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« 2026. № 5 (191)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 5 (191), 1470—1476

UDK 392.28 + 398.22

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

  • Received: 23.07.2026
  • Accepted: 28.08.2026
  • Published: ??.??.2026

THE TREE STUMP IN UKRAINIAN FOLK BELIEFS AND MAGICAL PRACTICES

SILETSKYI Roman

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1451-5908
  • Sciences, Professor,
  • Ivan Franko National University of Lviv,
  • Department of Ethnology,
  • 1, Universytetska Str., 79000, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: r.sileckyi@gmail.com

Abstract. The article examines archaic concepts and folk magical practices involving the tree stump. While trees feature prominently in numerous folk customs, rituals, beliefs, and magical acts, the stump — which appears in various spheres of traditional Ukrainian spiritual culture (and primarily in folk demonology) — has hitherto escaped the scholarly focus of ethnologists. This circumstance underscores the relevance of the topic under discussion. After all, the lower mythology of the Ukrainians (folk demonology) constitutes perhaps the oldest stratum of the Ukrainian people’s folk culture and therefore requires thorough and comprehensive study. This applies equally to both the demonological characters themselves and the demonological situations featuring their characteristic attributes (in our case, the tree stump).

The aim of the study is to determine the significance of the tree stump in folk demonological beliefs and magical practices, as well as their origins.

The subject of the study is the functions of the tree stump in folk spiritual culture, as well as the elucidation of the worldview foundations of their origin and the historical-cultural realities that gave rise to them. The geographical scope of the study encompasses the entire territory of Ukraine.

The chronological framework spans the period from the second half of the 19th century to the early 21st century, a limitation dictated by the available source material. At the same time, the conclusions extend far beyond the chronological limits of the available sources, reaching back at least several centuries.

To achieve the study’s objectives, the following methods were employed: the principle of historicism, the historical-comparative method, typology, comprehensive and retrospective analysis, and historical reconstruction.

Keywords: ethnology, Ukrainians, beliefs, magic, demonology, funeral rites, memorial signs.

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