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Chumak. V. Shtemberg. in Solotvino, Zakarpatye and. in 1880, the Donetsk Basin provided 20% of all Czarist Russia’s output .9 These developments coincided with the development of the railroads 10 and by WWI , the Salt Road Wag goners who had designed the main roads of Ukraine since the XVth Century disappeared from the Ukrain ian countryside. The artist C. Vasyl’kivs’kyi may have painted one of the last cavavans of ox driven carts in his work, Romodanivs’kyi Salt Road (1091- 1908) u The salt drivers’ occupation was closely re lated to trade. On the one hand they provided salt for the markets of Northern and Eastern Ukraine, and on the other hand they provided grain, leather, cloth, honey, wax, brandy and many other non perishable items for the markets in the South. Thus, they were a familiar sight at open markets throughout the country. The term Chumak/Chumaky seems to have evolved from the term “chum” which was a spoon or ladle used to identify a measure of salt. In the painting of Kateryna (1842) by Taras Shevchenko, there may even be one such chumak in the background. He is sitting on the ground, looking up at Kateryna, holding a large wooden spoon in his hand. He is wearing a straw hat with large brim to protect his head from the sun. Another famous painting by V. Shtemberg enti tled “chumak,” dating back to 1836, also documents the existence of the chumaky. It represents a weary chumak and appeals to our imagination. As we look at the illustration we ask ourselves: Who is he? How long has he been on the road? Where are his companions ?1 The whole picture conveys a feeling of great sadness, loneliness, and hardship. It is probably the fall and the chumak is probably heading home. He wears winter headgear, a sheepskin hat. In the sum mer, a chumak could be easily recognized by his white clothes. Any white cloth dipped in salty water would acquire an even brighter white when dried in the sun, and there is to this day a saying in Ukrainian which has its origins in the chumak’s summer costume -- White as a chumak’s shirt! A chumak would carry a stick which he used to direct the oxen or to support himself during the strenuous journey. His coat (svyta) would serve as blanket during the night and he would also be buried in it. Copyright Helene Turkewicz-Sanko John Carroll University, 2003 1 http://www.saltinstitute. org (7/23/02). 2 New York: Research Society for Ukrainian Terminology (1947 second edition, 1983). 3 http:www.tribunes.com/tribune/sel/logu.htm -11/19/2002. 4 “Ukrainian Chumak Roads.” Collection o f Essays in Memory o f Mukola Mushynky. (Blahovisnyk Pratsi). Ukrainians in Slovakia Association. Uzhhorod and Priashiv: Institute Taras Shevchenko in Slovakija. (1998): 149-160. 5 On the international scene, there has also been a renewed interest in the salt supplies of the world. For example, Gobi International Market Research offers a profile of Ukraine’s place in the world salt market. There has been also a renewed interest in Mediterranean Salinas and the project ALAS (All About Salt)— an interregional co-operation among four Euro pean sites that produce salt from the sea — has, during the last two years, studied the preservation and development of tradi tionally run Salinas, their natural and economical heritage, their economy and social structure. They analyzed the impor tance of salt museums and their impact on tourism in Portu gal, Slovenia, Greece and Bulgaria. 6 Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopedia . Toronto: University of Toronto. Vol 1: 80-81; 88-89. 7 Today, at Wieliczka, there is a centennial underground cathe dral dug into the rock salt. Every year thousands of worship pers visit this site. It is not the only one in the world. Near Bogota, Colombia, lies 345 feet underground, the Chapel of Our Lady of Rosary. It can hold 10,000 people. 8 Virlana Tkacz. ‘Utoropy: Salt, Songs, and a Wedding. Our Life. November 2001,Vol. 57: 16-19. See also 'Utoropy: a Village with Salt in its History’: http://www.brama.com/yara/tree-ut.html 9 http://www.tribunes.com/tribune/sel/logqi.htm П 1/19/02). 10 Kiev, A Portrait (1800-1917). Michael F. Hamm. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. (1993): 34. 11 Istorija Ukrajins ’koho M ystetstva/ History o f Ukrainian Art. M.P. Bazhan and all. Kyiv: Zhovten’. Vol. IV Part 2 (1970): plate #117. 12 Istorija Ukrajins’koho Mystetstva. M.P.Bazhan and all. Kyiv: Zhovten’. Vol IV part I (1970): 143. “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, БЕРЕЗЕНЬ 2003 19
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