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The Ethnology Notebooks. 2025. № 6 (186), 1592—1602

UDK 398.21 (=161.2): 82-32

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

UKRAINIAN FOLK PARABLES AS A FOLKLORE GENRE

KOSTYK Vasyl

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3177-1919
  • Researcher ID: E-22.69-2016
  • c. of philol. s., Associate Professor of the Department
  • of Ukrainian Literature, Y. Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University,
  • 2, Kotsiybinsky Avenue, 58012, Chernivtsi, Ukraine,
  • Ontacts: e-mail:kostyk_vv@ukr.net

Abstract. Parables are one of the most ancient and mystical genres of verbal art, traditionally associated with wisdom and containing ethical codes of conduct, moral choices, and religious guidance. The parable genre has retained its significance in various national cultures. These are allegorical stories that reflect profound moral, ethical, and philosophical ideas. Parables play a crucial role in preserving and transmitting spiritual experiences, serving as a means of teaching, recognition, and understanding of life’s truths. The parable in literature has been extensively studied in Ukrainian science, but in folklore studies, the genre of folk parables remains under-researched. From this perspective, the topic of this scientific work is to study the genre-specific characteristics of Ukrainian folk parables and their relevance.

The objective of this work is to study the genre-specific characteristics of Ukrainian folk parables and conduct a comprehensive analysis of them.

The object of this study is the texts of Ukrainian folk parables, a genre of folklore.

The subject of this study is the ideological and thematic features of Ukrainian folk parables, as well as their origins.

In terms of territory and chronology, the article highlights the scope of the administrative area of Northern Bukovyna (the villages of Banyliv-Pidhirnyi in Storozhynets district, Verenchanka in the Zastavna district, and the village of Toporivtsi in the Novoselytsia district of the Chernivtsi region) and Zakarpattia (the village of Kelechyn in the Mizhhirya district) and covers the period of discovery of individual folklore texts in the late 20th century, as well as the predominant number of samples in the first quarter of the 21st century.

Research methods. The article applies a systematic approach to the study of folklore materials. The following research methods are used within the proposed research framework: textual analysis, synthesis, and field research.

Keywords: folk parable, genre, literary parable, parable feature, allegory, folklore, text topics.

Received 8.11.2025

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