Traditional Values and Practice of Coexistence of the Population of Byshiv Community of Kyiv Region in the Conditions of Russian War of Aggression

Author

Ponomar Liudmyla

a Ph.D. in History, a senior research fellow at the Ukrainian Ethnological Centre Department of M. Rylskyi Institute of Art Studies, Folkloristics and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine).

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1725-9230

Traditional Values and Practice of Coexistence
of the Population of Byshiv Community of Kyiv Region in the Conditions
of Russian War of Aggression

Abstract

New motivations and social orientations of behavior during the war exemplified by the practice of coexistence of the population of Byshiv community of Kyivshchyna are considered in the article. The study of culture of the population of the villages of this community has shown the great importance of traditional heritage for the preservation of originality, in particular, exemplified of the Honey Feast of the Saviour in Vesela Sloboda. Patriotic self-consciousness in the days of war has united the fellow villagers on their small front, becoming a key phenomenon in self-organization, mutual aid. It is emphasized that modern research is of great importance in preserving the memory on Russia’s war against Ukraine. Records of pre-war and wartime coexistence are the evidences of changes those are important material for their interpretation. Therefore, the informants’ records are used widely in the article. Residents of the villages of Byshiv community contribute to the defense of their native land, are engaged in volunteer activities, have become a part of the national resistance movement, demonstrating selflessness, sacrifice and invincibility. The first emotional experiences at the beginning of the war, actions concerning the rapid rallying, unity and support, namely mutual aid, neighbourhood customs of fellow villagers are reflected in the stories of the inhabitants of the villages. The Irpin river has become a natural obstacle in the defense of the villages of Yablunivka and Pereviz, as well as on the enemies’ way to Kyiv making their attacks impossible. The practices of commemorating the dead are considered. The awareness of the inhabitants of the villages of the persistence of traditions from the times of Kyivan Rus is described in the article. The unique importance of folk culture as the informative and spiritual fronts is shown exemplified by Kupala Circle festival in the village of Hruzke of Fastiv district in Kyiv region with the support of the Byshiv community.

Keywords

traditional heritage, self-consciousness, folk culture, neighborhood traditions, rites.

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