Research and Expeditions

  Our first local history expedition this autumn was to the village of Rozkopantsi near Bohuslav, where we met Nadiia Tsiurupa. Her grandfather’s brother, Otaman Yukhym Tsiurupa, became one of the leaders of the uprising against the Bolsheviks in the Bohuslav region in 1920. As a centurion in the UPR (Ukrainian People’s Republic) army, he took […]

  Over the weekend, we visited the Hirchakiv area in Medvyn, where the Brazhnyky family has lived for centuries, from which the famous Ukrainian clothing designer and Ukrainian emigrant to the United States of America, Fedir Brazhnyk, descended. We were welcomed by the Vasylenko-Brazhnyky family. They know and remember Fedir and his wife Oleksandra well.

  Our team started a new season of expeditions in Bohuslavshchyna. Just a few days ago, our ‘expeditioners’ visited Maria Shyianenko, a resident of the village of Misaylivka. In winter, when we were collecting Bohuslav carols, we met with Maria and her fellow villagers. Yesterday, we learned more about the life story of Maria and

  Soot, sweets, a poker (fire iron), banter and dancing… No, this is not a dictionary dictation or a collection of random words, but a brief description of how St Andrew’s Eve was celebrated in Bohuslavshchyna. When our volunteers made expeditions to the surrounding villages, they often asked residents about their leisure time. Some people

  “…There was nothing to eat. There were no potato peelings to eat! And this poor child, I can see it now, sitting at the table, licking its fingers and crying: “Mummy, I’m starving.” That’s where it died, at that table. And where can you find anything to eat if there is no food? There

  “It is almost impossible to reach me by phone, as if you are calling to a minister,” laughs Maria Yakivna, whom we spontaneously visited on a Sunday morning. We spent a good part of the day in Deshky. Ms Maria has lived in the village for a good part of her life. The Bohuslav

  “When carols are no longer sung, the world will come to its end,” shared these words of wisdom 95-year-old Hanna Narizhna from Ivky. She heard it from her grandmother. The “Portal Through the Centuries: Bohuslav Carols” project team actively continues the expeditions to the villages of the community, where we collect valuable materials: memories, stories,

  “Oh, yesterday, in the evening Malanka was herding two drakes. Oh, she was herding, herding, and lost them, and while looking for them, she got lost herself.” The ‘Portal through the Centuries: Bohuslav Carols’ project team continues historical and ethnographic expeditions to the villages of Bohuslavshchyna. We collect memories and songs, including carols, stories