Folklore of Chadetsky Highlanders from Bukovyna

Abstract

The article is the first part of a work conceived by the author, dedicated to the folk musical traditions of the ethnic group of Poles who migrated from the western Beskyds more than 200 years ago (namely, from the vicinity of the city of Chadca, located on the Kisuca River, northern Slovakia) to the Romanian part of the Carpathians, called Bukovyna. The name of this ethnic group in Poland is gorali czadecki = Chadian gurals. Their descendants still live in several settlements of the Carpathian Bukovyna: the villages of Plesha, Solonetul Nou and Poiana Mikuli, located in the basin of the Humora River in the Suceava region of Romania.
 The traditional culture of the Chadian highlanders, in particular their musical folklore, is still insufficiently studied by scientists. The material on which the ethnomusical part of the article is based was mainly collected by the author in the course of his own expeditionary research in these territories in the 2000s.
 A significant part of the article is a summary of the history of the origin and migrations of this group, as well as ethnographic information about it. After all, complex and varied historical events (mainly the so-called «Volosh colonization», which began in the XII century: the resettlement of the Romanian-speaking population to the Carpathian region from the Northern Balkans, historical Transylvania and Moldova), as well as natural landscape living conditions – cattle breeding in high-mountain pastures) identified some of the features of their traditional musical culture.
 The second section of the publication is a general overview of the main vocal genres of the Chadetsky gurals living in Bukovyna. A specific marker of the local singing repertoire is taidans (local name) – ritual (mostly wedding) or non-ritual (shepherd's) songs / choruses with verses 6 + 6 in a two-line stanza. Their texts are predominantly monostrophic, following in each performance in no particular order. The article examines the problematic aspects of the genre interpretation of these works: these are full-fledged songs or choruses, where words are more important.
 Memorial songs (of a religious nature) and lamentation over the departed still occupy an important place in traditional life. The memories of older respondents keep archaic games held at night near the dead.
 Christmas carols of various types, performed by different age groups of carol singers, are still an actively widespread genre: children, youth – the «young brotherhood» (with mummers), older men - the «old brotherhood». Also known is the children's ritual of sowing grain in houses on New Year's morning.
 Information about song genres is presented in the context of their functioning in everyday life and rituals