I have been trying to put together a list of folktales about peace and war, but it all feels awkward and is hitting too close to home. So instead, I made a list of my favorite folktales from Ukraine. Some Ukrainian, some Rusyn, some Cossack, some Hungarian. It is a diverse country with many beautiful traditions. (Links in the titles)
The origin story of the famous Ukrainian painted eggs. One year a harsh winter arrives early, and people collect half-frozen birds that could not migrate away in time. They care for them in their own homes throughout the winter. When the warm weather comes, the birds fly away, and bring beautiful colorful eggs as a sign of gratitude: the first pysanky. (This one also has a picture book retelling.)
One of the most beautiful Christmas tales I know. Spiders explore a family's tree, covering it in silver thread - and, true to the miracle of the season, the threads actually turn into tinsel.
A poor man chases his youngest son away, and the boy takes service in the home of a friendly giant. When he grows into a young warrior, the giant sends him out in various directions to defeat vampires. He hacks his way through cursed forests and makes deserts bloom again. He also kills a dragon and rescues a princess.
The princess who slapped a dragon
A Transcarpathian variant of a well-known tale type, but with a marvelous twist. Three superpowered brothers rescue a princess, but on the way back a shapeshifting dragon takes the place of one of them. The brother left behind has to find a way down the Glass Mountain to reveal the truth before the dragon marries the princess. When he does, the princess takes matters into her own hand. Quite literally.
A Hungarian historical legend from Transcarpathia. A boy (who later grew up to be revolution leader Rákóczi Ferenc II) protects his mother's tulips from a sudden hailstorm. Later, when their castle is besieged, the grateful flowers transform into colorful soldiers, and protect the boy and his family.
The boy who wanted to walk on the clouds
I translated a whole collection of Transcarpathian folktales, but this one is probably my favorite story in the collection. A boy dreams of walking on the clouds while everyone believes he is a fool. He sets out on an adventure, climbs a mountain, and eventually finds his way to the Cloud Kingdom - proving that dreams do come true.
A boy is adopted by three brothers, who name him Boris, Son of Three. He sets out on a great adventure involving treasures, firebirds, and the Sun itself, until he finds a kingdom and a happy ending.
The poor man and the Raven Czar
A giant raven makes a man choose between his meager wealth and his son - and the poor man chooses right. In exchange the raven czar offers him a reward, and the son of the man sets out to claim it. I like this story because it subverts some old folktale tropes.
A magical Rusyn legend about the river Tisza, which flows from the Ukraine across Hungary until it joins the Danube in Serbia. A kind fairy from the salt caves turns two fearsome giants into two bears - then, to protect people from the bears, but still give use to their strength, she turns them into two great rivers.
An old dog is chased away from home for being useless. He befriends a wolf, who comes up with a plan to help. He pretends to steal a child, so the dog can rescue it; after that, the dog is cherished by people again. In exchange he invites the wolf to a feast in secret - and when people try to attack him, the dog helps him get away.
I just wanted to add here that Ukrainian folktales have a really fun female trickster, a vixen that gets back at a mean wolf in various creative ways. Yay!
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What a great post and resource. My birthday falls on International Women's Day so I always feel special about things shared on that day. Was checking to see if you had a theme Reveal...
ReplyDeleteAndrew
What an incredible resource Csenge … Thankyou so mu
ReplyDeleteCh for sharing your storyology digging!