Concept in Definition ABC

The origin of the word yoke comes from one of the oldest languages ​​of which records are preserved, Sanskrit. Specifically, it comes from the word yug, which means union. This term was incorporated into Latin, forming the word iugulus, which means throat.

A yoke is a millenary utensil typical of livestock. It is an artifact normally of wood It is used to join two oxen, two mules or other paired animals by the neck so that they can carry out tasks of loading or plowing the land.

The figurative use of the term

This livestock tool has, in turn, a meaning symbolic. Thus, the yoke represents the idea of ​​oppression of the human being. In this way, someone is yoked when a power is exercised over him that prevents his free will.

In the sphere of politics, the yoke is equivalent to any government tyrannical who acts by making use of the force and he exercises power in a despotic and totalitarian way. In everyday language this term is used to express situations of exploitation and subjugation. Consequently, everything that restricts the

Liberty it can be considered as a yoke.

Faced with the oppression symbolized by the yoke, the human being has two options: submit or rebel

Submission means giving up freedom due to fear of reprisals, but it is a way to survive. On the other hand, betting on rebellion supposes the exaltation of the free spirit, but at the same time the rebel positions are risky and involve great sacrifices.

The yoke and the arrows in the history of Spain

The symbol The yoke and the arrows has been part of the Spanish symbolism since the time of the Catholic Monarchs. At that time the national coat of arms incorporated these two elements, in such a way that the yoke represented the union of the Kingdom of Castile and Aragon, that is, of Queen Elizabeth and King Ferdinand and, on the other hand, the arrows represented the fight against the Muslims during centuries of occupation.

The symbol of the yoke and arrows was incorporated in the 1930s by the Spanish Falangist movement

The founders of the Spanish phalanx were inspired by the tradition heraldry of the Catholic Monarchs and created their own symbolism: a red and black flag that in the center had a yoke crossed by a bundle of arrows.

After the triumph of the national side in the Spanish civil war (1936-1939), the Franco government adopted the Falangist symbolism of the yoke and arrows as a representation of the unity of Spain. Since the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, the symbols of the dictatorship They were slowly disappearing and today the yoke and the arrows have remained as a reminder of the historical past of Spain.

Photos: iStock - William Britten / JimSchemel

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