Shadoof



A shadoof or shaduf (an Arabic word, شادوف, šādūf; also anciently known by the Greek name κήλων or κηλώνειον, kēlōn or kēlōneion) is an irrigation tool. A less common English translation is swape and it is also called a well pole, well sweep. or simply a sweep in the US. It uses a bucket attached to a lever with a fulcrum fixed in the ground. The shadoof was an early tool used by Mesopotamian and Nile River peoples to draw water. It is still used in many areas of Africa and Asia and very common in rural areas of India such as in the Bhojpuri belt of the Ganges plain where it is named "dhenki". They remain common in Hungary's Great Plain, where they are known as "gémeskút" (literally, "heron wells") and are considered a symbol of the region.