Transportation in Outworld: Bucka Wagons
Throughout the Dark Tower series, Sai Stephen King mentions bucka wagons many times. Is the bucka wagon an invention of our beloved herald of Maturin? Or is the bucka wagon something we should recognize?
Like many things from the Dark Tower, the truth is probably somewhere in between.
The Manni folk are just one group of Calla Bryn Sturgis dwellers who use a bucka wagon to get around the borderlands.
What is a bucka wagon?
Sai King gave the dwellers of Roland’s world a vernacular that is at the same time similar to and different from our own, like an archaic/distant futuristic parallel universe. And if that sounds like a paradox, you probably didn’t read the whole series.
Anyway, being that the vernacular reflects our world in this way, I thought it would be interesting to explore our own Keystone World parallels. Perhaps this will shed some light on just what exactly bucka wagons are.
What is their twim? Their inspiration?
American Bucka Wagon Influence
Well, we can start with a buckboard, which is a horse-drawn wagon with four wheels. According to Wikipedia, the actual buckboard name comes from the part where the driver rests his or her feet. They called it that because if the horse bucks, the horse kicks the piece of wood, not the driver.
Don’t use that in your college essay! Citations needed:
South African Bucka Wagon Influence
Buck-wagons are a bit closer in name, aren’t they. According to Merriam-Webster, buck-wagons are a South African wagon with a frame that comes out over the wheels.
And check out this sweet, sweet etymology:
“Bokwa” or “bok” is an Afrikaans word that refers to the wagon’s beam (it can also be a male goat, an animal which, I guess, has a beam of its own).
Please remember that this is all just speculation.
Thank you for reading. You’ll find more Dark Tower below.
Long days and pleasant nights.