Thoughts are lyrical and epic works of Ukrainian folklore about events from the life of Cossacks of the 16th-18th centuries. They were performed by recitative to the accompaniment of banduras, lyres or kobza wandering singers. This is a genre of purely Ukrainian folk literature. In their plot and style, they are close to slave cries.
From the lips of the people to the pages of collections
Lyric and epic works of the XVI century have not survived to our time, there are only references in some sources about their existence. The fact is that the lyrics were passed from mouth to mouth, and they began to be recorded only in the 17th century. Naturally, there were dozens of variants of the same thought, because each performer in his own way modified the text, adding something, and removing something. Thanks to such collectors of folk art as Nikolai Tsertelev, Panteleimon Kulish, Nikolai Maksimovich, Amvrosiy Metlinsky, Izmail Sreznevsky, several hundred thoughts in different interpretations have survived to our time.
Among them is Maroussia Boguslavka, first recorded in the 50s of the last century in the Kharkov province from the lips of the coobzar Rigorenko from the village of Krasnokutsk. Until the 30s of the 20th century, several dozen variations of this song were collected. But the main one is the text that was published for the first time in Panteleimon Kulish's Notes on Southern Russia.
She was examined countless times. Even Taras Shevchenko himself typed it in his "Primer for South Russian schools." The plot also inspired Mikhail Staritsky to write a drama of the same name, and composer Alexander Sveshnikov to create a ballet.
"Maroussia Boguslavka": author
If you say that it is not, then this is wrong. Yes, it is not known who first came up with the words and how the original text sounded, therefore authorship cannot be attributed to anyone alone. In this case, it is generally accepted that they are the result of collective creativity. And indeed it is. Thoughts, like any other folklore works, were passed from mouth to mouth. This means that if the idea of this song was alien to the national identity, it would not have taken root and it would not have been chanted again and again. Each kobzar (they were usually the bearers of folk songs) added his contribution to the text, slightly changing it.
Therefore, the thought of “Maroussia Boguslavka”, like everyone else, is truly the fruit of an entire ethnic group.
Theme and idea
This thought is rightfully considered the pearl of the folk epic. The theme of this song is a description of the struggle of the Ukrainian people with the Turks, the long stay of the Cossacks in enemy captivity and the help that the girl Marusya wanted to give her countrymen.
The idea of the work is to condemn the enslavement and suffering that the Ukrainians had to endure, and to establish faith in a better life. People’s self-consciousness wanted to convey the following idea to contemporaries and future generations through this thought: no matter how many sorrows and humiliations experienced, freedom is possible thanks to bold and courageous acts.
A peculiar poetic form (verbal rhymes, sentences repeating), a clear plot construction, narrative character of the description of events, strong lyricism, penetration into the inner world of heroes - all these characteristic signs of the lyric-epic are inherent in this song about Marusya Bogulavka.
Composition
Introduction: the story that the Cossacks are in captivity with the Turkish Khan.
The main part: the promise of Marusi Boguslavka to release compatriots.
Ending: the girl keeps her word, but she refuses to run away with the Cossacks to her native land.
Plot
The Duma begins with the mention that 700 Cossacks languish in prison for long 30 years and do not see white light. Then Marusya Boguslavka comes to them and asks them if they know what tomorrow is a holiday in Ukraine. Naturally, they cannot know, and she informs them that it is Easter. The Cossacks begin to curse Marusya for the fact that she raises their hearts, but the girl asks not to do this, because she promises to release them on the eve of the holiday. Her husband, Turkish Khan, when he goes to the mosque, gives her the keys to the dungeon in her arms. Maroussia, as promised, arranges an escape to the Cossacks. In parting, he asks them to go to the city of Boguslav, tell her father that he would not collect money for the ransom, because she "went wild, got busted." The Ukrainian people's Duma ends with a request to God for the release of all slaves.
The image of the main character
It is not revealed immediately, but gradually, in the course of the development of the plot. Maroussia is a simple slave who was captured, where she became the concubine of the Turkish khan.
She remembers her past, because she calls herself "priest," that is, the daughter of a priest. Marusya Boguslavka is sincere and noble, she sincerely tells the Cossacks about her intentions to free them and about why she considers herself not entitled to step back on her native land.
The tragedy of her position is that, even having the opportunity to escape, she does not use it. She is abhorrent of conscience, since for many years in captivity the girl became a Muslim, although her father was a priest. Maroussia Boguslavka herself explains that "she bargained for Turkish luxury, for the delicacy of the unfortunate." But the narrator’s sympathy is on the heroine’s side, and he tries not to condemn her, but to arouse sympathy.
Historical foundation
There are no reliable facts about the existence of a real Marusya Boguslavka. This is most likely a collective image. During the years of Turkish oppression, many girls were taken prisoner, and some even managed to achieve an influential position on a foreign land. At least one such is known - Nastya Lisovskaya, who became the wife of the Sultan Suleiman. And for the good of their compatriots, such girls risked their own lives.
Such original works as the thought of Marusya Boguslavka deservedly enter the treasury of world literature.