FOLKLORICA_7F


Zubryts’kyi, Mykhailo.  Zibrani tvory i materialy u tr’okh tomakh.  Tom 1: Naukovi pratsi. Title-
page in English: Collected Works and Materials. Volume 1: Scholarly Works. L’viv: Litopys, 
2013. Biographical essay by Frank Sysyn (in separate Ukrainian and English versions), Name 
and Place Indexes. Maps. Tables. Illustrations.  609 pp. ISBN 978-966-8853-29-6 (cloth).     
 
 Mykhailo Zubryts’kyi (1856-1919) was one of many village clerics attached to the 
Ukrainian Catholic Church in the Old Galicia of Western Ukraine. But while he catered to the 
spiritual needs of his parishioners, this priest also recognized their socio-political aspirations. 
Lending his support to the surge of Ukrainianism that characterized his era, the pastor tapped 
into his love of the written word to access and salvage an array of nuggets hidden in the musty 
papers of church archives; moreover, with equal respect for the living word, he turned himself 
into an oral historian and recorded the lifestyle, traditions, lore and material culture of the 
villagers he served. With remarkable results the enthusiastic Reverend Father sidestepped the 
authoritarianism and backwardness that marked his milieu to uncover the extraordinary wealth of 
socio-historical material that lay before him, – material that gave expression to his people’s 
search for recognition – material to justify and hopefully dignify their growing sense of ethno-
cultural distinctiveness.  

Zubryts’kyi’s campaign to salvage his heritage led him to publish his findings in a variety 
of Ukrainian-language newspapers and journals. In the volume under review here, many of these 
scattered pieces are brought together for the first time. The selection features forty-one items that 
span a period of twenty-six years.  Together they present a remarkable entry into the world of 
concerns and attitudes that dominated the life and times of a singular clergyman. Arranged 
chronologically these pieces begin with a historical anecdote published in 1886 about a 
Ukrainian priest stationed in Vienna whose superior talents attracted the attention of none other 
than the visiting Tsar of Russia himself (Alexander I); the latter’s attempt to lure the priest to 
Russia was rebuffed by the Austrian Emperor (Franz I) who declared his own need to retain 
individuals of such high caliber.  

This initial piece is followed by a string of forays into village culture.  These constitute 
an impressive ethnography composed of a dizzying gamut of subject matter ranging from 
peasant architecture (including windmills), to non-agrarian occupations (such as shepherds, 
clerics, military conscripts, and millers), apparel traditions (with special attention to footwear 
and hair styles), domestic crafts (Zubryts’kyi’s typology of coffin-making is possibly unique), 
alimentation, tobacco usage and trafficking, land ownership, myths and beliefs, dialectical 
language, folksong and folk narrative, seasonal practices, calendar holidays, customs, rituals and 
much more. 

On rare occasion, Zubryts’kyi departs from objective reportage and reveals a true concern 
for the welfare of his flock.  For example, in his piece on the evils of tobacco, the Reverend 
Father mentions how, from his position of privilege, he “often spoke against chewing tobacco 
when hearing confessions and delivering homilies” (268).  Unfortunately, more insights of this 
nature are missing from the writings that are contained in this first volume. 

The final piece in this collection (dated 1912) presents a statistical tabulation of 
grassroots economics in Father Zubryts’kyi’s beloved village of Mshanets’. The introductory 
notes are especially meaty if only for his attention to the role of such marginal groups as Jews, 
Roma, and emigrants (generally headed for America). 

Unfortunately, this encyclopedic compendium has no subject index to access directly the 
goldmine of information collected by Father Zubryts’kyi. To fully appreciate this work, a 



reading knowledge of Ukrainian and other languages (especially Latin, German, and Polish) are 
mandatory: this priest was an accomplished polyglot.    
  
Robert B. Klymasz 
University of Manitoba 
Winnipeg, Manitoba 
Canada