Folklore from around the world

Late summer in Volhynia is a time for international “ethnofests.” Two oblast centers, Lutsk and Rivne, became the stage for folk bands from Ukraine and abroad. The fest included people from Belarus, Poland, Russia, Moldova, and Hungary. Moreover, there were guests from more exotic lands: Senegal, Argentina, Zaire, the Philippines, New Zealand (the Cook Islands), and South Korea.

This year’s international festival Poliske Lito z Folklorom (“Polissian Summer with Folklore”) was held in Lutsk on August 20 through 24. The beginning of the folk art fest was announced by national flags decorating the Lutsk Castle. On August 20, the ancient home of Lithuanian princes echoed with ethnic music from Belarus, Indonesia, Spain, Serbia, Senegal, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.

The festival is typically accompanied by a traditional applied arts fair, so that guests and visitors can not only enjoy the performances on stage, but also see traditional jewelery and ornaments, and carved wooden items. They can even taste some honey.

Poliske Lito z Folklorom began back in 1994. It is one of the few festivals held under the auspices of the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts (CIOFF), which cooperates with the UNESCO. Thanks to Poliske Lito, Ukraine became the 69th fully fledged member of CIOFF in 1996.

The International Youth Festival of Traditional Culture Drevlianski Dzherela started in Rivne a day after its Lutsk-based counterpart. Just like Poliske Lito z Folklorom, it holds a CIOFF festival status, and has similar credentials from the IOF (International Organization of Folk Art).

Since its first appearance in 1998, Drevlianski Dzherela has united more than 280 folk bands from Ukraine and abroad. This year, the festival saw the performances of artists from Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Russia, Senegal, and Indonesia.

“More and more people are wearing traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts on big holidays. And they are doing it not for the sake of having a photo taken in their national costume, but because our traditional dress appeals to them. The same is happening to music. ‘Ethnofests’ shape their public. The first festivals used to be held in modest concert halls — this year’s Drevlianski Dzherela was performed on five stages simultaneously. This means that there is a strong demand for such events,” said Viktor Kovalchuk, artistic director of the ethnocultural center Vesnianka, author of the project and director of the festival Drevlianski Dzherela.

In his opinion, folk art is not a purely esthetic art, although it does acquire such features with time. It is rather a way of thinking and a way of living. Although nowadays communities tend to lose some elements of popular folk art, such festivals help preserve them and pass them on (via folk bands and scenic performances). It is absolutely necessary to preserve folk art, as it is important for a nation’s self-identification through language, music, and even intonations.