Archive
The Ethnology Notebooks. 2022. #3 (165). P. 523-744 DOI... read »
«Narodoznavchi Zoshyty» 2014 year, issue 1 read »
«The Ethnology Notebooks» 2019 year, issue 6 read »
2012 year, issue 1 read »

« 2026. # 3 (189)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 3 (189), 620—644

UDK391.9:[746.3:2­169](=161.2)(045)

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

ARCHAICS OF TRADITIONAL EMBROIDERY. MYTHOLOGY OF THE PLOT: «THE WONDER WITH A COW’S HEAD»

TEMCHENKO Andrii

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000­0003­3999­9459
  • Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor,
  • Associate Professor of the Department of the Ukrainian History
  • of the Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy,
  • 81, boulevard of Shevchenko, 18000, Сherkasy, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e­-mail: temchen@ukr.net

Abstract. Introduction. An attempt has been made to decipher the mythological meanings of the Ukrainian embroidery motif «the wonder with a cow’s head».

Purpose. The purpose of this publication is to reconstruct the meaning of the prototext, individual variations of which have survived to the present day, and which may hypothetically constitute a semantic element of the cosmogonic myth of early agriculturalists and sedentary pastoralists.

Methods. The research methods include the analysis of contemporary texts and images, as well as their comparison with related motifs in embroidery, architecture, and graphic proto­writing.

Results. The decoding of the original meaning of the ornament remains hypothetical due to the limited number of ritual towels (rushnyky) with a similar motif. It is likely that the plot «the wonder with a cow’s head» illustrates an archaic myth of the creation of the world. The presence of images and mythological descriptions of anthropomorphic beings with horned heads across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East indicates its wide distribution in the areas inhabited by agricultural and sedentary pastoral communities. Unlike the northern Russian motifs, Ukrainian rushnyky demonstrate a more «domestic» theme, as the «horned wonder» reveals the contours of a cow, which suggests different cultural concepts.

The use of cattle as an ornamental motif indicates their importance in the economic system of Ukrainians. The mythologeme of the «cow» is one of the central elements in magical practices, forming the semantic pair «woman­cow» and extending to other cultural concepts such as fertilization, birth, and prosperity.

In the cosmogonic concepts of ancient agriculturalists, the cow is associated with the universal mother and embodies a planetary goddess who nourishes the earth with celestial milk (rain). It is possible that the myth of the mother­cow, transformed from the mother­deer of primitive hunters, is realized in rituals of the birth of the sun, in which a priestess wearing a horned mask performs ritual actions. The remnants of such rituals can be traced in wedding women’s clothing, where the bride is expected to imitate the actions of the Great Goddess.

Keywords: Baat, headdress, grapheme, «Wonder», women’s costume, incantation, Kalevala, duck, fairy tale, «kychka», carol, cow, «koroviak», letter «Ж (Zh)», magic, myth, ritual, deer, ornament, cloth, cobweb pattern, rushnyk, sun, Trypillians.

REFERENCES

  • Kytova, S. (2003). The Linen Chronicle of Ukraine: Semantics of Ukrainian Rushnyk Ornament. URL: https://chtyvo.org.ua/authors/Kytova_Svitlana/Polotnianyi_litopys_Ukrainy/ [in Ukrainian].
  • Konovalova, O.V. (2015). Anthropomorphic Motifs of Ukrainian Folk Ornamentation. Borys Hrinchenko Kyiv University. URL: https://elibrary.kubg.edu.ua/16433/1/Konovalova.pdf [in Ukrainian].
  • Danylenko, V.N., & Shylov, Yu.A. (n. d.). Origins of Civilization: Cosmogony of Primitive Society. URL: https://readli.net/nachala­tsivilizatsii­kosmogoniya­pervobyitnogo­obshhestva­praistoriya­rusi/ [in Russian].
  • Gieyshtor, A. (2014). Slavic Mythology. URL: http://search.nbuv.gov.ua/cgi­bin/ua/elib.exe?Z21ID=&I21DBN=UKRLIB&P21DBN=UKRLIB&S21STN=1&S21REF=10&S21FMT=online_book&C21COM=S&S21CNR=20&S21P01=0&S21P02=0&S21P03=FF=&S21STR=ukr0006759 [in Ukrainian].
  • Prychepii, Ye. (2019). The Image of the «Deer Goddess» in Geometric Ornaments of Women’s Shirts of Podillia. Kulturna dumka, 16 (2), 110—127. URL: https://www.culturology.academy/obraz­bogini­olenya­u­geometrichnih­ornamentah­zhinochih­sorochok­podillya.html [in Ukrainian].
  • Nomys, M. (Ed.). (1993). Ukrainian Proverbs and Sayings. Lybid [in Ukrainian].
  • Temchenko, A.I. (1997). Field materials: Kapustyne village, Cherkasy region (recorded from L.N. Simak, 1926). Oral History Museum. URL: https://ndis.cdu.edu.ua/index.php/naukova­diialnist/muzei­usnoi­istorii/etnohrafichnyi­fond/materialy­kompleksnoi­kushchovoi­ekspedytsii­s­kapustyne­shpolianskoho­raionu­1997­r­zapys­temchenka­ai­kapustyne­simak­lidiia­nychyporivna­1926­r­n­kapustyna­2 [in Ukrainian].
  • Campbell, J. (n. d.). Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine. URL: http://flibusta.site/b/540112/read [in Russian].
  • Zinchuk, M. (Ed.). (n. d.). Ukrainian Folk Tale. URL: https://proridne.org/ [in Ukrainian].
  • Instytut Badań nad Chłopstwem i Historią Rolnictwa Czerkas­kiego Uniwersytetu Narodowego im. Bohdana Chmielnickiego. Muzeum Historii Ustnej.URL: https://ndis.cdu.edu.ua/index.php/naukova­diialnist/muzei­usnoi­istorii/etnohrafichnyi­fond/materialy­etnohrafichnykh­zapysiv­zdiisnenykh­solodarem­oleksandrom­1969­r­n [in Ukrainian].
  • Hornung, E. (2001). The secret lore of Egypt: Its impact on the West. Cornell University Press. URL: https://archive.org/details/secretloreofegyp00horn
  • Burdo, N. (2005). The Sacred World of Trypillian Civilization. URL: https://spadok.org.ua/books/Sakralnyi_svit_trypilskoi_tsyvilizatsii.pdf [in Ukrainian].
  • Kolberg, O. (1871). All works (Vol. 5). URL: https://polona.pl/item­view/e446caaa­1fdc­4dce­9d94­e29e8e790c5a [in Polish].
  • Murray, M.A. (1921). The witch­cult in Western Europe. Clarendon Press. URL: https://archive.org/details/witchcultinweste00murr
  • Berehova, O. (n. d.). Symbols of the Slavs. URL: https://coollib.in/b/227749­olga­beregova­simvolyi­slavyan/read [in Russian].
  • Golan, A. (n. d.). Myth and Symbol. URL: http://82.­194.16.162:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/12345­67­89/933/Qolan%20mif_simvol.pdf [in Russian].
  • Rybakov, B.A. (2013). Paganism of the Ancient Slavs. Akademicheskii Proekt. URL: https://slowianskamitologia.wordpress.com/wp­content/uploads/2020/12/rybakov_b_a_­_yazychestvo_drevnikh_slavyan.pdf [in Russian].
  • Kregzdys, R. (2021). Pseudomitologemos «Milda» kilme. Baltu filoloģija, 30 (1—2), 26—51. URL: https://www.apgads.lu.lv/fileadmin/user_upload/lu_portal/apgads/PDF/BF/BF30/BF­30­02­Kregzdys.pdf [in Lithuanian].
  • Zhuravlev, A.F. (2005). Language and Myth. URL: https://www.rulit.me/ [in Russian].
  • Khudash, M. (2012). Origin of Names and Mythological Functions of Slavic Deities [in Ukrainian].
  • Kalygin, V.P. (2006). Etymological Dictionary of Celtic Theonyms. URL: http://booksshare.net/books/lunguistics/kaligin­vp/2006/files/etimilogicheskiyslovar2006.pdf [in Russian].
  • Lajoye, P. (2022). Mythologie et religion des slaves païens. Les Belles Lettres.
  • Blazek, V. (2006). Celto­Slavic parallels in mythology and sacral lexicon. Proceedings of the First International Colloquium of Societas Celto­Slavica (Pp. 75—85).
  • Klein, L.S. (2004). The resurrection of Perun. URL: https://archive.org/details/Kleyn_The_Resurrection_of_Perun [in Russian].
  • Research Institute of Peasantry and Agrarian History Studies of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Cherkasy National University. Museum of Oral History. URL: https://ndis.cdu.edu.ua/index.php/naukova­diialnist/muzei­usnoi­istorii/tematychnyi­fond/viruvannia­pro­khudobu­khudoba [in Ukrainian].
  • Temchenko, A.I. (1997). Ethnographic expedition materials: Kapustyne village. Oral History Museum. Retrieved from: https://ndis.cdu.edu.ua/ [in Ukrainian].
  • Voropai, O. (n. d.). Customs of Our People: Spring. URL: https://www.ukrlegenda.org/zvychai_nashoho_narodu/zaklykannja_vesny.php [in Ukrainian].
  • Temchenko, A. (2021). Mythosemantics of a Folk Painting. Materialy do ukrainskoi etnolohii, 20 (23), 118—125. URL: https://mue.etnolog.org.ua/ [in Ukrainian].
  • Brehm’s encyclopedia. (n. d.). Buphagus. URL: https://web.archive.org/ [in Russian].
  • Hrushevskyi, M. (1994). History of Ukrainian Literature
  • (Vol. 4). URL: http://litopys.org.ua/hrushukr/hrush414.htm [in Ukrainian].
  • (2004). Old Ukrainian religious thoughts about God. URL: https://www.pisni.org.ua/songs/130000.html
  • Hrinchenko, B. (1937). Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language. URL: https://uk.wikisource.org/ [in Ukrainian].
  • Sosenko, K. (1928). Cultural­Historical Image of Christmas Traditions. URL: https://chtyvo.org.ua/ [in Ukrainian].
  • Melnychuk, O.S. (Ed.). (1982). Etymological dictionary of Ukrainian language.
  • (Vol. 1). Naukova dumka [in Ukrainian].
  • Morozov, A.H., & Kornovenko, S.V. (2001). Anty. Cherkasy National University.
  • Shpilev, A.G. (2007). Temple Rings. URL: https://www.scribd.com/ [in Russian].
  • (n. d.). Historical costume. URL: https://swordmaster.org/ [in Russian].
  • Rybakov, B. (n. d.). Paganism of ancient Ruthenia. URL: https://cdn.gumer.info/ [in Russian].
  • Moskalenko, M. (Ed.). (1993). Ukrainian Incantations [in Ukrainian].
  • Temchenko, A.I. (2021). Traditional Magical Healing Practices (Doctoral dissertation). URL: https://shron1.chtyvo.org.ua/ [in Ukrainian].
Our authors
Stepan Pavluk. Prof., full member of NAS of Ukraine,... read »
Oksana Sapeliak. Senior Research Fellow, Ph.D. in... read »
Ivashkiv Halyna. Doctor of Sciences in Art Criticism,... read »
Herus Lyudmyla. Doctor of Sciences in History,... 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 »

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 »

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 »

Traditional folk clothes of velikobychkovsky hutsuly of XIX — the first half of XX century
In the study based upon numerous field materials, literature sources as well as ethnographic, historio-cultural and regional museum collections has been performed complex analysis in traditional folk clothes by Hutzul population of Velyky Bychkiv village in Transcarpathian region. Detailed descriptions of femi­nine and masculine clothing complexes of the mentioned area have been presented. In characterizing of those main attention has been paid to the detail of cut in separate components of dress; cut of feminine shirt has been added as an illustration.
Read »