Cossack Mamay (in less significant variants also named as Cossack banduryst, ua, Козак Мамай) is a

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 ...

folkloric hero, one of the standard characters in traditional Ukrainian itinerant puppet theater, the

Vertep In the Ukrainian culture, vertep (Cyrillic: вертеп) is a portable puppet theatre and drama, which presents the nativity scene, other mystery plays, and later secular plots as well. The original meaning of the word is "secret place", "cave" ...

Overview

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

Mamay is encountered in legends, folk stories and proverbs. These became widely popular after the dissolution of the

Zaporizhian Sich The Zaporozhian Sich ( ua, Запорозька Січ, ; also uk, Вольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового, ; Free lands of the Zaporozhian Host the Lower) was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of Cos ...

in 1775. Cossack Mamay is one of the most common characters in Ukrainian folk painting, from the late 17th century to the present time. In the hundreds of surviving paintings, Cossack Mamay is usually shown with a

kobza The kobza ( uk , кобза), also called bandurka ( uk , бандурка) is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family ( Hornbostel-Sachs classification number 321.321-5+6), a relative of the Central European mandora. The term ''kobz ...

– a lute-like musical instrument that is the symbol of Ukrainian soul; a horse, which represented both freedom and fidelity; and an oak with his weapons hanging on it symbolizing the people's strength. The paintings from the time of

Koliyivschyna The Koliivshchyna ( uk, Коліївщина, pl, koliszczyzna) was a major haidamaky rebellion that broke out in Right-bank Ukraine in June 1768, caused by money (Dutch ducats coined in Saint Petersburg) sent by Russia to Ukraine to pay for t ...

sometimes portray Mamay on the background of violent incidents involving

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. "Cossack-Bandurist", "Cossack-Zaporozhets", "Cossack Mamai" - these are all names of paintings of the same type. The general features of the composition and the main image, their existence for several centuries in Ukrainian lands allow us to consider these works as traditional folk paintings. There are several options for them. But in all cases, the basis of the composition is always the figure of a Cossack, who mostly sits with his legs crossed. The largest collections of this work are preserved and exhibited by the National Art Museum of Ukraine, the Dnipropetrovsk Historical Museum named after Dmytro Yavornytskyi, and the Ukrainian Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum".

Gallery

File:Cossack Mamay 18th c.jpg, 18th century File:Cossack Mamai, 18th century.png, 18th century File:Cossack Mamay 1728.jpg, 1728 File:Cossack Mamay 1st half of 19th c.jpg, 19th century File:Unknown painter - Zaporozhian Cossack from Crimea (Cossack Mamai) - Google Art Project.jpg, Crimea 1780/1840 File:Cossack Mamay 1st half of 19th c (5).jpg, 19th century File:CossackMamay.jpg, Cossack Mamay and the

Haidamaka The haidamakas, also haidamaky or haidamaks (singular ''haidamaka'', ua, Гайдамаки, ''Haidamaky'') were Ukrainian paramilitary outfits composed of commoners (peasants, craftsmen), and impoverished noblemen in the eastern part of the ...

hang a Jewish

arendator In the history of the Russian Empire, and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, arendator (literally "lease holder") (, ) was a person who leased fixed assets, such as land, mills, inns, breweries, or distilleries, or of special rights, such as the r ...

by his heels and kill another. 19th century File:Cossack Mamay 1855.jpg, 1855 File:Cossack Mamay 1890.jpg, 1890 File:David Burliuk Cossack Mamay.jpg,

David Burliuk David Davidovich Burliuk (Давид Давидович Бурлюк; 21 July 1882 – 15 January 1967) was a Russian-language poet, artist and publicist associated with the Futurist and Neo-Primitivist movements. Burliuk has been described as ...

, 1912 File:Ukraine-Kyiv-Maidan Nezalezhnosti-Mamai monument.JPG, 2003 File:Coin of Ukraine Mamay A.jpg, Coin obverse File:Coin of Ukraine Mamay R.jpg, Coin, reverse

Cossack Mamay in art

Literature

* ''No End to Cossack Kin'' - a novel by Olexandr Ilchenko. * ''Mamay'' - a historical verse novel by Leonid Gorlach. * ''The Cossack Mamay Myth'' - collection of poems by Ihor Kalynets.

Movie

In 2003, director

Oles Sanin Oles Hennadiyovych Sanin ( uk, Олесь Геннадійович Санін; born July 30, 1972 in Kamin-Kashyrskyi) is a Ukrainian film director, actor, cinematographer, producer, musician and sculptor. Distinguished Artist of Ukraine; he was ...

made the film '' Mamay'' at the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio.

Music

In music, the image of Cossack Mamay was reflected in the songs of contemporary Ukrainian bands Komu Vnyz, and Vopli Vidoplyasova.

Street art

During the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,

, the artist Mykola Goncharov recreated the image of Cossack Mamaiya in graffiti and posters of the series "All you need is love", replacing the kobza with a Kalashnikov rifle, and the damask with a lit Molotov cocktail.

Cossack Mamay coin

On the 1997 coin minted by

National Bank of Ukraine National Bank of Ukraine ( uk, Національний банк України) or NBU ( uk, НБУ) is the central bank of Ukraine – a government body responsible for unified state policy in the field of country's monetary circulation, includ ...

, Cossack Mamay is dressed in a rich coat with fur and sits with his legs crossed, smoking a pipe and playing a kobza. Traditional elements of Cossack military life are around Mamay: a horse with rich harness, tied to a spear with a flag planted into the ground; a green oak tree with a sabre hanging from it; a pistol and a stone powder case; Turkish ''

kalpak Calpack, kalpak, or qalpaq ( kaa, калпак, tr, kalpak ; kk, қалпақ, ky, калпак, both ; bg, калпак; el, καλπάκι ('); pl, kołpak; uk, ковпак, ') is a high-crowned cap (usually made of felt or sheepski ...

'' (high hat), and a bottle of ''okovyta'' (Ukrainian for ''

aqua vitae ''Aqua vitae'' (Latin for "water of life") or aqua vita is an archaic name for a concentrated aqueous solution of ethanol. These terms could also be applied to weak ethanol without rectification. Usage was widespread during the Middle Ages a ...

''). The

coin edge Coin edges may be plain (smooth) or patterned, or a combination of both. They can also include lettering. Reeded edges are often referred to as "ridged" or "grooved" (US usage), or "milled" (UK usage).Concise Oxford Dictionary (2006): mill, produ ...

has the inscriptions: ( ua, Козак Мамай, ''Cossack Mamay'') – at the left and ( ua, Лицар волі і честі, ''Knight of Freedom and Honor'') – at the right. On top, these inscriptions are separated with a small flag at the spear point and, underneath, a conventionalized

guelder-rose ''Viburnum opulus'', the guelder-rose or guelder rose () is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Adoxaceae (formerly Caprifoliaceae) native plant, native to Europe, northern Africa and central Asia. Description ''Viburn ...

spray. The Mamay coin is from the "Heroes of the Cossack Age" series, Ukrainian commemorative and jubilee coins.

References

Бушак С. М. Сміхова культура українського народу у творах «Козак Мамай» та «Запорожцях» Іллі Рєпіна // ''Скарбниця української культури''. Збірка наукових праць. — Вип. 3. / Чернігівский історичний музей. – Чернігів: Сіверянська думка, 2002. — C. 72–79.

Kozak Mamay. Amazing collection of images collected by one individual. Some paintings dating from the mid-17th century.

External links

mamay.ch
Kozak Mamay. MAMAY'S ALIVE, HE JUST WAS THINKING. {{National symbols of Ukraine Zaporozhian Host Kobzarstvo Coins of Ukraine Ukrainian folklore National symbols of Ukraine Fictional Cossacks Fictional musicians