Customer Reviews

Ukrainian Minstrels: And the Blind Shall Sing (Folklores and Folk Cultures of Eastern Europe)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The "Ukrainian Minstrels" by the Harvard-trained scholar and folklore authority, Natalie Kononenko, who currently teaches at the University of Virginia, is enormously interesting. Among the many intriguing characteristics of the Ukrainian folk tradition is the fact that Ukrainian epics were sung by a special type of minstrel - the blind mendicant. Yes, blindness was obligatory! These minstrels were organized into professional guilds that set standards for training and performance and provided the singers with protection and support throughout their careers. Natalie Kononenko's book is a revelation of a distinctive folk tradition and a little-known social order. One learns about the difference between the kobzari and lirniki, since there were two types of minstrels, who played different types of instruments, about the unique relationship between the established minstrel and his apprentice, the duration of training, and the extensive and fascinating repertoire one had to master. The book contains many rare photographs of minstrels. One also learns about a great tragedy which befell the Ukrainian minstrels in the 30's at the hands of the Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin, who like the villain in a Greek tragedy, organized a bogus minstrel convention in Moscow, where he had them arrested and murdered, and their instruments destroyed. Sort of a pre-cursor to the massacre of the Polish officers by Stalin at Katyn during WWII period. Highly recommended to any folklore enthusiast. A real treat!

Best book prizes for Ukrainian Minstrels: And the Blind Shall Sing, include: Kovaliv prize (an international award), 1997 and American Association for Ukrainian Studies book prize, 2000.

Additionally, Professor Natalie O. Kononenko's scholarly study is the first in M.E. Sharpe's series on `Folklores and Folk Cultures of Eastern Europe.' As Series Editor Linda J. Ivanits of the Department of Slavic Languages at Pennsylvania State University states: Dr. Kononenko's text "is a model study with which to launch this series; it illuminates a fascinating, and for a Western public, little known tradition of oral poetry. The focus is on the performers, the kobzari and lirnyky of the Ukrainian countryside, but the study also includes new translations of the basic songs of their repertory."

As the curriculum vitae of author Natalie O. Kononenko, Ph.D., attests, she's an expert in the field of folklore and folk performers, and as such, showcases salient and little-known information in an intriguing and enthralling manner. Since 1998, she has been Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia. Her doctorate was granted jointly by the departments of Slavic Languages and Literatures and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures of Harvard University in 1976. Professor Kononenko's Dissertation Title was "The Turkish Minstrel Tale Tradition." With an M.A. from the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University, 1969 and a B.A. from the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Radcliffe College, 1967, she also attended Cornell University during 1963-65.

Professor Kononenko's distinctions and awards include: Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in the United States, elected 2000; Raven Society, University of Virginia Literary, Academic, and Service Honorary, elected 1999; Shevchenko Scientific Society, Ukrainian Academic Honorary, elected 1998; Best book prizes for Ukrainian Minstrels: And the Blind Shall Sing: Kovaliv prize (an international award), 1997; American Association for Ukrainian Studies book prize, 2000; University of Virginia Alumni Association Young Teacher Award, 1979 (first woman to receive this award); Omicron Delta Kappa, National Leadership Honorary, elected 1982; and, Faculty Senate of the University of Virginia, 1982-86.

This volume is very aptly edited by Series Editor Linda J. Ivanits of the Department of Slavic Languages at Pennsylvania State University, who states in the book's Foreword, that the purpose of the `Folklores and Folk Cultures of Eastern Europe' series is to offer a wide range of primary texts and scholarly works on major subjects in Eastern European folklore and folk culture to the English-speaking public.

Unique features of Ukrainian minstrelsy include: 1) blindness, which was obligatory; in neighboring countries, singers were sighted; 2) an elaborate guild system (this is detailed in chapters on the evolution of the system, links with beggars' guilds, and the Orthodox Church); and, 3) the extensiveness of the repertory of the Ukrainian singers.

In her Preface, Dr. Kononenko states that although her work began as a study of texts (when she arrived in Ukraine in 1987, her intention was to compile a complete edition of Ukrainian epic poetry--the dumy), the end product became an investigation of the performers--a special type of minstrel--the blind medicant.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part is comprised of ten chapters: The Singers; The Traditional Repertory: An Overview; Common Stereotypes of Minstrels; Blindness; Minstrel Institutions: The Brotherhoods or Guilds; Apprenticeship, Training, and Initiation; Learning Minstrel Songs; Minstrel Guilds and the Orthodox Church; Minstrelsy and Martyrdom: The Influence of Religious Song on the Epic; and Epic and Lament: The Influence of Kobzar on Lirnyky.

The Conclusion (of part one) states, in part, that Ukrainian minstrelsy was "probably always linked to the sacred"; minstrelsy was also a social welfare institution; and, minstrels' songs were their exclusive property. Following the Conclusion are twenty-four captioned archival black-and-white photos from the 1873 to 1995 (some are undated) of kobzars and lirnyks with their guides, spouses, or siblings. They are placed on the pages as duos.

Part two details minstrel rites and songs. The texts are as enthralling as the songs: A Religious Festival: The Description of a Religious Festival Given by Valerian Borzhkovskii in His Article "Lirniki"; The Minstrel Initiation Rite: The Eastern Version of the Rite Supplied by the Kobzar Trykhon Mahadyn; The Eastern Version of the Initiation Rite Supplied by Terentii Parkhomenko; The Western Version of the Initiation Rite Supplied by the Lirnyk Iakiv Zlatarskyi.

Part two continues with the Songs, which are broken down as follows: The Begging Song and the Song of Gratitude (these were performed on arrival by the minstrel at someone's home); Religious Songs (these were the most important part of the minstrel's repertory and each minstrel tried to learn as many of these as possible); Epics (Dumy) (these were considered serious and suitable for pubic performance--they could be sung at a fair, in a home or at a religious festival); Historical Songs (these differed from epic songs in form and tended to have couplet rhyme; they were suitable for most performance occasions); Satirical Songs (these were seldom sung in public, but were often performed in private homes, entertaining guests at weddings and other joyful occasions); and, Secret Songs (only guild members were allowed to hear these songs, which were sung at the conclusion of the annual meeting of the minstrel guild and after initiations). For a listing of the songs discussed, please see images.

Following the songs, which are not only given in their entirety, but also discussed in-depth, is a section called Bibliographic Essay. Extremely informative, the sections are: Early Ukrainian Folkloristics: Interest in the Text Rather Than the Performer; Treatment of the Oral Text by Early Scholars: The Belief That Texts Are Shaped by History Rather Than by the Performer; Information about Performers: Growing Understanding of the Oral Process and the First Study of a Specific Kobzar; Early Information on Minstrels; The Major Studies of Kobzari and Lirnyky: The Late Nineteenth Century: The Work of Martynovych and Other Scholars; The Early Twentieth Century and the Twelfth Archeological Congress; The Work of Speranskii; Sound Recordings from Kobzari and Lirnyky; The Last Great Period of Ukrainian Folkloristics Prior to Stalin; and, The New Kobzari.

An Appendix with a Tables and Charts follows. It Includes: Table 1: List of Married Men; Chart I: Apprenticeship (minstrel's name, age at beginning of apprenticeship and years of study); Chart II: Apprenticeship (Speranskii's data) (minstrel's name, age when minstrel became blind; age at beginning of apprenticeship and years of study); and Chart III: Minstrel Earnings.

The Notes section gives detailed notes on various chapters in the book, and is followed by: Notes to Songs and Bibliographic Essay, an extensive Bibliography, and a twelve-page Index.

A hearty five stars plus for an enthralling study of not only Ukrainian minstrels, but also a history of Ukraine, as it was experience by them. A must for every library, public and personal!

Addendum: Readers, you're invited to visit each of my reviews--most of them have photos that I took in Ukraine (over 600)--you'll learn lots about Ukraine and Ukrainians. The image gallery shows smaller photos, which are out of sequence. The preferable way is to see each review through my profile page since photos that are germane to that particular book/VHS/DVD are posted there with notes and are in sequential order.

To visit my reviews: click on my pseudonym, Mandrivnyk, to get to my profile page; click on the tab called review; scroll to the bottom of the section, and click on see all reviews; click on each title, and on the left-hand side, click on see all images. The thumbnail images at the top of the page show whether photos have notes; roll your mouse over the image to find notes posted.

Also, you're invited to visit my Listmania lists, which have materials sorted by subject matter.