Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song: Folklore in Context

by Natalie Kononenko

Overview

Ukrainian epic, or dumy, were first recorded from blind mendicant minstrels in the nineteenth century, yet they reflect events dating back to as early as the 1300s. Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song provides new translations in contemporary English of these songs of family strife, war, and human dignity. It also explains the historical events celebrated in epic and other historical songs: fierce battles, rebellion against tyranny, the struggles of captivity, the joys of escape from slavery. Natalie Kononenko’s expert translation and analysis of Ukrainian epics provides a sweeping social history of folklore that is vital to Ukrainian identity. A translation of at least one variant of every known epic is included. Whereas earlier trends in folklore scholarship emphasized genre purity and compartmentalization, Kononenko critically examines the events about which songs were sung. Her emphasis on the lives of ordinary people rather than on leaders reshapes our understanding of how epics were composed and performed. Kononenko’s ground-breaking analysis also illuminates Ukrainian self-understanding and explains how songs preserve and perpetuate historical memory. Scholars interested in epic song, history, and general folklore will benefit from this work. Members of the Ukrainian diaspora will find new appreciation of Ukrainian folklore.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487502638
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	04/05/2019
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Natalie Kononenko is a professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of Alberta and holds the Kule Chair in Ukrainian Ethnography.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
List of Geographical Names

Introduction

1. The Recording and Publication of Dumy

2. Kobzari and Lirnyky - The Singers of Dumy

3. Turko-Tatar Slavery

4. The Rise of the Kozaks - Battles on Land and on Sea

5. The Khmelnytskyi Period

6. Dumy about Everyday Life - Songs Reflecting the Post-Khmelnytskyi Period

Conclusion

Epilogue

Notes
Bibliography
List of Songs
Index

What People are Saying About This

Linda Ivanits

"Natalie Kononenko is the most qualified scholar I know to write a book on Ukrainian epic poetry. In Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song, Kononenko seeks to reach a generation of young Ukrainians unfamiliar with the historical context and meaning of dumy as well as a broader audience of folklorists and general readers interested in folk poetry. Her work thus treads the delicate boundary between a serious scholarly study and quasi‐popular book."

Larisa Fialkova

"Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song is extremely important and timely in a world gripped by religious and nationalist conflict where people are displaced and forced to renegotiate their national, ethnic, and religious identities. These epics were not written by a nationalist, but by a person who hates war. The genre, dumy, which is usually used for nationalistic purposes, is discussed in Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song from an anti‐war point of view."

Editorial Reviews

"This volume, with its meticulous attention to detail and comprehensive coverage of a significant aspect of Ukrainian history is the product of Kononenko’s many years of dedicated research on folklore and the folk epic, and their part in shaping the Ukrainian consciousness."

—Marian J. Rubchak, Valparaiso University, Slavic Review

"Kononenko weaves translations of entire poems directly into her historicizing analyses. This manner of presentation makes for an integrated and coherent reading experience that all who pick up this volume will appreciate."

—Jonathan Ready, University of Michigan, Journal of Folklore Research

"Natalie Kononenko is the most qualified scholar I know to write a book on Ukrainian epic poetry. In Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song, Kononenko seeks to reach a generation of young Ukrainians unfamiliar with the historical context and meaning of dumy as well as a broader audience of folklorists and general readers interested in folk poetry. Her work thus treads the delicate boundary between a serious scholarly study and quasi‐popular book."

—Linda Ivanits, professor emerita of Russian and Comparative Literature, Penn State

" Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song is extremely important and timely in a world gripped by religious and nationalist conflict where people are displaced and forced to renegotiate their national, ethnic, and religious identities. These epics were not written by a nationalist, but by a person who hates war. The genre, dumy, which is usually used for nationalistic purposes, is discussed in Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song from an anti‐war point of view."

—Larisa Fialkova, professor, Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, University of Haifa

From the Publisher

"Kononenko weaves translations of entire poems directly into her historicizing analyses. This manner of presentation makes for an integrated and coherent reading experience that all who pick up this volume will appreciate."

Journal of Folklore Research - Jonathan Ready

"This volume, with its meticulous attention to detail and comprehensive coverage of a significant aspect of Ukrainian history is the product of Kononenko's many years of dedicated research on folklore and the folk epic, and their part in shaping the Ukrainian consciousness."

Slavic Review - Marian J. Rubchak