Ukrainian Folklore - Distinctiveness

Distinctiveness

Ukrainian folk customs have numerous layers defined by the period in which that aspect developed and the area in which it was exploited. The lowest and oldest level is the pan-Slavic layer of folk culture which has many elements that are common to the Slavic people in general. Above that are elements common to the Eastern Slavs, and above that are elements found only in Ukraine itself. The layer above this contains cultural and folkloric elements that define the various micro-groups of the Ukrainian ethos such as the Boikos, Hutsuls, Lemkos, Lyshaks, Poddolians and Rusyns.

Some features of Ukrainian folklore are quite distinctive from that of the neighbouring Slavic peoples. The songs and festivities of Ivana Kupalo (St John's Feast) and the Koliada normally associated with some of the deepest and most ancient levels of folklore contain features not found in the neighbouring Russian culture, and are distinctively Ukrainian. These elements put into a quandary the notion that the ethnic Russian and Ukrainian people sprang from one source.