“Not far from Bohuslav, near the river Ros, in a long, twisted valley, there is the village of Semyhory. Nestled under one mountain, near a green meadow, in a deep hollow, was a huge cottage of Omelko Kaidash.” And right in that house, all sorts of dramas and passions were happening!
This is one of the parts of the programme of the Intercession ethno-performance that we have prepared for our guests at the Harbuz-Fest (Pumpkin Fest): a recreated fragment of the story “The Kaidash Family” by Ivan Nechuy-Levytskyi.
We are grateful to our charismatic amateur actors for their wonderful performance and artistry: Liubov Krapyva (Marusya Kaidashykha), Yevhen Puzatko (Omelko Kaidash), Yevhen Bahniuk (Karpo), Aliona Khomenko (Motrya), Denys Dovhusha (Lavrin), Victoria Semeniuk (Melanka), the author of the idea of the spectacular performance Aliona Puzatko and the director Yevhen Bahniuk!
This performance also eloquently demonstrated the beauty, splendour and elegance of our traditional authentic Ukrainian costume, which for decades has been physically deprived of its original features and then replaced with a kitschy stage look. Nowadays, the ancient authentic samples of Ukrainian traditional clothing are being actively studied and researched by using scientific sources and photographs. Genuine costumes, accessories and jewellery are being recreated.
Oksana Humeniuk, the head of the “Around Us. UA” NGO, gathered a team of like-minded people to implement the idea of recreation of authentic costume of Bohuslavshchyna. Elements of the costumes worn by the actors were made by local craftswomen Kateryna (Katia) Zamnius, Kateryna Robak and Anna Slobodianiuk, all the costumes were based on vintage designs and photos. The wedding wreaths were created by Kateryna Zubko. The jewellery was recreated from museum photographs in the Ukrainian traditional goldsmithing workshop “VydymoNevydymo”.
Unfortunately, we were unable to show you this during this year’s Harbuz-Fest at Kaidash Family charity event due to its suspension. However, we decided to record and share a photo report and video of this wonderful and essential event with you. It is important to see and know your roots, to love your land, to learn its true history and culture, and through it all – to know yourself. Just as it is important to be grateful and support those who are now defending all this at the cost of their lives, protecting Ukraine from its enemies.
The event was initiated by the “Around Us. UA” NGO and the Bohuslav Volunteer Headquarters as part of the project “Traditions of Ukrainians. Folk Calendar of Bohuslavshchyna”.
