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| Lamont Travelogue by Darby 2 |
Metaphors and similes are encased in almost all Ukrainian
songs. One of the special botanical
symbols is the kalyna – Viburnum-Caprifoliaceae L. (the high bush cranberry). Kalyna is part of Ukraine’s wealth of life
sustaining, rural, agricultural riches.
It has been known and used over millennia as part of ancient rites,
rituals, magic and medicine.
In Ukrainian, nouns have gender, so the word “kalyna” is a
feminine noun. Kalyna grows in wet
woods, along streams and wooded hillsides, and requires moist but well
drained sites for best development. Kalyna blossoms are snow white, lace-cap
flowers that form a ball-shape. Ancestral
Ukrainian folk songs of courtship, engagement and marriage anticipate the ripening
of the kalyna berries, referring in hopeful terms to the whole concept of
maidenhood, virginity, the nuptial bed, happy, fruitful wedded life. The cycle of ritual songs and ritual
embroideries celebrate the blood-red, the love, and life ahead. Medicinally, the bark yields a powerful antispasmodic,
a water soluble preparation containing a bitter compound called viburnine,
which is used for the relief of menstrual and stomach cramps. At the same time, however it is interesting
that in the fall, the ripened berries weigh down the kalyna and the branches
bend gracefully to support the tree - clearly imagery to do with birth, and the
future, with all its complexity and sorrows. The fruit is best gathered when
slightly under-ripe and sour. If it is
gathered after a heavy frost, the fruit is sweeter, and has a musty odor during
cooking. Wildlife waits until
there have been several frost/thaw cycles before indulging in the dried
fruit.
In his amazing collection and analysis of Ukrainian
traditional folk songs, Filiaret Kolessa refers to “parallelism”, where nature
comes to represent all of life. Decoding becomes even more complex, the deeper
one gets into literary symbolism. The Great Kobzar Taras Shevchenko was one, from among Ukraine's literary giants to have employed this imagery, and
now ancestral images stand beside contemporary art works and seem to reflect
not only individual love, but love for one’s people, for one’s country. Many symbols are universally loved in
Ukraine, probably none more than the kalyna.
Here are some favorite Kalyna songs to enjoy – consider the
symbolism in the lyrics and think “to life!”
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