Discover rusyns people


Rusyns groups

Lemkos are one of four major ethnicThe Boykos inhabited the central and the
groups who inhabit the Easternwestern half of the Carpathians in
Carpathian Mountains, and who speak theUkraine, including the Dolynsky and a
Lemko dialect/language.part of the Rozhniativsky Raions
Location(districts) in the Ivano-Frankivsk
The Lemkos' homeland is commonlyOblast (province), the Skolivsky,
referred to as Lemkivshchyna (Ukrainian:Turkivsky, and parts of the Drohobytsky,
?e??i?????, Polish: Lemkowszczyzna). UpSambirsky and Starosambirsky Raions in
until 1945, this included the area fromthe Lviv Oblast, and parts of the
the Poprad River in the east to theMizhhirsky Raion in the Zakarpattia
valley of Oslawa River in the west,Oblast), as well as the adjacent areas
areas situated primarily in present-dayof southeast Poland and northeast
Poland, in the Lesser Poland andSlovakia.
Subcarpathian Voivodeships. This part ofSome scholars claim that this ethnic
the Carpathian mountains is mostlygroup is a part of Rusyns. Indeed, in
deforested, which allowed for anthe 19th century and in the first part
agrarian economy, alongside suchof the 20th century Boykos, as well as
traditional occupations as ox grazingmost of the population of the present
and sheep herding.day's Western Ukraine called themselves
This area was part of Austro-HungarianRuthenians (Ukrainian: ??????, Rusyny).
Empire until its dissolution in 1918, atThen the term "Ukrainian", that replaced
which point the Lemko-Rusyn Republicthe term "Ruthenians" in Eastern Ukraine
(Ruska Lemkivska) declared itsa century earlier, has became more
independence. The independence did notcommon among Western Ruthenians
last long, and the territory wasUkrainians, including Boykos, as well.
incorporated into Poland in 1920.According to the recent census
As a result of Operation Wisla, thepractically all Boykos in Ukraine (not
majority of Lemkos from this territoryhowever in Poland and in Slovakia)
were resettled throughout Poland and indeclared their ethnicity as Ukrainian.
the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic,The name, "Boyko" is thought by some to
leaving a significant population only inoriginate in their patterns of speech,
the Prešov Region of present-dayspecifically the use of the expression,
Slovakia."bah!".
EtymologyMost Boykos belong to the Ukrainian
The name "Lemko" derives from the commonGreek Catholic Church, with a minority
expression Lem (?e?), which can meanbelonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox
"but", "only", or "like" in the LemkoChurch. The distinctive wooden church
dialect. "Lemko" came into use as anarchitecture of the Boyko region is a
endonym after having been used as anthree-domed church, with the domes
exonym by the neighboring Boykos andarranged in one line, and the middle
Hutsuls, who do not use that expressiondome slightly larger than the others.
in their respective dialects. Prior toBoyko is also a common surname among
this moniker, the Lemkos describedpeople with origins in Western Ukraine,
themselves as Rusnaks ((Ukrainian:including in Canada and the United
????a??, translit. Rusnaky) or RusynsStates.
(Ukrainian: ??????, translit. Rusyny),Hutsuls (Ukrainian: ??????, singular
as did the rest of the inhabitants of?????, Romanian: Hutuli, singular Hutul,
present-day Western Ukraine in the 19thHutsul dialect: Hutsule, singular
century and first part of the 20thHutsul; alternatively spelled Huculs,
century. In the early 20th century, aHuzuls, Hutzuls, Gutsuls, Guculs,
majority of these peoples became activeGuzuls, or Gutzuls) are an
participants in the creation of theethno-cultural group of highlanders who
Ukrainian nation and came to callfor centuries have inhabited the
themselves Ukrainians (Ukrainian:Carpathian mountains, mainly in Ukraine,
????????, translit. Ukrayintsi).but also in the northern extremity of
However, while they may have acceptedRomania (in the areas of Bukovina and
the new state of Ukraine, many Lemkos,Maramures), as well as in Slovakia and
including those in Poland and Slovakia,Poland.
consider themselves to be a distinctAlthough Hutsuls have a distinct
ethnicity, while some claim to beself-identity, there is an ongoing and,
Ukrainians and still others indentify asoften politically charged, debate on
Rusyns.whether Hutsuls are of the Ukrainian
Historyethnicity or the Rusyn one (opinions
Lemkos are generally considered to bealso vary over their status as a
descendants of Ruthenian settlers whosubgroup of the Ukrainian ethnicity
arrived in 14th century or probablyitself), as well as whether they
earlier to the area traditionallyoriginated from the Romanian people.
inhabited by Lemkos.Etymology
After World War I, Lemkos founded twoThere are different versions for the
short-lived republics, the Lemko-Rusynorigins of the name Hutsul. An
Republic in the west of Galicia, whichexplanation is that it comes from the
had a russophile orietation, and theRomanian word for "outlaw" (cf. Rom. hot
Komancza Republic, with a Ukainophile- "thief"). Other explanations place
orientation.their origins in the Slavic kochul -
It is estimated that about"wanderer","migrant", in reference to
130,000-140,000 Lemkos were living intheir semi-nomadic lifestyle, to the
the Polish part of Lemkivshchyna inname of the Turkic tribe of the Uzy, and
1939. Mass emigration from thiseven to the name of the Moravian king
territory to the Western hemisphereHetsyl[1].
began in the late 1800s, diminishing theHistory and origins
cultural uniqueness of the LemkoHutsuls inhabit areas situated between
homeland. Additional depopulation ofthe south-east of those inhabited by the
these lands occurred when the LemkosBoykos, down to the northern part of the
began to be removed in a forcedRomanian segment of the Carpathians.
resettlement, first to the Soviet UnionTwo prominent theories of their origin
(about 90,000 people) and later tostate that the Hutsuls may have begun as
Poland's newly-acquired western landsan early non-Romanised Thracian or
(about 35,000) in the Operation WislaDacian population, which was later
campaign of the late 1940s. This actionlinguistically assimilated with the
was a state ordered solution to theneighboring Slavs, or the origin may
struggle waged by the Ukrainianonly go back as far as a later Romanised
Insurgent Army (UPA) in south-easternDacian (Romanian) population (see
Poland.Vlachs), which was also linguistically
While a minority of Lemkos returnedassimilated.
(some 5,000 Lemko families returned toLanguage
their home regions in Poland betweenAlthough most of them speak the Hutsul
1957-1958[1], officially having beendialect (a dialect of Ukrainian/Rusyn
allowed the right to return in 1956),with Polish influences), several words
the Lemko population in the Polish partin their dialect have Romanian origins
of Lemkivschyna only numbers around(e.g. kyptar - "vest", from Rom. cheptar
10,000-15,000 today. Some 50,000 Lemkoscf. Latin pectus; zgardy - "necklace",
live in the western and northern partsfrom Rom. zgarda, cf. Albanian
of Poland, where they were sent toshkardhë; bryndza - "cheese", cf. Rom.
populate former German villages in areasbrânza).
Stalin had ceded to Poland. Among those,Due to the current educational system,
5,863 people identified themselves asthe Hutsul dialect is in danger of
Lemko in the 2002 census. However, it isextinction, as the compulsory education
estimated that no fewer than 80,000is done only in Ukrainian, including in
ethnic Lemkos reside in Poland today.countries where Hutsuls are recognised
Within Lemkivshchyna, Lemkos live in theas a separate minority than the
villages of Losie, Krynica, Nowica,Ukrainian one.
Zdynia, Gladyszów, Hanczowa,Way of life and culture
Zyndranowa, Uscie Gorlickie, Bartne,Traditional Hutsul culture is often
Binczarowa and Bielanka. Additionalrepresented by the colorful and
populations can be found in Mokre,intricate craftsmanship of their
Szczawne, Kulaszne, Rzepedz, Turzansk,clothing, sculpture, architecture,
Komancza, Sanok, Nowy Sacz, and Gorlice.woodworking, metalworking (especially in
Religionbrass), rug weaving, pottery, and egg
Christianity in the region is thought todecorating (see pysanka). Along with
date to the efforts of Saints Cyril andother Hutsul traditions, as well as
Methodius in the 800s. The religion oftheir songs and dances, this culture is
many Lemkos is Greek-Catholicism. Inoften celebrated and highlighted by the
Poland, they belong to the Ukrainiandifferent countries that Hutsuls
Greek Catholic Church, and to theinhabit. Hutsul culture bears a noted
Ruthenian Catholic Church (see alsoresemblance to the traditional culture
Slovak Greek Catholic Church) inof Romania [7], with that of western
Slovakia. A substantial number belong toUkraine [8] [9], and with that of other
the Eastern Orthodox Church. Through themountainous people which may have
efforts of the martyred priest Fr. Maximsimilar origins, such as the Gorals in
Sandovich in the early 1900's (canonizedPoland and Slovakia[10] and the Moravian
by the Polish Orthodox Church in theWallachians in the Czech Republic. Most
1990s) Eastern Orthodoxy wasHutsuls belong to the Ukrainian Greek
reintroduced to many Lemko areas whichCatholic Church and the Ruthenian
had accepted the Union of BrestCatholic Church.
centuries before. The distinctive woodenHutsul society was traditionally based
architectural style of the Lemkoon forestry and logging, as well as
churches is to place the highest cupolacattle and sheep breeding; the Hutsuls
of the church building at the entranceare credited with having created the
to the church, with the roof slopingbreed of horse known as the Hucul pony.
downward toward the sanctuary.They use unique musical instruments,
Dialectincluding the "trembita" (trâmbita), a
The Lemko dialect is the western-mosttype of alpenhorn of Dacian origin, as
dialect of the Ukrainian language. Lemkowell multiple varieties of the fife, or
speech, however, includes patternssopilka, that are used to create unique
matching those of the surrounding Polishfolk melodies and rhythms. Also
and Slovak languages, leading some tofrequently used are the bagpipe (duda),
refer to it as a transitional dialectthe jew's harp (drymba), and the
between Polish and Slovak (some evenhammered dulcimer - cymbalom.
consider the dialect in Eastern SlovakiaThe Hutsuls served as an inspiration for
to be a dialect of the Slovak language).many writers, such as Ivan Franko, Lesya
LanguageUkrainka, Mykhailo Kotsiubyns'kyi, Vasyl
Metodyj Trochanovskyij published a LemkoStefanik and Mihail Sadoveanu. Sergei
Primer ('Lemkivskj bukvar') and a FirstParajanov's film Shadows of Forgotten
Reader ('Persa knyzecka') for use inAncestors (???? ??????? ???????), which
schools in the Lemko-speaking area ofis based on the book by Mykhailo
Poland in the 1930's. These were bannedKotsiubyns'ky, portrays scenes of
by the Polish government in 1938. In thetraditional Hutsul life.
late 20th century, some Lemkos/Rusyns,Every summer, the village of Sheshory in
mainly emigres from the region of theUkraine hosts a three-day international
southern slopes of the Carpathians infestival of folk music and art. Two
modern-day Slovakia, began an effort toHutsul-related museums are located in
codify and standardize a grammar for theKolomyia, Ukraine: the Pysanky museum
Lemko dialect. This happened on theand the Museum of Hutsul and Pokuttya
27-th Jan. 1995 in Presov, Slovakia. TheFolk Art. Traditional Hutsul sounds and
Lemko/Rusyn languague became a language.moves were effectively used by the
Boyko or Boiko is the name for aUkrainian winner of the 2004 Eurovision
distinctive group of Ukrainiansong contest, Ruslana Lyzhychko.
montagnards of the Carpathian highlands.



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