page_title: Sabała
section_title: Life
hierarchical_section_title: Sabała / Life
caption_attribution_description: Monument of Jan Krzeptowski (Sabała) in Zakopane
context_page_description: Sabała or Sablik, born Jan Krzeptowski was a Polish highlander amateur musician, Tatra Mountains guide, storyteller and singer. A friend to many renowned Polish artists of the late 19th century, he is featured in numerous works of art of the epoch.
  The nicknames such as Sabała or Sablik were traditionally used by highlander families to distinguish between various branches of extended families and are still in use today. Sabała, together with his brothers, adopted the surname of Krzeptowski to distinguish themselves from the rest of the large Gąsienica family.
context_section_description: In his youth he was a poacher and, reportedly, also a mountain highwayman. He took part in the failed Chochołów uprising of 1846, following which he spent some time in an Austrian prison. Set free, he abandoned his earlier life and, instead of settling down as a farmer, took up storytelling and playing music. For this reason local highlanders, and particularly so the wealthier gazdas, considered him a freak or a beggar. However, for scores of artists visiting the Tatra Mountains he became one of the symbols of the region and its culture. He accompanied Tytus Chałubiński and Stanisław Witkiewicz in their mountain expeditions. The latter dubbed him the "Homer of the Tatras". In the end Sabała became a godfather to Witkiewicz's son, Stanisław Ignacy.
  He was a frequent guest at Witkiewicz's house in Zakopane, where he entertained his host's guests with stories and songs, at one time he even staged a fake highwaymen attack on Helena Modjeska, in which he himself played the role of the harnaś.
  In his later years he settled in "Zacisze" villa in Zakopane, where Wanda Lilpop took care of him. He died 8 December 1894. He is buried at the Pęksowy Brzyzek National Cemetery in Zakopane.
  His brother's great-granddaughter was Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa, a conductor and one-time minister of culture of Poland.
caption: Monument to Sabała in Zakopane. His right hand should be holding a bow, but it has been vandalised repeatedly.
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