We continue our story about Hryhoriy Dzhul, a musician, conductor, cultural activist, educator, and founder of the Koliada folk amateur group, whose contribution to the cultural development of Bohuslavshchyna was invaluable. The first part of the article is about the musician’s childhood and youth, and the second part is about his childhood memories of the Nativity scene, which impressed him to the core and fascinated him with the melody of Ukrainian folk songs. Here is the final part of the cycle about Hryhoriy Dzhul.
Persecution by the Soviet Regime. The Dawn of Independence and Hryhoriy Dzhul’s Public Activity
Today we are going to focus not only on the revival of Ukrainian culture but also on the persecution and oppression of the Soviet government. Hryhoriy Dzhul’s wife, Olha Dzhul, told us more about it.
“Initially, when the students of the college started carolling around the city, the police followed them and watched them. They thought that the students were planning to go out, drink, and get rowdy, but they were just wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Of course, the carollers were treated to sweets, fruit, and homemade cakes. Then they celebrated the New Year altogether. The police did not detain Hryhoriy and the students while they were carolling, but they often called them in for a ‘preventive’ conversation. They warned them that they shouldn’t go around the city singing carols, that they shouldn’t revive folk traditions in Bohuslav. ‘We ought to promote the socialist way of life, sing about the achievements of the people under the wise leadership of the party, sing modern songs in the russian language because we are all soviet people. Learn folk art in an educational institution only’, they used to say.
They would also come to the classroom to check what repertoire the teacher was planning to cover, whether there was any forbidden literature, and to question students about the teacher’s activities. We had a KGB agent here who admitted himself that he was watching Hryhoriy. He said that the authorities knew what he had for breakfast, what books he read, who he talked to, when and to whom he made calls abroad, who he was friends with, what he talked about, why he went to Kyiv, and whom he met there. Even some of the teachers reported, slandered, submitted their guesses, and then confessed to Hryhoriy what they had written about, some even confessed later.
But Hryhoriy himself did not pay any attention to such harassment. He always used to say: ‘If something is bound to happen, it will happen. And we have to do our own thing’. He believed that young people would be better than us, that they represented the future. ‘We need to talk to them, explain, teach them our true history, our culture, traditions, answer difficult questions, help and support them in any circumstances.’ That was his philosophy.
Students always spoke of Hryhoriy Dzhul with great respect, gratitude and love. He never did anything in the blaze of a moment, always reasoned and deliberately proved his point, explained his actions, vision and attitude. He tried to find a common ground with all the people. He argued only when someone opposed Ukraine’s independence or disrespected the Ukrainian language.
He was personally acquainted with progressive politicians, dissidents, and cultural activists. He was interested in history, politics, events in the country and the world, read a lot, listened to all sorts of music, took up photography, and loved to make things out of wood.
Hryhoriy welcomed Ukraine’s independence with joy, great enthusiasm, and a desire for Ukraine’s rapid development. But not everything happened as quickly as he had hoped… He was a great optimist and never lost faith in the prosperous future of an independent Ukraine.
In the 1990s, Hryhoriy was an active member of the Society of Ukrainian Language and Literature. There was a branch of the all-Ukrainian union here in Bohuslav. The society met in the House of Culture. Many people from the town and the district joined it. They travelled to Kyiv to attend the founding conference, interim meetings, and various events. The Bohuslav branch was active: discussing articles, current affairs, meeting with politicians, writers, cultural figures, and holding musical and literary evenings. They performed carols, spring songs, Ukrainian folk songs, Cossack songs in the district and region. Only adult students, members of the society, local teachers, poets, and musicians were involved in these performances. The society cooperated with like-minded political parties. They took part in the unveiling of the monument in the centre of Medvyn, attended events in Kholodnyi Yar…
One of the most memorable campaigns was the ‘Chain of Unity’. The people of Bohuslav stood on the road near Kaniv. They barely managed to rent a bus for the trip. All transport companies were forbidden to provide buses for activists. The communist authorities did everything possible to prevent the political demonstration from being organised. They were scared of the growing power of the people, their unity and strength. It was sleeting that day, and a cold gusty wind was blowing, but the mood was high, no one complained, and there was a feeling of upcoming changes in the country. Hryhoriy Dzhul was actually in Ivano-Frankivsk at the time. He gave us a call and said the following: ‘I am standing at the Chain here in Frankivsk, and where are you standing? Can you feel a touch of my hand?’ We did indeed!!!
We have been married for 46 happy years. I am grateful to fate for every day I lived with him. He was a beloved husband, a loving father and grandfather, a wise, compassionate teacher and a loyal friend. He believed in people and loved life very much. Most of all, he loved Ukraine, its language, literature, traditions, folk songs, and he always sang and taught others to sing.”
His Creative Activity in Bohuslav. Founding of ‘Koliada‘
Hryhoriy came to Bohuslav with his graduate friends. The bus stopped on the square (near where the tank monument was), and Anatoliy Loifenfeld was the first person they met in the town. Anatoliy guessed that they were young teachers who came to work at the pedagogical college and music school. He met the newcomers, showed them around the school, and invited them to join the brass band at the cloth factory club he ran. From that day on, they began their long-lasting, strong, sincere friendship and cooperation.
Back then, September was the month of helping collective farms. Students worked in the gardens, in the fields or on threshing floors. Teachers went to work together with the students. In this environment, you can quickly get to know people, what they do best, what they are capable of, how they behave in unusual circumstances, and what they are interested in.
At the college, Hryhoriy taught conducting and a choir class. At the end of October, he suggested that the fourth-year students learn carols to greet the students and teachers on the occasion of the New Year and Christmas. The students supported this initiative and gathered for rehearsals during extracurricular time. Since then, every year the carollers have been walking around Bohuslav with carols, announcing the birth of Christ and the beginning of the New Year.
According to the screenplay, written by Hryhoriy, distinctive characters took part in the performance: a “mikhonosha” (a guide, a sack carrier), an elderly man with a goat, that dies and then comes to life from the healing power of music… This is a symbol of Christmas: the old must die and something new must be born. The goat danced various dances: tango and polka. There was the ‘gorgeous girl’ Malanka (played by a boy), a clumsy girl who milks a goat in a sieve, and her beloved Vasylko (played by a girl). There were also quarrelsome gypsies, a stingy Jew, a cunning devil, Cossacks, sowers – all of them sang carols, shchedrivkas, played their roles, accompanied with songs and dances.
For the first 2 years, they used to sing carols only at the college. Then various enterprises started inviting the group to perform for their employees. Later, the teachers of the college would invite the group to carol at their homes, congratulate their families, and make a surprise for their children. Olha remembered one year, there were so many requests that they had to split into two groups. Hryhoriy led one group, and Zoriana Trachuk led the other.
The name ‘Koliada‘ was given to the group when they were competing for the title of the People’s Choir. Vitaliy Mylianovskyi was the constant accompanist of the group. The headmaster of the college, M. Polochanskyi, provided funds for Koliada’s costumes. Back then, one could not just buy them outright. Hryhoriy Dzhul went to the singer and MP Dmytro Hnatyuk for his assistance in making the costumes. The costumes for ‘Koliada’ were made at the theatre studio in Kyiv city.
In addition to carols and shchedrivkas, Hryhoriy and his band started learning Ukrainian folk songs, Cossack songs, patriotic songs by contemporary composers, spring songs (vesnianka), and field songs (hayivka) with dance and games.
It should be noted that in the 1970s, anything Ukrainian was persecuted, suppressed, and discouraged. Hryhoriy experienced this first-hand. He was summoned for ‘preventive’ conversations, all sorts of slanders were collected, and he was suspected of being unreliable person distributing anti-Soviet literature. They persuaded him to choose russian and soviet repertoire for students and groups. Several times his apartment was secretly searched. They were looking for banned literature, self-publishing, brochures, leaflets. They demanded that he testify about the content of conversations and meetings with famous writers and politicians, and threatened his family. However, Hryhoriy always steadfastly adhered to his principles – honour, conscience, and firmness of word.
In the 80s and 90s, it eased up a bit, and various organisations and societies were created. People could express their opinions and disagreements with the actions of the party and its governing bodies more boldly. More and more amateur art groups were organised.
‘Koliada’ was invited to Kyiv to perform for the Department of Education. They performed 10 times in the Museums of Folk Architecture in Pyrohovo and in Pereiaslav. Annually, ‘Koliada’ travelled to Kolomyia and Ivano-Frankivsk. In Lviv, they took part in the ‘Carpathia’ festival. And also Yaremche, Lutsk, Ternopil. Every year, ‘Koliada’ took part in the ‘Student’s Carol’ held at the Institute of Business and Law.
During his 50 years in Bohuslav, Hryhoriy Dzhul worked with many groups. When Y. Zadoya was the director of the men’s Bandura Choir at the House of Culture, Hryhoriy was their conductor. At the college, in addition to ‘Koliada’, he directed the choir of the school department and the choir of the teachers of the college. And, he also directed the choir of teachers of the neighbourhood at the House of Culture. Hryhoriy also worked in the village of Mysailivka for 16 years, and the choir was awarded the title of ‘People’s Ensemble’. The accompanists were M. Vypustok and later I. Sabov. It was quite challenging to work there. He told Olha that sometimes they would arrive at 6 pm and there would be no choir members – they had to milk a cow, feed the cattle, and cook dinner for the family. They only came back at 8 or 9 o’clock. Therefore, it was all quite challenging. And when they toured, it was common for men to pull the female participants out of the bus. Hryhoriy also worked at a gas compressor station. At that time, the head was P. Stetsyshyn, and the staff was pretty big, no amateur groups though. However, back then it was no longer common to do something similar in collectives. But the head organised the choir anyway and invited H. Dzhul and V. Mylianovskyi to lead the amateur group.
Hryhoriy Dzhul revived the tradition of carolling in Bohuslav, celebrating Shevchenko’s Days and the Cossack Glory Day with concerts, introduced the Cossack toast ‘Bud’mo! Hey!’ (‘Cheers! Hey!’), among other things. For years, whatever was organised in Bohuslav, Hryhoriy and his ensembles were a part of it.
“Portal through the Centuries: Bohuslav Carols” is implemented by the “Around Us. UA” NGO as part of the “From Ideas to Action” training course. The training course “From Ideas to Action” is implemented with the support of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) within the framework of the Safe Harbour Initiative. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official position of the EED and are the sole responsibility of the “Buslav Sich” NGO.
