The songs that have been performed in Moskalenky since the dawn of time are now the heritage of our expeditionary work. We were kindly invited to Moskalenky village and hospitably met by the soloists of the “Berehynia” (“Hearth Mother”) ensemble (artistic director Olena Sukhodolska), who recorded for us lyrical, humorous folk songs and songs of the Christmas and New Year ritual cycle, including the unique Jordanian song “Oh, on the River, on the Jordan”. One of the soloists, Tetiana Burliuk, performed for us songs from the Poltava region, where she is originally from. We will make sure to share these recordings with you.
Although “Berehynia” was been established only a few years ago, its members have been enthusiastically collecting local folklore and performing at various art and charity events to help the Ukrainian army (including our charity event “Portal through the Centuries: Old-World Bohuslav”).
The hostesses of the local club set up a special ethnographic photo zone in the lobby, which is also a place where camouflage nets are made for our warriors. We also learned about traditional dishes with local flavours: pumpkin pies, varenyky, sausages, pickles, fried mushrooms, and potatoes following a special recipe.
A real highlight was the meeting with residents: members of the “Krayany” ensemble Uliana Vorona (94 y.o.) and Halyna Khyzhniak (89 y.o.). Owing to them, the Moskalenky version of “Steam Engine”, “There’s a Birch Tree in the Field, There’s a Curly Birch Tree in the Field”, and “Oh, a Cuckoo Was Flying Over a Steep Mountain” are now in our ethnographic collection and you are welcome to listen to them via the links directly on our website.
On our way back to Bohuslav, we also visited Lidiya Tomashevska in Moskalenky village. She told us the story of her family, showed us embroidered shirts made by her mother, a necklace, an authentic men’s wedding belt, and picturesque photos of a mid-twentieth century Moskalenky village wedding. Lidiya herself inherited her mother’s talent as a craftswoman and now she is engaged in folk-style jewellery-making. The filming took place near the Tomashevsky family’s preserved hut-mazanka.
We would like to kindly remind you that this fall we are dedicating to collecting Ukrainian folklore, family stories, ancient household items, and embroidery samples in the Bohuslav and Medvyn regions. We aim to save from oblivion what is under the risk of disappearing with the passing of generations, the history that makes us Ukrainians.
