Video

Though we are using You Tube to display our videos here, each clip that appears below was filmed, edited, and posted to You Tube by principals involved in this project, unless otherwise noted.

All video is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

Mykola Savchuk dancing Hutsulka in the Village of Velykyj Kljuchiv:

This is a clip of the Hutsulka as it is danced in the village of Velykyj Kljuchiv, in the county of Kolomyja, in the state of Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine. "Hutsulka" is the preferred, contemporary name for this dance, which is often called "Kolomyjka" as well, usually by non-Hutsuls. This is according to Mykola Savchuk, who is the main dancer in this video; however, it was also our experience that people in Hutsulshchyna (i.e., in the Hutsul-inhabited part of Ukraine) call it Hutsulka rather than Kolomyjka.

About Mykola Savchuk:

Mykola Savchuk is a journalist, folklorist, musician and "humoryst" (i.e., a comedian) whose knowledge of traditional Hutsul culture is vast and inspiring. Mykola used to play accordion in a wedding band and has more recently recorded a disc of authentic versions of Hutsul music; as a journalist and folklorist he has written on Hutsul-related topics and has recently published a pamphlet about the dance Hutsulka. As a comedian he has achieved a degree of recognition in Ukraine, and has also performed in Ukrainian communities in North America, doing a show of humor "for the diaspora." Mykola considers himself to be Hutsul and is from a village (Velykyj Kljuchiv) where some of the old Hutsul dances are remembered and still danced (though we did not have the opportunity to visit, the neighboring village of Myshyn is also said to be a good place to go for authentic Hutsul music and dance). Dancing with him in this video are his mother, his sister, his niece and his brother-in-law, all of whom were hospitable in that famously Ukrainian way, and all of whom were thrilled to share with us their passion for their heritage!

Hutsulka in Kosmach, Part I:

In this video are two teenagers dancing the Hutsulka at a wedding in the village of Kosmach, state of Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine.

Arkan (Argan, Vargan) in the village of Rungury:

This is video of the Arkan as it is danced in the villages of Rungury and Sloboba, which are in the Kolomyjskyj rajon (county) in the Ivano-Frankivska oblast (state of Ivano-Frankivsk). Sloboda and Rungury are twin villages; the former grew out of the latter. They are located right at the base of the northern slope of the Carpathian Mountains, about 30km from Kolomyja.

The setting for this video was a wedding; we are very grateful to have been invited to attend this wedding and for the permission to film while there!

We were told by many various people that the arkan as danced in Rungury and Sloboda is very authentic; as Vasyl Labachuk , a Hutsul wedding musician and friend who helped us get invited to this wedding put it, "They have a very strong argan there. . ." (click here to see a photo of Vasja playing tsymbaly).

Argan? According to Mykola Savchuk (see him dancing Hutsulka by scrolling up to the video above or clicking here) "arkan" is a mis-pronunciation of the original Hutsul words for the dance, which are "vargan" or "argan." Mykola argues that either early folklorists, mostly from Halychyna, mis-heard how Hutsuls pronounced the name of the dance, or they chose to deliberately "Ukrainianize" its pronunciation as they wrote it down; or perhaps the word was unconsciously "Ukrainianized" by people writing about the Hutsuls over a period of time.

Though people in Rungury did use the term "arkan," it was surprising to hear how many still used "argan" or "vargan;" however, it was no surprise that most of those still using the older variants tended to be older themselves.

Mykhajlo Mykolajevych Tafijchuk Playing Traditional Hutsul Instruments:

Volynka:

This is footage of Mykhajlo Mykolajevych Tafijchuk playing a volynka. "Volynka" is the Hutsul word for a type of bag pipe that is commonly played throughout the Carpathian Mountains, regardless of ethnicity. This was filmed in front of his home.

Please scroll down or click here to read about Mr. Tafijchuk.

Telynka:

This is footage of Mykhajlo Mykolajevych Tafijchuk playing a telynka, which is the Hutsul word for a wind instrument that is common throughout the Carpathian Mountains. The telynka does not have fingerholes; the sound is controlled by the force of one's breath and by placing one's finger over the opening at the bottom.

Please scroll down to read about Mr. Tafijchuk.

About Mykhajlo Mykolajevych Tafijchuk:

Mykhajlo Mykolajevych Tafijchuk is a renowned Hutsul musician, instrument maker and blacksmith that lives in the village of Bukovets, located approximately mid-way between Verkhovyna and Kosiv. He is very concerned about what he percieves to be the dying out of Hutsul traditions. He can remember when mostly Hutsul dances were danced at village events: weddings, dances, all occasions. He says that there are tunes to which no one knows how to dance anymore, and that there are even names for tunes that he has already forgotten how to play. He says he was never one much for dancing, for his passion was to play the music; and if no one asks for the particular dance anymore, then he doesn't have occasion to play the tune, and in this way, he has forgotten a number of tunes.

He also says that most of the traditional Hutsul instrument makers are dying out, too. . .by which he meant, instrument makers such as himself: Men born and raised in Hutsul villages without any formal education or musical training, who learned simply by tradition how to make the instruments.

Also, there are fewer and fewer musicians such as himself around: Players without any formal education or musical training who either learned to play folk music within their families or from others in their villages, or who simply taught themselves how to play various instruments, as he says he did!