Maria Rudenko's Folklore Heritage.

Abstract

The history of collection and study of the folksong materials is investigated; the contribution of the leading Ukrainian and foreign researchers to the history of Slavic folklore is analysed. Their works form the main source basis for the folklore process investigation. The level of survival of the folk songs as a part of traditional ethnic culture is determined.

Despite the difficult historical times and permanent threat of its ethnic colouring loss, the Ukrainian folk song culture preserved the main traditional genres and a lot of ethnopoetic constant features. At present it stays practically the only display of the Ukrainian community identification. The traditional folk song culture lives in active performance and is a part of contemporary folk art of this region. At the same time the scenic type of the folk song representation stays one of the main forms of its preserving and propagation.

The article is devoted to the study of the folklore studies of Maria Okseniyivna Rudenko, a prominent folklorist, ethnographer, teacher, craftsman of applied decorative art, script writers and folk rituals from the Eastern Podillya in the twentieth century. The research deals with scientific investigations by M. Ryabogo, L. Bazhenov, G. Sukhobrus, A. Podolinny.

Focuses on for the first time the collectible heritage of M. Rudenko, which has been preserved through the contributions of folk collectors on the pages of the periodicals of the 20th century from 1963 to 1993. The study deals with calendar-ritual poetry, which is submitted in the form of detailed folklore and ethnographic descriptions of the celebration of the New Year, spring meetings, and harvest in his native village of Sloboda-Yaryshivska in the publication “Folk Art and Ethnography”. Also, records of family-ritual poetry, which partially saw the world on the pages of periodicals of Vinnytsia region, are also considered.

The paper notes the clear certification of records, the elaboration of ethnographic descriptions, which contribute to a better understanding of folklore texts themselves. The article also deals with the archival records of M. Rudenko, included in such academic editions of the twentieth century, in particular: “The Wedding” (“Naukova dumka”, 1970), “Carols and Shchedrivki” (1966), “Joking Poems” (1967), “Dance Songs” (1970), “Recruiting and Soldiers' Songs” (1974), “Folk Stories” (1983), “Baladi. Love and Pre-marital Relationships” (1987), “Baladi. Family-friendly relations” (1988).

The penchant for song the misterss inherited from her parents, the participants of the chorus led in due time by Hryhoriy Hrynevych.