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From “Ukrainian Folk Tales ". Illustration by J. Hnizdovsky. forgiven and reinstated. In this process, there is a sense of renewal about her. In the song Koza-Dereza, one line says: “I have been beaten to the point that there is only half of my body left. ” It reveals another significant symbol. The fact that she was beaten so fiercely that her hind legs and back were tom off suggests that the bad part of her (and therefore the dark part of her) has been removed - at least temporarily! Since in the world of nature nothing is really lost, the hind legs get transposed to a new mythological figure, the figure of the half man with the hind legs of a goat, known as the god Pan. He is always portrayed in a pastoral scene, playing his flute. His image is also associated with the satyrs -- half man and half goat - imaginary beings that roam the forests and the banks of lakes, preying on innocent passersby or bathers. In his composition Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune, based on a poem by French poet Stephane Mallarme, the French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918) presents a rendition of such a pond where a satyr is assaulting female bathers. Ultimately, the removed hind part of the goat generates the dark hooved figure of the Devil with horns on his forehead. So in the “leading of the goat,” she addresses the evil spirits that may dwell in the fire of the stove and therefore the Devil himself. The Goat is ready to fight Evil with her horns, her feet, and her hooves, and to get rid of Evil with her tail. The “leading of the goat” symbolizes a clean start for the clay stove as well as for the family living there. As to the Goat, she gets resurrected into her own innocent self. As we know, she remains as independent and capricious as before, but everyone loves her. Often, in Ukrainian context, a child who recklessly gets into mischief is called a “koza”. It is a word that in this context means “I do not approve of your behavior, but I still love you.” Koza’s ritual song also entered the children’s world of rhymes, games, folk tales, and more recently, a very appealing cartoon entitled The Kid and His Woe (Kozlyk і yoho hore). Easter, especially Easter Monday, is reserved for children’s singing, dancing, and games. In the game of Koza, children select one person to be the goat. They lead the goat to a fence or a wall and the rest of the players return to the middle of the playground. They begin mocking the goat while they sing “Koza, Koza, Beeeeh.” The goat gets angry, stomps the ground, and promises to kill them with its horns. Then the players pretend to be gentle and question the animal. “Koza, Koza, where have you been?” “I went to eat some fresh grass,” replies the goat. “Why did you come here?” “I came to rest a little.” After this dialog, the children run away and the goat chases them until it catches someone who, in turn, becomes the next goat. Another game is the “Kid” or “Kizlyk”. Children hold hands to make a circle. In the middle of that circle, one player assumes the role of the goat. When the other players sing, “The Goat is going nowhere,” the designated goat tries to unclasp some hands to break away from the circle. When the players sing, “Goat, jump to one side!” the goat jumps on one leg. And when the players sing, “Goat, change places with a girl!” the goat chooses a partner, dances to the middle of the circle with her, and leaves her there. Some folksongs remained just folksongs and
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