The Boykos ( uk, Бойки, Boiky; pl, Bojkowie; sk, Pujďáci), or simply Highlanders (верховинці, ''verkhovyntsi''), are an ethnolinguistic sub-group of
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. Along with the neighboring
Lemkos
Lemkos ( rue, Лeмкы, translit= Lemkŷ; pl, Łemkowie; uk, Лемки, translit=Lemky) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region ( rue, Лемковина, translit=Lemkovyna; uk, Лемківщина, translit=Lemkivshchyna) of Car ...
and
Hutsuls
The Hutsuls (sometimes the spelling variant: Gutsuls; uk, Гуцули, translit=Hutsuly; pl, Huculi, Hucułowie; ro, huțuli) are an ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). They ...
, the Boykos speak a dialect of the
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state lan ...
. Within Ukraine and according to majority of linguists, the Boykos and other ''Rusyns'' are seen as a sub-group of ethnic
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...
, and the this dialect is regarded as part of a
dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...
within
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
Regarding_the_origin_of_the_name_Boyko_there_exist_several_etymological_hypotheses,_but_it_is_generally_considered,_as_explained_by_priest_:uk:Левицький_Йосип_Іванович.html" ;"title="ichard T.Schaefer (ed.), 2008, ''Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society, Volume 1'', Sage Publications, p. 1341. James Stuart Olson, Lee Brigance Pappas & Nicholas Charles Pappas, 1994, ''An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires'', Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 109–110. Boykos differ from their neighbors in dialect, dress, folk architecture, and customs.
Etymology
Regarding the origin of the name Boyko there exist several etymological hypotheses, but it is generally considered, as explained by priest :uk:Левицький Йосип Іванович">Joseph Levytsky in his ''Hramatyka'' (1831), that it derives from the particle . Specifically, it derives from the exclamation "бой!, бойє!" (''< bo-i-je >''), meaning "it is really so!", which is often used by the population. The 19th-century scholar Pavel Jozef Šafárik, with whom Franjo Rački and Henry Hoyle Howorth agreed, argued a direct connection of the Boykos with the region of ''White Serbia, Boiki'' mentioned in the 10th century ''De Administrando Imperio'', but this thesis is outdated and rejected, as most scholars,
Mykhailo Hrushevsky
Mykhailo Serhiiovych Hrushevsky ( uk, Михайло Сергійович Грушевський, Chełm, – Kislovodsk, 24 November 1934) was a Ukrainian academician, politician, historian and statesman who was one of the most important figure ...
among them, already dismissed it in the 19th century because ''Boiki'' is a clear reference to Bohemia, which in turn derives from the Celtic tribe of
Boii
The Boii (Latin plural, singular ''Boius''; grc, Βόιοι) were a Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul ( Northern Italy), Pannonia (Hungary), parts of Bavaria, in and around Bohemia (after whom ...
. The derivation from Boii, is also disputed because there is not enough evidence. They are also called Vrchovints (Highlanders). As in the case of
Hutsuls
The Hutsuls (sometimes the spelling variant: Gutsuls; uk, Гуцули, translit=Hutsuly; pl, Huculi, Hucułowie; ro, huțuli) are an ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). They ...
and
Lemkos
Lemkos ( rue, Лeмкы, translit= Lemkŷ; pl, Łemkowie; uk, Лемки, translit=Lemky) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region ( rue, Лемковина, translit=Lemkovyna; uk, Лемківщина, translit=Lemkivshchyna) of Car ...
, they are recorded in historical and ethnographic sources since the 18th and 19th century.
Origin
Boykos are considered one of the descendants of East Slavic tribes, specifically
White Croats
White Croats ( hr, Bijeli Hrvati; pl, Biali Chorwaci; cz, Bílí Chorvati; uk, Білі хорвати, Bili khorvaty), or simply known as Croats, were a group of Early Slavic tribes who lived among other West and East Slavic tribes in the ar ...
who lived in the region, possibly also
Ulichs
The Uliches or Ugliches ( ro, Ulici or ; russian: Уличи or , or ; uk, Уличі , or ) were a tribe of Early East Slavs who, between the eighth and the tenth centuries, inhabited (along with the Tivertsi) Bessarabia, and the territories ...
who arrived from the East, and partly
Vlach
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...
shepherds who later immigrated from Transylvania.
Demography
In the region inhabited by Boykos, named Boikivshchyna, there lived up to 400,000 people of whom most were Boykos. They also lived in
Sanok
Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Sanok, rue, Санок, ''Sanok'', ua, Cянік, ''Sianik'', la, Sanocum, yi, סאניק, ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern ...
,
Lesko
Lesko (or ''Lisko'' until 1926; ua, Лісько - Lisko; la, Lescow, alias ''Olesco Lescovium''; yi, לינסק-Linsk) is a town in south-eastern Poland with a population of 5,755 (02.06.2009). situated in the Bieszczady mountains. It is ...
and
Przemyśl County
__NOTOC__
Przemyśl County ( pl, powiat przemyski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a re ...
of the
Podkarpackie Voivodeship
Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province (in pl, Województwo podkarpackie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshall, it is ...
in Poland, before the forced relocation in 1947. In commemoration of Boykos, Ukraine's national parliament, the
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
, in 2016 renamed
Telmanove Raion
Telmanove Raion ( uk, Тельманівський район, ) is one of the administrative raions (a ''district'') of Donetsk Oblast, located in southeastern Ukraine. The raion was abolished on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrative refor ...
into Boykivske Raion where Boykos were deported from
Czarna, Bieszczady County
Czarna (until 30 December 1999: ''Czarna Górna'', uk, Чорна, ''Chorna'') is a village in Bieszczady County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine. It is the seat of the gmina (administrativ ...
(today in Poland) after the
1951 Polish–Soviet territorial exchange
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
. It is estimated from the evidence available that in 1970 there lived 230,000 people of Boyko origin.
In Ukraine, the classification of Boykos and other
Rusyns
Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety, treated variously as either a distinct langu ...
as an ethnicity distinct from
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...
is controversial.Tom Trier (1998), ''Inter-Ethnic Relations in Transcarpathian Ukraine'' The deprecated and archaic term Ruthenian, while also derived from '' Rus''', is ambiguous, as it technically may refer to Rusyns and
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
, depending on the historical period. According to the 2001 Ukraine census, only 131 people identified themselves as Boykos, separate from Ukrainians. However, this figure is distorted because some people otherwise identifiable as Boykos regard that name as derogatory and call themselves highlanders (verkhovyntsi). In the Polish census of 2011, 258 people identified their nationality as Boyko, with 14 people listing it as their only national identification.
Location
*Poland: southeasternmost part of Poland (
Podkarpackie Voivodeship
Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province (in pl, Województwo podkarpackie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshall, it is ...
).
*Ukraine: central and western half of the Carpathians in Ukraine across such regions as the southern
Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a relational adjective—in English translating to a noun adjunct w ...
Drohobych
Drohobych ( uk, Дрого́бич, ; pl, Drohobycz; yi, דראָהאָביטש;) is a city of regional significance in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban h ...
, and
Sambir Raion
Sambir Raion ( uk, Самбірський район) is a raion in Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Sambir. Population: . It was established in 1965.
On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, t ...
Kalush Raion
Kalush Raion ( uk, Ка́луський райо́н, translit=Kalushsky raion) is a raion (district) of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (province). The city of Kalush is the administrative center of the raion. Population: .
On 18 July 2020, as part of ...
) and parts of the northeastern
Zakarpattia Oblast
The Zakarpattia Oblast ( uk, Закарпатська область, Zakarpatska oblast) is an administrative oblast located in western Ukraine, mostly coterminous with the historical region of Carpathian Ruthenia. Its administrative centre is ...
(
Mizhhiria Raion
Mizhhiria Raion ( uk, Міжгірський район) was a raion of Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center was the urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́п ...
)
*Northeast
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
To the west of Boykos live
Lemkos
Lemkos ( rue, Лeмкы, translit= Lemkŷ; pl, Łemkowie; uk, Лемки, translit=Lemky) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region ( rue, Лемковина, translit=Lemkovyna; uk, Лемківщина, translit=Lemkivshchyna) of Car ...
, east or southeast
Hutsuls
The Hutsuls (sometimes the spelling variant: Gutsuls; uk, Гуцули, translit=Hutsuly; pl, Huculi, Hucułowie; ro, huțuli) are an ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). They ...
, northward Dnistrov'yans, Opolyans.
PogMAP2.png, Ethnographic groups of southeasternmost Poland, Boykos in dark blue.
Bojky001.jpg, Boyko family. Dolyna district. 1898
Бойки.jpg, Boyko family. Beginning of the XX century
Bojki1837.jpg, Boyko inhabitants of Galicia, lithograph from 1837
Boiko from Beskydy.jpg, Boyko man, 1925–1939.
Boykos 2.jpg, Boyko family, prewar.
Boykivshchyna (2).jpg, Boyko family, prewar.
Tucholka. Bojkiwska chata 1903.jpg, Boyko hut. 1903
Bojkhata.JPG, interior of the Boyko hut. Museum of Culture and Life of Boykivshchyna
Religion
Most Boykos belong to the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = uk
, caption_background =
, image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG
, imagewidth =
, type = Particular church (sui iuris)
, alt =
, caption = St. George's ...
, with a minority belonging to the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church
The history of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the history of Christianity, to the Apostolic Age, with mission trips along the Black Sea and a legend of Saint Andrew even ascending the hills of Kyiv. The first Chr ...
. The distinctive wooden church architecture of the Boyko region is a three-domed church, with the domes arranged in one line, and the middle dome slightly larger than the others.
DrohobychCer3.JPG, St. George's Church, Drohobych
File:Krivki church.jpg, A traditional Boyko church in
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...
.
File:Rosolin, cerkiew św. Onufrego (HB1).jpg, Wooden Boyko church of St. Onuphrius. Rosolin
Михайлівська церква (дер.) 1700 р. Вишка 7661-HDR.jpg, Boyko church of Saint Michael, Vyshka
Церква Зіслання Святого Духа (1804).jpg, Boyko church of the Pentecost in Verkhnya Rozhanka
Гукливий, Церква Св. Духа 2010 (6074).jpg, Holy Spirit church in Huklyvyi
Matkiv.jpg, Saint Demetrius church, Matkiv
Notable people
*
Yuriy Drohobych
Yuriy Drohobych or Yuriy Kotermak, uk, Юрій Дрогобич, pl , Jerzy Drohobycz, Jerzy Kotermak Drusianus, Georgius Drohobicz, by birthname Yuriy Kotermak, Giorgio da Leopoli (1450 in Drohobych – 4 February 1494 in Kraków) was a Ukrai ...
(1450–1494), first doctor of medicine in Ukraine, rector of the
University of Bologna
The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...
Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny
Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny ( uk, Петро Конашевич-Сагайдачний; pl, Piotr Konaszewicz-Sahajdaczny; born about 1582 in Kulchytsi, today Sambir Raion – 20 April 1622 in Kyiv) was a Ukrainian Cossack political and ...
Zaporozhian Cossacks
The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...
(1616–1622).
*
Ivan Franko
Ivan Yakovych Franko (Ukrainian: Іван Якович Франко, pronounced ˈwɑn ˈjɑkowɪtʃ frɐnˈkɔ 27 August 1856 – 28 May 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, interpreter, economist, ...
(1856–1916), Ukrainian poet, writer and political activist.
See also
*
Rusyns
Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety, treated variously as either a distinct langu ...
*
Ruthenians
Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in ...
*
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...
*
Boyko Surname
The Boykos ( uk, Бойки, Boiky; pl, Bojkowie; sk, Pujďáci), or simply Highlanders (верховинці, ''verkhovyntsi''), are an ethnolinguistic sub-group of Ukrainians located in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, ...
References
External links
*Anatoliy Ponomariov. "''Ethnic groups of Ukrainians''" (in Ukrainian). Availabl online
* Nakonechny, Ye. "''How
Ruthenians
Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in ...
became Ukrainians''",
Zerkalo Nedeli
''Dzerkalo Tyzhnia'' ( ua, Дзеркало тижня), usually referred to in English as the ''Mirror Weekly'', was one of Ukraine's most influential analytical weekly-publisher newspapers, founded in 1994.in Russian an in Ukrainian