Mother, daughter hope revised version of old book will restore lost tradition of child-rearing
Ethnography student Yaroslava Levchuk has always been especially fascinated with children’s folklore. So when she discovered a few years back that her great-grandfather had published Ukraine’s first comprehensive study on child-rearing almost 100 years ago, she knew she had found a project.
Levchuk’s grandfather was Marko Hrushevsky, a cousin of Mykhailo Hrushevsky, statesman, historian and Ukraine’s president during a brief period of independence following World War I.
Marko Hrushevsky published “A Child’s Place in the Customs and Beliefs of the Ukrainian People,” in 1907 in Lviv. The 600-page book dealt with the traditions of child rearing in the village, and covered all stages from pregnancy to adolescence. It contains fascinating observations and advice, much of which is still applicable today.
The book was edited by Hrushevsky’s friend, the celebrated Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko.
“The author’s attentiveness and genuine devotion to folk life made the [book] so rich that no literature has a similar study with such diverse material,” Franko wrote in the foreword to “A Child’s Place.”
In February, Levchuk and her mother, Valeria Padalka, published an updated version of Hrushevsky’s book. The original 600-page tome was edited to a more manageable 100 pages. Outdated sections about sex were excised, and the book was adapted to the modern Ukrainian language. Illustrations were added, as were references to traditions that persist today. Compiling Marko Hrushevsky’s biography page alone took three months of research.
The pair plan to gather a critique of their work, add some analysis and publish a revised version in the near future.
Of the fewer than 5,000 copies of Levchuk’s revision originally printed, about half remain.
Levchuk and Padalka don’t expect to profit from their labor. Their goal is to introduce the book to contemporary Ukrainians.
“UNESCO named American Margaret Mead the first ethnographer of childhood,” Levchuk said. “But Mead was not even born when Hrushevsky compiled his study.”
Of the 3,000 or so copies of the original printing of “A Child’s Place,” only three copies are known to exist. One was preserved in the family archive, and two others were located in libraries.
Hrushevsky published several works related to history and folklore, but “A Child’s Place” was his largest work. He began the study in 1897, in the old Cossack town of Subotiv, where he served as a priest.
Hrushevsky was well liked by his parish for living a simple life and “having close and cordial relations,” as Franko wrote, with the ordinary peasants.
A father of four, Hrushevsky was no stranger to child-rearing. The memories of his own village childhood inspired him to begin his study, which Levchuk called a “loving glance at a village child.”
When the book came out, the author signed it just with his initials: Mr. H., not wishing to be confused with his famous cousin.
Hrushevsky, who became an archbishop of Kyiv’s St. Sophia Cathedral, was murdered in a Soviet concentration camp in 1938.
The book is based on the beliefs and customs of Ukrainian villagers. It has 20 chapters, organized chronologically: customs kept during pregnancy, birth and baptism; first birthday celebration; and child’s growth, behavior and education from 1 to 5. The book also has chapters on children’s language, children’s psychology, common problems and illnesses. It also explains many curious superstitions.
Some details are astonishing. Hrushevsky describes how premature children were placed in a sheepskin coat and kept there until they first cried. Many such infants survived and grew into healthy children.
He also tells how right after birth, midwives gently shaped the newborn’s skull with their hands to make it the right form. He lists a number of helpful activities adults can engage in to help their babies, such as a gentle massage that activates nerve centers in a baby’s palms, soles and spine.
“It is striking how the village people who were often illiterate had some kind of intuitive teaching methods,” Padalka said. “On a regular bases, they did all the right things we learn from books.”
Children were considered the parents’ biggest treasure. They were greatly desired and lavished with love from their first days. Hrushevsky lists about two dozen pet names given to babies before they turn a year old. There were traditional pet names for each age. As the child grew and became more self-sufficient and needed less attention, there were fewer and fewer pet names.
From the early years, children observed their parents at work and helped around the house. At two, children already helped with simple tasks like driving the family calf to the river or weeding the vegetable garden. Before enrolling in school, the child spent a year visiting classes and listening to the teacher to become accustomed to school.
Levchuk believes modern parents will find the book helpful.
“Our ancestors raised their children calmly, using not screams but jokes and tricks to persuade, and smoothing out all transitions to the adult life,” Padalka said. “The tradition of child rearing has been lost. I dread hearing parents and teachers today yelling at the children and humiliating them.”
“This book is a small step back toward the lost tradition,” she said.
Levchuk sells her revised edition for Hr 5 from her home, and can be reached at 245-8185.
