Cossack Mamay or Kozak Mamai (, in less significant variants also named as Cossack banduryst) is a Ukrainian folkloric hero, one of the standard characters in traditional Ukrainian itinerant puppet theater, the Vertep.

Historical overview

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

Mamay is encountered in legends, folk stories and proverbs. These became widely popular after the dissolution of the

Zaporozhian Sich The Zaporozhian Sich (, , ; also ) was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of Zaporozhian Cossacks that existed between the 16th to 18th centuries, for the latter part of that period as an autonomous stratocratic state within the Cossa ...

in 1775. Cossack Mamay is one of the most common characters in Ukrainian folk painting, from the late 17th century to the present time. In the hundreds of surviving paintings, Cossack Mamay is usually shown with a

kobza The kobza (), also called bandura () is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family (Hornbostel-Sachs classification number 321.321-5+6), a relative of the Central European mandora. The term ''kobza'' however, has also been applied to ...

– a lute-like musical instrument that is the symbol of Ukrainian soul; a horse, which represented both freedom and fidelity; and an oak with his weapons hanging on it symbolizing the people's strength. The paintings from the time of

Koliivshchyna The Koliivshchyna (; ) was a major haidamaky rebellion that broke out in Right-bank Ukraine in June 1768, caused by the dissatisfaction of peasants with the treatment of Orthodox Christians by the Bar Confederation and serfdom, as well as b ...

sometimes portray Mamay on the background of violent incidents involving

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. "Cossack-Bandurist", "Cossack-Zaporozhets", "Cossack Mamai" are all names of paintings of the same type. The general features of the composition and the main image, their existence for several centuries in Ukrainian lands allow us to consider these works as traditional folk paintings. There are several options for them. But in all cases, the basis of the composition is always the figure of a Cossack, who mostly sits with his legs crossed. The largest collections of this work are preserved and exhibited by the National Art Museum of Ukraine, the Dnipro Historical Museum named after Dmytro Yavornytskyi, and the Ukrainian Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum".

Gallery

File:Cossack Mamay 18th c.jpg, 18th century File:Cossack Mamai, 18th century.png, 18th century File:Cossack Mamay 1728.jpg, 1728 File:Cossack Mamay 1st half of 19th c.jpg, 19th century File:Unknown painter - Zaporozhian Cossack from Crimea (Cossack Mamai) - Google Art Project.jpg, Crimea 1780/1840 File:Cossack Mamay 1st half of 19th c (5).jpg, 19th century File:CossackMamay.jpg, Cossack Mamay and the Haidamaka. 19th century File:Cossack Mamay 1855.jpg, 1855 File:Cossack Mamay 1890.jpg, 1890 File:David Burliuk Cossack Mamay.jpg,

David Burliuk David Davidovich Burliuk (; 21 July 1882 – 15 January 1967) was a Russian poet, artist and publicist of Ukrainian origin associated with the Futurism (art), Futurist and Neo-Primitivist movements. Burliuk has been described as "the father of ...

, 1912 File:Ukraine-Kyiv-Maidan Nezalezhnosti-Mamai monument.JPG, 2003 File:Coin of Ukraine Mamay A.jpg, Coin obverse File:Coin of Ukraine Mamay R.jpg, Coin, reverse

Cossack Mamay in art

Literature

* ''No End to Cossack Kin'' - a novel by Olexandr Ilchenko. * ''Mamay'' - a historical verse novel by Leonid Gorlach. * ''The Cossack Mamay Myth'' - collection of poems by Ihor Kalynets.

Movie

In 2003, director Oles Sanin made the film '' Mamay'' at the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio.

Music

In music, the image of Cossack Mamay was reflected in the songs of contemporary Ukrainian bands Komu Vnyz, and Vopli Vidoplyasova.

Street art

During the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...

, the artist Mykola Goncharov recreated the image of Cossack Mamaiya in graffiti and posters of the series "All you need is love", replacing the kobza with a Kalashnikov rifle, and the damask with a lit Molotov cocktail.

Cossack Mamay coin

On the 1997 coin minted by National Bank of Ukraine, Cossack Mamay is dressed in a rich coat with fur and sits with his legs crossed, smoking a pipe and playing a kobza. Traditional elements of Cossack military life are around Mamay: a horse with rich harness, tied to a spear with a flag planted into the ground; a green oak tree with a sabre hanging from it; a pistol and a stone powder case; Turkish '' kalpak'' (high hat), and a bottle of ''okovyta'' (Ukrainian for ''

aqua vitae ''Aqua vitae'' (Latin for "water of life") or aqua vita is an archaic name for a strong aqueous solution of ethanol. These terms could also be applied to weak ethanol without rectification. Usage was widespread during the Middle Ages and the ...

''). The coin edge has the inscriptions: (, ''Cossack Mamay'') – at the left and (, ''Knight of Freedom and Honor'') – at the right. On top, these inscriptions are separated with a small flag at the spear point and, underneath, a conventionalized guelder-rose spray. The Mamay coin is from the "Heroes of the Cossack Age" series, Ukrainian commemorative and jubilee coins.

References

Бушак С. М. Сміхова культура українського народу у творах «Козак Мамай» та «Запорожцях» Іллі Рєпіна // ''Скарбниця української культури''. Збірка наукових праць. — Вип. 3. / Чернігівский історичний музей. – Чернігів: Сіверянська думка, 2002. — C. 72–79.

Kozak Mamay. Amazing collection of images collected by one individual. Some paintings dating from the mid-17th century.

External links

mamay.ch
Kozak Mamay. MAMAY'S ALIVE, HE JUST WAS THINKING. {{Authority control Zaporozhian Host Kobzarstvo Coins of Ukraine Ukrainian folklore National symbols of Ukraine Fictional Cossacks Fictional musicians