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AKharakternyk (orKharakternik; Ukrainian: характерник) was aZaporozhian Cossack that was credited with possessing magical powers. The image of the Kharakternyk cossack began to form during the times of theZaporozhian Sich, when magical abilities were attributed to Cossack leaders by their subordinates. Later, Kharakternyks were reflected in Ukrainian folklore and folk beliefs as invulnerable warriors capable of shapeshifting into animals, enchanting weapons, and more.
Originally, the word "kharakternyk" originally had a connotation, meaning a sorcerer or an apostate. However, as interest in the Cossacks as defenders of Ukraine grew, "kharakternyk" acquired a positive meaning. After the destruction of the Sich, some historical figures, such asIvan Sirko, were widely considered to have been Kharakternyks. Modern popular conceptions describe Kharakternyks as a kind of specially trained Cossack military elite.
Records of Cossacks enchanting weapons and using sorcery for protection are known from the 16th century, but the word "kharakternyk" was not yet used at that time. Early information about Kharakternyks comes from Polish sources, starting from the 17th century. In these sources, "kharakternyk" refers to various people, regardless of their place of residence or allegiance (but including Cossacks). "Kharakternyk" was a general term for a person engaged insorcery. Therefore, the attitude towards them was unequivocally negative.[1]
The name "kharakternyk" is derived from the word "kharakter" (character) in the sense of an enchanted mark.[2] "Kharakter" comes from theGreek language and originally meant "an engraved mark".[3] The first mention of such a mark dates back to 1614 in the bookMłot na czarownice (The Hammer of Witches), a Polish translation of the "Malleus Maleficarum". One fragment mentions soldiers who had "characters" on their bodies.[2] In the dictionary by Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814), the word "charakter" is interpreted as a "sorcerous sign", and a "charakternik" is defined as a person who wears such signs.[4]
The 1842 bookOral Narrative of a Former Zaporozhian, Resident of the Katerynoslav Governorate and District, Village of Mykhailivske, Mykyta Leontiyovych Korzh[5] recounts the story of Cossack Mykyta Korzh, who called the leaders of robber bands formed by fugitive Cossacks "kharakternyks".[6] A possible connection exists with the crimes of Matsapura – an 18th-century serial killer in the Nizhyn region – and, more broadly, with the interest of the Russian imperial authorities in discrediting Cossack autonomy, portraying Cossacks as robbers, bandits, and corrupt officials.[1] Other names for Cossacks described as extremely cunning or adept against imperial authority were "khymordnyk" and "kavernyk".[7]
However, in the 19th century, the word "kharakternyk" began to lose its negative connotation, and Cossack Kharakternyks became identified with folk heroes.[1] By the end of the 19th century, extensive folklore material had been collected, where Kharakternyks (like Cossacks in general) appear as people of extraordinary strength and intellect, possessing supernatural abilities.[8] The positive image of the Kharakternyks was finally cemented in the 1990s against the backdrop of the popularity of the Cossack theme. The Kharakternyk came to be understood as a Cossack sorcerer who uses magical powers to fight the enemies of his people.[1]
The image of the Kharakternyk intertwines features of the heroic epic, the cult of ancestors, and demonology.[9] It is likely that the Cossacks themselves fostered the idea of their own superhuman capabilities to intimidate their enemies.[8]
In the mid-18th century, a distinct heroic epic still existed among the Sich Cossacks, but the ancient attributes of heroes were transferred to living, real people who were particularly revered and mythologized by the Zaporozhians themselves. During this time, notions formed about the unusual strength, courage, and invincibility of prominent Zaporozhians, their immortality, or their ability to help living Cossacks after death.[9]
The cult of the kurin otaman or kosh otaman, generally of the elder Cossack, existed as a continuation of the ancestor cult. For instance, the kurin otaman was given a place of honor under the icons, the entire kurin would only sit down to dinner after he sat at the table, and after the meal, all Cossacks would bow to him.[9]
The ability of Kharakternyks to transform into animals (particularly thewolf) allows for parallels with the cult of the wolf as a totemic ancestor. Specifically, a likely connection exists with the tribe of theNeuri, who inhabitedPolissia and were mentioned byHerodotus. According to legends collected by Herodotus, these people could turn into wolves once a year (possibly reflecting a ritual where the Neuri wore wolf skins). According toBoris Rybakov, this is the origin of the epics about heroes born of a dog: Suchych, Suchenko. The ability of shapeshifting was also attributed to the heroes Volga, Volkh Vseslavych – reflecting beliefs about the magical abilities of princes. Traces of the wolf cult as a totem-ancestor were recorded in Polissia as late as the 20th century in incantations intended for protection against wolves, where one had to say "And I, like a wolf." This suggests that the shapeshifting of Cossack leaders is a feature that continues beliefs prevalent in the territory ofKievan Rus' and grew from the traditions of male military societies.[10]
If the image of the Kharakternyk began to form among the Cossacks themselves, acquiring fantastic features, then in the 19th century it became particularly characterized by exaggeration. Extraordinary abilities began to be attributed not only to individual prominent Cossacks but to the Cossacks in general.[9]
In folk tales, the qualities of a Kharakternyk were attributed toTaras Shevchenko: he could change his appearance, appear now young, now old, and skillfully change clothes.[11]
A significant contribution to the popularization of the Kharakternyk image was made by free interpretations of historical records that mention Cossack sorcery, even though the term "kharakternyk" was not used.[8] In modern culture, Kharakternyks are assigned the place of a special caste, the elite of the Cossack army.[12] Assertions about special training techniques for Kharakternyks have appeared.[13] Along with other pseudo-pagan elements, Kharakternyks have become a component of Ukrainiankitsch.[14]
It is likely that stories about their invulnerability to weapons, ability to unlock locks without keys, sail a boat on the floor as if on water, cross water on felt or matting, take heated cannonballs with bare hands, see for several versts, live at the bottom of a river, swim underwater for hundreds and thousands of versts, escape from tied and even sewn sacks, turn into a cat, and turn other people into animals and plants originated from the Cossacks themselves. Such stories were cited, in particular, byDmytro Yavornytsky, who provided a rational explanation for the Kharakternyks' abilities as a form of propaganda against enemies.[15]
Early Polish sources, where Kharakternyks are first mentioned, describe such people alongsidesorcerers andwitches, condemn them, and attribute connections withthe devil. It was claimed that Kharakternyks made a pact with the devil, thanks to which a person received a "kharakter" – a special mark on the body, invulnerability to weapons, and insensitivity to pain.[1] TheMłot na czarownice mentions that for the magical ritual of the Kharakternyks to work, it was necessary to desecrate the image ofChrist and thecrucifix depicting Christ's sufferings.[2]
In folk beliefs collected in the 19th century, Kharakternyks possess various sorcerous abilities,[1] among which are the ability to stop blood, charm away pain, catchbullets with bare hands, walk on water and fire, stay underwater for hours, become invisible, cast illusions that caused enemies to flee the battlefield in panic. Such Cossacks could also see the future, events happening in other places, findtreasures, and emerge dry from water.[16]Mykhailo Drahomanov recorded tales about the ability of Cossacks to safely direct bullets "like bees" into their bosom.[17]
According to legend, Kharakternyks were "never buried by priests, but were buried by the Zaporozhians in their own way".[18] It was also believed that a Kharakternyk could only be killed by a silver bullet to the heart – which is why they often were the first to go into battle.[1]
As legends tell, some Kharakternyks had a stake driven into their chest after death so they would not rise.[18] However, the most common burial for Kharakternyks was face down. This custom survived fromScythian times. As historian Svitlana Bessonova states, this is how "dangerous sorcerer people, i.e., individuals whose posthumous revival was undesirable, were buried. They were turned face down so that the sun would not touch them with its life-giving rays."[18]
The basis of information about Kharakternyks consists of Polish historical records and records of Ukrainian folklore. While the former were created during the time of the Cossacks, the latter are much later retellings. It is necessary to distinguish between sources that use the word "kharakternyk" and those where it is absent but mention Cossack sorcery.[1]
For example, in the book by Polish historian, publicist, and heraldistBartosz Paprocki, an incident is mentioned where a Cossack shot an allied Tatar, but the shot caused no harm: "That Cossack knew how to charm every gun so that it could not harm him, nor the army in which he served."[19]
TheMłot na czarownice (1614) mentions apostate soldiers who had "characters" – enchanted cards that supposedly protected against bullets.[2] In the bookChronografia albo dziejopis Żywiecki (1688), the capture of a robber who felt no pain is described until a "character" with magical symbols was found on his back above the left shoulder blade, which was interpreted as a sign of a pact with the devil.[20]
Polish economist and poet Jakub Kazimierz Haur inSkład abo Skarbiec Znakomitych Sekretow Oekonomiey Ziemianskiey (1689) mentions "witches, necromancers, and kharakternyks, extraordinary people who do amazing things, about which one can hear much among people and in courts."[21]
The use of sorcerers by Cossack commanders during the defense of Hovtva against the Crown army in April1638 was asserted bychaplainSzymon Okolski, although he wrote nothing about the effectiveness of such actions: "They placed thousands of people on the ramparts, laid out cannon on the entrenchment, stationed them by the hundreds on towers and gates, placed witches and sorcerers on high roofs to watch from there and cast spells for good shooting, air, and fire."[22] Elsewhere, he mentions the commander of the Cossack Shekeravy (Sokyrniany) regiment: "he was an old Cossack, master of the sea and rebellions, knew many deceptions and sorcery, with the air, with the gun; but he who goes to his doom, even a fortune-teller cannot help him."[23] Notably,Panteleimon Kulish, quoting these words in 1864, added that the Cossack was "a plastun and at the same time a kharakternyk".[24]
In 1749, the KyivConsistory received a promemoria (official letter) from Cossack Fedor Rudkovsky about a 20-year-old military clerk Ivan Robota, who was found with a "card" signed with the clerk's blood for making a pact with demons[25] regarding a salary increase. Ivan Robota was interrogated inHlukhiv and then sent to the consistory, which sentenced the clerk to a year of exile in a monastery for penance.[26]
The "Istoriya Rusov" recounts an incident when acting Hetman Zolotarenko was shot by anorganist instigated bypriests. These priests gave the killer a silver consecrated bullet "fortified with special incantations". Examination of the bullet showed that "its core was silver with Latin letters."[27]
Oral Narrative of a Former Zaporozhian ... (1842), recorded by Archbishop Gavriil, calls robbers who plundered, including with the help of sorcery, Orthodoxchumaks, and also killed and robbed Jews and Poles, "kharakternyks". As Korzh recounted, in the robber bands "there were leaders or otamans and in their language they were also called kharakternyks, that is, such sorcerers that no firearm, neither bullet nor cannon, can kill."[6]
Regarding the existence of Kharakternyks among the Zaporozhians,Dmytro Yavornytsky recorded the words of an old Cossack inZaporozhye in the Remains of Antiquity and Traditions of the People (1888): "No, don't believe that: it's just talk; they lived in a godly manner, they knew no sorcery; you wouldn't hear a bad word from them; 'son of a bitch' – that was their worst swear word. They lived almost like monks, didn't touch women, but always prayed to God, and prayed well; they knew the 'Our Father' and the 'Creed' and prayed most of all when they went to war."[28]
But the largest portion of records about Kharakternyks consists of folk tales about Cossacks as heroes of antiquity.Panteleimon Kulish inNotes on Southern Rus' (1856) provides a "Legend of the Zaporozhian Khymorodnyks, or Kavernyks". This tale-mentions a tsarina andcarabiniers, indicating the reign ofCatherine II, and an imprisoned Zaporozhian who could climb into a sack, then disappear from it and appear in another place; performed tricks with a coin. For this, he was called a "khymorodnyk kavernyk".[7]
One of the most powerful Kharakternyks among the people was considered the Cossack Vasiurinsky. Dmytro Yavornytsky in his ethnographic bookHistory of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (1892) recorded a tale that "he was such a strongman that when he took communion, four men had to support the priest so he wouldn't fall from just the strongman's breath, because as soon as he breathed, a person would fall from that breath. And when they destroyed the Sich, there was such a strongman there that he could kill a person with one breath."[29] He also, inZaporozhye in the Traditions of the People (1888), cited folk conceptions of Cossacks in general as people who "knew how to speak twenty languages, they could come out dry from water, they knew how to cast sleep, and charm people, and turn into cats, and flow into rivers; they had such mirrors through which they could see for a thousand versts, they were such masters that if one of them just touched a chest, it would open by itself."[30]
TheDuma about Ostafii Dashkevych describes the sorcerous abilities of the Cossacks:
... Black clouds rose behind me,
And in the clouds were Tatars;
But my horse sped across the steppes like a whirlwind.
Leaving the clouds behind.
Bullets flew after me in pursuit,
But they did not want to take me;
For the devil there is the cross, for the bullet there is the word,
So I returned to the Cossack land safely.
And now I will amuse myself further in the Tatar land ...
Martin Pashkovsky in his poemKorogva Savromatska v Volokhakh (1621), dedicated to theBattle of Khotyn in 1621, wrote that the Zaporozhians have nine souls.
Nikolai Gogol in1830 in thestoryThe Night Before Christmas described the Zaporozhian Cossack Patsiuk the healer – "everyone already knew that he was a sorcerer… Patsiuk only had to whisper a few words, and the ailment would vanish as if by hand."[31] Also, Patsiuk ate without using his hands – the main character of the story, the blacksmith Vakula, saw dumplings flying into Patsiuk's mouth. There are versions that Gogol depicted a Cossack Kharakternyk in this character.[32]
A descendant of a Cossack family, UkrainianwriterYevhen Hrebinka in1843 in the novelChaikovsky, written based on family tales (his mother came from the Chaikovsky family), describes Kharakternyk as the possession of ancient knightly traditions:
A Kharakternyk was a very wise man and knew all sorts of things; neither bullet nor saber could harm him; he had a means and a way for everything, a good word and benefit for everything. Kharakternyks knew all the fords, all the crossings on the Dnipro and other rivers; a Kharakternyk could lead one out of the water dry and out of the fire wet; they had a knightly conscience and kindness ....[33]
Panteleimon Kulish described the skills of Cossack Kharakternyks in1846 in thenovelChorna Rada:
What if he really is a Kharakternyk? I have heard more than once from old Cossacks that these fellows, sitting there in the reeds and swamps, consort with the unclean. They rescued captives and even Turks from captivity, sometimes so cleverly that it really seemed like not by their own strength. Probably, the rumor among people about their Kharakternyk arts is not for nothing… He escapes from the Tatars, spreads his burka on the water and sails, sitting, to the other shore… And I remembered how in old Khmelnytsky's time there was one such in the dungeon, who cast spells. "What," he says, "are you guarding me for? If I want, you won't be able to guard me! Here, tie me in a sack." They tied him up and dragged him under the rafters, and there he comes from behind the door: "Well, you devil's children! Did you guard me?" "What," he thinks, "if this one is such a khymorodnyk? I'd better go, so he doesn't really cause some trouble."[34]
In the poemKhustynaTaras Shevchenko, mentioning a compamytsky colonel, laconically describes him as a "Kharakternyk from the Sich".[35] In the fairy tale by Olelko OstrovskyThe Evil Kharakternyk Mohrady (1910), Kharakternyks are called sorcerers and it is indicated that they can be evil or good.[36]
Dzhury-Kharakternyks (2009) is a children's book by Volodymyr Rutkivsky from theDzhury series. Among the heroes of the book – Cossack dzhuras, is the little Kharakternyk Telesyk with his children's gang.[37]Ivan Sirko. The Great Kharakternyk (2011) is a children's novel by Maria Moroz, which describes the adventures of Sirko.[38]
In 2019, the first part of the trilogyLitopys Syroho Ordenu (Chronicle of the Grey Order) by Pavlo Derevianko,Arkan Vovkiv (Lasso of Wolves), was released, where Kharakternyks-werewolves are a society in state service that prevented the conclusion of thePereiaslav Agreement, and as a result, theCossack Hetmanate remained an independent state.[39] In 2020, the sequel –Teneta Viiny (Snares of War) – was released, and in 2022 the trilogy was completed with the novelPisnia Dibrov (Song of the Groves). In the trilogy, the gift of Kharakternyk is identified with a curse, and the life of a Cossack-sorcerer is called the "wolf's path".[40] Also in 2019, a book byVasyl ShkliarKharakternyk was published, which is an attempt to describe Cossack sorcerers with mysticism but without fantasy.[41] The novel by Ruslan BiedovKharakternyks: The Heritage of the Sarmatian Soothsayers (2021) tells about the magical front of the 17th-century wars and the Cossack Petro's search for a magical mace.[42]
The Russian writer Serhiy Lysak also addressed the theme of Kharakternyks in the novelKharakternyk (2018). Its main character, the Cossack Ivan, possessesextrasensory abilities, which he uses for spying in the Ottoman Empire.[43]
In Yaroslav Yarish's book "Samiilo", one of the main characters is the famous Cossack Mamay, who knows how to charm wounds and heal with herbs.[44]
The emblem of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces features awerewolf, i.e., a person capable of turning into a wolf. According to the description of the sleeve patch, this "symbolizes the continuity of combat traditions from the warriors of the times of Prince Sviatoslav the Brave and the Cossack Kharakternyks to the present day."[54]
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