Kolomyika

For the song by Ruslana, see Kolomyika (song). For the Polish village, see Kołomyjka.
Kolomyika by Teodor Axentowicz

The kolomyika (Ukrainian: кoлoмийкa, Polish: kołomyjka; also spelled kolomeyka or kolomeike) is a Hutsul (Ukrainian) music genre[1][2][3] that combines a fast-paced folk dance and comedic rhymed verses (танець-приспівка). It includes a type of performance dance developed by the Ukrainian diaspora in North America.

It is named after the town of Kolomyia, in the Hutsul region of east Galicia, in what is now part of western Ukraine. It was historically popular among the Ukrainians and Poles, and is also known (as the kalamajka) in north-eastern Slovakia where some Ukrainians settled in Austro-Hungarian times.[4]

Kolomyikas are still danced in Ukraine and Poland as a tradition on certain holidays, during festivities, or simply for fun. In Ukraine's west, they are popular dances for weddings.

The kolomyika can be a combination of tune, song, and dance with some recordings having a line of singing alternating with a line of instrumental melody, whilst others are purely instrumental. The text tends to be in rhyming couplets and is a humorous commentary on everyday life. Its simple 2/4 rhythm and structures make the kolomyika very adaptable, and the text and melodies of thousands of different versions have been annotated. One collection done by Volodymyr Shukhevych in 1905, contains more than 8,000. Although a very old form they continue to be popular due to their fast, energetic, and exciting melodies, often with syncopation.[5]

The kolomyika-style verse of the song is syllabic, consisting of two lines of 14 syllables (or of four lines: 8 + 6 + 8 + 6). This is typical not only for a kolomyika, but also for historical, everyday, ballad, and other Ukrainian folk songs. It was very often used by Taras Shevchenko.[6]

The National Anthem of Ukraine was also written in kolomyika verse.[citation needed]

A dance similar to kolomyika is hutsulka. Hutsulkas have a faster rhythm than kolomyikas and originated later, approximately in 16th century. Hutsulka or kozachok often constitutes the final phase of a dance, after the kolomyika has reached its climax.[7]

  1. ^ Samson, Jim; Cross, Jonathan (8 December 1994). The Cambridge Companion to Chopin. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521477529. a theme by Kurpinski, probably based on an original Ukrainian Kolomyjka (a duple-time round dance)
  2. ^ Verfaillie, Roland (30 September 2013). The Ashley Dancers. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780978708566. "Kolomyjka (Ukrainian)" Roland Verfaillie
  3. ^ Shambaugh, Mary Effie (1929). "Folk Dances for Boys and Girls". p. 59. Kolomyka-Ukraine
  4. ^ Baš, Angelos. 1980. Slovensko ljudsko izročilo: pregled etnologije Slovencev. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, p. 228.
  5. ^ Haigh, Chris (August 2009). The Fiddle Handbook. Backbeat Books. ISBN 9781476854755.
  6. ^ "Коломыйка — Большая советская энциклопедия". Gufo.me (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  7. ^ Гуцулка in Українська музична енциклопедія. vol. 1, p.562