Caveja

'ankle')[1][2] is a wrought iron rod which was fixed at the helm of a plough or cart to prevent the dislodging of an ox's yoke in the event of a sudden stop.

[3] Typical pagelle include depictions of a rooster, a crescent moon, the Sun, an eagle,[2][3] a dragon,[2] hearts,[2][7] or small breasts (representing prosperity).

[1][2] Originally, a single ring was used to assist manoeuvres; the jingle it emitted served a further practical purpose by alerting other road users of the oxen.

[2] The caveja was also used in rituals to avert storms,[2][3] pray for the forgiveness of debts,[3] bless the houses of newlyweds,[8] and capture bees.

[5][6] It features in unofficial regional flags,[8] the most popular of which depicts a rooster holding a caveja on a red and yellow background.

[16] A 1908 poem by Giovanni Pascoli describes farmers braking a wagon using a "statoio with a ringing bell", which he compares to "a ship's mast".

[17] The first literary mention of the caveja instead appears in La Cavêja degli anëll (1912), a Romagnol poem by Aldo Spallicci [it].

[2][18] The poem compares the caveja to "a campanile that unties its bells", with "all the passion of a song that dies", "a sound that seems silver, like the laughter of a child who never stays still", and "the big voice of a father...that would like to be bad and instead is a friend".