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Ukrainian Folklore - Blog Posts
As a person who has rusalka Ocs - I'll do this happily + SPREAD MY CULTURE, YIPPEE
from 24 to 30 of june ukraine will celebrate rusalka week, a festival honoring undead natural spirits, rusalky. for this occasion i propose an art challenge. you may fulfill the prompts and use hashtags # rusalka week in english or # русальний тиждень in ukrainian :)
Illustrations to Ukrainian folk tales by Viktor Savyn, 1954
Folk painting on the theme "Тікай, Петре з Наталкою, іде мати з качалкою" - "Run, Petro with Natalka, the mother is coming with a rolling pin" from the collection of the Ivan Honchar museum, XX century, part 2
fun facts about ukrainian vampires (opyr)
• opyri can be of two origins: born and made. made opyri are made by witches, who can smear a baby with blood of a man who went to sleep without praying, thus making the child an opyr.
• opyri have two souls. when opyr dies, only one soul goes to the otherworld. this is why they continue living after death. they aren't immortal though, and only live post-death for seven years. you can presume the person who died was an opyr and will return later if right after their death was a great storm.
• they are very merry fellas and are known to sing, dance and play musical instruments. you can see them partying if you go to the village border at midnight. they also can be spotted smoking a pipe while laying in their coffin.
• opyr can turn into variety of different things: a child, a white or a black dog, a cat, a wolf, a horseman.
• if someone sneezes and you don't respond with "bless you" such person can become an easy target for opyr.
• to get rid of the opyr, you must take them into your arms and carry them across the town or village three times. classical stake to the heart works too.
Картини українського етнографа Івана Гончара, що зображають українців у традиційному одязі в побуті | Paintings by the Ukrainian ethnographer Ivan Honchar that depict Ukrainians wearing traditional clothes in everyday life
a folk song from chapayevka village, chornobyl region
this type of song is called голосіння (holosinnya — "keening"), and they are usually sang by women over the dead body during the period between death and funeral. in this song, the woman is mourning both her dead son, and the land that they were forced to leave due to the chornobyl disaster.
translation under the cut
We went there
The houses are overgrown
Can't see anything over the weeds
Oh my God
Thirty years had passed
Now I can't even recognize
Neither my house, nor my village
Oh my God, oh my God
Oh my son, my nightingale
My son, my little dove
How far they brought us
And I will never come to you again
And will never see you again
Oh, my land, my golden one
My land, my dear one
Oh, how far they brought us
That I can't come to you
Our roads, our paths are overgrown
And our houses, and everything
I can't even recognize
Not the village, nor any of our backyards
We got lost, can't even find our houses
Oh my God, oh my God
“People believed clay to be an embodiment of the primordial cosmic matter and honoured it as such - like a life-giving substance of the world with wonderful properties and abilities. Only clay of all natural materials gives people the fullest creative ability to materialise the products of their imagination. Thus, temples, houses, dishes, ritualistic and decorative objects were made of it; it was used in folk medicine, magic, astrology and rituals. They believed that people who work with clay, potters, are also special, knowing more than others.”
— Folk Medicine and Magic of Ukrainians, by Iryna Ihnatenko.
“Interestingly, travellers, nomads, and foreigners also were thought to have a special status and possess secret knowledge. They were often imagined as soldiers, beggars, hermits, old men, and so on. Seeing most of them as intermediaries between the worlds, as possessing magic knowledge, is not accidental, as, in Ukrainian folk imagination, occult powers are connected to paths and the other side. Foreigners and visitors had powers ascribed to them as they come from “the outside” (unlike people of settled lifestyle), and that is where they go, as well.”
— Ritual and Magic in Ukrainian Cultural Tradition, by Iryna Ihnatenko
Ukrainian Night Tarot
I’ve been searching for a Ukrainian Deck since I started reading cards, so you have no idea how excited I was when I saw Mariya Tobischek (dvodushnyk // oldgodstemple on ig) doing art for the cards. But now the kickstarter for the whole deck is live.
In honour of that here are some of my favourite cards so far
And a bonus card
Рута - Rue
In Carpatho-Ukraine and Hutsul belief, the common rue (ruta graveolens), which normally blooms yellow, will bloom red every ten years. The red ruta, featured in literature and folk songs, can be used to charm a person of your desire.
It is also believed that during storms the devil can find shelter in the rue plant.
(translated by me from Магія Українців - Лілія Мусіхіна; Ukrainian Magic by Lilia Musikhina)
Magic Old New Year fortune telling - 6 tasty ways to find out your fate
The holiday period from January 7 to 19 is considered special in Ukraine. Ukrainian ancestors believed that during this time the fate could open its secrets and mysteries, so they tried to get answers to the most personal questions. They found out about the future from various folk sayings and divination. The Old New Year is celebrated on January 13. The Old New Year evening, which is also called Generous, was deemed to be one of the best days for fortune telling. What’s interesting, both unmarried girls and young men tried to discover their fate. Ukrainians also closely observed what happened in nature and in the house during the whole holiday day and Old New Year evening.
Some folk sayings have survived to this day. For instance, if there is money in the house during the Old New Year evening - you will live in abundance all year round. This day you should in no case lend your money in order not to take happiness out of your house. Ukrainians observed the Old New Year nig…↴ https://ukrainian-recipes.com/magic-old-new-year-fortune-telling-6-tasty-ways-to-find-out-your-fate.html
The Zoryas✨
What follows is a few insights from years of research and practice within my own culture, as I am entering a Filianic space. Due to the nature of this format and the largely educational goal, it would be impossible to reflect the full image of these folkloric figures as seen by the original peoples; on the other hand, quite obviously, none of the information below was initially intended to be viewed from this perspective, and as such is to be taken as a partial and personal impression of an lived culture that is to be respected in its own right.
The Zoryas are a Slavic folkloric figure group associated with largely love and healing. The most common contexts for invoking them are magical incantations and folk songs.
The name, which is plural, literally means "stars", which is, of course, a potent symbol of hope and reassurance in the Filianic faith. They may be encountered as a group of three, calling to the trinitarian nature of the practice, the Evening, Midnight, and the Morning Star, each assigned a somewhat different character (usually sorrowful, pensive, and joyful), or as a singular being. In many examples there are also parallel texts in active use that either call upon them, or replace them, it seems fully equivalently, with Mother Mary.
Though adorned and certainly involved in what one would assume gentle matters, in many cases they are shown in a knightly form, riding horses across the sky, measuring time and watching over us, sovereign and never paired to a male.
As mentioned before, their presence is welcomed for protection and healing, and love. This once again showcases their general care for universal order, as in a sense healing and safety are just a restoral of harmony to body and life.
Then, of course, young women looking to find love would near universally call the dear sisters to ignite the feeling in another's heart and make themselves irresistibly attractive. Romance being self-explanatory, the love we have in our hearts is a sister to the love that drives particles to motion, spirit to action, and a human being to seek companionship of any kind. Going hand in hand, - and this is where we enter the realm of a personally held belief, - the cultivation of beauty within your own self is a divinely driven desire for joy and pleasure in everything, a way of honouring your person as a divine being. Similarly to this, an artist would generally endeavor to depict a deity or a saint as pleasingly as they can, as as not to idolize but to show respect towards them and grace within them.
Personally, as a Ukrainian and a perennialist, these figures to me speak of the universality of certain principles that reoccur within the human psyche due to experiencing them directly. This is the seed of truth within the image that grows from it.
On the other hand, of course, I am speaking here in a very incomplete manner. Any questions are welcome.
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Not an anon, but still curious: what are your thoughts on braids and binding one's hair, particularly in the context of Ukrainian folklore? What is its use and meaning? I believe we have discussed this before but it has been on my mind lately, so I would be interested in any thoughts you might have.
There is, of course, the practical part to it - in a historically largely farming area, it makes sense to put your hair away from your face. And thus a long, thick, preferably black braid becomes an indicator of someone’s well-being and an important part of the folk beauty ideal, alongside dark, arched eyebrows, red cheeks, and a strong yet slender figure. It also signifies a woman’s neatness and modesty. In Ukrainian, when someone is described as простоволоса, it not only speaks of their unbound hair, but also implies, in the best case scenario, the individual’s distress or mental illness, or their existence outside of society and its norms, often through strange or immoral behaviour. In that sense a braid is as much of a mark of civilisation as a belt is.
The perspective on hair can be traced not only through a belief that is straightforwardly about it, but also through rituals and superstition that involve it. We see the obligation for married women to put their hair up and thoroughly cover it, otherwise she may be the cause of illness and misfortune upon her household or even entire village - it would have been easy to dismiss it as a mechanism of societal control, if unbound hair was not featured in rituals with a clear magical purpose, or during childbirth, with aim being to help the newborn pass through into this world, to untie everything that may hold it back. Hair becomes, pardon my unintentional pun, thoroughly entangled with the notion of a life path, of experience and personal, even magical power.
We see a similar sentiment in certain marriage rituals, in which the bride’s hair is braided into one strand and even cut off. The former was more common in the past: the hair is let down the morning of the wedding, and into it braided coins or items symbolising protection and prosperity. It after can be cut off to regrow in the marriage, by her older brother or the husband, and the woman’s head is immediately after covered never to be shown bare to anyone outside of her immediate household. That is the moment she becomes a wife. In the modern day, the ritual, still widely practiced in West Ukraine, usually looks like putting some money into the bride’s hairstyle or, more traditionally, a single braid, and letting a younger brother comb it out before putting a bridal veil on.
Magically, hair can be used to represent an individual for potentially malicious spells, and it is believed that if a bird takes the hairs someone loses to build a nest, they shall suffer from headaches.
And so, hair put up traditionally shows personal decency and reproductive and societal role, the hairstyle serves a protective function for a part that signifies someone’s life, power, and the very person - but also, even though it is not so frequently talked about, it serves to divide time and space. It is acceptable not to cover your (still braided once the person leaves childhood) hair when unmarried, and so it separates single and paired life. It is acceptable not to be covered in the presence of your husband, and so it separates home and intimacy from the outdoors and more practical relationships. It is acceptable to let your hair loose for a ritual, often performed at night in solitude or in the company of other women, and so it separates a magical action from a mundane one.
The principle is expressed in my own practice, even though I shall be the first to admit not to have given it that much thought: I myself cover my head for formal prayer, put my hair up when I expect to be in front of strangers, and last I cut it was very much in the first couple of weeks of speaking to my beloved. I am starting to suspect ancestors were involved in the last decision. Dead people, I swear.
When Fern Blooms (Hope Floats): Elusive
Kupala Night, also called Ivanа-Kupala, is a traditional eastern Slavic holiday which is celebrated in Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Russia during the night from 6 to 7 July (on the Gregorian calendar). (This corresponds to 23-24 June on these countries’ traditional Julian calendar.) Calendar-wise, it is opposite to the winter holiday Koliada. The celebration relates to the summer solstice when nights are the shortest and includes a number of Slavic rituals.
The name of the holiday was originally Kupala; a pagan fertility rite later adapted into the Orthodox Christian calendar by connecting it with St. John’s Day which is celebrated on 24 June.
The Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian name of this holiday combines “Ivan” (John, in this case John the Baptist) and Kupala which was thought to be derived from the Slavic word for bathing, which is cognate. However, it likely stems from the proto-Slavic kump, a gathering. The two feasts could be connected by reinterpreting John’s baptizing people through full immersion in water. However, the tradition of Kupala predates Christianity. The pagan celebration was adapted and reestablished as one of the native Christian traditions intertwined with local folklore.
The holiday is still enthusiastically celebrated by the younger people of Eastern Europe. The night preceding the holiday (Tvorila night) is considered the night for “good humour” mischiefs (which sometimes would raise the concern of law enforcement agencies). On Ivan Kupala day itself, children engage in water fights and perform pranks, mostly involving pouring water over people.
Many of the rites related to this holiday are connected with the role of water in fertility and ritual purification. This is due to the ancient Kupala rites. On Kupala day, young people jump over the flames of bonfires in a ritual test of bravery and faith. The failure of a couple in love to complete the jump, while holding hands, is a sign of their destined separation.
Girls may float wreaths of flowers (often lit with candles) on rivers, and attempt to gain foresight into their romantic relationship fortune from the flow patterns of the flowers on the river. Men may attempt to capture the wreaths, in the hope of capturing the interest of the woman who floated it.
There is an ancient Kupala belief that the eve of Ivan Kupala is the only time of the year when ferns bloom. Prosperity, luck, discernment, and power befall whom ever finds a fern flower (Chervona ruta). Therefore, on that night, village folk roam through the forests in search of magical herbs, and especially, the elusive fern flower (Chervona ruta).
Traditionally, unmarried women, signified by the garlands in their hair, are the first to enter the forest. They are followed by young men. Therefore, the quest to find herbs and the fern flower (Chervona ruta) may lead to the blooming of relationships between pairs within the forest.
According to folklore, the flower is Chervona ruta. The flower is yellow, but according to legend, it turns red on the eve of Ivan Kupala Day. Ferns are not angiosperms (flowering plants), and instead reproduce by spores.
In Gogol’s story The Eve of Ivan Kupala, a young man finds the fantastical fern-flower, but is cursed by it. Gogol’s tale may have been the stimulus for Modest Mussorgsky to compose his tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, adapted by Yuri Ilyenko into a film of the same name.
SOURCES: Image #1: Wikimedia Commons: License: Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Source Photographer: Simon Kozhin/С.Л.Кожин Title: Kupala Night, Divination on the Wreaths Artist: Simon Kozhin/С.Л.Кожин Image #2: Wikimedia Commons: Title: Night on the Eve of Ivan Kupala Artist: Henryk Hector Siemiradzki License: Public Domain Image #3: Wikimedia Commons: Title: Івана Купала (Ivanа-Kupala). Stamp of Ukraine (1998) License: Public Domain Text: Wikipedia: Kupala Night: Fern Flower: Chervona ruta. License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Are there any Ukrainian folk beliefs about the moon? Does it play a part in slavic faith? I would love to hear everything you'd like to share. Also, are there Ukrainian werewolf beliefs? Please take good care of yourself. I keep Ukraine in my prayers and send you a virtual hug if you'd like💛
Yes and yes.
First of all, there is the moon phase symbolism, and my musings about the black moon in particular, while we are at it. Have some information about misiachnyks for good measure.
The moon, being a masculine word in Ukrainian, is generally referred to as male; the sun can be feminine if they are made a pair, but the word itself is neuter, and the solar divinity we know of is masculine.
As for werewolves, and other shape-shifters, there are a few ideas about it. Some might be born with it, if the pregnant person, for example, happens to meet a wolf at an unfortunate time, or eats an animal killed by one. Still, it is usually considered a consequence of spell work, though the attitude varies depending on the source of the spells. Those magical practitioners who choose to turn into an animal (stick a knife into the ground, somersault thrice over it, hope that no-one takes it while you are about) are to be particularly feared, as it is unlikely they do so for a pleasant reason. They also have an unfortunate habit of turning other people and whole weddings into animals. It is only appropriate I end the response with yet another link.
“Years of My Youth, Come Visit Me” - Maria Prymachenko (1909 - 1997), Ukrainian artist. Prymachenko is well-known, frequently posted and much loved. Her art was like a fountain, coming out with great force, never losing its magical quality and representing the best in Ukrainian fork art.
“In 1936 Maria Ovksentiyivna was invited to experimental workshops. Folk talents were gathered here, Pryimachenko was among them.
In 1936, at the First Republican Exhibition of Folk Art, Pryimachenko’s paintings were given a whole hall. This exhibition was seen by Moscow, Leningrad, and Warsaw. Maria Prymachenko was awarded a first-degree diploma for participating in an exhibition of folk art in 1936. Since then, her works have been exhibited with constant success at exhibitions in Paris, Warsaw, Sofia, Montreal, and Prague. In 1937 the artist’s works were exhibited in Paris. She became famous.
Mysterious and emotionally charged, the works of Maria Pryimachenko, a folk master of Ukrainian decorative painting, seem to absorb the age-old traditions of many generations of Ukrainian master-craftsmen who, from the depths of the centuries, have brought forth their understanding of good and evil, of ugliness and beauty.
Images often had арреаred to the artist in dreams and later materialized in her compositions. Maria Pryimachenko’s art works depict fabulous mythological beasts and take their roots in folk legends and fairy-tales, nourished by real life and culture of the Ukrainian реорlе.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Prymachenko
"A Ukrainian ceremony in which an egg was used to cure fever has been documented. A Babka rolled an egg over a patients body and then broke it into water. The cure was said to be guaranteed if the healer was able to discern the cause of a fear by interpreting the egg-white formations (Podolinskii 1879, 186). In other descriptions, an egg was rolled over an inflicted person and thrown to dogs to eat (Chubinskii 1872, 42, 131)."
The Word And Wax: A Medical Folk Ritual Among Ukrainians in Alberta by Rena Jeanne Hanchuk
The Amber Tears of Mokosh Ritual Necklace ~ #Mokosh is the protector of women’s work & destiny, she is a #goddess of #fertility, water, & women. According to folk belief she shears sheep & spins thread. Her name itself is derived from the word combo maty kota‘mother of the cat,’ ‘mother of good #fortune.’ In the 14th century her #cult was transformed into that of Saint Parasceve.
Obtain at #TheWitchery via https://www.thewitchery.ca/product/the-baltic-amber-tears-of-mokosh-ritual-necklace/
This necklace is strung like a Ukrainian korali necklace. Beaded necklaces (namysto) are one of the oldest forms of women’s ornaments in #Ukraine. They carried deep symbolic significance. They were #protective & informative, & could tell how wealthy the family was as since 6 strings could cost as much as a pair of oxen). The colour red symbolizes protection, beauty, vitality, fertility & #strength in old Slavic traditions.
Warm to the touch & often containing insect fragments it was believed to contain the very essence of life itself. It has associations with time, cycles & longevity. As it once was a living substance, it is related to spirit. Some thought #amber was the petrified tears of #gods.
Amber #amulets were worn as protection from diseases & against being killed in a battle. People believed it “pulled out” disease from the body & “attracted” #goodluck – in the same way as it attracts small objects if you slightly rub it. It was believed to avert misfortune, kept its owner safe from black magic, cast out devils, guarded one from the #evileye, brought luck in love, & made it’s owner stronger & cleverer.
Alleged to relieve depression, anxiety, & promotes joy. In Latvia, bands of amber rings were used in wedding ceremonies to ensure an eternal bond. Today, amber represents renewed fidelity in marriage.
This beautiful set is comprised of four 9″ Faceted Dark Cognac Amber strands all connected with a beautiful amber clasp
Only 1 was birthed into existence ~ When it’s gone it is gone. https://www.instagram.com/p/CpIgNLup9vV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Ukrainian Ritual Beekeeping
"There is still a saying among people, "The moon is our god, and who will rule over us when he is gone?" - Outline of Ukrainian Mythology, V. Hnatiuk
Mavka
Day 5 of Annie Week on Twitter: Mythology In Ukrainian mythology, the mavka is a forest spirit, close to a mermaid, in the form of a beautiful naked girl or girls dressed in a long white shirt with green hair and pale skin, plant crown with plants as a fern (also magical plant in Ukr mythology). According to folk beliefs, the souls of drowned women turn into mavka. They also live not only in the forest but close to rivers, lakes, etc. The tales of mavka are popular in the West of Ukraine, Carpathians, Podilla, and Galicia regions. Each region of Ukraine has a unique embroidery style and the embroidery is used in traditional clothes in Ukraine. Patters are used primarily on the shirts and we call it "vyshyvanka"/"vyshyta sorochka" which is literally translated as "embroidery shirt". The pattern I used here is a mix of patterns from Galicia region. Each shirt is like a separate work of art.
Altar placement by Ukrainian tradition
The information I will share in the post is mainly about the Christian home altar, but it may provide some ideas for individuals interested in Slavic paganism, as well.
The altar is called “червоний кут”, which translated to “red corner” (here is another post on red colour in the Slavic tradition that I made). It used to be the most important part of the house that usually contained items valuable from cultural and religious point of view: icons, the Bible, books of prayers, candles, pictures of deceased relatives, all decorated with beautifully embroidered cloths. The table was placed in that corner, too. As a general rule, it was across the room from the oven, well-lit, which would make it South or East.
The person to sit in that corner was the master of the house or the most important guest; in times of death, forty days after, the person who passed away - they also get a plate and a cup of their own, of course. Due to the importance associated with the red corner, it was said that if you hear cracking in the walls on that side, the master may soon die.
Ukrainians say, “у своїй хаті й кути помагають” - “at home even corners help”, which was true in the more literal sense for women giving birth back when doing it at home was the usual practice for most. People believed that, should the process be especially difficult, the woman should be led around that very table every now and then.
My Western, mostly American and Anglo-Saxon friends: Halloween
My Celtic friends: Samhain
Me, a Slav: DZIADY
But seriously, I really recommend you to read about Dziady (or the Forefathers’ Eve, as that’s how it is sometimes translated into English). It is traditionally celebrated in Belarus, Ukraine, Baltic countries, and some parts of Poland as well. Similarly to Celtic Samhain, it is also believed that during Dziady our ancestors come back to the world of the living. As the descendants, we are obligated to welcome them properly, commemorate them, and learn from whatever advice they may have for us. It's really cool, Adam Mickiewicz, the national poet of Poland, Lithuania and Belarus, even wrote a drama inspired by this feast!
(“Dziady, pradziady, przyjdzcie do nas!” Depiction of dziady ritual in Belarus, Stanisław Bagieński. Source: Wikipedia)
More under this link:
Vinok wreath
The Ukrainian wreath (Ukrainian: вінок, vinók) is a type of wreath which, in traditional Ukrainian culture, is worn by girls and young unmarried women. The wreath may be part of a tradition dating back to the old East Slavic customs that predate the Christianization of Rus. The flower wreath remains a part of the Ukrainian national attire, and is worn on festive occasions and on holy days and since the 2014 Ukrainian revolution increasingly in daily life.
On the day of Ivan Kupala, young women placed their wreaths in the water with a lighted candle, foretelling their romantic future by how the wreath flowed down the river or lake. From the wreath’s direction, the girl could tell whom she would marry: if the wreath stayed in one spot and did not float down the water, she would not marry; if it went under, she would die; if the candle went out, misfortune would follow. The young men would dive into the water, trying to retrieve the vinok of the girl each loved. One of the ritual Kupala songs says, “Who will catch the wreath will catch the girl, who will get the wreath will become mine.“ It dates back to pre-Christian times when it was thought that the headdress would protect girls from evil spirits. The ceremonial, religious value diminished, and was later replaced as a national character of girlhood: to lose a wreath in folk songs and traditions means for a maiden to transition into womanhood.
Like most Ukrainian folk dress, the vinok had significant symbolic value and only specific flowers were used. It was traditionally worn by girls who were eligible for marriage. The wreath’s name, vinok, is related to the Ukrainian word for a wedding ceremony vinchannya.
The flowers used to make the wreath were generally fresh, paper or waxen and were attached onto a band of stiff paper backing covered with a ribbon.
The wreath varied in many of the regions of Ukraine; young women throughout the country wore various headdresses of yarn, ribbon, coins, feathers and grasses, but these all had the same symbolic meaning. In parts of central and eastern Ukraine the flowers were raised in the center front. Usually multicolored, embroidered ribbons were attached to the back.
During the Ukrainian wedding ceremony, the vinok was replaced by the ochipok, a cap that she would wear for the rest of her life.
Hello I was wondering about popular or common Slavic embroidery patterns ? I unfortunately don’t know how to embroider myself, but I would like to incorporate it into my drawings and paintings as art is a big way for me to connect spiritually. Thanks so much !
First of all ”Slavic embroidery patterns” are a huge subject. There are many Slavic states and countless smaller regions within those states that have their own unique and characteristic patterns.
Having said that here are some sources for you to check out:
Polish folk embroidery by Jadwiga Turska
Ukrainian folk embroidery by K. R Susak and N. A. Stefyuk
Some Balkan Folk Embroidery Patterns by Edith Durham
Ukrainian Rushnyky: Binding Amulets and Magical Talismans in the Modern Period by Frank Sciaccia
And make sure to check out the great blogs we have here: Polish Costumes, Zvetenze, Me-Sharing-With-The-World, Eastern European Crafts and Pagan Stiches.
Best of luck!