Archive
The Ethnology Notebooks. 2023. № 4 (172). P. 825-1150 DOI... read »
The Ethnology Notebooks. 2022. #1 (163). P. 1-264 DOI... read »
2009 year, issue 3-4 read »
«Narodoznavchi Zoshyty» 2008 year, issue 1-2 read »

« 2023. # 3 (171)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2023. № 3 (171), 614—622

UDK 398.332.42(477.86=161.2)”185/202″

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/nz2023.03.614

THE SPECIFICS OF WINTER RITUALS OF THE POKUTTIA PEOPLE: NEW YEAR’S CUSTOM «BULLS»

ROMANIV Mykhailo

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0898-4350
  • Graduate student of the Department of Ethnology
  • of the Ivan Franko National University,
  • 1, Universitetska St., 79000, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: romaniv0210@gmail.com

Abstract. The article is dedicated to the analysis of one of the characteristic features of the winter calendar and household rituals of the autochthons of the historical and ethnographic region of Pokuttya is the custom of «walking with bulls». Based on the author’s field ethnographic materials, the structure of the rite was reconstructed.

The New Year’s tradition of visiting villages by boys with wooden toy figurines «bulls» pursued two goals: wishing the owners well-being, first of all ensuring the offspring of livestock and divination for the coming year. The local specificity of the custom (depending on the specific area) is clearly expressed, which is manifested at different levels: from the manufacturing technology and artistic design of «bulls», their number, thematic spectrum and folk semiotics to methods of divination, symbolic theft of figurines and options for their further use.

It was also found that «walking with bulls» on the eve of the New Year had an important productive value, because it was aimed at breeding livestock, as the main symbol of the prosperity of the peasant economy.

The peculiarity of the custom is that it is widespread mainly on the territory of the former Snyatinsky district, partially in the Horodenkivskyi and Kolomoiskyi districts of Ivano-Frankivsk region. In some villages of Pokuttia, the New Year’s fortune-telling game continues to exist to this day, although local people interpret it primarily as a children’s game and a kind of entertainment.

Keywords: Pokuttia, Snyatynshchyna, Kolomyshchyna, Horodenkivshchyna, winter calendar and household rituals, New Year, «bulls», custom, divination.

Received 30.05.2023

REFERENCES

  • Kharchyshyn, O. (2017). Calendar-ritual folklore of Pokuttia: durability and changeability of tradition. The Ethnology notebooks, 1, 61—74 [in Ukrainian].
  • Serebryakova, O. (2017). «Now Melani, tomorrow Vasyli…» (a fragment of the winter ritual of the Pokuttian people). The Ethnology notebooks, 2, 355—367 [in Ukrainian].
  • Kolberg, O. (1882). Pokucie: Obrazy etnograficzne (Vol. I).Krakow: W drukarni uniwersytetu Jagielloсskiego [in Polish].
  • Belous, M. (1907). Malanka. People’s parade on the eve of St. Basil and the New Year. Kolomyya [in Russian].
  • (2016). Archive of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. F. R-119. Op. 17. Reference 585-E (Field ethnographic materials on the topic «Traditional winter calendar and household rituals of Ukrainians», recorded by Romaniv Mykhailo Hryhorovych in Snyatyn District, Ivano-Frankivsk Region, June 28—July 10, 2016) [in Ukrainian].
  • Temchenko, A.I. (2015). Traditional mantic practices: the archaic sign system. Cherkasy: IntroligaTor [in Ukrainian].
  • (2018). Archive of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. F. R-119. Op. 17. Reference 651-E (Field ethnographic materials on the topic: «Traditional Winter Calendar and Household Rituals of Ukrainians», recorded by Romaniv Mykhailo Hryhorovych in the Kosiv and Kolomyya districts of the Ivano-Frankivsk region. 06.06—07.08.2018) [in Ukrainian].
  • Pankiv, M. (1995). Pokutsky «bulls». Berehynia, 3—4, 133—136 [in Ukrainian].
  • Kireeva, R. (2014). New Year’s children’s fortune-telling game «bulls». Yamhoriv: literary, local history and artistic almanac (Part 24—25, pp. 286—289). Yamhoriv [in Ukrainian].
  • Kupchynskyi, B. (2001) Vikno: The history of the village from ancient times to the present day. Ivano-Frankivsk: Siversiya [in Ukrainian].
  • Serebryakova, O. (2017). Symbolic and functional features of ritual attributes in cleromantic actions of Pokuttians. The Ethnology notebooks, 1, 85—98 [in Ukrainian].
  • Siletskyi, R. (2006). A child in the traditional construction rituals of the Polischuks. Ethnological notebooks, 3—4, 356—363 [in Ukrainian].
  • Kowalski, P. (1996). Child. Paradise Innocence, Divination, Magic: An Introduction to Character Reading. Folk Literature: Scientific and literary bimonthly, 4—5, 19—30 [in Polish].
  • Huyvanyuk, N.V. (Ed.). (2005). Dictionary of Bukovinian idioms. Chernivtsi [in Ukrainian].
  • Kobalchynska, R. (2004, january 15—21). Pokutsky «bulls», «stallions». Folk children’s divination in Pokuttia and Bukovyna. The Word of Enlightenment, 3 (223), 12—13 [in Ukrainian].
  • Mohoruk, D. (2008). My village Toporivtsi. Ethnographic image of the village (Vol. 6). Kosiv: Written Stone [in Ukrainian].
  • Mroczko, K. (1897). Sniatyn Land. (Contribution to national ethnography) (Vol. XXV, pp. 289—304). Lwow [in Polish].
  • Hlushko, M. (2000) Veal in the Christmas and New Year rituals of Ukrainians: reconstruction of the original image and historical content. Bulletin of Lviv University. The series is historical, 35—36, 399—425 [in Ukrainian].
  • Gerus, L. (2015). Folk toy of Pokuttia. Ethnological notebooks, 5, 1072—1085 [in Ukrainian].
  • Marchuk, V.V., Marchuk G.I., & Marchuk N.V. (2010). Torgovytsia. Pages of history. Ivano-Frankivsk: Lik [in Ukrainian].
  • Herodotus, & Biletskyi, A.O. (1993). Stories in nine books. Kyiv: Naukova dumka [in Ukrainian].
  • Publius Cornelius Tacitus. About the origin of Germans and the location of Germany. Retrieved from:https://www.many-books.org/auth/5405/book/15247/tatsit_publiy_korneliy [in Russian].
  • Vinohradova, L.N., & Tolstoy, N.I. (Ed.). (1995). Divination. Slavic Antiquities: Ethnolinguistic Dictionary: in 5 vol. (Vol. 1: A—G, pp. 482—486). Moscow: International Relations [in Russian].
  • Makhnovets, L.E., & Myshanych, O.V. (Ed.). (1989). Russian Сhronicle. Kyiv. Retrieved from: http://litopys.org.ua/litop/lit.htm [in Ukrainian].
  • Berezovska, V. (2017). Winter holidays of the Moldovans of Bessarabia in the 19th century (based on the materials of «Kyshiniv Diocesan Information»). Scientific Bulletin of the Izmail State Humanitarian University. Series «Historical Sciences» (Vol. 37, pp. 156—160) [in Ukrainian].

Read»

Our authors
Ulana Movna. Senior Research Fellow, Ph.D. in History. read »
Oksana Sapeliak. Senior Research Fellow, Ph.D. in... read »
Stepan Pavluk. Prof., full member of NAS of Ukraine,... read »
Oksana Kis. Senior scientific employee, candidate of... read »
Maternity ritualism by volhynians in publications of the second half XIX to the early XXI cc.
In the article have been considered some basic landmarks for fixing and publication of ethnographic materials on the maternity rites of Volhynia with analytical study in ritual elements, their kinds and territories of origin. The article has also raised a problem of gaps in studies of maternity rites of Ukrainian historio-ethnographic Volhynia.
Read »

On field exploration of russian and belarusian ethnologists and etnolinguists in Ukrainian Polisia 1945—1980s
In the study based on a wide range of literary materials have been comprehensively characterised field research in Polisia of Ukraine, performed by Russian and Belarusian ethnologists during 1945—1980s as well as Moscow ethnolinguists and other researchers from ethnologic centres of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in the course of realization of Ethnolinguistic Atlas of Polisia program. Particular attention has been paid to geography, methods, themes and research results of scientific projects.
Read »

Wax candle as ukrainian Christmas and epiphany ritualistic text
For the first time in native ethnology the article has brought some results of special study in sign functionality of a wax candle under the context of Ukrainian Christmas and Epiphany ritualistic text (ritualism of Christmas Eve, New Year, Epiphany Eve and Feast of Epiphany). The study has stated extremely high semiotic position of a wax candle as projection of Sun, mediator between the spheres of sacral and prophane elements, symbolic analogue of human existence, apotropy, cultural symbol re-establishing borders of acculturated space.
Read »

Boikos’ pandemonium: categories of evil deceased
In the article have been presented some research-work on peculiarities of Boikos’ traditional demonological notions as for so-called evil deceased; on the basis of field records and ethnological literary sources quite a number of scum categories have been defined as well as essential habits, modes of behavior and functions of these personages of people’s demonology.
Read »