The worth of Ukrainian culture appears, in its most beautiful and its highest form, in the unwritten literature of the people. The philosophical feeling of the Ukrainian people finds expression in thousands and thousands of pregnant proverbs and parables, the like of which we do not find even in the most advanced nations of Europe. They reflect the great soul of the Ukrainian people and its worldly wisdom. But the national genius of the Ukrainians has risen to the greatest height in their popular poetry. Neither the Russian nor the Polish popular poetry can bear comparison with the Ukrainian. Beginning with the historical epics (dumy) and the extremely ancient and yet living songs of worship, as for example, Christmas songs (kolady), New Years’ songs (shchedrivki), spring songs (vessilni), harvest songs (obzinkovi), down to the little songs for particular occasions (e.g. shumki, kozachki, kolomiyki), we find in all the productions of Ukrainian popular epic and lyric poetry, a rich content and a great perfection of form. In all of it the sympathy for nature, spiritualization of nature, and a lively comprehension of her moods, is superb; in all of it we find a fantastic but warm dreaminess; in all of it we find the glorification of the loftiest and purest feelings of the human soul. A glowing love of country reveals itself to us everywhere, but particularly in innumerable Cossack songs, a heartrending longing for a glorious past, a glorification, altho not without criticism, of their heroes. In their love-songs we find not a trace of sexuality; not the [[201]]physical, but the spiritual beauty of woman is glorified above all. Even in jesting songs, and further, even in ribald songs, there is a great deal of anacreontic grace. And, at the same time, what beauty of diction, what wonderful agreement of content and form! No one would believe that this neglected, and for so many centuries, suppressed and tormented people could scatter so many pearls of true poetic inspiration thru its unhappy land.
This peculiarity of the poetical creative spirit enables us, just as do the other elements of culture, to recognize the vast difference between the Ukrainian and the Russian people. The Russian folk songs are smaller in number and variety, form and content. Sympathetic appreciation of nature is scant. The imagination either rises to supernatural heights or sinks to mere trifling. Criminal monstrosities and the spirit of destruction are glorified as objects of national worship. The conception of love is sensual, the jesting and ribald songs disgusting.
Like their popular poetry, the popular music of the Ukrainians far surpasses the popular music of the neighboring peoples, and differs from them very noticeably. Polish popular music is just as poor as Polish popular poetry, and almost thruout possesses a cheerful major character. Russian popular music has many minor elements in addition to the major elements. But the Russian popular melodies are quite different from the Ukrainian. They are either boisterously joyous or hopelessly sad. The differences in the character of the melodies are so great that one need not be a specialist to be able to tell at once whether a melody is Ukrainian or Russian.
Popular art, in our people, is entirely original and much more highly advanced than in the neighboring peoples. The remains of the ancient popular painting are still in existence in the left half of the Ukraine. Wood carving has developed to a highly artistic form among the Hutzuls [[202]](there are the well-known peasant-artists Shkriblak, Mehedinyuk, and others). The chief field of Ukrainian popular art, however, is decoration. Two fundamental types are used; a geometric pattern with the crossing of straight and broken lines, and a natural pattern, which is modelled after parts of plants (as leaves, flowers, etc.). In the embroideries, cloths and glass bead-work, we find such an esthetic play of colors, that even tho each individual color is glaring, the whole has a very picturesque and harmonious effect. The decorative art of the Russians is much lower. It is based on animal motifs or entire objects, e.g., whole plants, houses, etc., and evinces an outspoken preference for glaring colors, which are so combined, however, as to shock the eye. Among the Poles, the art of ornamentation is very slightly developed. As for colors, they prefer the gaudy, not many at a time; usually, blue is combined with bright red.
For the sake of completeness, we must still say something about Ukrainian manners and customs. In this aspect, too, the Ukrainian peasantry is richer than its neighbors. Only the White Russians are not far behind them. The entire life of a Ukrainian peasant, in itself full of need and poverty, is, nevertheless, full of poetic and deeply significant usages and customs, from the cradle to the grave. Birth, christening, marriage, death, all are combined with various symbolic usages, particularly the wedding, so rich in ceremonies and songs, so different in its entire substance from the Russian or Polish. The entire year of the Ukrainian constitutes one great cycle of holidays, with which a host of ceremonies are connected, most of which have come down from pre-Christian times. We find similar ceremonies among the White Russians, some also among the Poles, e.g., Christmas songs, songs of the seasons, but among the Russians, on the other hand, we find no parallel to the Ukrainian conditions. Among the Russians, [[203]]neither the Christmas songs (kolady) are customary, nor the ceremonies of Christmas eve (bohata kutya), neither the midwinter festival (shchedri vechir), with its songs (shchedrivki), nor the spring holidays (yur russalchin velikden) and spring songs (vesnianki), nor the feast of the solstice (kupalo), nor the autumn ceremonies on the feast-days of St. Andrew or St. Katherine, etc. The entire essence of the popular metaphysics of the Ukrainians is quite foreign to the Russians, and almost entirely so to the Poles. Only the White Russians form a certain analogy, but, among them, pure superstition outweighs customs and ceremonies in importance.
Sufficient facts have been given to make clear to the reader the complete originality and independence of Ukrainian popular culture. We now come to a brief survey of the cultural efforts of the educated Ukrainians.
The number of educated Ukrainians is comparatively small. Hardly a century has passed since the intelligence of the nation awoke to new life, yet, in its hands lies the development of the national culture in the widest sense of the word. The disproportion between the magnitude of the task and the small number of the workers for culture, is at once apparent. And yet the results of the work, in spite of obstacles on every side, have grown in volume.
The Ukraine lies within the sphere of influence of European culture. This culture has spread from Central and Western Europe over the territory of the Ukraine and its neighboring peoples, the Poles, Russians, White Russians, Magyars and Roumanians. Each one of these nations has accepted the material culture of Western Europe to a greater or less degree, and adjusted the spiritual culture to its national peculiarities. The Ukrainians, for a long time after the loss of their first state and the decline of their ancient culture, found no line along which they could develop their national culture independently. For [[204]]centuries they vacillated between the cultures of Poland and Russia. To this day, now that the conditions are much better, one may still find among the Ukrainians individuals who, culturally, are Poles or Russians, and only speak and feel as Ukrainians. Such a condition is very sad, and causes the Ukraine untold injury—most of all in the field of material culture, which, in both these neighboring nations, is very incomplete. Agriculture, mining, trade and commerce, are on a much lower plane among the Poles than in Western Europe. And what is to be said of the Russians, who are a mere parody of a cultured nation in almost every field, altho they possess so great a political organization? No one need be surprised that material culture is of so low a grade in the Ukraine. On the other hand, it has become clear to every intelligent Ukrainian, that the development of material culture is possible only thru Western European influence, by sending Ukrainian engineers, manufacturing specialists, merchants and farmers, to Western and Central Europe to learn their business.
In the field of Ukrainian mental culture, the chief influences to be considered are Polish and Russian. In this field, Polish culture is comparatively very high. It possesses a very rich literature, considerable science and art, and very definite principles of life. The influence of Polish culture is limited almost exclusively to Galicia at the present time. But it was very strong until very recent years, when it began to decrease. At one time, however, the entire Ukraine, particularly the right half, was emphatically under the influence of Polish culture for centuries (16th to the 18th Century).
There is one element in the spiritual culture of the Poles which certainly deserves to be, and is, imitated by the Ukrainians. It is the tone of national patriotism, the love for the nation, its present and its past, which is everywhere [[205]]evident. Hence, modern Polish literature must be a model for Ukrainian literature in its tendencies and its sentiments. But, beyond its patriotic tone, Polish culture is not appropriate for the Ukrainian people. It is aristocratic, by reason of its descent and its philosophy of the universe. It is far removed from the mass of the people it should represent. In spite of all efforts, the Polish culture of the educated classes has been unable to establish an organic connection with the common people of Poland. It has been built up above the masses and has not grown out of them. To build up Ukrainian culture entirely after the model of Polish culture, would mean to tear it from its life-giving roots in the soul of the people. That it would be deadly to Ukrainian culture, the Ukrainians have perceived for a long time.