Ukrainian Ritual Culture in the Studies of Polish Researchers: “Kupajlo” by Józefa Moszyńska (1881)

Author

Bidnoshyia Yurii

a research fellow at the Ethnology Department of the State Scientific Center for Protection of Cultural Heritage from Technogenic Disasters (Kyiv, Ukraine).

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1368-7297

Ukrainian Ritual Culture in the Studies of Polish Researchers:
 “Kupajlo” by Józefa Moszyńska (1881)

Abstract

The figure of Józefa Moszyńska (1820–1897) occupies a special place in the scientific space of the second half of the 19th century, marked by an intense interest in folk culture. Her activities are examined within the context of a cohort of Polish researchers who made significant contributions to the recording and study of Ukrainian spiritual heritage. The article is focused primarily on the analysis of J. Moszyńska’s ethnographic collections published in the Kraków journal “Zbiór wiadomości do antropologii krajowej” (“Collected Information for the Anthropology of the Region”). These works, containing detailed descriptions of wedding and Kupajlo rituals, folk games, as well as records of fairy tales and riddles, are originated from the southern Kyiv region. The author of the article brings to light little-known biographical facts about the researcher, revealing the prerequisites for her scientific interest in Ukrainian folklore. The localization of settlements in the vicinity of Bila Tserkva, where Moszyńska has conducted her field research, is of a particular value. It is emphasized that her records are distinguished by a high level of accuracy and authenticity, allowing the reconstruction of archaic layers of the region’s ritual culture. A special emphasis is placed on the linguistic aspect of the materials. The dialectal features of the recorded texts are analyzed. The influence of Volhynian-Podillian and Polissia dialect groups against the background of Middle Dnipro dialects is shown clearly in them. This makes Moszyńska’s heritage to be a reliable source for ethnographers as well as also for dialectologists. It is emphasized in the conclusion on the necessity of updating and integrating Józefa Moszyńska’s heritage into modern Ukrainian scientific discourse. This involves not only the creation of academic Ukrainian-language versions of her materials but also their critical re-evaluation from the perspective of contemporary folkloristics. The researcher’s materials remain a fundamental source for studying the cultural landscape of the 19th-century Ukraine and require further promotion.

Keywords

Józefa Moszyńska, ethnography of the Kyiv region, Kupajlo rituals, folklore, Middle Dnipro dialects.

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