Chernivtsi – It has already become a good tradition with our fellow countrymen to come to the tiny Bukovynian town of Vashkivtsi for Christmas and New Year holidays to see the traditional Malanka mummery. The rite, also known as Malanka-Pereberia, i.e. masquerade, has an ancient religious and historical tradition and has undergone considerable changes in terms of both its form and content. Indeed, today it is hard to believe that the Great Martyr Melanie of Rome, who is actually commemorated by Church on January13, has anything to do with a pageant of boisterous men, disguised beyond recognition, who can lay waste to your house and feel they have done their duty.
However, today Ukrainians continue to believe in the power and beauty of this mummery, just as they did before.
The New Year’s Eve (Old style, January 13) is the time when almost all houses in Vashkivtsi are full of mummers. Young and old alike put on fantastic masks and fancy dress, disguising themselves as old men and women, Gypsies, bears, and assorted fairytale characters. The fanciful pageant then calls from door to door, wishing the hosts a happy New Year and scaring away all sorts of evil spirits.
After midnight, they hang out at crossroads for their Malanka night get-togethers. And woe betide those carefree passers-by who happen to fall into the mummers’ hands that night: if they just get whipped with a broom and splashed with water, they can thank their lucky stars!
On St. Basil’s, next day, the entire boisterous procession, Pereberia, with handbells, whips, and firecrackers, rolling along in cars or even cow-drawn carts, comes from the three corners of Vashkivtsi to merge together on the Cross Road. Here “bears” dare one another to fight and see who is stronger; “old men” fraternize with “Gypsies,” “old women” scare teens, and “Cossacks” desperately try to introduce some order into this bedlam.
This Vashkivtsi tradition has its own age-old history. The place, perhaps alone in entire Bukovyna, can boast of a unique masquerade, known as Buk-Shandar, the Bukovynian gendarme. Its history is in a way a reflection of the history of the Bukovynians. Once upon a time there was a young man of Vashkivtsi, Kuryk by name, who served as one of Emperor Franz Joseph’s guards of honor. He was a robust fellow, nearly two meters tall, as no shorter man would get admitted. When he returned home, he brought a magnificent uniform from Vienna: a hat decorated with a peacock feather, epaulets, and a beautiful leather belt. Rumor has it that the famed “peacock” and “paulets” have come down to the present generation of mummers.
The locals handpicked traditional attire to go with the “imperial” foofaraw, and this is how Buk-Shandar masquerade appeared. The masquerades for “Cossacks” or Vulans (uhlans) were decorated by their girlfriends, so the whole townsfolk could judge if they were real experts with needle and thread.
In the times of Austrian reign, “Cossacks” would sport blue-and-yellow belts with the inscription “Sich in Vashkivtsi.” But when the Romanian authorities prohibited wearing national colors, they had to cover the belt with the traditional sash.
Each company of mummers had its own ringleaders: a “Cossack,” an “Uhlan,” a “Buk-Shandar,” and “Malanka” herself, a boy in woman’s disguise. From among the first three a kalfa – the elder – was elected (the word comes from the Arabic khalif, “the elder”), who picked the route for the Pereberia. Besides, he was in charge of collecting the koliada; the money thus earned was spent on partying, and the process was named drinking koliada. It was noteworthy that anyone could take part in the mummery, but it was only young men who had been to the army that could be chosen as leaders.
The mummers used to make their masquerades with their own hands. This is how the masquerade for the “bear” was made: for the body you had to take a sheepskin coat and turn in inside out; while the paws were made from the sleeves of another old sheepskin and tied with a string of twined straw. The mask itself was typically made from a hog’s or calf’s head. The “bear” would wear a belt of chain, which should be as tight as possible on the body, so that while fighting with another “bear,” the rival could not get his hand under the chain and throw you to the ground.
The unique craft of mask-making has existed in Vashkivtsi for quite a while already. It is with delight that the old-timers recall the wonderful masks made by the traditional craftsman Heorhi Haras (his museum keeps a lot of memorabilia); and they utter with reverence the names of such masters as Volodymyr Mihovan and Volodymyr Leontiuk.
The Malanka mummery in Vashkivtsi is one of its kind in Ukraine. There was nothing that Tartars or Turks, Austrians or Romanians, or even Bolsheviks, for that matter, could do with Pereberia. Why did all invaders hate Malanka so bitterly? For its irony, witty words, sarcasm, and satire, with which it derided the aggressors in our land.
From times immemorial, young men have started their preparations for Malanka well in advance. They learn carols, distribute the parts, make masquerades, whips, and mend the other necessary paraphernalia. Many of the attributes are meant for fun – for example, the necklace for the Gypsy Woman can be made of potatoes, beans, and string beans; the Gypsy Man has to wear a ring in his nose; and a piece of barbed wire is put inside the Devil’s tail, so that anyone who might wish to catch him would prick their hands.
Another important thing is that masks and masquerades must change the mummers’ looks beyond recognition. They also have to distort their voices to make sure their identities are not revealed. Otherwise, the show for the unfortunate mummer is over then and there.
The masks and characters are always changing, under the pressure of urgent problems and fashion trends. Often the Devil would saunter about in the company of a famous political leader or a soap opera character, leave alone American cops, Batmen, and other favorites of the public. However, the choice of characters will vary from one village to another. Every village has its own mummery traditions.
In a word, Malanka in Vashkivtsi is a must-see. Take my advice and waste no time in coming to this village!
Stepan Karachko is a regional ethnographer and member of the Ukrainian Union of Archivists.
