Cossack Mamay
Encyclopedia
Cossack Mamay is a Ukrainian
folkloric hero, one of standard characters in traditional Ukrainian itinerant puppet theater, the Vertep
. Mamay eventually became the national personification
of Ukraine
and Ukrainian
s.
in 1775. Cossack Mamay is one of the most common characters in Ukrainian folk painting, from late 17th century to present time. In the hundreds of surviving paintings, Cossack Mamay is usually shown with a kobza
- 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 Koliyivschyna
sometimes portray Mamay on the background of violent incidents involving Poles or Jews.
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 depictions of Cossack military life are around Mamay: a horse with the rich harness, tied to a spear planted in earth with a small flag on its top; a green oak-tree with a sabre hanging from it; a pistol and a stone powder case; high Turkish hat and a bottle of "okovyta" (Ukrainian vodka).
The coin's external circumference has inscriptions: - at the left and - at the right. On top these inscriptions are separated with a small flag at the spear top, and underneath - with a conventionalized guelder-rose spray.
The Mamay coin is a part of "Heroes of the Cossack Age," Ukraine's commemorative and jubilee coins.
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
folkloric hero, one of standard characters in traditional Ukrainian itinerant puppet theater, the Vertep
Vertep
Vertep was a kind of portable puppet theatre and the corresponding type of drama in the culture of East Slavs which presented the nativity scene, other mystery plays, and later secular plots as well...
. Mamay eventually became the national personification
National personification
A national personification is an anthropomorphization of a nation or its people; it can appear in both editorial cartoons and propaganda.Some early personifications in the Western world tended to be national manifestations of the majestic wisdom and war goddess Minerva/Athena, and often took the...
of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
s.
Review
Cossack Mamay is encountered in legends, folk stories and proverbs. These became widely popular after the dissolution of the Zaporizhian SichZaporizhian Sich
Zaporizhian Sich was socio-political, grassroot, military organization of Ukrainian cossacks placed beyond Dnieper rapids. Sich existed between the 16th and 18th centuries in the region around the today's Kakhovka Reservoir...
in 1775. Cossack Mamay is one of the most common characters in Ukrainian folk painting, from late 17th century to present time. In the hundreds of surviving paintings, Cossack Mamay is usually shown with a kobza
Kobza
The kobza is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family , a relative of the Central European mandora...
- 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 Koliyivschyna
Koliyivschyna
Koliyivshchyna 1768-1769 was a Ukrainian Cossack and peasant rebellion against Poland, which was responsible for the murder of noblemen , Jews, Uniates, and Catholic priests across the part of the country west of the Dnieper river...
sometimes portray Mamay on the background of violent incidents involving Poles or Jews.
On the 1997 coin minted by National Bank of Ukraine
National Bank of Ukraine
National Bank of Ukraine is the central bank of Ukraine. Its headquarters building, constructed between 1902 and 1934, is located at no. 9 Institutska St., in Kiev-History:...
, Cossack Mamay is dressed in a rich coat with fur and sits with his legs crossed, smoking a pipe and playing a kobza. Traditional depictions of Cossack military life are around Mamay: a horse with the rich harness, tied to a spear planted in earth with a small flag on its top; a green oak-tree with a sabre hanging from it; a pistol and a stone powder case; high Turkish hat and a bottle of "okovyta" (Ukrainian vodka).
The coin's external circumference has inscriptions: - at the left and - at the right. On top these inscriptions are separated with a small flag at the spear top, and underneath - with a conventionalized guelder-rose spray.
The Mamay coin is a part of "Heroes of the Cossack Age," Ukraine's commemorative and jubilee coins.
See also
- CossackCossackCossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
- History of the CossacksHistory of the Cossacks- Early history :The origins of the first Cossacks are uncertain. The traditional historiography dates the emergence of Cossacks to the 14-15th centuries...
- Zaporizhian Host
- Zaporizhian SichZaporizhian SichZaporizhian Sich was socio-political, grassroot, military organization of Ukrainian cossacks placed beyond Dnieper rapids. Sich existed between the 16th and 18th centuries in the region around the today's Kakhovka Reservoir...
External links
- Torban.org, Cossack Mamay image gallery.