Етнопсихологічна специфіка образів хвороб у фольклорі Закарпаття.

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze the personified images of diseases in the folklore of Ukrainians in Transcarpathia, to comprehend their ethno-psychological basis. The specificity of the topic determines the complex approach to the application of research methods, including analytical, genetic, structural-semantic, structural-typological, comparative-historical, psychoanalytic. Scientific novelty. Images of plague ("umitka"), cholera (white lady), typhus/dysentery ("rubella"), and malaria ("shake") were seen for the first time as projections of the archetype of the collective Shadow, as metaphorical incarnations of human fear of death, generated by the desire to displace it into the unconscious. The object of the study became fairy tales, stories and legends of Transcarpathia, the heroes of which are the mentioned diseases, as well as folklore and ethnographic research of Fedir Potushnyak ("Demons in folk belief. Demons of diseases", 1940) and D. Shcherbakovsky (Page on Ukrainian demonology (beliefs about cholera)", 1924). Conclusions. In legends and stories, diseases appear in the anthropomorphic or zoomorphic form: they take the form of an ugly girl, child, dog, black cat. Umitka in the mythological stories of Transcarpathia is either unambiguously condemned as a source of ruthless death, or endowed with the semantics of a wise judge who selectively takes away life – kills unworthy people and does not touch the good one. The friendly attitude of the owners to the umitka is a metaphorical rethinking of the sacrifice: people help her and she does not take their lives (legends "Plague", "Sick", "Graves in the village of Bukovets"). In legends "Umitka" is afraid of the magical border, which was laid around the village by naked women, driving twin bulls pulled into a plow ("Graves in the village of Bukovets"). In some legends the disease (plague, cholera) appears in the form of a dog that needs help and is able to assess human kindness and nobility fairly. Metaphorically such legends affirm the idea of forming a personality who can feel sympathy for animals and love to a neighbor (even to a stranger, sick, scary, dangerous). Accordingly, in legends, overcoming the fear of the disease is transformed into positive emotions in attitude towards an ugly, shabby girl-plague or dog-sore. In the mythological stories of Transcarpathia cholera appears as a white lady who kills people and resembles a speechless ghost. She does not show a good attitude towards anyone and is associated with a demon that carries death, and it is impossible to entreat her. However, legends confirm the idea of the possibility of overcoming the "white lady", if you get rid of the fear of her ("Village Strabychove"). All personified images of diseases, on the one hand, frighten a person, and on the other hand, can be overcome in one way or another. People's consciousness affirms the importance of knowledge and moral and ethical ideals, thanks to which a person is able to avoid premature death and metaphorically overcome death.