LAUGHING CULTURE OF THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE IN PICTURES OF «THE KOSSACK MAMAY» TYPE

Abstract

Formulation of the problem. The author wants to find out how the sense of humor characteristic of Ukrainians found its manifestation in the corpus of Ukrainian folk paintings such as «Cossack Mamai». The task of the research is to establish which specific features of laughter are most characteristic of these works, which are one of the unique phenomena of Ukrainian culture.
Research methodology. The methodology is based on the identification among the corpus of paintings of the «Cossack Mamai» type of works that have a characteristic – humorous or caricature-grotesque sharpness of their figurative interpretation. At the same time, the interpretation of the images of the main character of the works (a Cossack-musician) and other characters who accompany him are analyzed and compared. These actors are depicted in two parallel planes – visual (plastic) and literary (poetic).
Scientific novelty. Taking into account the fact that folk paintings of the «Cossack Mamai» type are still very little researched from the point of view of studying the specific features of their laughing culture, our modest scientific article has a noticeable scientific novelty. In fact, this article is the first to investigate this problem.
The purpose of the article is to solve an important scientific problem – to find out what role the elements of the laughing culture of Ukrainians play in the creation of the epic image of the Zaporozhian Cossack (Mamay), Mamay is a favorite hero of the Ukrainian people already during the last four centuries of its history (from 18 th to 21 th centuries). Laughter culture is considered in two main varieties of its manifestation – worldview-elevated and rude-base.
Practical use. The existing research is a modest contribution to the identification of factors that influenced the formation of the unique emotional and mental identity of the Ukrainian people and the formation of its national character. First of all, this concerns the sense of laughter, which plays an important role in creating a complete image of the hero of Ukrainian folk paintings – the Cossack Mamai.
Prospects for further research. Considering the fact that the image of «Cossack Mamai» continues to be very popular among the Ukrainian people in the 21 st century, the study of the peculiarities of the laughing culture of these pictures has a very great perspective.