Slavic Folklore Photo Gallery

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The village of Moshny, Cherkasy region, August 19, 1998. Folk musicians can be professional, semi-professional and total amateurs. This group is semi-professional in the sense that everyone in the village knows them and calls on them to perform at weddings, parties, and other occasions. Please note the combination of musical instruments (the accordion and the tambourine) with "found" objects (the two bottles and the saw).

Pavlo Stepanovich Suprun, a professional kobzar. In back of him is Natalie Kononenko who was acting as translator and guide while Pavlo toured America. Pavlo is blind and, up until Stalin destroyed traditional professional minstrelsy, all kobzari had to be blind. Pavlo is one of the few blind kobzari performing today. He sings modern songs, some of his own composition, and traditional songs on historical topics.

Pavlo Suprun performing at a cafe in Kyiv in 1995. Photo by Mykhailo Naydan.

Agafiia Iumenivna Kucher and her daughter, village of Subotiv, Chyhyryn region, August 20, 1998. Agafiia Iumeniva is an especially good narrator and a person with a great knowledge of village traditions and village lore.

Kobzar Ostap Veresai, probably the most famous of the traditional minstrels, with his wife, Kulyna. The photo was taken in 1873 when Veresai was performing at the Archeological Congress in Kyiv.

An unknown lirnyk and his guide. Photo taken in 1905 along the roads of the Volodar region. Lirnyky were the other type of blind professional minstrel, along with kobzari. They belonged to the same guilds, performed historical and religious songs, just like kobzari. What was very different was their musical instrument. The lira is a crank-driven hurdy-gurdy. The kobza or bandura is a plucked and strummed lute.

The village of Mliiiv, Horodyshchens'kyi region, August 23, 1998. Neighbors gather to exchange information, tell tales.

Hanna Petrivna Martynenko, age 72, village of Topyl'na, Shpolians'kyi region. This is another keeper of village traditions, widely known not just in her own village, but throughout the region. We were referred her because she was so well known for her singing voice and her large repertory of songs. As you can see from the picture, she also did a good job of maintaining decorative traditions. We arrived at her house unannounced and it was beautifully decorated with embroidered pillows and ritual towels call rushnyky.

Pavlo Suprun performing near the Lavra, or Monastery of the Caves, in Kyiv in 1998. The man sitting next to him was so entranced with Pavlo's singing that he asked for permission to sit as close as possible and listen for a while.

Mykhailo Mykhailovych Solonyi, age 61, performing in the village of Kopachiv, Obukhivs'kyi region. He is the only male member of a singing and instrumental group. They perform a variety of folk songs and instrumental pieces. They have traveled to Kyiv and won several musical competitions.

Lidiia Mykolaivna Vdovenko, age 49, village of Kopachiv, Obukhivs'kyi region. She is the head of the award-wining folk music group and she was our hostess for this session. She is demonstrating a home-made folk "instrument." The stick with the notches is not really a musical instrument but the old-fashioned way of "ironing" linen. The linen cloth or garment was wrapped around a large wooden dowel and then rubbed with the notched stick. This notched stick is here adapted as a percussion instrument; it is rubbed with a small piece of doweling to produce a sound somewhat akin to using brushes on drums.

Pavlo Suprun outside the Lavra in 1998. The girl standing next to him is a beggar, probably homeless, though she would not tell me. It has been traditional to allow beggars to seek alms near the Lavra. The belief is that people going to the monastery to pray will be more inclined to give alms to the poor. Minstrels, like Pavlo, were considered beggars of sorts. In many senses, Pavlo is being forced to return to this position. With the economic crisis in Ukraine, playing outside the Lavra is one of the few ways he can earn money. Few people can afford to hire him these days.

The rest of the folk music ensemble in Kopachiv. Photo taken November 15, 1998. The ceramic pot in the middle is full of varenyky, dumplings filled with mashed potatoes, onions, cottage cheese. No matter how poor the villager, she or he will always offer food to the guests, in this case me and my companion, Nataliia Havryliuk.

Lidiia Mykolaivna Vdovenko is demonstrating another percussion instrument. This one has no uses except as a musical instrument. It is a set of wooden slats on a rope which are clapped together rhythmically. Percussion instruments of this sort are especially good when the ensemble wishes to accompany dancing, as at a wedding.

Halyna Afanasivna Chubata, age 49. She is another member of the Kopachiv folk music ensemble.

The Kopachiv ensemble again. The accordion player is Tetiana Davydivna Skyrnyk, age 48.

Go to the Folk Performers Page
Go to the Funerals Page
Go to the Houses Page
Go to the Traditional Weddings Page
Go to the Ukrainian Countryside Page
Go to the Witches Page
Return to Course Home Page

Home Grad Program Undergrad Program Faculty Russian Summer Institute Russian House Video Library


The village of Moshny, Cherkasy region, August 19, 1998. Folk musicians can be professional, semi-professional and total amateurs. This group is semi-professional in the sense that everyone in the village knows them and calls on them to perform at weddings, parties, and other occasions. Please note the combination of musical instruments (the accordion and the tambourine) with "found" objects (the two bottles and the saw).	Pavlo Stepanovich Suprun, a professional kobzar. In back of him is Natalie Kononenko who was acting as translator and guide while Pavlo toured America. Pavlo is blind and, up until Stalin destroyed traditional professional minstrelsy, all kobzari had to be blind. Pavlo is one of the few blind kobzari performing today. He sings modern songs, some of his own composition, and traditional songs on historical topics.

Pavlo Suprun performing at a cafe in Kyiv in 1995. Photo by Mykhailo Naydan.	Agafiia Iumenivna Kucher and her daughter, village of Subotiv, Chyhyryn region, August 20, 1998. Agafiia Iumeniva is an especially good narrator and a person with a great knowledge of village traditions and village lore.

Kobzar Ostap Veresai, probably the most famous of the traditional minstrels, with his wife, Kulyna. The photo was taken in 1873 when Veresai was performing at the Archeological Congress in Kyiv.	An unknown lirnyk and his guide. Photo taken in 1905 along the roads of the Volodar region. Lirnyky were the other type of blind professional minstrel, along with kobzari. They belonged to the same guilds, performed historical and religious songs, just like kobzari. What was very different was their musical instrument. The lira is a crank-driven hurdy-gurdy. The kobza or bandura is a plucked and strummed lute.

The village of Mliiiv, Horodyshchens'kyi region, August 23, 1998. Neighbors gather to exchange information, tell tales.	Hanna Petrivna Martynenko, age 72, village of Topyl'na, Shpolians'kyi region. This is another keeper of village traditions, widely known not just in her own village, but throughout the region. We were referred her because she was so well known for her singing voice and her large repertory of songs. As you can see from the picture, she also did a good job of maintaining decorative traditions. We arrived at her house unannounced and it was beautifully decorated with embroidered pillows and ritual towels call rushnyky.

Pavlo Suprun performing near the Lavra, or Monastery of the Caves, in Kyiv in 1998. The man sitting next to him was so entranced with Pavlo's singing that he asked for permission to sit as close as possible and listen for a while.	Mykhailo Mykhailovych Solonyi, age 61, performing in the village of Kopachiv, Obukhivs'kyi region. He is the only male member of a singing and instrumental group. They perform a variety of folk songs and instrumental pieces. They have traveled to Kyiv and won several musical competitions.

Lidiia Mykolaivna Vdovenko, age 49, village of Kopachiv, Obukhivs'kyi region. She is the head of the award-wining folk music group and she was our hostess for this session. She is demonstrating a home-made folk "instrument." The stick with the notches is not really a musical instrument but the old-fashioned way of "ironing" linen. The linen cloth or garment was wrapped around a large wooden dowel and then rubbed with the notched stick. This notched stick is here adapted as a percussion instrument; it is rubbed with a small piece of doweling to produce a sound somewhat akin to using brushes on drums.	Pavlo Suprun outside the Lavra in 1998. The girl standing next to him is a beggar, probably homeless, though she would not tell me. It has been traditional to allow beggars to seek alms near the Lavra. The belief is that people going to the monastery to pray will be more inclined to give alms to the poor. Minstrels, like Pavlo, were considered beggars of sorts. In many senses, Pavlo is being forced to return to this position. With the economic crisis in Ukraine, playing outside the Lavra is one of the few ways he can earn money. Few people can afford to hire him these days.

The rest of the folk music ensemble in Kopachiv. Photo taken November 15, 1998. The ceramic pot in the middle is full of varenyky, dumplings filled with mashed potatoes, onions, cottage cheese. No matter how poor the villager, she or he will always offer food to the guests, in this case me and my companion, Nataliia Havryliuk.	Lidiia Mykolaivna Vdovenko is demonstrating another percussion instrument. This one has no uses except as a musical instrument. It is a set of wooden slats on a rope which are clapped together rhythmically. Percussion instruments of this sort are especially good when the ensemble wishes to accompany dancing, as at a wedding.

Halyna Afanasivna Chubata, age 49. She is another member of the Kopachiv folk music ensemble.	The Kopachiv ensemble again. The accordion player is Tetiana Davydivna Skyrnyk, age 48.