Дослідницько-проектна робота
на тему:
«Українська хата, обереги та народні пісні.»
“Ukrainian
House, Oberehy and Folk Songs.”
Contents
I. Introduction
II. The Ukrainian Cottage
2.1. Entering the new
house
2.2. Signs and
Superstitions
III. Oberehy
3.1. A Stove
3.2. A Table
3.3. A Towel
IV. Ukrainian Folk
Songs
V. Conclusions
VI. References
I. Introduction
Sometimes my life took
unexpected trends,
But I returned to my beloved thresholds.
Like Mum's embroidery, mixed up
into threads
My happiness and sorrow,
Crossing roads.
The roots of our people go back to the remote epochs of ancient history,
and scholars from different spheres of knowledge
are diligently searching through eternity
for evidence of who we are,
where we came from and what became the base in which the ethnologically
expressive tree of Ukrainian culture took its root.
In the earliest stages of
development special importance was attached to the way of life. In the process
of domestic life, a main focus
is shelter. The home is that microworld organized by an individual in accordance
with his or her world view, within the traditional ways of organizing internal
space, performing ritual actions and following construction methods for erection.
The home is a historically significant factor, which
explains much about the base of our cultural legacy. It was formed according to the interaction between desires
and possibilities in achieving well-being, health, happiness. It demanded
keeping centuries-old traditions
of building methods, rituals, habits, beliefs which accompanied all stages of
organizing the microworld, from defining the place for building to choosing the
materials and organizing all of the processes for its erections and occupation.
II. The Ukrainian Cottage
An ordinary Ukrainian cottage was usually made of wood, its roof
was made of straw, the
windows were closed with shutters. The floor inside was
traditionally greased with clay. Every Ukrainian cottage was
traditionally surrounded with cherry or apple trees gardens.
And what about its interior?
Neither blinds or curtains upon the
three small windows. The walls of the house are whitewashed and decorated
with ornaments.
The central place in a large room
("svitlytsya") was occupied with a stove, usually decorated with
colourful ornaments of flowers and birds. On the walls near the door you can see some shelves and cupboard —
"mysnyk" — with plenty of pottery — dishes, jugs and jars of
different shape and size.
There is a rake and the braces of various size
("rohach") near the stove with their help a
hostess puts meals and bread into the stove.
There is also a
long bench by the wall and a big wooden table covered with a snow-white table-cloth
made of flax. On the table you can see a tasty loaf
of brown bread wrapped up into a small
towel and a salt-cellar. The
bread was cooked by the hostess of the house.
The towel
for wiping was hanging near the door as it performed everyday functions. There is also a cask under the bench in which
a hostess makes dough. The
benches against the walls met in the corner where the table was placed. It was
honourably named "pokut" — a
ceremonial comer whereicons were hanging decorated with embroidered towels. In front of them there was a small icon candle, "lampada". According to
a long Ukrainian custom, before meals all members of the family made a prayer in front of the icons — for good health, welfare and happiness of everyone who was dear to
them.
At the side of the table in most
Ukrainian cottages we can also see one or
two trunks where clothes, money,
arms and other valuable things were kept. It was the symbol of prosperity, family fair and comfort. The trunk was decorated
with carving or patterned painting.
If there was a young lady in a
house it was often used for keeping her dowry.
Behind the stove, in a warm
place, there was hanging a crib
(cradle) where little babies slept to their mother's Ukrainian lullaby.
An integral part of the Ukrainian dwelling was
embroidery. Towels, a tablecloth, festive attire, pillowcases were decorated with embroidery. All the articles and pieces of furniture of the
house were deeply respected by their masters; some of them were considered to
be sacred symbols in peculiar cases and were called "oberehy". It
means that those things protected them in hardships, helped them to cope with
difficult problems of their life and shared
their feelings and emotions at various periods of their life.
2.1.
Entering the new house
1. Nobody
ever enters the house when the moon is not
full. As the people say, what is the Moon, such will be life. If the Moon is waxing it's increasing the riches of the family; if the
Moon is on the wane, it
means loss for the family.
The best time for entering a new house is when the Moon is waxing.
2.Let
the Mistress or the eldest daughter or one of the neighbours place bread and
salt on the table, then the two or even more bring it into a new house and put
it under the icon.
3.Mother
asks to transmit her things and father asks to
transmit his things to their descendants.
4.Baked
and cooked things are seldom brought from the old stove. Everything is cooked in the new one after the icon and the tables have been moved to the new
house. If the day passes merrily and without incidents, it means that
the entire life will be so.
2.2. Signs and Superstitions
1. One
may not build a house at a crossroad, where whistlers run to and demons call themselves together for meetings.
2.Avoid places where somebody was hung, killed or tormented... The family will be brightened during the day and
especially at night at that place.
3. One
shouldn't build a house on a threshing-floor,
and one shouldn't keep house
without God in the soul.
4.Before
lowering a post into a pit, throw in bread and salt; make children throw stones
or money because children will live longer and will remember it longer and
besides, children bring luck.
III. Oberehy
3.1. A Stove
A stove served for a Ukrainian
peasant heating the lodging, as a warm sleeping place, for
preparing meals and baking bread. So everyone in the family treated a stove as
a sacred thing, respected, keeping it tidy. During the centuries the system of
ceremonial rites was made round the stove. The stove and domestic things
(rakes, braces, bread spade) according to folk believers could protect them
from the evil, to clear oneself,
to carry well-being and prosperity. Here are some of the customs connected
with a stove.
•After christening a baby
was put down on the fur-coat on the stove for the child to be
healthy and happy.
•When the girl
was proposed to somebody as a wife, she had to stand at the fireplace picking
the stove's clay.
•In Southern Ukraine on St. Basil's Day the hostess came out
"to frighten the hens" with the rake for them to lay good eggs.
•The herbs that had been
picked up on the Eve of Ivan Kupala's Day were hung up inside the
fireplace to accumulate the medicinal power.
•When the
people came back from the funeral they
washed their hands, then flattened them
against the stove's wall and looked at the fireplace for the dead not to
appear again.
•During the heavy thunderstorm some
branches of the holy willow were thrown into the fireplace to prevent the fire.
3.2. A Table
The table stood in a special place
and played one of the main ritual roles in the family holidays and
celebrations. It was often decorated with woodcarving and kept clean and tidy.
People often say: "Let your table be generous" wishing somebody prosperity
and living in easy circumstances.
When the house was already built the
first thing to be brought there was a table with a tablecloth upon it, a round loaf of brown tasty bread and a
saltcellars. It was a custom to have dinner for everybody at the same
table for mutual peace and friendship. If there was a bride in the house she gave the kerchief to her future husband through the table.
3.3. A Towel
The towel
("rushnyk") is one of the oldest Ukrainian "oberehy". A
Ukrainian house either rich or poor, large or
small, always blossomed with a
wonderful beauty of its towels.
Embroidered
"rushnyky" were used in folk rites, particularly for
weddings and for decorating holy icons. Special significance is attached to
the embroidery on towels. Every region, even every village has its own
favourite colours, embroidery, style and pattern. Some embroider-ies are white
on white, as a tear, that washes a soul, some are red and black, as love and
sadness, some are bright and joyful.
The
Ukrainian "rushnyk" is still alive though forgotten and neglected,
because beauty finds its way to our hearts through ages and throws light upon our souls. The ornaments on the towels are ancient forgotten symbols: a
rhomb with the spot in the centre is a
field, a pot with a flower in it. It's a world tree from the sky to
the earth, a sign of Berehynya, the Goddess
of the family fire. The most popular
method of embroidery today is the cross-stitch.
In the corner called
"Pokut", above the windows and the door they symbolize everything
protecting us from evil forces. A newly
born baby was wrapped into the towel; the girl gave it to the elder man
at the engagement. A coffin was
put down on the towels too.
"Let your destiny spread in front of you like a
towel," people said wishing happiness to a person.
The tradition
that has never been forgotten is hanging the icons in
the right so-called Red Corner of the hut. When somebody entered the room his
eye could catch the icons at once.
The
Saints on the icons protected the family. The icons were richly decorated with long embroidered towels, hanging
over the bench where the dearest guest used to be seated.
IV. Ukrainian Folk Songs
In
Ukrainian folk songs all the important events in life from the
cradle to the grave are
expressed. The song is one of the oldest and
most prevalent forms of
folklore. It unites a poetic text with a melody.
They can be divided into four
basic groups according to their contents and function:
1) ritual songs, such as cards,
spring songs, Kupalo songs;
2) harvest and wedding songs;
3) historical and political
songs, such as dumas and ballads;
4) lyrical songs, such as family songs, social class songs and
love songs, chumak songs, etc.
The universal contents and
the artful clarity of expression of Ukrainian folk songs account for their
survival for many centuries. In Ukrainian
folk songs nature manifests human emotions. In lyrical songs
poetic images or symbols are
very common. Bird symbolism is very popular. The
eagle or falcon is the symbol of
manliness, power, beauty, courage and freedom. The dove symbolizes feminity. The sea-gull is the symbol of the
suffering mother. The guilder-rose tree represents the girl and the oak
represents the boy.
V. Conclusions
You know we often speak and hear about our
Motherland. The English word "motherland" has two meanings. First,
it is the place where you were born in.
Then it means the house or district in which one was born.
Love of Motherland comes to people in different
ways. For some people their Motherland begins in a city. For others it is their
own village or a house in which they have grown up. Usually this place is
"the best place in the world". As the English people say, "East
or West, home is best" or "There's no place like home".
Love of your Motherland does not come to you of
its own accord. You can only love what you know well. I am sure you know a lot
about the history, traditions and the way of life of your country. You have
some knowledge of our great ancient culture. As you know, it is rich in
beautiful songs, music, arts and monuments of the past. And how beautiful the
Ukrainian language is! They say it is one of the most melodical languages in
the whole world.
But the most important thing is when your love of
your birthplace comes together with a great respect for the history of your
country and its people.
If you love the culture of your Motherland and
can see the beauty of the Ukrainian landscape, you certainly love your country.
If you are moved by Ukrainian folk songs, you also love your country. And if
you enjoy the beauty of our architecture
and you know and speak Ukrainian perfectly, you love your country. You
know what your Motherland begins with.
VI. References
1.
Khorishko V. There’s no place like
home. Газета “English” / Шкільний світ. – 2003, #2.
2.
Parasich L. The Ethnic World of Ukraine
3.
Tarasova O.Ukrainian Ambassadors:
Learning to Present the country. Газета “English”/ Шкільний світ. – 2002, #29-32.
4.
The Internet Resources.
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