The Witches Of Kyiv

Download or read book The Witches of Kyiv written by Orest Somov and published by Sova Books. This book was released on 2016-11-04 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Witches of Kyiv and Other Gothic Tales by Orest Somov the supernatural is present throughout Ukraine, from a cemetery in Kyivan Rus, to an isolated forest cottage in the seventeenth century Kozak era, to the society ballrooms of Somov’s own world – the early nineteenth century. Gothic horror appears in many guises including witches, warlocks, demons and vengeful ‘rusalka’. Strange soothsayers and malevolent visitors represent the forces of good and evil. In her foreword Dr Svitlana Krys describes Somov “as an initiator of an indigenous literary tradition of the Gothic in the Ukrainian literary canon”. Native folk traditions, ghost stories and European Romanticism are twisted together in Somov’s imaginative tales, most of which are published here in English for the first time.

Download or read book Ukrainian Witchcraft Trials written by Kateryna Dysa and published by Central European University Press. This book was released on 2020-09-01 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ukrainian Witchcraft Trials is an analysis of early modern witchcraft trials and legal procedures in Ukrainian lands, along with an examination of quantitative data drawn from the different trials. Kateryna Dysa first describes the ideological background of the tribunals based on works written by priests and theologians that reflect attitudes towards the devil and witches. The main focus of her work, however, is the process leading to witchcraft accusations. From the stories of participants of the trials she shows what led people to enunciate first suspicions then accusations of witchcraft. Finally, she presents a microhistory from one Volhynian village, comparing attitudes towards two "female crimes" in the Ukrainian courts. The study is based on archival research together with previously published witch trials transcripts. Dysa approaches the trials as indications of belief and practice, attempting to understand the actors involved rather than dismiss or condemn them. She takes care to situate Ukrainian witchcraft and its accompanying trials in a broader European context, with comparisons to some African cases as well.

Download or read book Treasure of the Ages written by Klym Polischuk and published by Sova Books. This book was released on 2015-05-17 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Behold the fury is raging… Under the glow of a burning red sky a fugitive from war learns of a malevolent serpent that once inhabited the caves outside Kyiv. In the dark ages of Ukraine a charismatic tribal leader defies supernatural sacrificial rituals and counsels his people to live in unity and peace so that a nation can arise. A cemetery in the old city of Khastiv stirs with the ghostly Haidamaka people who keep vigil every Easter, awaiting their promised liberator. In medieval Vinnytsia a powerful and sadistic monk mutilates local women, invoking the fury of the tormented villagers. On a quiet summer’s evening flickering lights reveal a mass of pilgrims paying homage with a prayer and song at a life-giving sacred well. A man returning to his homeland, ravaged by Tsarism and the Bolshevik revolution, visits the ruins of an ancient castle where treasure is said to be hidden for posterity, protected by ferocious flames. Treasure of the Ages invites the reader into a mystical, ancient world but one that also reflects the harsh reality of the lives of ordinary Ukrainians during the turbulent times of the socialist revolution that the author Klym Polischuk inhabited.

Download or read book Ukrainian Womens Magic Traditions written by Lada Luzina and published by Glagoslav Publications. This book was released on 2020-10-16 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lada Luzina — Golden Writer of Ukraine: “The folk rites of our great-grandmothers are so riddled with magic that there is no doubt — it was these real holidays and rituals that became the basis for all the famous legends and tales of Kiev witches. Reading now about the magical traditions of Ukrainians, you never cease to be amazed at what unique ancestors and knowledge our ancestors possessed! What a special, unique role a woman played in the Ukrainian community! And from what great depths these or other customs come!”

Download or read book The Story of Pysanka: A Collection of Articles on Ukrainian Easter Eggs written by Vasyl Horlenko and published by Ukrainian Scholar Library. This book was released on 2019-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Story of Pysanka. A Collection of Articles on Ukrainian Easter Eggs." What do Egyptian Kneph and Ptah, Māori Tangaroa and Finnish Ilmatar have in common? Why are cross, meander and swastika associated with some cultures' Easter egg? What is the difference between the two most popular types of Ukrainian Easter egg, pysanka and krashanka? What message could one pass with a pysanka? Can a pysanka protect your family and ward off evil powers? Answers to these and some other questions can be found in this book. "The Story of Pysanka" consists of articles written by Ukrainian ethnographers in the 19th century. This is their first translation into English. Contemporary pysanky expert, Pavlo Rybalko, wrote the foreword. An extensive bibliography, glossary and indexare included, as well as black and white illustrations. Who would have thought that Easter eggs could be a topic of one's Doctoral Dissertation? Well, indeed, it was, and not once. As they say, 'ab ovo' ☺. "The Story of Pysanka" is the first book in Sova Books' Ukrainian Scholar Library series. It will be followed by publications on Ukrainian Spells, Ukrainian Herbal Medicine, Ukrainian Mythology and others. About the Series: Sova Books' Ukrainian Scholar Library offers works written by Ukrainian intellectuals on various subjects. Let it be History, Folk Music and Lore, Literary Studies, Religion or Politics - these subjects and hopefully more with time will be covered by the series. The works span several centuries and most have Ukraine as their main or starting point of discussion. Whether you are a scholar or not, you may find the answers to what you are looking for in your quest of knowledge in these books.

Download or read book Begone the Raggedy Witches (The Wild Magic Trilogy, Book One) written by Celine Kiernan and published by Candlewick Press. This book was released on 2018-09-11 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When witches kidnap her dad, Mup is swept up in a wild tide of magic that carries her to another world. Can she reunite her family and find her way back? On the night that Aunty dies, the raggedy witches come for Mup’s family. Pale, cold, and relentless, the witches will do anything for the tyrannical queen who has outlawed most magic and enforces her laws with terror and cruelty — and who happens to be Mup’s grandmother. When witches carry off her dad, Mup and her mam leave the mundane world to rescue him. But everything is odd in the strange, glittering Witches Borough, even Mam. Even Mup herself. In a world of rhyming crows, talking cats, and golden forests, it’s all Mup can do to keep her wits about her. And even if she can save her dad, Mup’s not sure if anything will ever be the same again. First in a new trilogy by Irish author Celine Kiernan, this tale of family and forbidden magic charts a fresh path through the landscape of beloved fantasy tradition — and promises to bewitch any reader in search of stories to love.

Download or read book Witchcraft in Russia and Ukraine, 1000–1900 written by Valerie A. Kivelson and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2020-11-15 with total page 471 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This sourcebook provides the first systematic overview of witchcraft laws and trials in Russia and Ukraine from medieval times to the late nineteenth century. Witchcraft in Russia and Ukraine, 1000–1900 weaves scholarly commentary with never-before-published primary source materials translated from Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. These sources include the earliest references to witchcraft and sorcery, secular and religious laws regarding witchcraft and possession, full trial transcripts, and a wealth of magical spells. The documents present a rich panorama of daily life and reveal the extraordinary power of magical words. Editors Valerie A. Kivelson and Christine D. Worobec present new analyses of the workings and evolution of legal systems, the interplay and tensions between church and state, and the prosaic concerns of the women and men involved in witchcraft proceedings. The extended documentary commentaries also explore the shifting boundaries and fraught political relations between Russia and Ukraine.