Zogata, Pavel [Paweł]

Born in Jaworzynka [SW of Istebna, Poland (until 1921: Czechoslovakia; ws)], lived in Jablunkov [ESE of Frýdek-Místek, Moravian Silesia, North Moravia]; He was fascinated by the singing of his great-grandfather Jiří [i.e. Jura; ws] Maľyjurek (PL), who accompanied himself on his Gajdy), so he taught Pavel many folk songs and how to play the bagpipe, which was the type played in the Polish Silesian Beskid mountains; Pavel had two brothers and three sisters; When he was 7 years old, his great-grandfather died (He left his Gajdy to Jan Małyjurek "Klimasek"); A few years later Pavel’s father Jura died during a mining accident, and in 1916, during the smallpox epidemic, Pavel’s mother, grandfather Andrzej, and a brother and a sister died; So, at the age of 9, he and the remaining siblings became orphans; His 16-year-old brother Jura became the head of the family; Valuable things from their parents’ farm were sold, and they grazed sheep and cows, and worked in the field; Pavel served in the "U Sikory" inn in Hrčava and, watching the gajdosze [pipers] who played there, an uncle of Jan Małyjurek among them, he got the idea that he could also make a living by playing the Gajdy and singing; Undoubtedly, he borrowed the Gajdy from "Klimasek" and practised; His grandfather had already found a violinist, Pavel Krenżelok of Gawlonka (CZ), with whom he usually played together; They formed a perfectly coordinated pair, and often played and sang at weddings and parties; Paveł went to elementary school sporadically (in the years 1922-1925), most often in winter, because in summer he had to work and take care of the farm; He also grazed sheep near the "szałas" [i.e. a mountaineer’s shelter; ws] "at Śliwkula" [Depicted in one of Jan Wałach’s woodcuts; ws], in the neighbourhood of Jaworzynka; Having served in the army in Bielsko (1928-1930), he returned to Jaworzynka; By then, Pavel was already a well-known and respected piper, with a repertoire of about 300 melodies and songs; He married Maria Małyjurek (who was NOT related to Jura Małyjurek !) and built a house; They had two sons, Vladislav (Vladek; *1931), whom Pavel taught how to play the Gajdy, and who built them, as well, and Jindřich (*1941), a writer of poetry and prose; Until the outbreak of World War II he continued playing together with Pavel Krenżelok; During the war, Zogata joined the army, but was taken prisoner by the Germans; When he managed to escape, he hid until 1942, but was caught, sent to Germany and Italy, where he had to dig trenches for Hitler’s troops, and was wounded during a bombardment; In May 1945 he returned to his homeland, and in 1946 he moved with his family to Jesenik nad Odrou [NW of Nový Jičín], where he found a job; Until the end of the 1960s he and Pavel Krenżelok continued playing together; One of the last "old" traditional Wallachian pipers, Pavel accompanied himself whilst singing; He also played the violin; Pilecki informs us that Ivo Stolařik refers to him as "Paweł* Zogata of Bukowec" [i.e. Bukovec [SE of Jablunkov], Moravia (CZ); ws]; *NB¹: In Polish, Pavel's first name is consistently spelt Paweł; NB²: There is confusion regarding the year of Pavel’s death: Two biographical sources mention 1981 [which I, considering their reliability, reckon to be correct; ws], some other sources suggest 1985; NB³: ➺ Jerzy [Jura] Czepczor, Jan Krężelok "Pendyja" (PL), and Andrzej Małyjurek (PL); NB⁴: ➺ Relationship between familes Małyjurek and Zogata.