Tug (banner)

A tug (Mongolian: туг [tʰʊɡ], Turkish: tuğ, Ottoman Turkish: طوغ ṭuġ or توغ tuġ) or sulde (Mongolian: сүлд, Tibetan: བ་དན) is a pole with circularly arranged horsetail hairs of varying colors arranged at the top. It was historically flown during the period of the Mongol Empire and also by the Turkic tribal confederations such as the Duolu (Tuğluğ Confederation), and later used in derived Turco-Mongol khanates. It was also used by the Ottoman Empire, a state which was founded by Oghuz Turks. Among the Ottomans, the tug, as a sign of power and rank of pashas, was in use before the introduction of combat troops. Based on the number of tugs attached, a pasha was called "two-tug" and "three-tug." In the 17th century, it was also adopted by East Slav paramilitaries, the Cossacks and haydamaka, under the name bunchuk (Ukrainian: бунчук, Polish: buńczuk), which is the reflection of the original Common Turkic word bōnčuk. It is still used by some units of the Polish military.