On Tuesday, February 5,
2008, the Peter and Doris Kule Centre for Ukrainian and Canadian Folklore was
pleased to sponsor a public lecture by Dr. Larisa Fialkova, senior lecturer in
the Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of Haifa. Fialkova is the author of books and articles
on the Ukrainian Diaspora, including Ex-Soviets in Israel
published by Wayne State University Press and Koly Hory Skhodiat’sia (When
Mountains Meet) just published by the Folklore Institute of the Ukrainian
Academy of Sciences. She spoke about the many connections between Israelis and
Ukrainians. She began with the legend of
Dovbush, a Ukrainian Robin Hood figure said to have roamed the Carpathian Mountains.
The figure of Dovbush is known in Israeli folklore, as well as the
folklore of Ukraine. One legend tries to explain the meaning of
Dovbush/Dobush, which, in Hebrew, means bear-like or hirsute. According to legend, the infant
Dovbush/Dobush was nursed by a dog and thus acquired both a hairy body and his
name. Interesting legends of the adult
Dovbush have him interacting, usually in a friendly manner, with the important
and mythical Jewish figure Bal Shem Tov.
As Dovbush and Bal Shem Tov became intertwined in the folklore of the
past, so many Israelis today, especially those who are immigrants from Ukraine and other parts of the former Soviet Union, combine their Slavic and Jewish
heritage. This can be seen in everything
from stories, to theatrical performances, to the production of embroideries
with Ukrainian themes. Ukrainian diaspora
culture in Israel
is alive and well, Fialkova concluded.
Ukrainian and Israeli folklore feed and enrich each other. Seeking international comparisons and
contrasts to the Ukrainian experience in Canada and the way that it is
expressed in folklore will help us understand the Ukrainian diaspora experience
around the world.
Dr. Fialkova’s schedule
included another lecture regarding “The Ukrainian Diaspora in Israel: Negotiating Identity”, presented on
Thursday, February 7, 2008 in Athabasca Hall, University of Alberta. This lecture was co-sponsored by the Kule
Folklore Centre and the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS).