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| Malanka | |
|---|---|
 Goat guiding | |
| Date | 31 December |
| Frequency | annual |
Malanka (Маланка, orUkrainian:Щедрий вечір,romanized: Shchedryi Vechir,lit. 'bounteous evening') is a Ukrainian folkholiday celebrated on 31 December, which isNew Year's Eve in accordance with theGregorian calendar. Formerly it was celebrated on 13 January corresponding to 31 December in theJulian calendar (seeOld New Year). The festivities were historically centred around house-to-house visiting by groups of young men, costumed as characters from a folk tale of pre-Christian origin, as well as special food and drink. The context of the rituals has changed, but some elements continue to the present.
The idea of house-to-house visits during the Christmas season is a pan-European one. Similar customs are observed in Ireland and England as "mummering", inWinterbräuche orFaslam in Germany, etc. In theWest Slavic lands, even more closely related customs are found, with Poles even using many of the same stock characters in their house-visiting traditions.
The ritual is derived from an unspecified pagan origin.
Descriptions of this holiday from the nineteenth century mention the folk play with a character named "Malanka". They also frequently mention the tradition ofdriving a goat from house to house to bring good luck. In some regions of Western Ukraine and in Romania, a live goat is replaced bya dancer in a goat costume.
During theSoviet period, Malanka celebrations were unofficially banned as part of theanti-religious campaign: people participating in the ritual were persecuted and arrested. Nevertheless, the tradition survived and remains popular in many towns and villages of modern-day Ukraine.[1]
This holiday is also known as Bounteous Evening in much of Ukraine and Belarus, but this name can also be applied toEpiphany Eve (or Theophany Eve) in Western Ukraine.[2][3] A traditional way of referring to the holidays during the Christmas season in the Eastern Slavic languages is by which recipe ofkutia (whole-grain sweetened porridge), the most symbolic ritual food, is used. A lenten (dairy-free) version (bahata kutia, 'ample kutia') is associated with Christmas Eve,schedra kutia ('generous' or 'bountiful' kutia) with the Old New Year's Eve or Malanka, hence "bounteous evening", and a second lenten version ("hungry kutia") for Theophany Eve).[4]
Historically the most lavish Malanka celebrations would take place in the lands ofHutsulshchyna,Bukovyna,Pokuttia andDnieper Ukraine. In our days the tradition of celebrating Malanka has been best preserved in the southwestern Ukrainian regions of Bukovyna and Pokuttia, as well as in southernPodolia. Malanka celebrations are also common among ethnicRomanians andMoldovans living in the area. In localities such asVashkivtsi andKrasnoilsk Malanka processions attract numerous tourists every year. Traditional celebrations of this holiday inBeleluia,Horoshova andNyzhnii Bereziv are also famous. InChernivtsi the annual Malanka parade is held every January.[5][6]
Traditional foods other than kutia eaten during Malanka involved sausages, meat andvarenyky.[6] Other foods popular on this day arekholodets,ham,holubtsi,bigos, chicken or turkey, pancakes etc.[7] InSouthern Ukrainebublyky would be baked for this day and given to carolling as a kind of "payment".[8] In Podolia and western Black Sea region lots of bread products would be baked for Malanka, includingkalach,palianytsia,knysh,pies andpyrizhky andpampushky. In southern regions two loaves of bread symbolizing Malanka and Vasyl would be put on the festive table together withhemp seed, a coin and a wreath ofgarlic. In the outskirts ofVinnytsia the head of a family would hide himself behind the loaves of bread and ask his children if they could see him, wishing that it would also be possible in the following year. A popular drink in Southern Ukraine on this day was milkkysil with fruit.[7]
In some villages ofVinnytsia Oblast on this day people prepare a traditional festive dish ofblood sausage, which is also called "malanka". They also bake special breads which are called "Malanka" and "Vasyl".
On the morning of Malanka the second ritualkutia is prepared – the "generous" kutia. Unlike the "bahata" kutia onSviat Vechir (Christmas Eve), it is made with non-Lenten ingredients. As is done onSviat Vechir, the kutia is placed in thepokuttia – the corner of the house wherereligious icons are displayed, opposite thepich (stove). In addition, the women bakemlyntsi (pancakes), and makepyrihs anddumplings with cheese, to give as gifts to the carolers and "sowers".
Food is given a very important role: on Malanka, as it is believed that the more variety on the table that day, the more generous next year will be. The dishes should be very satisfying, but, for example, cooking fish is a bad sign, because happiness can "pour" out of the home. Pork dishes are definitely prepared, as this animal symbolizes abundance in the house. Traditionally, pork is prepared askholodets (meat in aspic),kishka (blood sausage) andpork sausage,vershchaky (roasted pork marinated inbeet kvas),salo (cured slabs of porkfatback), stuffed whole pig, and more.
According to a tradition, members of the Malanka procession sing songs in front of each house in the village before going inside and presenting a humorous play. In Bukovyna only men take part in Malanka processions; in some places exclusively unmarried males are allowed to participate. In many cases the participants are followed by musicians using various instruments, from drums to trumpets. Members of the procession wish good luck to everyone thay meet on their way, but may also engage in tricks and even symbolic "theft".[5]
Among unmarried girls Malanka was traditionally known as a time offortunetelling: on New Years' Eve they would attempt to predict their success in marriage by performingdivination. Farmers would also perform rituals on this day, attempting to predict rain and drought, which could influence the future harvest.[9] Garden trees which had failed to bring a fruitful harvest would be "threatened" to be cut down by the host carrying an axe, with the hostess preventing this by pleading her husband for "mercy" and bandaging the trunk with straw.[10] InWestern Ukraine the hostess would leave a glass of water for the night and measure its quantity on the first morning of the new year to predict the length of her lifespan.[11]
The next day, (St. Basil's Day), the young men go to "sow grain" in the morning after sunrise. The grain is carried in a glove or bag. First they visit their godparents and other relatives and loved ones, then their neighbors. Entering the house, the sower sows grain and greets everyone with the New Year:
I sow, I sow, I sow, I greet you with the New Year!
Good fortune, and good health in the New Year,
May your fields bear better this year than last,
Rye, wheat and any grains,
Hemp piled to the ceiling in large rolls.
Be healthy for the New Year and Basil's Day!
God grant us this!
The first sower to visit on New Year's day brings happiness to the house. A person performing this action would receive money or sweets as a sign of gratitude. According to popular belief, girls do not bring happiness, only boys do, and therefore it is not appropriate for girls to go "sowing".
On New Year's Day the inner half of the house would be cleaned, waste thrown away into the fields.[12] In southern parts of Ukraine pig bones left from the festive dinner would be buried on a land plot to provide the soil fertility. In western regions on New Year's Day the host of the household would take a piece of bread, wash it with water from his well and roll it across the house to the table, wishing for the year to go as smoothly as the loaf. Afterwards the family members would wash themselves in a bowl of water, into which coins would be thrown, or in a nearby stream.[11] In some localities, for example inPodolia, a male household animal, such as a horse or a ram adorned with bands, ears of rain, flowers and berries, would be led into the house to provide good luck for the host. In the Middle Dnieper region an ox would be used for this purpose, followed by a ram, pig, horse or even birds. Presence of animal excrement in the house was seen in this case as a sign of special luck.[7]
According to custom, after finishing their ritual rounds, the young men went to a crossroads to burn the "Did" or "Didukh" – a sheaf of grain that had stood in thepokuttia sinceSviat Vechir – and then jumped over a bonfire. This was meant to cleanse them after dealing with the evil spirits all night. In many villages several groups would take part in competitions between each other, followed by common meals involving both the winning and losing sides. Malanka celebrations would also involve dancing, in which anyone could participate.[5]
Before the holiday costumes and masks depicting different heroes are prepared. Most popular characters played by the participants of Malanka celebrations are the Goat, the Devil, the Death, the Old Man and the Old Woman, the Gypsy and the Jew. In earlier times clay masks would be used, but today they have been replaced by industrially produced items. Modern Malanka celebrations may also involve people dressing as heroes ofpopular culture and famous politicians. The figure of Malanka herself is traditionally played by a young man dressed in a female folk dress. The main heroine is always followed by her companion, Vasyl.[5] In some parts of the Carpathians the figure of the Bear could also be a central part of the celebrations.[6]
Canadian folkloristRobert Klymasz identifies the Ukrainian tradition of Malanka as alike to themummering practiced in Britain, Ireland and Newfoundland, but with several differences. For one thing, Ukrainian Malankamummers were typically unmarried and always male, never female; they made a point of visiting houses that had unmarried young women, so the ritual had a function incourtship. The humour of the ritual came from the fact that the lankiest, most awkward young man was chosen to play the role of Malanka, and then all the song praised Malanka's supposed beauty and grace. The eligible woman of the house was scrutinized to see to which of the mummers she gave any gifts of money or food and drink as evidence of who she might like to marry. According to Klymasz, these house-visits were largely lost after the Second World War, and replaced by a modernized ritual.[13]
In North America, house visits were largely replaced by Ukrainized versions of an Anglo-North American New Year's Eve ball after the Second World War. They typically occur a week after Christmas Eve (Old Calendar), but not necessarily falling on 13 or 14 January; they are usually held on an ensuing Friday or Saturday night. The characters from the mummery are now presented instead as a skit for an audience.[13]
These "Malanky" are mostly pure modernized recreation, but with enough distinctions to indicate their cultural background. The event would typically include a supper, raffles and door prizes, and end with azabava (dance). At midnight, once everyone cheers for the New Year, individual and pairpolka dancing is stopped and thekolomyika begins. When thekolomyjka is finished, everyone resumes to their previous dancing and continue to party the night away. Malanka is often the last opportunity for partying before the solemn period ofLent which precedesEaster.[14]
Malanka celebrations are mentioned in the Ukrainian filmPamfir, which took part in the2022 Cannes Film Festival.
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