Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
UNWLA 100
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36-37
38-39
40
THOMAS A. PRYMAK KOZACHKA: COSSACK WOMEN IN HISTORY AND LEGEND One of the great ages of Ukrainian history is the Cossack era. It was the middle period between Kievan Rus’ and modern times, a period filled with conflict, war, and insurrection, but also of love and adventure. In many ways, it was the heroic age of Ukraine. When we think of these times, our attention is usu ally drawn to the romantic figure of the lonely Cossack, strong and brave, who was off to the Zaporozhian Sich, the fortified Cossack headquarters beyond the rapids on the Dnipro River. There he made ready to do battle with either the Tatar infidels or the Polish landlords. Ukraine was at that time severely pressed by both: the former carrying off goods and people — both men and women — to be sold as booty in the slave-markets of the Crimea and Istanbul, the latter demanding ever more labor or taxes from their Ukrainian serfs and underlings. The image of the brave young Cossack mounting his steed to say a last farewell to his broken hearted mother or girlfriend is seered into the heart of every person who is acquainted with the content of tra ditional Ukrainian folksong. But Ukraine was a frontier society and it was not only for the brief periods of the great wars that the womenfolk were left on their own. Tatar raids were fre quent, border skirmishing constant, and the insecurity of life general. Thus absolutely no women were allowed to set foot on the Zaporozhian Sich and, in general, the Cossack men tended to remain single throughout the dangerous years of their youth and either marry late in life or not at all. As a result, the Cossack women were very frequently condemned to live for long periods in the absence of their menfolk. It was they who had to tend to household and farm, to raise the children, see to their education, and maintain the sacred traditions of faith and family. These heavy responsibilities, which the womenfolk carried out entirely on their own, helped to strengthen the character of Ukrainian women and led to the development of a spirit of industry and independ ence that simply did not exist in more settled societies. I.S. Storoshenko in the book H o w th e C o ss ac ks w e n t to W ar ( la k K o z a y k y voiuvaly) maintains that the absence of the Cossack men created in their women “an inde pendent character, high authority, and respect in the family.” This spirit of industry and independence showed both in personal relations and in public law. On the one hand, Cossack women enjoyed considerable respect and admiration on the part of their fathers, brothers, and husbands; so much so, in fact, that they were quite free to make up their own minds as to when and to whom they wished to be married. On the other hand, Cossack women also enjoyed considerable legal rights. Thus they could independently own property, initiate legal actions, or begin divorce proceedings if they so desired. In general, the fluid life-styles of Cossack Ukraine seemed to be beneficial to both the social and legal status of women. This situation worked to the advantage of all society for Cossack women commonly proved themselves to be entirely worthy of the respect arid trust placed in them by their menfolk. Not only were they able to run family and farm in a fashion acceptable to their husbands, but they also carried on these responsibilities in a way that attracted the notice and admiration of foreigners who happened to be travelling through Cossack Ukraine. Thus shortly after the abolition of the Hetmanate, a Russian traveller by the name of Izmailov remarked upon the love, respect, and trust exhibited in the Ukrain ian family of his day. “Mutual love,” he writes, “creates in the running of the household a more beautiful har mony and order than does authority and subservience among us (Russians). The maidens have a free manner and they are all pretty, agile, and attractive. They are graceful and delicate...All of their villages and farms are located in wonderful settings. Each house is clean and white and surrounded by blooming orchards.” About the same time (c. 1812), an Englishman named Edward Daniel Clark similarly enthused that the houses in Ukraine were clean and white, as in Wales, and it seemed to the traveller that he was transported to Holland or Norway. Ukrainians reminded Clark of the Scottish highlanders and the Ukrainian villager’s home seemed to him to be cleaner than that of a Muscovite prince. Even allowing for exaggeration or bias, these comments are a very favorable reflection upon the women and homelife of Cossack Ukraine. However, among the foreign accounts of the man ners and morals of the Ukrainian people there is none so rich or so famous as that of the French mapmaker, Guillaume Sieur de Beauplan. In his account too, the degree of feminine liberty which existed in Cossack Ukraine is remarkable. For example, Beauplan expressed his astonishment at the fact that in Ukraine it sometimes happened that the young maidens courted the young men. I quote from the London edition of 1744 of his D e s c rip tio n o f U kraine: The maid that is in love goes to the young man’s father’s house, at such a time as she judges she may find the father, mother, and gallant together. Coming into the НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, БЕРЕЗЕНЬ 1995 17
Page load link
Go to Top
1 
2-3 
4-5 
6-7 
8-9 
10-11 
12-13 
14-15 
16-17 
18-19 
20-21 
22-23 
24-25 
26-27 
28-29 
30-31 
32-33 
34-35 
36-37 
38-39 
40 
