A Ukrainian fairy tale, "''Kazka''" (

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 ...

: ''казка''), is a fairy tale from Ukraine. The plural of ''казка'' is казки (''kazky''). In times of oral tradition, they were used to transmit knowledge and history.

Description

Ukrainian folk literature is vast. 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. 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), and triggers (signs or prohibitions). These elements perform a linking function in the narrative and provide motivation for the main character to move from one setting to another.

Collection of fairy tales while under occupation

Professor of Folklore at the University of Alberta,

Natalie Kononenko Natalie Kononenko is a professor of folklore currently with the University of Alberta. Kononenko is a major contributor to the study of Ukrainian Blind Minstrels as well as in the area of witchcraft in Slavic cultures. She currently holds the Pete ...

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.

Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary

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 White Russia, White Russian, or Russian White may refer to: White Russia *White Ruthenia, a historical reference for a territory in the eastern part of present-day Belarus * An archaic literal translation for Belarus/Byelorussia/Belorussia * Rus ...

”, 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 Folklore of Russia is folklore of Russians and other ethnic groups of Russia. Russian folklore takes its roots in the pagan beliefs of ancient Slavs and now is represented in the Russian fairy tales._Epic_Russian_ �олше́бн_...s._Epic_Russi ...

. Thus, some folklore labeled as

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 Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austria ...

under control of

Austro-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, there was less attempt to assimilate Ukrainian people and culture into a larger dominant political group.Suwyn 1997, p. xxii.

Soviet Union

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. 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''.

Ukrainian fairy tales in modern culture

Collections and modern retellings

Ukrainian language

* In 1900,

Maria Hrinchenko Maria Mykolayivna Hrinchenko ( uk, Марія Миколаївна Грінченко; 13 July 1863 – 15 July 1928, in Bohodukhiv, Ukraine) was a Ukrainian folklorist active at the turn of the 20th century. She played a significant role in th ...

wrote a collection of Ukrainian fables and folk tales entitled, "Из уст народа" (From the Mouths of the People). * In the early 1900's, Ukrainian writer,

Lesya Ukrainka Lesya Ukrainka ( uk, Леся Українка ; born Larysa Petrivna Kosach, uk, Лариса Петрівна Косач; – ) was one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active ...

, wrote a three act play entitled

The Forest Song The Forest Song is a poetic play in three acts by Lesya Ukrainka. The play was written in 1911 in the city of Kutaisi, and was first staged on November 22, 1918 at the Kyiv Drama Theater. The work is one of the first prototypes of fantasy in Uk ...

based on the folk mythology surrounding Mavka. In 2023, an animated version entitled " Mavka: The Forest Song" was released. * Professor of folklore, Lidiia Dunayevska, compiled a series of Ukrainian folk tales between 1983 and 2004. * Ukrainian folklorist, Mykola Zinchuk, collected, edited and published 40 volumes of Ukrainian fairy tales, published by the publishing house, Bukrek between 2003-2019. * Children's book author, Zirka Menzatyuk, uses historical Ukrainian fairy tales as an inspiration for newer writing. * Edited by

Ivan Malkovych Ivan Antonovych Malkovych ( uk, Іва́н Анто́нович Малко́вич; born 10 May 1961 in , Ivano-Frankivsk) is a noted Ukrainian poet and publisher. He is the proprietor of the publishing house " A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA", which speciali ...

, between 2005 and 2012, Ukrainian publisher,

A-ba-ba-ha-la-ma-ha Ivan Malkovych's Publishing House "A-ba-ba-ha-la-ma-ha" is a Ukrainian publishing house that was founded in 1992, becoming the first private children's book publisher in independent Ukraine.

, 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.

English language

* Irina Zheleznova translated a collection of Ukrainian fairy tales into English, entitled ''Ukrainian Folk Tales'', first published by Dnipro Publishers in 1981. * A 1996 retelling of the Ukrainian fairy tale, The Mitten, by children's author

Jan Brett Jan Brett (born December 1, 1949) is an American illustrator and writer of children's picture books. Her colorful, detailed depictions of a wide variety of animals and human cultures range from Scandinavia to Africa. Her titles include ''The Mitte ...

, has become a best-selling classic. * In 1996, Christina Oparenko retold collected Ukrainian fairy tales in ''Ukrainian Folk-tales'' for the series ''Oxford Myths and Legends''. * In 1997, Barbara Suwyn retold collected Ukrainian fairy tales in ''The Magic Egg and Other Tales from Ukraine'' with editing and an introduction by

. * Between 1994 and 2003, Canadian author, Danny Evanishen, wrote and published eleven books containing Ukrainian folk tales retold in English. * In 2024, Harvard University Press will release a translation of

, with English language translation by

Virlana Tkacz Virlana Tkacz (born June 23, 1952, in Newark, New Jersey) is the founding director of the Yara Arts Group, a resident company at the world-renowned La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York. She was educated at Bennington College and Columbi ...

and Wanda Phipps.

Other usage in culture

Some Ukrainian fairy tales have been featured on stamps of Ukrposhta, the national postal service of Ukraine. Many have been retold in Ukrainian animation. The Ukrainian pop band,

Kazka Kazka (stylized in all caps; uk, Казка, ) is a Ukrainian band that performs pop with elements of electro-folk. Since its creation in 2017, vocalist Oleksandra Zaritska, sopilka player Dmytro Mazuriak and multi-instrumentalist Mykyta Bud ...

, takes its name from the Ukrainian word for fairy tale. Some fairy tale characters have been created in sculpture, such as the statue of

Ivasyk-Telesyk "Ivasyk-Telesyk" ( uk, Івасик-Телесик) is a Ukrainian fairy tale, Ukrainian folk tale in the family of magical tales, Fable, fables, or fairy tales. According to Ukrainian folklorist , the story of Telesyk is a very popular childre ...

in Lviv, Ukraine's Stryiskyi Park.