Ukrainian Minstrels: And the Blind Shall SingAmong 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. 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. The separateness of Ukrainian culture became politically salient, and epic singers became the target of repression during the Stalin era (in 1939 there was a massacre of Ukrainian minstrels). For this reason -- and due also to tire secrecy that always surrounded the guilds' rites of membership and their association with mendicancy -- Ukrainian ministrelsy has been little studied. Natalie Kononenko's work is thus a revelation of a distinctive folk tradition and a little-known social order. It will be of interest to anyone with an interest in folklore, Ukrainian culture, or rural social history. |
Contents
The Singers | 3 |
An Overview | 16 |
Common Stereotypes of Minstrels | 27 |
Blindness | 44 |
The Brotherhoods or Guilds | 66 |
Apprenticeship Training and Initiation | 86 |
Learning Minstrel Songs | 108 |
Minstrel Guilds and the Orthodox Church | 133 |
Minstrel Rites and Songs | 199 |
The Begging Song and the Song of Gratitude | 211 |
Religious Songs | 220 |
Epics Dumy | 239 |
Historical Songs | 261 |
Secret Songs | 273 |
Bibliographic Essay | 282 |
Tables and Charts | 299 |
The Influence | 153 |
The Influence of Kobzari on Lirnyky | 171 |
Conclusion | 196 |
Bibliography | 337 |
Index | 349 |
Copyright | |