Zemplin is widely represented from an ethnic point of view. It includes Slovaks, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Hungarians and Roma. Broad ethnic representation was the basis of diversity and cultural diversity. For example, the region is associated with a colorful mixture of many languages, but religious diversity has also become equally important. Naturally, the traditional folk culture of the region also has a color in the form of elements of representatives of the Slovak nation, as well as Roma, Hungarian and especially Ruthenian-Ukrainian cultures. Many traditions created and then rejected by previous generations are now preserved by individuals, folklore groups and especially folklore groups, and therefore they are preserved especially in a modified form at various stages of styling.
There are many festivals and competitions related to traditional culture and other genres in the region. One of the festivals opening the summer folk season is the Festival Ethno Fest Lysá Hora (Festival Ethno Fest), whose mission is to present traditional folk art. For 50 years, the traditional and most important folklore event has been Hornozemplínske folklórne slávnosti (Upper Zemplín Folk Celebrations) in Vranov nad Topla, and the city of Medzilaborce is the main organizer of the Kultúry a šport (Culture and Sports Festival) Festival, the 56th edition of which took place in 2019.
Vocal folklore
“Among the dance songs, the most peculiar are the" karičky ", slow-moving songs sung during the evening walks of the bachelors around the village, known as" na večarkoch ". The Zemplin polyphony is also interesting. It is usually a two-voice singing (with a predominance of thirds, sometimes extended to a three-part voice) ”. Singers from the rural folklore group from the village of Zámutov excelled in male polyphonic singing. Their singing was most clear in the already mentioned stag songs, for example Hej zašvicelo nad Zamutov slunočko (Hey, the sun shone over Zamutov).
Together with the folklore group Zamutovčan, Ondrej Demo prepared Skarbnica Kultury Ludowej in 1967, which was also released on a gramophone record. It is a useful resource for discovering the traditional folk music of Zemplín and the village of Zámutov. Further ethnographic recordings from this region are available in the Archives of Folk Culture in Košice, as well as in the monograph Traditional Folk Culture of the village of Zámutov, whose content extends beyond the village boundaries and is basically devoted to the entire Upper Zemplín region.
Instrumental folklore
“Among the solo instruments in Zemplín were bagpipes known in the past, and in some places also fair or shepherd's six-hole squeaks. Later, harmonica and accordions became popular. The composition of the folk band in Zemplín is very similar to the folk band in Šariš: first violin, second violin, viola, double bass and cymbals ”. For many years the folklore group from the village of Zámutov was musically accompanied by a folk instrumental band led by two primášov (concertmasters) Jozef Feri-Jusk and Jozef Krok-Češľak. From an ethnomusicological point of view, it belonged to one of the most important groups in eastern Slovakia. The performance of both concertmasters combined virtuosity and technical skills typical of other concertmasters in Zemplín. The folk instrumental band under their direction had the following composition: first and second violins, first and second viola and double bass, all musicians were of Roma origin, and their activities were related to the village of Zámutov, but also to the surrounding villages. As a show, we choose the instrumental composition Verbunk in G major, in which the virtuosity of the musicians resounds.
Lecturer Michal Noga created methodical videos for a large group of interested people. They are aimed at teaching stylistic interpretation according to Józef Krok-Češľak's play, characterized by a very specific variation technique. More here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsGhfsLqepM
An interesting fact about the game of folk bands in Zemplín was the so-called "Fogáš". “It is a repeating short musical motif which diversified primáš with various ornaments. He used to slip between songs as a cut-scene, but especially towards the end of a dance game as an ending or. the culmination of the dance ”. Based on the preserved sound recordings from the archive, we can conclude that in this game, Vojtech Ferenc from the village of Kamenica nad Cirochou stood out among other concertmasters.
Among the interesting musical instruments was a comb from the group of mirlitons. It was originally made of a horn, and later made of plastic. The contractor put a comb wrapped in thin paper to his mouth and shook the paper. Thus, the sound from his throat became colored.
DANCE FOLKLORE
Women's dances
Chorovody (Korowody) belong to the archaic female collective song and dance manifestations performed by young women and girls. The name chorovod comes from the Russian language and is associated with the oldest circle and chain dances in which singing dominates. In the procession, the female performers formed one of the chain formations (row, row, circle, wavy line, etc.) singing the processional long songs, passing through the village or the space in which they usually practiced these dances. "Naming processions, resp. the procession games were different, most often marked with the beginning of the accompanying songs: “Hoja, Ďunďa, hoja; Šijeme mechy; Zlatá brána ", they are also named after the dominant theme or sign of play:" Poppy; Moraine; Letečko; For bridges; Na kráľovnú; Pávička; Sviečkový; Parta and others ".
In the collection of the Archives of Folk Culture under number XX there is an exemplary recording of the research by Milan Hvižďák from the village of Sečovská Polianka carried out in 1981. Historical photographs of the processions from the village of Zámutov can be found under number XX.
Karičky is one of the female dances that also reach into the older layers of the dance. They danced mainly in the circle from which the name karicka and local names are derived from koľečka, to koľes, to kola and others. The spatial distribution of karičiek is the richest in all of Central Europe. The performers used different ways of working with the circle. For example, they danced with their backs turned towards the center of the circle. The so-called flattening of the vertebrae (Zámutov) or it could be broken into two or more small vertebrae (Zámutov, Strážske). Karička was not lacking on numerous occasions in the village, and the performers regularly danced her during breaks during games when the band was no longer playing. One of the specific regional attractions during the Karička dance is "Ujukanie", but also characteristic rhythmic shouts such as: "Karička čertova, včera še nam polamala, neška je hotova!"
Men's dances
Stag dances or so-called farmhand dances constituted a large part of Zemplin's male dance repertoire and were very widespread. (Šaffov tanec - Dlhé Klčovo, čerkaný - Parchovany, Vasiľovo cifry - Poša). Currently, they usually pair with the czardasz and are danced in the introductory part, accompanied by musical melodies of the czardasz.
This is the reason why we cannot currently attribute them unequivocally to stag dances. However, the structure of the dance has their characteristics and consists of introductory motifs, a core (cifrovanie and čapáše) and final formulas.
Verbunky (Werbunki) refer to the range of movements of the older types of dances. In this area, the most common recruitment in a circle, which we know in two forms: 1.with a commander, where the dancers carry out various commands of the leading dancer during the dance, 2.without a commander, where the performers move around the circle one step and use stomping to enrich the dance, heel-bumping and clapping. Solo recruitments share stylistic features with farmhand dances, but they are nevertheless looser in structure. Currently, the most popular solo recruitments include Dzedova cifra, or possibly Višňovského verbunk from the village of Zámutov.
Bottle dancing was not a standard game, it was rather at men's feasts, at parties between grooms, at weddings and the like. It was a solo, mostly male, improvised dance. The performer danced around the bottle placed on the ground so as not to tip it over.
Dances in pairs
"Čardáš (Czardasz) is a dance in pairs of the new, the so-called New Hungarian music and dance style. It was created on the basis of Central European spinning dances of the old style, recruitment and even older European dances in pairs at the end of the first half. 19th century. Czardasz synthesized some important elements of the dances of the former Hungarian nationalities. "
Documented shardash in the region are improvisational in nature, and among them we distinguish several types. We know one tempo fast chardas and chardas, which consist of a slow and a fast part. We divide them into other subcategories based on certain characteristic choreographic shapes. From the second half of the twentieth century, we also registered the so-called a unified form, which consists of two steps and twirling a pair.
Characteristic for the Czardasz in Zemplín were the rhythmically colorful applause and patting of the man - the so-called čapáše and tapping with spurs. Spurs are an addition to men's boots in traditional dance, and especially in Zemplín they were a sign of excellent dancers. In the past, they were used to steer horses by riders.
Folklore ballroom dances, such as polkas and waltzes, form a group of dances of a new style in Zemplín.
The Romani czardasz is now very popular in folklore groups and is a variant of the local czardasz (Sečovská Polianka). It was danced by a Rom-musician and a woman who was not a Romka.
DIALEKTY
Local dialects still live in Zemplín, although under the influence of modern times a large number of words from the dialect are gradually disappearing. The Zemplin dialect is spoken on both sides of the Ondava River between Stropkow, Wierchy Slanskie and the Laborec River, in the former Zemplínska County in the present Trebiszow, Wranow, Michałowce districts, in the southern part of the Stropków poviat, in the western part of the Humenné poviat and in the eastern part of the Giraltovce poviat. The Uzbek dialect is spoken in the lower reaches of the Uh river between Wyhorlat, the Laborec river and the state border with the Sobrance, Michałowce and Trebiszow counties. The Sotat dialect is spoken in the area of the confluence of the Cirocha and Laborec rivers between the Low Beskids, Wyhorlat and the Olka River in the counties of Medzilaborce, Humenné and Snina. The Ruthenian-Ukrainian dialect goes beyond the borders of Zemplín and even Slovakia. It is spoken by the inhabitants of the north-eastern part of the Carpathian Mountains on the border of Slovakia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary and Romania.
Zemplin dialect
“The dialect in Wranów nad Topla, as well as in the nearest neighboring villages, is an organic part of the Zemplin dialects, which differ in places, but in fact form a coherent whole. In the dialectological literature, this dialect is also referred to as the Upper Zemplín dialect. "
Gazdovaňe we are going good, until nam šicke ľudze zavidza (We have so much happiness that all people envy us).
Performers and groups who stage the folklore material from Upper Zemplín
The folklore group Polonina, Dominika Novotná and Ruthenian songs - Polonina from the village of Uličské Krivé preserves the traditions of the Ruthenians. He chooses his repertoire mainly from the surrounding villages of Uličské Krivé, Starina, Topoľa and Stakčín. From this region near the border with Ukraine, material for dances such as Kolomyjka a Krutak, which have their roots in Ukraine, is also registered. Their manager is Dominika Novotná, a singer of Ruthenian songs, founder of the Rusínske trio, which was renamed Rusynky. Both compositions represent the song material of the Ruthenian-Ukrainian ethnic group together with typical polyphonic singing. It is dominated by 2-voice singing in contrast to 3-voice singing, which traditionally only occurred in some areas.
Michal Noga and Kamenice fogáše - is an ethnologist, musician and primáš (concertmaster), currently living in Bratislava, but also working professionally in eastern Slovakia. He was best able to understand and rewrite a play by concertmaster Vojtech Ferenc from the village of Kamenica nad Cirochou, which he has now demonstrated on the new album Stopy (Traces), where he revives old musical styles. With this album, he was successful in the fall of 2020 on the international charts World Music Charts Europe (11th place) and Transglobal World Music Chart (22nd place). He graduated in ethnology and conducted a series of field studies on traditional folk music. It teaches the basics of playing the violin in folk music, as well as the specific styles and techniques of Roma and non-Roma primášov (concertmasters) playing in the villages in the past.
Folk group Zamutovčan and dances from the village of Zámutov - the group has in its repertoire all kinds of dances from the village that have been preserved to this day and are successfully presented on stage. The manager of the group is Štefan Višňovský, the promoter of folk traditions, his son Marek Višňovský is the artistic director and choreographer.
Contact:
Folklórna acquisition Zamutovčan, +421905249874, zamutovcan@gmail.com
Štefan Višňovský i dzedova cifra - he spreads folk traditions from the village of Zámutov. He is a dancer and singer who, apart from leading a folklore group, also produces elements of men's costumes.
The Vranovčan folklore group and recruitment - the Vranovčan folklore group from Wranov nad Topla is also one of the leading groups in Slovakia. In addition to the scenic processing of folklore material and the presentation of the ensemble in the form of public performances, its activity also focuses on searching, collecting and preserving folk customs, songs and dances from the Zemplín and Šariš regions. The topic of recruitment is processed by the folk group Vranovčan in the folk dance theater Zbohom (With God).
Soloist Peter Vajda and Romani Czardasz - he is a dancer, teacher, laureate of national and foreign prizes for Eastern Slovakia dances, and was a finalist of the folklore television program Zem spieva (The Earth sings). Čiko čardáš from the village of Sečovská Polianka is dancing with his wife Kristín Vajdova.
The author of the text: V. Michalko
Singing and dancing groups
Login
