a tale of the opryshky set down by Petro Shekeryk-Donykiv of Holovy, from Volodymyr Hnatiuk, Narodni opovidannia pro opryshkiv (1910)

Oleksa Dovbush, killed at Kosmach in 1745, is the greatest of the opryshky, the outlaws of the Carpathian mountains. Petro Shekeryk-Donykiv, a young Hutsul of Holovy in the Kosiv district, wrote this tale down on 11 November 1907. Angered by the townsfolk, Dovbush comes to raid Kosiv, goes into the town disguised as a beggar, and meets, coming out of the town, an old beggar who blesses him and an old woman who curses him.

Translation

That cross there, the one on the castle hill above Kosiv, they say Oleksa Dovbush put it up. From there, so it used to be, Dovbush would give a signal for them to bring him a ransom for the town.

But one time the Kosiv folk had somehow angered Dovbush, and Dovbush went to raid Kosiv. Dovbush was coming from over there, from Pistyn, and when he and his young men started shooting off their pistols, it struck terror. Everything in the town that had life in it was in great fear. The Jews trembled and hid themselves so, it was a fright.

But here comes some beggar out of the town, so ragged it was a fright. And Dovbush went and dressed himself up as a beggar, made himself a beard out of moss, and went into the town.

When that old beggar who was coming out of the town saw Dovbush in disguise, he caught on at once that it was Dovbush dressed up as a beggar. But that old man coming out of the town was a very sly one.

When he saw Dovbush, he took off his hat and began to cross himself and say: "God give him health and good fortune, for he stands up for us, and shields us from every kind of trouble, and gives money to us poor folk."

Dovbush walks along and hears the old man praying like this, but he doesn't know whom he is praying for. The old man came up face to face with Dovbush, and Dovbush asks: "And whom are you praying for like that, grandad?"

"Why, whom would I be praying for?" says the old man. "For our saviour. God grant he never set foot on an evil place; look, he's going into the town even now to teach those Jews not to mistreat the poor people. God, give that Dovbush everything that You have."

Dovbush turned back and shouted to the opryshky to give the old man some money. They heaped so much money on the old man that the old man could barely carry it off.

And Dovbush went off scouting again toward the town. And then Dovbush saw an old woman coming out of the town and cursing so it was frightful to hear: "May a stroke strike him down, may misfortune fall on him, may this be his last time, for he gives people no peace!" Such curses the old woman was laying on, it was an uproar.

Dovbush came up to the old woman and says: "And whom are you cursing like that, granny?"

"Why, whom would I be cursing? I curse that wretch of a Dovbush, who frightens folk, and those opryshky who do his bidding. May a little misfortune fall on them!"

And Dovbush turned back and shouted to his young men to drive a nail each into the old woman's backside.

The opryshky took hold of the old woman, and each opryshok drove a nail into her backside. Let her curse, but now at least not for nothing.

A calamity he was, not a man, that Dovbush.

Colophon

Translated from the Hutsul of Volodymyr Hnatiuk (ed.), Narodni opovidannia pro opryshkiv (Etnohrafichnyi zbirnyk 26, Lviv 1910), no. 80, p. 106, recorded at Holovy in the Kosiv district on 11 November 1907 by Petro Shekeryk-Donykiv, who names no teller (the record line misprints his name Довиків). The text was transcribed from the page images of the Internet Archive scan. Hnatiuk's own glossary to the volume settled these words: варводити, "to shoot" (варводити с пістолєт, "shooting off their pistols"); пуд, "fright", and пуду дати, "to frighten" (то пуду давало, "it struck terror"; клине, шо пуду дає, "cursing so it was frightful to hear"); финтїти, "to tremble with fear"; вити, "from there"; адї, "look"; крисаня, a hat; шош, "something, somehow". Замчіще is the site of a castle above the town ("the castle hill"); окуп is a ransom, and окуп за місто is read as "a ransom for the town", the price of its peace: when the townsfolk anger him, he raids the town instead, and no. 100 of this volume, told of the same cross, says that in his anger he no longer waited on the castle hill for the ransom but went straight into the town. За місто can also mean "out beyond the town", which would give "to bring him a ransom out of the town"; Косивце are the people of Kosiv; Пістинь is the village of Pistyn. Read from knowledge and context: скимував, "he caught on", as the verb is read in no. 4 of this volume; пробуток добрий, "good fortune", where пробуток may be "gain" or "living", and the blessing comes to the same; лихье місце, an evil place, a spot where harm lies in wait for whoever steps on it; на перевідки, "scouting"; Шлях би го трафив, "may a stroke strike him down", the old curse with шлях, шляк, the stroke of apoplexy; шо ґвавт, "it was an uproar" (the glossary itself uses ґвавт beside крик, "shout", and галас, "din"); остатний, "the last, the worst", here "that wretch"; пужіє, "frightens"; цвик, a nail; гудзиця, the backside; and ни пусто, "not for nothing". Нишє[стє]чко, "a little misfortune", is the old woman's diminutive of нещастя, with the letters in square brackets supplied by Hnatiuk. The teller's last word on Dovbush, нишєстє, is the same "misfortune", here "a calamity".

No English translation of this narrative is known to us.

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Source Text: Зустріч Довбуша з дїдом і бабою

The Hutsul text as printed by Hnatiuk (1910), no. 80, transcribed from the page images.

Отот хрест, шо є на замчішю верхь Косова, то кажут, шо поклав Олекса Довбуш. Вити, бувало, Довбуш давав знак, аби єму несли окуп за місто.

Але раз шош Довбушя були розсердили Косивце тай Довбуш пишов грабунком на Косив. Ишов Довбуш вити з Пістиня, та як став з ледїнями варводити с пістолєт, то пуду давало. Усе у містї, шо жило, було у великим страху. Жиди так финтїли та ховали си, шо страх.

Але иде єкийс з міста жєбрак, такий пидраний, шо страх. А Довбуш собі таки си перебрав на жєбрака, зробив бороду з моху тай пишов у місто.

Єк уздрів тот дїдо-жєбрак, шо ишов з міста, перебраного Довбушя, так вид разу скимував, шо то Довбуш си перебрав на старця. Але тот дїдо, шо ишов из міста, був таки дуже хєтрий.

Єк уздрів Довбушя, а вин здоймив крисаню, тай зачєв хрестити си и говорити: Дай єму, Боже, здоровє та пробуток добрий, шо вин си за нас заступає, та нас борони вид усєкої біди, та нам бідним дає гроший.

Довбуш иде тай чює, шо тот дїдо таке молит ци, але ни знат, за кого то си вин моли. Прийшов тот дїдо проти Довбушя, а Довбуш си питає: А за кого ти си, дїду, таке молиш?

Та за кого бих си молив — каже дїдо — за нашего спасителя. Богдай на лихье місце ни ступив, адї, иде и тепер у місто навчіти тих Жидив, аби си ни збиткували над бідним народом. Дай, Боже, тому Довбушеви усе того, шо маєш.

Довбуш си завернув тай крикнув на опришків, аби дали дїдови гроший. Насипали дїдови тілько грошя, шо дїдо ледви понїс.

А Довбуш пишов на перевідки знов пид місто. Аж уздрів Довбуш, иде баба з міста та таке клине, шо пуду дає: Шлях би го трафив, нишєстє би на него упало, остатний би му раз був, шо вин людем спокою ни дає! — Таке баба уклинає, шо ґвавт.

Прийшов Довбуш ид бабі тай каже: А кого ти, бабко, таке уклинаєш?

Та кого бих клєла? Клину отого Довбушя остатного, шо людий пужіє, та тих опришків, шо єго слухают. Нишє[стє]чко би на нї упало.

А Довбуш си завернув тай крикнув на ледїнї, аби забили бабі кождий по цвикови у гудзицу.

Имили опришки бабу и забив кождий опришок по цвикови у гудзицу. Аби клєла, але уже хоть ни пусто.

То нишєстє був, ни чьоловік, тот Довбуш.

Source Colophon

Volodymyr Hnatiuk (ed.), Narodni opovidannia pro opryshkiv (Etnohrafichnyi zbirnyk 26; Lviv: Naukove tovarystvo im. Shevchenka, 1910), no. 80, p. 106. Public domain. Transcribed from the page images of the Internet Archive scan (identifier etnohr_26). Hnatiuk's phonetic spelling of the Hutsul is kept as printed, with its ї, є, ґ and dialect forms, and with the letters he supplies in square brackets in Нишє[стє]чко; line-end hyphens are joined. Hnatiuk's footnotes are not reproduced; he gives none for this narrative. His record line reads, with its misprint of the recorder's name: Голови, 11/11, 1907, зап. Петро Шекерик-Довиків.

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