University of Alberta Mykola Kostomarov and Ukrainian Folklore Sogu Hong O A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Ukrainian Folklore Department of Modem Languages and Comparative Studies Edmonton, Alberta Spring, 1998 National Library Bibliothèque nationale I*I of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. nie Wellington OîtawaON K1AON4 ûttawaON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your fi& Votre rslsrence Our iUe Notre teldrence The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of ths thesis in rnicroform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be p~tedor otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation, To my parents Abstract Mykola Kostomarov (1 8 17- 1885) was the first critical folklorist who shifted the focus of Ukrainian folklore study away fiom the collection of "old documents or rare folksongs," which was encouraged by patriotic and nostalgic affection for a disappearing world, towards the search for a pure national foundation fiom the past on which to build the society of contemporary Ukraine. For Kostomarov, folklore study was a separate field of science; one whose goal was to uncover models from the past on which to shape the future. Furthemore, by emphasizing the relationship between folklore and history, he showed the other sciences that joint research with folklore was a possibility. Also Kostomarov was a leading folklorist who attempted to connect folklore study with nationalist pursuits. In the 19th century, Ukrainian national consciousness developed through three stages. Stage one saw the creation of a national identity. Stage two held witness not only to the return of native vernacular but also a rise in its usage in literary and educational circles. Finally, the third stage held the begimings of the desire for self- mle; as can be inferred from the growth of national-based organizations and the formulation of nation-oriented demands. Kostomarov played a great de in al1 three stages of the developrnent of Ukrainian national consciousness. Using folklore, Kostomarov established the elements of Ukrainian national identity and reconstructed the past of the Ukrainian people. Analyzing Ukrainian folklore and Slavic mythology, he noticed the democratic and federalist national character of Ukrainian people. Moreover, he organized the Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the first Ukrainian ideological organization in modem times, and claimed that Ukraine would be the center of a democratic federation of Slavic nations. Mykola Kostomarov's role in Ukrainian folklore is not always judged favorably. Some criticisms of his work include: that Kostornarov's study of symbolism was undistinguished and superficial, his cornparison of Ukrainian folksongs with those of Russians was not really objective, his analogy between the character of a nation and that of an individual was somewhat simplistic: and finally, Kostomarov's ethnographic determinism downplayed sociological and economical factors. However, only with his critical analysis and interpretation of Russian and mainian folk materials did Ukrainian national characteristics begin to be regarded differently fiom those of Russia and did Ukrainians begin to be regarded as a historical nation, with a different nationality from that of Russians. Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction A. Statement of the problem B. Purpose of the study and research questions C. A review of related literature D. Outline of the study Chapter II. The motivation of Kostomarov's interest in folklore A. Kostomarov's family background and childhood B. Romanticism C. The works and activities of writers, historians and folklorists of Kostomarov's days Chapter III. Kostomarov's perspective on folklore A. The significance of folklore B. The relation of folklore with language, literature, and history Chapter IV. Identification of the Ukrainian character A. The religious (or spiritual) character B. The historical character C. The social character D. The political character Chapter V. Kostomarov's re-creation of Ukrainian history A. The pre-historic period B. The princely or pre-cossack period C. The cossack period D. The post-cossack or peasant period Chapter VI. Kostomarov's legacy Bibliography A. Collections of M. Kostomarov's works B. Individual works by M. Kostomarov C. Secondary sources Chapter 1. Introduction A. Statement of the problem There has been a certain trend in historical views concerning the Ukrainian nation, which proposes that Ukrainians are simply a part of the Russian nation. Russian and Ukrainian were merely two dialects of the same Ruçsian Ianguage: the Great Russian speech of Muscovy.' This tendency in historical views still persists among individuals of other nations, including some Ukrbainians, even afier Ukraine has become an independent country. Based on this point of view, some people regard that the Ukrainians' clamor for national recognition was motivated merely by regionalism, while others pose the questions as to whether or not Ukraine has a history." One of main reasons that Ukraine is not regarded as a historical nation Iies in the fact that Ukrainians have never had "the framework of a full- tledged nation state"' in their history. Therefore, Ukrainian history has had 1 Hugh Seton-Watson. '-Russian Nationalism in Historical Perspective." in The Lasr Empire: htionali~and the Soviet Ftrtzrve. ed. Robert Conquest ( Stan ford: Hoover Institution Press. 1986). pp. 15- 16. Seton-Watson called this trend of historical view "the classical Russian view." According to this view. White Russians and Little Russians '-simply formed part of the Russian nation whose home was now Muscovy." It is easy to find the cktssical Russian view in the historical record. For example, in Iuly 1863. when Petr Valuev. the minister of interna1 affairs. banned publications in Ukrainian, he declared that the Ukrainian language "never existed, does not exist and shall never exist." See 1. Krevetskii. "Ne bylo. net i byt' ne mozhet!," Literatzrrno-nazfkovyi visnyk 26 (1906). pp. 138- 9, cited in Orest Subtelny, Ukraine: A History (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988). p. 282. ' ~œDiscussion."in Slavic Review 54. no 3 (Fall 1995), pp. 658-723. 3 Subtelny. Ukraine. p. si. no real recognition and the existence of Ukraine as a separate nation has been denied by "mainstrearn" historians who "characterized Ukrainian history as "searching for roots," national advocacy or some other partisan pleading."" Moreover, Ukrainian history has been distorted by the Russian conception of history which regards Russia as the rightful successor of Kyivan Rus' and also includes Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians as ethnically identical. Ukrainians have been forced to integrate into the Russian political frame under the aegis of "brotherhood" and have been placed in an unequal position with the Russians. Therefore, in order to correct Russian bias in Ukrainian history and the relationship between Ukraine and Russia, it is necessary to re-examine the question of whether Ukraine is a historical nation and a different nation from Russia. B. Purpose of the study and research questions This thesis presents a Ukrainian folklorist, Mykola Kostomarov (18 17- 1885), who dealt with and answered the aforementioned questions in the 19th century. M. Kostomarov was the first scholar to attempt to construct a synthesis of the Ukrainian national character on the basis of folklore, and to find the differences between the national characters of Ukrainians and Russians. As a folklorist and a historian, he sought the mysterious "soul" and unique national character of the Ukrainian people in folklore, and on that basis, he strove to reconstruct the history of the comrnon Ukrainian people. 4 Mark von Hagen. "Does Ukraine Have a History?." in Slavic Review 54. no 3 (Fall 1995). p. 658. The focus of most studies on Kostomarov has centered on his role in Ukrainian history and politics, with respect to the Ukrainian national awakening. In this study, though I have also dealt with these issues, I have paid particular attention to his ideas on folklore in general and his special contributions to Ukrainian folklore. While examining these aspects, I have tried to explain why Kostomarov regarded folklore as an important material for his studies and how Kostomarov's study of folklore influenced the spread of Ukrainian national consciousness. Finally, through this study, 1 wanted to examine Kostomarov's idea on the question of Ukrainians as a historical nation. In order to conduct this study, 1 posed several questions: what was the motivation of Kostomarov's interest in folklore? what was his perspective on folklore? and what was the purpose of his folklore study? Each of these questions is addressed in separate chapters, and several subsidiary questions concerning Ukrainian folklore are also examined: why was folklore so important to Ukrainian history? how was the study of folklore comected with other historical sciences? and how did the rnarriage of folklore research and national awakening occur? By examining al1 of these questions, 1 have tried to show how Kostomarov used folk materials to investigate the question of Ukraine as a historical nation. C. A review of related literature This study is based primarily on Kostomarov's writings pertaining to folklore, which are largely divided by their nature into three groups: 1) historical writings based on folk materials, 2) folksong collections, and 3) book reviews.