« 2025. # 6 (186)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2025. № 6 (186), 1419—1433

UDK [061.22Просвіта:372.41(075)(=161.2)]”1871″

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

LOCAL LORE THEMES IN THE MATERIALS OF THE PROSVITA READER FOR THE ACADEMIC GYMNASIUM (1871)

PASHUK Volodymyr

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3536-1848
  • Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher
  • of the Modern History Department,
  • Institute of Ukrainian Studies named after I. Kryp’yakevych
  • of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,
  • 4, Kozelnytska St., 79026, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: volparo@gmail.com

Abstract. The article examines the local history and ethnographic material contained in the gymnasium newspaper «The Reader» published by Lviv «Prosvita Society» in 1871. First of all, revealing the prerequisites for the emergence of «The Reader», it is noted that this educational public organization contributed to the transformation of the Lviv Academic Gymnasium into a Ukrainian one by publishing textbooks and manuals. It is established that 15 articles contained local lore topics, although they were not moved into a separate subsection. The relevance is determined by the lack of research on this topic. The goal is to find out the subject and determination of local history and ethnographic materials contained in the gymnasium newspaper «The Reader». The subject of the study is local history and ethnographic materials in publications. The object is «The Reader» as educational material for the Academic Gymnasium. The sourceof the study is local history and ethnographic materials contained in «The Reader». The research methodology methods are: description, complex and structural analysis, synthesis. It is established that the main feature of the materials was that they were not prepared specifically for this almanac, but were collected by compilers from different sources and belonged to different authors, which determined their content, nature and method of presenting the material. Probably the exception is the very first article «The Native Land» which also served as a title. It outlines the concept of texts that had a clearly expressed local history character. It is proven that the content of the articles that had a local history basis, was distinguished by different accents. The material concerned: information about individual regions — different areas of Galicia, which dominated, Southern and Ukrainian Slobozhansk; historical information about various monuments, ancient castles, mainly about their purpose and later state, that led to their destruction; important Christian shrines — Krekhiv and Hoshiv monasteries, as sacred places of pilgrimage.

Keywords: «Prosvita» Society, «The Reader» published by Academic Gymnasium, local history materials, ethnographic materials, Opillya, Podillya, Verkhovyna, Galicia, Kharkiv region, Steppe.

Received 15.10.2025

REFERENCES

  • (1871). A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I). Published by the Prosvita Society. Lviv [in Ukrainian].
  • Denys z Pokuttia [Il’nyts’kyj, V.]. (1871). Rus region. A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 286—290) [in Ukrainian].
  • Pashuk, V. (2025). The First Educational Reader (1871). Materials of the All-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference with International Participation «Monuments of Writing and Culture: Study, Preservation, Popularization» (Pp. 185—190). Odesa [in Ukrainian].
  • Denys z Pokuttia [Il’nyts’kyj, V.]. (1871). Antiquities in Rus. A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 291—292) [in Ukrainian].
  • Ustyianovych, M. (1871). Hostra Kichirka. A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 292—293) [in Ukrainian].
  • Ustyianovych M. (1871). The path to the Pysana Kernytsia. A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, p. 294) [in Ukrainian].
  • (1871). Pruta Waterfall near Dora. A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 295—296) [in Ukrainian].
  • Ustyianovych, M. (1871). The beauty of Verkhovyna. A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I,pp. 296—297) [in Ukrainian].
  • Sokolyk, N. (1871). From Zboriv to Lviv. A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 297—300) [in Ukrainian].
  • Kolodij. (1985). Etymological dictionary: in seven volumes (Vol. 2, p. 517). Kyiv [in Ukrainian].
  • Sokyrnyk. (2005). Big explanatory dictionary (P. 1353). Kyiv [in Ukrainian].
  • Sokolyk, N. (1871). Przemysl (From Opilyanin’s travel notes). A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 300—302) [in Ukrainian].
  • Sokolyk, N. (1871). Journey through Syanotsk (From Opilyanin’s travel notes). A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 302—305) [in Ukrainian].
  • Vorona, Yu. Hoshiv. (1871). (Excerpt from the traveler’s descriptions). A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 305—308) [in Ukrainian].
  • (1871). Galician Podillia’s image. A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 308—312) [in Ukrainian].
  • (1871). Ruins of ancient castles in Podillia. A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 312—314) [in Ukrainian].
  • Havryshkevych, Y. (1871). Krekhiv Monastery (in Zhovkva District). A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 315—318) [in Ukrainian].
  • Steppes (Gogol). (1871). A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 318—319) [in Ukrainian].
  • Strozhenko, O. (1871). Kharkiv region. A Ukrainian reader for the lower grades of secondary schools (Part I, pp. 320—322) [in Ukrainian].
  • Karmazyn. (1973). Ukrainian language dictionary (Vol. 4, p. 107). Kyiv [in Ukrainian].
  • Chujka. (1980). Dictionary of the Ukrainian language (Vol. 11, p. 380). Kyiv [in Ukrainian].
Our authors
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 »

On bessarabian and moldavian ukrainians in the studies of historical ethnography
The article has thrown some light upon a sum of scientific findings got during XIX to XXI cc. in historio-ethnographic studies of Bessarabia and Moldavian Ukrainians. In the pre­sent paper has been given author’s answer to the problem of lacking progress as for the numerous themes concerning Ukrainians. State and achievements of the research-works in Ukrainians’ material and spiritual culture by the scientists of Moldavia and Ukraine through the years of independence has been exposed.
Read »

Daily bread baking of ukrainians in the south-western ethnographical region at the late XIX to early XXI cc.
The paper has dealt with analytic study in prescriptions, signs, customs, methods, ways of selection, procurement and some peculiarities in usage of subsidiary means — water, firewood and leaves in bread baking. The final aim of the mentioned actions had been (and still is) selection of the means and ingredients fit, by their characteristics, for the backing of bread. The paper has demonstrated dependence of bread backing subsi­diary means criteria from the folk nutritional standards and world outlook stereotypes as well as from regional social and economic, natural and geographical factors and peculiarities of material culture.
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 »