, can be considered as an analogy for the folk song evolution understood as a struggle for existence and survival of a content. It might be also used as a metaphor showing how sequential generations of poets mythologize the condition of the peasants. Finally, it is an opportunity to observe how such poets as Tadeusz Nowak or Stansiław Czernik – both originate from country – read the anonymous pieces of art of serfdom communities members