Bulawa



The bulawa (Latin [Polish] spelling: buława; Ukraine, булава [bulava]) is a ceremonial mace or baton. The word is of Ukrainian language - "the cone" origin.

Historically the buława was an attribute of a hetman, an officer of the highest military rank (a Field or Grand Hetman of Ukraine, or of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; and the Otaman of Ukraine) or the military head of a Cossack state.

In Ukrainian language, a buława or bulava is a mace or a club, in both the military and ceremonial senses. The bulava was part of the Ukrainian Cossack Kleinody that were awarded by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky to the Zaporizhian Host.

Hetmans typically added an image of a buława to their coats of arms.

Poland
Today the buława appears in the rank insignia of a Marshal of Poland.

Ukraine
Under the Ukrainian People's Republic, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army was called the General Bulava.

The bulava is also an official symbol of the President of Ukraine, being housed in Ukraine's Vernadsky National Library.