Cossack Mamai - Limited Edition 1 of 8 Print

Cossack Mamai The mythological figure of Cossack Mamai has a very special place in the pantheon of Ukrainian folkloric and mythological images. "Sacred warrior, warrior ancestor, hero warrior, warrior-musician and warrior-philosopher" – all these uniquely Ukrainian images have become somewhat of a calling card for Ukrainian folk art. Deeply rooted in prehistoric traditions and mythology, today Ukrainian folk artists view this character as a reflection of the most typical traits and mentality of the Ukrainian Cossack – a combination of strong warrior-defender and lyrical kobza-playing bard-musician with a relaxed attitude towards life. Folk art images of Mamai reached a peak of popularity during the era of the Ukrainian Cossack state, when its paintings adorned nearly every house: from the humble dwellings of peasant farmers and Cossack warriors, to the mansions of affluent Ukrainian nobility. Traditionally, the Cossack Mamai paintings were staples in the interior decor of the highest ranking Cossack leaders, including their last supreme leader, Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky. Upon the destruction of the Zaporizhian Cossack Republic (Sich) in southern Ukraine (1775) and loss of autonomy of the Cossack state Hetmanate in north-eastern Ukraine (end of 18th century) by the Muscovites, the image of Cossack Mamai acquires an additional meaning – as warrior-defender, rebel-insurgent, and avenger – a kind of Ukrainian Robin Hood, who defends the Ukrainian peasantry from abuse by the Muscovite and Polish oppressors and their helpers: rent and tax collectors. Little wonder that under these circumstances, the image of Cossack Mamai attained almost iconic significance and was proudly displayed in the most respected spot of the Ukrainian house – on the interior wall across from the icons of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Additional proof that these images bore some measure of sacred symbolism was the fact that masters of icon painting from the renowned Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery also produced paintings of Cossack Mamai. The exact origin of the image of Cossack Mamai remains an incompletely resolved mystery, shrouded in the veil of a millennia long turbulent connection between Ukraine and the Great Steppe and its warrior inhabitants – from the Sarmatians and Polovtsians to the Noghay Tatars and Circassians, a portion of whom were absorbed by the Ukrainian ethnos (especially, it's Cossack part) and enriched it with their traditions, mythology and symbolic images. Regardless of the various hypotheses about the exact origin of the resting Cossack, sitting with crossed legs, with his sword, horse and kobza in his hands, all researchers unequivocally agree that this image originates from the East and echoes images of the Polovtsian warriors on the ancient so-called Scythian stelae in the Ukrainian steppe, images of Buddha and Hinduist deities, as well as well-known artistic images of the Mongolian, Tatar, Iranian and Turkish warriors and rulers. In this respect, the image of Cossack Mamai also symbolizes the integral connection of the Ukrainian folk art with the Steppe – not only the Ukrainian Black Sea Steppe, but also with the endless continental Great Steppe – from Ukraine in the west to Manchuria in the east. Again, regardless of the hypotheses about this image's origin, folk art researchers think that the composition of the Cossack Mamai image was fixed during the era of the Cossack state, some time during the XVII century. This seems substantiated due to the fact that certain attributes of this composition, namely, a tobacco pipe and firearms (pistol or gun), arrived in Ukraine only around that time. The origin of the name Mamai is also not quite clear. Its roots may rest with the old Ukrainian word "mamai" or "mamaia" – a stone stela in the steppe, or perhaps in the name of the Tatar-Nogai khan Mamai. The latter spent most of his life fighting (often together with the Ukrainian and Lithuanian-Belarusian nobility) the Mongolian Golden Horde and its vassal – Moscow, and was viewed as a symbol of the struggle of the North Black Sea and Dnipro area's elites against their Golden Horde-Moscow enemies. In the XIV century, one of the descendants of the khan Mamai was baptized and established the Hlynsky family, which later became very influential within the ranks of the old Ukrainian and Muscovite nobility. At the same time, the last name Mamai and toponyms derived from it are quite common in Central Ukraine. Therefore, it is also possible that the historical prototypes of the legendary Cossack Mamai could be actual Cossack warriors. With the notable exception of some rare paintings, where Cossack Mamai holds his hands on his chest or stomach in a gesture with a striking resemblance of the ritualistic gestures on the images of the Polovtsian stone stelae or Buddhist statues, we almost always see Mamai in the company of the traditional Ukrainian string instrument, the kobza. This long-mustached Cossack-bard, with his unique Cossack hairstyle, are consistently seen in folk art paintings of Cossack Mamai. These paintings also carry strong associations with the glorious era of the Ukrainian Cossack state, as well as with the wandering bards (kobzars), whose epic songs told tales of heroic and tragic events. From the Article by Yuri Mischenko © The Ukrainian Museum This article is based on information provided by research monograph of S.Bushak, V.Sukharyk & I. Sukharyk "Cossack Mamai" – Publishing house "Rodovid", Kyiv, 2008 Cordially, © Bohdan Rodyuk Chekan Esq.

Printmaking:Digital on Paper

Artist Produced Limited Edition of:1

Size:8.2 W x 11.4 H x 0.1 D in

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