Velykyj Bereznyj Costume, Transcarpathian Ukraine

Hello all,

Today I would like to talk about the costume of northwestern Zakarpattia. This part of Ukraine was under Hungarian domination for quite a while. The dialect spoken in this area is much closer to that of the Rusyny in Slovakia than to standard Ukrainian. This costume is worn in the area between Velykyj Bereznyj and Uzhok, and extends slightly into L'viw Oblast to include the village of Bitlia, and also into Poland, to include the village of Volosate [Wolosate], and the area around Kińczyk Bukowski. Here is an approximate map of this region.

As you can see, this area lies solidly within Boikiwshchyna as defined by the World Boiko council, and the costume is definitely of the Boiko type, but the people in this region self identify as "Lemko". Both Boiko and Lemko were originally exonyms, applied to these people by outsiders. The local people in Lemkovyna and Boikoland originally called themselves Rusyny or Verkhovyntsi, if they had any self-identity outside of their local village. Thus costume pieces from this area may be labelled 'Transcarpathian', or 'Lemko'.

The girl above is wearing a chemise from the village of Uzhok, although the apron is from another region further east.

The most distinctive feature of this costume is the chemise. Many regions in western Ukraine have a love of smocking, 'morshchanka', that is gathering the linen into 'tubes'. This is one of the areas which takes it to extremes. The entire front of the chemise is gathered, it may be almost down to the waist, although it is sometimes not as extensive. The back is gathered into the neck, but is not usually smocked. 

 Unlike English smocking, the gathering threads are left in place, and the result is not as elastic. A stabilizing stitch is done on the inside which resembles the simplest of the English smocking stitches. Floral embroidery is done on the upper sleeves and  the cuffs. A band of ribbon or embroidery is placed on the collar. The collar and cuffs are both decorated with bought lace. The opening is along the seam connecting the sleeve to the shirt body on the side.

Originally the embroidery on the sleeves and around the neck was geometric. Here we see old photos and embroidery from Uzhok, Verkhovyna Bystra, and Liuta. 

The skirt is also made of white linen, in typical Boiko style, gathered into the waistband with smocking, and for dress, embroidered on the lower part near the hem. 

More recently, floral embroidery has replaced the geometric style in this region. 

 

Embroidery is also done on the cuffs, and the lower sleeves are smock-gathered for some distance above them. 

 

Often the front of the chemise is also embroidered, right over the gathers.

 

The embroidery usually complements that on the upper sleeves, which are not smocked. Both varieties of satin stitch and cross stitch. are used. 

 

The skirt also originally had geometric embroidery, but now has also shifted to floral. Sometimes tucks are also added for more ornament. 

 

The apron is generally dark in color, with a band of floral embroidery and embroidered stripes and/or ribbons on both sides.

 The sash was usually red, finger braided or made in sprang of one solid color, perhaps with pompoms at the ends. 

Vests were of various kinds, but often not worn. See the various images above. 

As in other parts of western Ukraine, necklaces of seed beads were popular, as well as other kinds of necklaces. 

As you can see above, girls wore a simple kerchief, or just a ribbon in their hair. Married women wore a cap, chepets, over their hair. The chepets was of white linen, and had a length of Czech ribbon sewn around the edge, and often hanging in back. It did not cover much of the hair. The shape varied somewhat with the village, in some places standing tall, and in others being relatively flat. 

Kerchiefs were also worn, especially for outside, either by themselves or over the chepets.

These examples are from the village of Volosate, which is just over the border into Poland. Here we can also see an example of the outer garments. 

 Mens' costumes are rather simpler, consisting of shirt and wool pants, with vests and jackets as needed. Jackets are of the typical Transcarpathian types, and include regular wool jackets, and also ones with long fleece called hunia. The shirts are sometimes embroidered. 

Here are a few more images to close this article. 

Here is a blog entry by someone who has family in this region and wrote about their visit there.
I took some of my material from this blog.
http://www.iabsi.com/gen/public/settlements/UK_Ljuta.htm


Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative

Roman K.

Rkozakand@aol.com

email




Source Material:
 V. Bilozub et al, 'Ukrajins'ke Narodne Mystetstvo - Vbrannia', Kyjiw [Kiev], 1961
 Oksana Kosmina, 'Traditional Ukrainian Clothing', Kyjiw [Kiev], 2007
 

Costume of the Komanche region, Lemkovyna

Hello all,

Today I need to make myself clear. I am NOT  going to talk about the Native American nation known as the Comanche, but a Lemko village and region which is currently within the borders of the Polish State. In Polish it is spelled  Komańcza, in Ukrainian and in Lemko it is written
Команча or Команчe. 
Ethnic identity of the Lemki is somewhat controverted. Ukrainians consider them to be a branch of the Ukrainian Nation with very distinct dialects and customs. The Polish have at various times tried to alternatively suppress, cleanse, or assimilate them. Some insist on calling them Carpatho-Russians. Some claim that they form a micro-nationality who call themselves Rusyny, usually translated into English as Ruthenian. You will find individual Lemki who identify with each of these camps. 'Lemko' is a tern coined by their neighbors, referring to a word used in the Lemko dialect 'lem', which Ukrainians and Poles do not use. Some Lemki have accepted this term. This term is not used by the Rusnaks who live south of the Carpathians or by the neighboring Slovaks. 
In any case, they form a distinctive group of people with a distinctive group of dialects, whether they are considered to be a branch of the Ukrainians or a closely related brother nation.



The painting at the top of the article was made by O. Kul'chytska, an artist who went around in the 1930's painting the traditional clothing of villagers in many parts of West Ukraine. Her work has been invaluable for those of us who came after.



I have rewritten and expanded this article, Please look at the new one here

https://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2018/10/overview-of-costumes-of-lemkos-rusyns_31.html

Here is an interview with an old lady from Komancha, telling how things used to be. She is wearing a modern Ukrainian blouse, but has Lemko embroidery and costume pieces around and shows them off towards the end
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXcny2TvtZg

 
Here is a link to a website showing various Lemko costumes made by Vasyl' Jula
He has asked me to point out that these were made for the stage and real costumes would be somewhat more subdued.
http://www.lemko.org/art/jula/

Here is a flicker page showing various Lemko garments.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33381574@N07/5194822145/in/set-72157625438270902/ 


Source Material:
Bohdan Struminsy, Editor, 'Lemkiwshchyna -The Lemko Land' New York, 1988
Tamara Nikolajeva, 'Ukrajinskyj Kostium, Nadija na Renesans' Kyjiw [Kiev], 2005
Iryna Hurhula, 'Narodne Mystetstvo Zakhidnykh Oblastej Ukrajiny', Kyjiw [Kiev], 1966
Oksana Grabowycz, 'Traditional Designs in Ukrainian Textiles', New York, 1977
Stanislaw Gadomski, 'Stroj Ludowy w Polsce', Warsaw, 
Oksana Kosmina, 'Traditional Ukrainian Clothing', Kyjiw [Kiev], 2007
V. Kubijovyc, 'Lemkos', article in Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Toronto, 1993
V. Bilozub et al, 'Ukrajins'ke Narodne Mystetstvo - Vbrannia', Kyjiw [Kiev], 1961
Peter Odarchenko et al, 'Ukainian Folk Costume', Toronto, 1992
Ewa Frys et al, 'Folk Art in Poland', Warsaw, 1988
M. Bilan, H. Stel'mashchuk, 'Ukrajinskyj Strij', L'viw, 2000
O. Kul'chytska, 'Folk Costumes of the Western Regions of the Ukrainian SSR, 1959