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
disturbing. But it is necessary to understand that some times this state of affairs was a hazard of the road prompted by others. Often, the chumaky were com pelled by tavern keepers to buy brandy in order to ob tain feed for their oxen. This fact is revealed in the nineteenth century study by Danylevs’kyi, Chumaky, Kyudozhn ’o-dokumental ’nyi Narys/ Salt Wagoners, A Cultural Documentation of Their Way of Life), who depicts the Salt drivers' hard life through the four sea sons.5 Sometimes the drinking got out of hand. In some songs, the chumak has to be bailed out of prison, or he loses all his oxen and goods. He is in a terrible state and must be rescued by his parents or his wife. But the worst trouble was illness. When a chumak became gravely ill, the valka would stop alto gether and all the other chumaky would watch over him as he died. Even the oxen would be aware of the trouble that had befallen their master. The dying man would ask his friends to bring the news of his death to his father and mother or his wife. And there are many questions on the dying man’s mind. "Who will take care of my parents, my wife, my children? Who will care for my oxen and bring them safely home?” Then he plans his own fu neral. He asks his companions to bury him on a mound so that his grave is high enough fo r him to see his dear Ukraine. And he asks them to plant a kalyna or guelder-rose , a symbol of his native land and a sign that indicates that a Ukrainian is buried in this spot. [53] The valka then moves on, leaving behind a dark grave. The chumaky travel until sundown and then stop again at the otaman’s singing call: Oj! You men, you brave men, Where are we going to sleep? And again a chorus of men’s voices responds: We will spend the night, spend the night In the wide open land, near the camp Real close to the green grove We shall light a fire. [53] The oxen are unharnessed and led to the pas ture. The carts stand idle. Around the fire, the men are waiting for supper. They are happy and exchange jokes. Then each one quietly thinks about a loved one, about a family, and a happy tune resounds across the encampment. [54] No one thinks of mishaps hurling in the night. And yet something unexpected happens: From behind this grove Some bandits are watching... The worst bandit ever On his black horse He too plays a tune That brings all his men to the camp...[55] In the blink of an eye, all the chumaky are on their feet ready to defend themselves and their goods. And the song describes how the bandit chief mocks them: Where is your leader otaman? And the chorus of men’s voices responds: Our leader is inspecting the carts Tears cover his face when he looks at the old ones He cries less When he looks a newer ones. Soon the otaman himself appears and orders the men to defend themselves: Hej! You men, you brave men Grab your whip-handles Hej and hit them right and le ft Have not pity on them! What a battle ensues! The scene the author de scribes takes on epic proportions under the light of a starry night. It becomes a battlefield with victims on both sides. Finally, the bandit leader takes to the open field and hides. But there is no mercy. The chumaky set fire to his hiding place and take him prisoner. Back at the camp they gather the thieves’ dead bodies and place them on a cart. The song nears its end. The leader otaman sings the last words: Place them on the new cart And we will bring them to Poltava And we will bring glory to our kind: Because they were 40, or is it 44? While there were only 10 of us and we are all alive! [56] Thus, through the magic of the words of a folk song overheard as he was traveling beyond the borders of Ukraine, Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi manages to exalt the glory of the Salt Wagoneers of Ukraine. The memory of these men lives on. They are invincible, heroic fig ures like their brothers, the famous Cossacks because of dynamic series of images created by Mykhailo Kostsiubynskyi from the inspiration of this chumak song. As a literary artist, Kotsiubynskyi created a composition, drawing lines, adding texture, and vivid colors, exactly the way a painter would on a canvas. His short story is a literary gem that has its place among the treasures of modem European masterpieces of literature. It is a work that echoes the 1877 poem “Chumak” composed by by Jakiv Shchoholiv (1824- 1898)6, or the 1925 play by Ivan Tobilevich (Karpenko Karyi) Chumaky, Comedia v 4-okh diakh .7 The prose writer, the poet, and the playwright celebrate a way of life that disappeared with the development of railroads. All these works have their place in a multidisciplinary program of study that relates not only to folklore, songs, literature, and theater, but to history, geography, 16 Н А Ш Е Ж И Т Т Я ”, В Е Р Е С Е Н Ь 2003 Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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 
