Ukrainian fairy tale

Ukrainian folk literature is vast.Suwyn 1997, pp. ix-xiSuwyn 1997, p. xxiii Many Ukrainian fairy tales feature forests and grassy plains, with people working as farmers or hunters. Many Ukrainian fairy tales feature animals. There are often parallels with other regional traditions such as Russia, Turkey, and Poland. One purpose of Ukrainian fairy tales was to teach children about dangers, and also the importance of growing crops for survival the following year.Suwyn 1997, p. xv-xxiii Though teaching children was an important purpose of Ukrainian fairy tales, Ukrainian fairy tales were not exclusively for children.{{Cite web |last1=Bloom |first1=Mia |last2=Moskalenko |first2=Sophia |title=How fairy tales shape fighting spirit: Ukraine's children hear bedtime stories of underdog heroes, while Russian children hear tales of magical success |url=http://theconversation.com/how-fairy-tales-shape-fighting-spirit-ukraines-children-hear-bedtime-stories-of-underdog-heroes-while-russian-children-hear-tales-of-magical-success-179630 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}

Characters in Ukrainian fairy tales often feature warriors, princes, and peasants.Suwyn 1997, p. ix-xi Common features of narrative transition in Ukrainian kazky include mediators (objects, actions, notions, events, or conditions), magic helpers (objects, things, or supernatural beings, as in Mare's Head), and triggers (signs or prohibitions).{{Cite journal |last=Stepanenko |first=K. |date=2019-11-25 |title=Means of Transition between the Worlds (based on English and Ukrainian Fairy Tales) |journal=Science and Education a New Dimension |volume=VII(211) |issue=62 |pages=54–57 |doi=10.31174/send-ph2019-211vii62-13 |issn=2308-5258|doi-access=free }} These elements perform a linking function in the narrative and provide motivation for the main character to move from one setting to another.

Professor of Folklore at the University of Alberta, Natalie Kononenko writes that while historically often under occupation of foreign powers, folklore was one of the few means of cultural expression allowed to Ukrainian authors and scholars.{{cite book |last=Suwyn |first=Barbara |title=The Magic Egg and Other Tales from Ukraine. Retold by Barbara J. Suwyn; drawings by author; edited and with an introduction by Natalie O. Kononenko |date=1997 |publisher=Libraries Unlimited, Inc. |isbn=1563084252 |location=Englewood, CO |page=xxi}}

When eastern Ukraine was under the rule of the Russian Empire, activities thought to promote feelings of Ukrainian nationalism or pride were banned, but folklore, seen as the province of a rural, ignorant people, was thought to be harmless. Because folklore was considered to advance a perception that Ukraine (called “Little Russia” by the Russian Empire) was a backward, border place, research and study of Ukrainian folklore was even considered beneficial for the subjugation of Ukrainians. It is in part due to this permissive view on Ukrainian folklore that scholarly work on Ukrainian folklore from the 1800s is available today.

Under the hierarchy of the Russian Empire, Russia considered itself “Great Russia”, Belarus “White Russia”, and Ukraine to be “Little Russia”.  As a result of this enforced hierarchy under the Russian Empire, much Ukrainian folklore was not initially published as Ukrainian folklore, but instead labeled as Russian folklore.  Thus, some folklore labeled as Russian folklore was subsumed Ukrainian folklore along with folklore from Belarus. When Ukrainian folklore has been labeled as Russian, Ukrainian folk tales can be discerned from Russian folklore from the language used, and often with indications of a place where the folk tale was collected. While a similar situation existed in western Ukraine under control of Austro-Hungary, there was less attempt to assimilate Ukrainian people and culture into a larger dominant political group.Suwyn 1997, p. xxii.

Under Soviet Union rule encompassing both east and west Ukraine, folklore was treated more suspiciously by authorities.  The Soviet government realized the effectiveness of folklore and sought to replace traditional folklore with new Soviet folklore that promoted principles the Soviet government considered desirable such as submissiveness and collectivism.{{Cite journal |last=Kononenko |first=Natalie |date=2011-10-01 |title=The Politics of innocence: Soviet and Post-Soviet Animation on Folklore topics |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jaf/article/124/494/272/228359/The-Politics-of-innocence-Soviet-and-Post-Soviet |journal=Journal of American Folklore |language=en |volume=124 |issue=494 |pages=272–294 |doi=10.5406/jamerfolk.124.494.0272 |issn=0021-8715}}  Thus, Soviet rule censored older Ukrainian folklore and tales of aspects deemed threatening such as references to religion, or ideas which might encourage thoughts of Ukrainian pride or nationalism, including references particularly Ukrainian such as pysanky.

File:Books from Zinchuk's collection of Ukrainian Folk Tales.jpg

• In 1900, Maria Hrinchenko wrote a collection of Ukrainian fables and folk tales entitled, "Из уст народа" (From the Mouths of the People).{{Cite web |last=Lashko |first=M.V. |date=July 20, 2023 |title=До 155 – річчя М. Грінченко |url=https://if.kubg.edu.ua/images/stories/Departaments/gi/events.gi/2017_2018/stattya.pdf |access-date=July 20, 2023 |website=Kyiv University named after B. Hrinchenko}}
• In the early 1900's, Ukrainian writer, Lesya Ukrainka, wrote a three act play entitled The Forest Song based on the folk mythology surrounding Mavka.{{Cite web |last=Halley |first=Catherine |date=2022-04-15 |title=Lesya Ukrainka: Ukraine's Beloved Writer and Activist |url=https://daily.jstor.org/lesya-ukrainka-ukraines-beloved-writer-and-activist/ |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=JSTOR Daily |language=en-US}} In 2023, an animated version entitled "Mavka: The Forest Song" was released.{{Cite web |title=Mavka's magic. How Ukrainian cartoon fascinated the whole world and why this is just the beginning |url=https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/mavka-s-magic-how-ukrainian-cartoon-fascinated-1704885915.html |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=RBC-Ukraine |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Mavka: The Forest Song |url=https://www.filmreviewdaily.com/new-reviews/mavka-the-forest-song |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=FILM REVIEW |language=en-GB}}
• Professor of folklore, Lidiia Dunayevska, compiled a series of Ukrainian folk tales between 1983 and 2004.{{Cite book |last=Астаф’єв |first=О. Г. |url=https://esu.com.ua/article-19542 |title=Дунаєвська Лідія Францівна |date=2008 |publisher=Інститут енциклопедичних досліджень НАН України |isbn=978-966-02-2074-4 |volume=8 |language=Ukrainian}}
• Ukrainian folklorist, Mykola Zinchuk, collected, edited and published 40 volumes of Ukrainian fairy tales, published by the publishing house, Bukrek between 2003-2019.{{Cite journal |last=Karpenko |first=Svitlana |date=2021-05-24 |title=АСПЕКТИ ВИВЧЕННЯ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ НАРОДНОЇ КАЗКИ В ОСТАННЮ ТРЕТИНУ ХХ СТОЛІТТЯ: ФОРМУВАННЯ НОВОЇ ШКОЛИ КАЗКОЗНАВСТВА |url=https://philology-journal.com/index.php/journal/article/view/21 |journal=Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Literary Studies. Linguistics. Folklore Studies |volume=1 |language=uk |issue=29 |pages=10–13 |issn=2709-8494}}{{Cite web |title=Видавничий дім "Букрек" - News |url=https://bukrek.net/index.php/en/ |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=bukrek.net}}
• Children's book author, Zirka Menzatyuk, uses historical Ukrainian fairy tales as an inspiration for newer writing.{{Cite web |title=international literature festival odesa |url=http://litfestodessa.com/menzatyuk-zirka |access-date=2023-06-04 |language=uk}}
• Edited by Ivan Malkovych, between 2005 and 2012, Ukrainian publisher, A-ba-ba-ha-la-ma-ha, published three volumes of Ukrainian fairy tales in a series called "100 Kazok" (100 fairy tales). Each volume contained 100 fairy tales. 130,000 copies were printed of the first two volumes, and the 2005 volume was a book of the year.{{Cite web |title=100 Fairy Tales. Vol. 1 - "A-BA-BA-GA-LA-MA-GA" Publishers |url=http://ababahalamaha.com.ua/en/100_Fairy_Tales._Vol._1 |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=ababahalamaha.com.ua}}{{Cite web |title=100 Fairy Tales. Vol. 2 - "A-BA-BA-GA-LA-MA-GA" Publishers |url=http://ababahalamaha.com.ua/en/100_Fairy_Tales._Vol._2 |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=ababahalamaha.com.ua}}{{Cite web |title=100 Fairy Tales. Vol. 3 - "A-BA-BA-GA-LA-MA-GA" Publishers |url=http://ababahalamaha.com.ua/en/100_Fairy_Tales._Vol._3 |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=ababahalamaha.com.ua}}

• Irina Zheleznova translated a collection of Ukrainian fairy tales into English, entitled Ukrainian Folk Tales, first published by Dnipro Publishers in 1981.{{Cite book |last=Zheleznova |first=Irina |title=Ukrainian Folk Tales |publisher=Dnipro Publishers |year=1985 |location=Kyiv}}
• A 1996 retelling of the Ukrainian fairy tale, The Mitten, by children's author Jan Brett, has become a best-selling classic.{{Cite web |title=The Mitten 20th Anniversary Edition by Jan Brett |url=https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-mitten-20th-anniversary-edition-9780399252969 |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=www.penguin.com.au |language=en}}
• In 1996, Christina Oparenko retold collected Ukrainian fairy tales in Ukrainian Folk-tales for the series Oxford Myths and Legends.{{Cite web |title=Ukrainian folk-tales {{!}} WorldCat.org |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/34596952 |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=www.worldcat.org |language=en}}
• In 1997, Barbara Suwyn retold collected Ukrainian fairy tales in The Magic Egg and Other Tales from Ukraine with editing and an introduction by Natalie Kononenko.{{Cite web |title=The magic egg and other tales from Ukraine {{!}} WorldCat.org |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/43476377 |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=www.worldcat.org |language=en}}
• Between 1994 and 2003, Canadian author, Danny Evanishen, wrote and published eleven books containing Ukrainian folk tales retold in English.{{Cite web |title=Danny Evanishen |url=http://www.canadianauthors.net/e/evanishen_danny/ |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=Canadian Books & Authors}}{{Cite web |title=Danny Evanishen's home page |url=http://www.ethnic.bc.ca/devanishen/index.html |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=www.ethnic.bc.ca}}{{Cite web |last=Herald |first=Special to The |date=2022-03-30 |title=Rock star volunteer, meet Danny Evanishen |url=https://www.pentictonherald.ca/life/article_fe1a899c-b04f-11ec-91f5-6375f2378de7.html |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=Penticton Herald |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio: Nash Holos Vancouver 2022-0402 on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nash-holos-vancouver-2022-0402/id1426833296?i=1000556057712 |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=The Raspberry Hut and Other Ukrainian Folk Tales Retold in English · Canadian Book Review Annual Online |url=https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/1620 |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=cbra.library.utoronto.ca}}
• In 2024, Harvard University Press will release a translation of Lesya Ukrainka's The Forest Song, with English language translation by Virlana Tkacz and Wanda Phipps.{{Cite web |last=President and Fellows of Harvard College |date=January 11, 2024 |title=The Forest Song: A Fairy Play |url=https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674291874 |access-date=January 11, 2024 |website=Harvard University Press}}

Some Ukrainian fairy tales have been featured on stamps of Ukrposhta, the national postal service of Ukraine.{{Cite web |title=Ukraine : Stamps : Years List [Theme: Fairy Tales] |url=https://colnect.com/en/stamps/years/country/222-Ukraine/theme/375-Fairy_Tales |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=colnect.com}} Many have been retold in Ukrainian animation.{{Cite web |last=Neplii |first=Anna |title=Ukrainian Animated Films Come into Their Own |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/post/16149 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Get the Latest Ukraine News Today - KyivPost |language=en}} The Ukrainian pop band, Kazka, takes its name from the Ukrainian word for fairy tale.{{Cite web |date=2021-03-07 |title=Kazka : Ukrainian Pop Band |url=https://articles.talentsofworld.com/kazka-ukrainian-pop-band/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Talentsofworld Articles |language=en-US}} Some fairy tale characters have been created in sculpture, such as the statue of Ivasyk-Telesyk in Lviv, Ukraine's Stryiskyi Park.{{Cite web |title=Stryiskyi Park |url=https://lia.lvivcenter.org/en/objects/park-stryiskyi/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Lviv Interactive |language=en}}

{{portal |Ukraine}}

• Fairy tale
• Ukrainian Folklore
• History of Ukrainian Animation
• :Category:Ukrainian fairy tales
• Russian fairy tale

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• {{cite journal |last=Andrejev |first=Nikolai P. |author-link=:ru:Андреев, Николай Петрович (литературовед) |title=A Characterization of the Ukrainian Tale Corpus |journal=Fabula |volume=1 |issue=2 |date=1958 |pages=228–238 |doi=10.1515/fabl.1958.1.2.228}}
• Demedyuk, Мaryna. "УКРАЇНСЬКІ НАРОДНІ КАЗКИ НА СТОРІНКАХ ПОЛЬСЬКОГО ВИДАННЯ «ZBIOR WIADOMOSCI DO ANTROPOLOGII KRAJOWEJ»" [UKRAINIAN FOLKTALES IN POLISH ETHNOGRAPHIC EDITION «ZBIOR WIADOMOSCI DO ANTROPOLOGII KRAJOWEJ»]. In: The Ethnology Notebooks. 2019, № 5 (149), 1200—1204. UDK: 398.21(=161.2):050(438)”187/191”; DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/nz2019.05.1200.
• {{ill|Lintur, Petro|uk|Лінтур Петро Васильович}}. A Survey of Ukrainian Folk Tales. Volume 56 - Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Edmonton, Alberta: Research report. Translated by Bohdan Medwidsky. Canada: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, University of Alberta, 1994. {{ISBN|9781894301565}}.

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• [https://uk.wikisource.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%96%D1%8F:%D0%A3%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D1%96_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D1%96_%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%BA%D0%B8 List of Ukrainian fairy tales] at Wikisource (in Ukrainian)

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Category:Ukrainian fiction