Pulk
Type of sled
A pulk (Norwegian: pulk, Swedish: pulka, Finnish: pulkka; Northern Sami: bulki; from Sami languages: pul'hkē) is originally a Nordic term for a low-slung boat-like sled, sometimes without runners, capable of being pulled by hand on foot or skis, or by light draft animals such as dogs or reindeer. A toboggan could be called a pulk. They are classically made out of wood and other natural materials but are nowadays made of plastic, which makes them inexpensive.
Pulks are originally meant to carry supplies such as a tent or food, or transport a child or other person. In Norway, Finland and Sweden, pulks are often used by parents to pull small children on skiing trips. In Finland and Sweden, pulks exist as a winter toy, mainly for children, for going downhill.
01Akja
A larger pulk, designed for transporting larger amounts of goods, is called a akja (Finnish: ahkio [ɑhkio]; Swedish: ackja; German: Akja, Akia). The term stems from older Sami akio, akje and Finnish: ahkio, akkio, akkia, which in turn is a borrowing from Proto-Norse, cognate with Swedish: äcka, Icelandic: ekja, "driving, fording", to the root ak (Swedish: åk), "drive, ford, ride", ultimately related to "act".
Listed old Sami synonyms include: geres, kerres, låkkek and pulka.
02Slider
In the Nordic countries, toy pulks made of plastic are very common for winter recreation. They typically hold 1-2 children and have footrests on the front.
There are various derivatives of the plastic toy pulk. In English, such are typically referred to as "sliders" in various compunds, etc. Some classic examples includes:
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Pulk”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Fjällpulka (cropped).JPG by Ulf Johansson, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Visby ringmur - KMB - 16001000217224.jpg by Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5
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