Leaping over bonfires. Scouring the dark woods in search of fern flowers. Delicately constructing a flower garland. These are all essential elements of Ivan Kupala Day, a folk and pagan holiday that celebrates the summer solstice. If you have not celebrated it, you haven’t seen Ukraine, and you have not discovered the pagan inside you.
This expressive, ancient holiday has endured the centuries up to modern-day Ukraine. Many rites of this holiday unite fire, mysticism and eroticism. To celebrate it properly on the night of July 6 one needs a basic set of elements: water in the form of a river or a pond, a healthy bonfire, some field flowers and the company of cheerful friends.
A bit of history
The original name of Ivan Kupala Day or Ivan’s Day is long forgotten, thus, nobody knows when it was first celebrated. Observed on the night of July 6, it was originally connected to the summer solstice.
When the Orthodox Church incorporated the holiday, it became associated with John the Baptist’s Day, celebrated on July 7. The name Ivan also stems from here. However, local Orthodox churches shun the holiday as pagan.
Historians have suggested that the name might come from the ancient god Kupala. The god’s name apparently evolved from a mistake in a 16th century text. It’s a derivative of the word kupat (to bathe), and can refer both to John the Baptist who baptized his followers in the river, and more ancient traditions of celebrating gods by taking dips in rivers. This explanation of the holiday’s name was given by Finnish scientist Viljo Johannes Mansikka in his study called Religion of the Eastern Slavs.
Most celebrations happen at night, and this is what makes the holiday’s rituals so exciting.
From orgies to marriage
The church might have a good reason to avoid having a direct connection with Ivan Kupala. If local myths are to be believed, the night of Kupala prompted a softening of morals, bringing with it random or group sexual contacts as an act of prayer for a plentiful harvest.
Others, on the contrary, believe that pagan cults cherished faithful
There are other rituals
the holiday is better known for that involves young men and women. Women make beautiful
flower wreaths and float them on rivers, adorned with lit-up candles. If the
wreath does not sink, it means its owner will get married the following year.
The prospective husband
was expected to wait for the wreath on the other end of the river. And if a man
wanted to marry a particular woman, he had to trace and catch her wreath.
Kupala Night is also an
opportunity to test your luck. Ferns, non-blooming ancient plants, were
believed to produce a single flower on that very night. Those who find it were believed
to acquire mystical qualities such as invisibility or the ability to see
underground treasures.
But finding the flower
was supposed to be tricky (no surprise there), and breaking it off the stem
even more so because evil spirits were believed to guard it.
The ones whose luck
failed them, can always compensate by taking part in purifying rituals. The
most important one is associated with fire, which is lit up at dusk and burns
till dawn.
It was believed that
women who avoided celebrations that involved fire were witches. The same stigma
followed young women who could not jump over the fire. Originally, only young
single people were allowed to jump, but these days everyone is welcome.
An unmarried couple would
get married soon if their hands touched during the jump, or if the fire started
to sparkle during their leap. The man who jumped the highest was expected to have
a good harvest for his family that year.
Today, Ukrainians make a
straw doll of Marena, a pagan symbol of water and a senior mermaid. At the end
of celebrations it had to be burned or drowned.
A detailed description of Kupala Night
traditions can be found in the study devoted to Ukrainian national customs and
holidays by Ukrainian scientist Viktor Sapiga and in many other modern folklore
studies.
Where to celebrate Ivan
Kupala in the area on July 6-7
Pyrogovo Folk Outdoor Museum
Celebrating in Pyrogovo
is the obvious choice. On both days, July 6 and 7, people will gather to look
for fern flowers, make fires to jump over and construct wreaths to float on
water.
Those who are not
interested in rituals can simply observe others or enjoy performances by folk
bands from across the country.
How to get there:
Trolleybus #11 from Lybidska and Holosiivska metro stations, minibus #156 from
Bessarabska Market
July 6-7, 4 p.m., 5
p.m., Hr 20, Hr 10 for students.
Kyivska Rus Park
On top of the usual Ivan
Kupala activities, such as jumping over the fire and dancing in circles, the park
offers horse rides, master classes of traditional crafts and performances in
traditional arts. Visitors will also be
able to try on ancient Ukrainian costumes. Celebrations will take place
on July 6-7. The only downside is the 60-kilometer ride to the park.
How to get there: Park Kyivska Rus shuttle bus from Vydubychi metro station 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
July 6-7, 10 a.m., Hr
100, Hr 50 for pensioners and visitors wearing national attire or costumes of
mythical creatures.
Mamayeva Sloboda
Traditional fire jumping
activities in this ethnic park in Kyiv will be substituted by a more
materialistic quest – a search for Cossack treasure.
An ancient legend says that in the mid-18th century Cossacks sank
their treasures in the nearby lake and every Ivan Kupala Night a small portion of
it can be found by a lucky couple.
It might sound like a
tall tale, but the treasure is as real as it gets. Organizers say that the
winners get a gold ring with a gem for a trophy, second and third runners-up
will also receive precious prizes.
How to get there: Trolleybus
# 27, 27K from Petrivka and Shulyavka metro stations; marshrutka # 427, 471 from
Palats Sportu metro station; both to the Mykhaila Dontsya St. bus stop
July 6, 4 p.m. Hr 200
(registration for the quest will be held in advance and end 15 minutes before
the quest starts, passport needed)
Hutir Savky, Novi
Petrivtsi village
The Ivan Kupala party
will take place on July 6 in Hutir Savky, a smallish ethnic park just six
kilometers outside Kyiv.
Celebrations will start
at 4 p.m. on July 6 and will be supplemented with horseback tours of the park,
master classes by blacksmiths, weavers and potters.
Marena and Kupalo, the
male and female version of straw dolls associated with holiday spirits will be
built and then burned at the end of the day.
Cossack dishes will be
cooked for visitors to enjoy.
How to get there: Take the Kyiv-Liutizh
bus from Polissya bus station at Taras Shevchenko Square to ChayNyk bus stop in
Novi Petrivtsi
July 6, 4 p.m. – 9:30
p.m., Hr 250, Hr 200 for children.
Radomysl Castle, Zhytmyr
Oblast
Radomysl castle, 100
kilometers from Kyiv, will also host its own Kupala celebrations. But it will
be less about pagan rituals and more about singing and dancing. Visitors will
be able to try folk dancing as well as enjoy professional performances.
How to get there: Take the Kyiv-Radomysl minbus
from Zhytomyrska metro station, then take minibus #2 from Radomysl central bus
station to the last stop where the Castle is.
July 6, 12 p.m., Hr 20.
Zhytomyr Oblast, Radomysl, 15 Shchorsa St.
Top-5
Ivan Kupala superstitions
1. Boiling a black cat
on Kupala Night can produce an “invisible bone” that would make its
owner invisible.
2. Towels, shirts and
wreaths must be left on trees by the rivers and lakes for mermaids who come out
of the water on Kupala Night.
3. Climbing over 12
fences on Kupala Night makes your wish come true.
4. On Kupala Night trees
walk and talk to each other through the rustling of leaves.
5. Bread gains healing
powers after being left on the house roof on Kupala Night.
Source: http://traditions.org.ua, www.ethnomuseum.ru
Kyiv Post staff writersDaryna Shevchenko can be reached at [email protected], and editor Olga Rudenko can be reached at [email protected].
