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Known by its Egyptian name, a shadoof or shaduf is an irrigation tool that is used to lift water from a water source onto land or into another waterway or basin.

Shadoof in Egypt being dipped into the Nile River, 1904.

Consisting of a long counterbalanced pole on a pivot with a bucket attached to the end of it, the shadoof is similar to a seesaw. One side is weighted down so the bucket can rest on the opposing side, being able to move freely. Usually put near some type of waterway or stream, the shadoof would lift a bucket of water from that source and move it to where it needed to be poured.

The development of the shadoof influenced future irrigation systems and water technologies that improved Egyptian culture and life as well as other civilizations. The shadoof has left a significant mark on technological solutions to irrigation and water transportation that are used in modern day cultures.

History

Varying from culture to culture, many ancient civilizations used their own version of the device. Being so widely spread around ancient civilizations, the shadoof's origin is highly contested. Created as early as 3000 BCE, it was the first crane that ancient Mesopotamians used in the Nile Valley. Because of this, it is said that the device was invented in Mesopotamia during the reign of Sargon of Akkad (around 24th and 23rd centuries BCE). This is argued because the earliest evidence of the shadoof was a depiction on an Akkadian cylindrical seal from Mesopotamia around 2200 BCE.

An Egyptian man using a Shaduf.  From the Tomb of Ipuy at Deir el Medina, Egypt, 13th century BC.

Illustration of an Ancient Eyptian shadoof on the Nile River.

Some historians believe the Egyptians were the original inventors of the shadoof. The theory states that it originated along the Nile, based on tomb drawings illustrating shadoofs at the Tomb of Apy in Thebes dating from 1250 BCE. It eventually spread to Egypt circa 1570 BCE, during the time of the 18th Dynasty , and there is hieroglyphic evidence in Egyptian tombs that revealed people using shadoofs in daily living.

Alternative origin theories place the shadoof in other cultures. It is believed that the Minoans adopted this technology; evidence suggests the use of shadoofs as early as around 2100-1600 BCE. Around the same time, the shadoof reached China. Another theory states that shadoof originated from India around the same time as in Mesopotamia. This theory is based on the fact that the shadoof was spread widely in India; however, there is little to no other evidence for this theory.

The origin and continuing evolution of the shadoof across time is convoluted. With evidence spanning thousands of years, the shadoof is one of the most ancient, traditional and practical systems of water irrigation. The shadoof is seen in various forms in diverse civilizations including Ancient Persia (1200-200 BC), the Shang Dynasty in Ancient China, the Classical and Hellenistic periods of Greece (480-67 BC), the late Chinese dynasties, the Byzantine Period and Venetian Rule (ca. 330–1600 AD). New inventions eventually replaced the shadoof.

To this day, the shadoof is used in many places, especially in Egypt. It is also seen in some parts of Africa and Asia and is very common in rural areas of India and Pakistan. They are also seen throughout Eastern Europe in countries including Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states.

Names across cultures

• Shadoof or shaduf comes from the Arabic word شادوف, šādūf.
• It is also called a lift, well pole, well sweep, or simply a sweep in the US. A less common English translation is swape.
• Picotah (or picota) is a Portuguese loan word.
• It is also called a jiégāo (桔槹) in Chinese.
• The Tamil name is thulla (துலா), while the Telugu name is ethaamu (ఏతాము) or ethamu (ఏతము).
• It was also known by the Ancient Greek name kēlōn (κήλων) or kēlōneion (κηλώνειον); this term (קילון) is also borrowed in Mishnaic Hebrew.
• In Ukrainian, it is called krynychnyi zhuravel (криничний журавель, "well crane") for its shape; it is also known as zvid (звід).
• In Hungarian, is known as gémeskút (literally, "heron wells").

Design and function

Illustration of an Egyptian shadoof being used right above the Nile River, 1890.

The shadoof is easy to construct and is highly efficient in use. Making it easier for farmers and slaves to irrigate crops in Ancient Egypt, the contraption would be placed near river banks, wells, rivers, cisterns or canals to move water into fields. The device has a seesaw-like structure: an upright frame from which a long pole or branch is suspended, with a bag and rope hanging from the long end and a counterbalance attached to the short end.

While all shadoofs have the same basic components, the style can vary from region to region. The main stick that holds the contraption together can have either a single pole or two; and the bucket can also vary in style.The water vessel can be a bucket, skin bag, or bitumen-coated reed basket. It can be hung in various ways, such as tied to a rope or tacked onto the thinner stick. The counterweight on the short end of the shadoof can be made of anything including clay, mud, and stone.

One operates a shadoof by pulling down on the rope that is attached to the long end, so the bucket is immersed in the water source and fills, then releasing it so the counterweight raises the bucket full of water. Then the operator pushes the bucket to an irrigation ditch and empties it. It was generally used in a crop irrigation system using basins, dikes, ditches, walls, canals, and similar waterways. This process would massively assist Egyptian farmers during dry summers because it would open up more irrigation and water access.

The function of the shadoof was advanced for its time, however it had its limits. A typical water lifting rate of the shadoof was said to be about 2.5 m3/d and 1 to 6 m (3-20 ft), and it could irrigate 0.1 ha of land in 12 h. Being dependent on solely human power, the shadoof would age out of its utility. It would be eventually replaced by other various water technologies such as the water wheel, water pumps, and other progressive instruments throughout civilizations.

Social effects and impact

Across numerous cultures, shadoofs have symbolized collective effort. In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, for instance, the multi-tiered shadoof systems allowed the movement of water to higher levels through teamwork. Together with other irrigation technologies such as the Zhuji shadoof irrigation system, shadoofs not only helped establish reliable methods of agriculture for growing civilizations but also influenced cultural elements that intrinsically tied their daily life to the device.

Shadoof in modern day Sõru, Estonia, December 2022.

For its time, shadoofs were highly efficient and remained essential for those with limited resources to support their livelihoods on large-scale farms around the Nile which contributed to the overall sustenance of Egypt. During the Egyptian Middle Empire and the New Kingdom, pleasure gardens featuring shadoof irrigation became a hallmark of luxury residences and a status symbol that allowed for the prospering of fruits and vegetables. With the development of this irrigation system, it also helped control flooding in the Nile.

Modern day shadoof in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, 2019.

Outside of ancient Egypt, the geographic spread of the shadoof is far reaching. In regions where irrigation is imperative, such as India, and parts of sub-Saharan Africa, they have played a crucial role in enabling agriculture to thrive in water-scarce areas. In places such as ancient Greece and Rome, Mesopotamia, Ancient Persia, early Chinese dynasties, shadoofs have gone hand in hand with cultural and technological evolution that have improved daily living conditions, involving food security, advancement of machinery and better sustainability.

With these cultural developments, this would lead to further innovative mechanisms that progressed multiple societies that led to the lessened use of the shadoof because of its double-edged simplicity. While easing the physical demands of water retrieval, the shadoof requires manual labor, posing a barrier for individuals with certain physical disabilities. It also could only move the bucket so far inland to a certain degree because of the beam's height, as well as only being able to lift a certain amount of water.

Because of these impediments, the inventions of the water wheel, water pump, noria, hydraulic screws, vacuum pumps, piston pumps, steam and engine technologies, from various cultures would be brought to the forefront from Ancient Persia, Ancient China, Ancient Greece and Rome that would evolve into modern society that stemmed from the creation of the shadoof.

Though it would slowly disappear over the ages (but is still seen in some places around the world), a shadoof's influence continued the creation of further irrigation developments that advanced water technologies.

Shadoofs seen throughout the world

• 
  Shadoof in Kom Ombo, Egypt, 2001.
• 
  Shadoof in Pyrohiv Museum, Ukraine, 2007.
• 
  Shadoof in Biely Liasok, Belarus, 2007.
• 
  Shadoof in Anatolia, Turkey, 2007.
• 
  Shadoof in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, 2007.

In heraldry

The use of shadoofs in certain areas influenced heraldry. Below are some examples of heraldic elements of various subdivisions.

• 
  Dobropilsky raion, Donetsk oblast
• 
  Börnsen, Germany
• 
  Born, Germany
• 
  Holice, Czechia

In Art

• 
  Painting by Károly Sterio, 1855
• 
  Painting by Ivan Sokolov, 1864