Known and little-known facts about the Ukrainian hut: traditions and rituals

Ukrainian hut is a place of strength, where the roots of generations of the family are tightly intertwined. Here a Ukrainian lives his joyful and sad moments, creates a family, feels comfort and peace. The ancient Ukrainian hut has always been considered a symbol of well-being, happiness and unity of the family.

History of the Ukrainian hut: from antiquity to the present day

The Ukrainian folk hut has its own history, as well as rituals and beliefs regarding its construction. A traditional hut is considered to be a wide house, the scheme of which became known to architects from Near Asia and the Caucasus. Such a building had a three-chamber structure, the entrance was located on the longer side. All the chambers were located on one line, and the entrance led to the central and largest of them, the so-called hall.

The Ukrainian hut has whitewashed walls outside and inside, sometimes on the walls of the house you could see various ornaments that performed a decorative function and had a sacred meaning for the Ukrainian people. One of the features of the Ukrainian house of that time was the symmetrical arrangement of rooms, that is, on both sides of the porches. Sometimes one-sided arrangement could also be seen. Porches were often warm rooms where a fire was located for heating. Such places of warmth could be seen especially often in the Cossack foremen.

From the documents of the 15th-17th centuries, which described such buildings as: Lutsk Castle, Burevlya Castle, etc., one can see descriptions of structures of the type “hut + porches + hut” or “hut + hut + porches”.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the housing of wealthy burghers, Cossacks, and foremen differed little. Ordinary folk housing served as the basis for creating a hut for such wealthy people. Speaking of the traditional Ukrainian hetman’s housing, it is impossible not to note that it, like that of commoners, consisted of two halves. One of these parts of the house was a living room - with rooms, each of which had four windows, with a hall in the middle. In fact, the hut differed only in appearance, because there was a porch around the building, and there were attics above the stalls and pantries.

A little later, changes occurred in the layout of housing. Such innovations include the creation of two huts of the same width or the addition of closets or vankyrs. Such huts gained particular popularity among the inhabitants of the Carpathians of that time. The principle of dividing the halls and creating additional rooms played a big role in the everyday life of Ukrainians. In addition, historical monuments also mention high plows - up to 5 meters in height.

Ukrainian huts of the 19th century had the appearance of neat structures that were regularly looked after, washed and whitewashed. A German geographer, having visited Ukraine at that time, noted that a Ukrainian hut seemed to smile at a person from the inside.

The ancient Ukrainian hut was an architectural structure that reflected the wealth, prosperity and general preferences of the owners.

Architectural features of the Ukrainian hut

The architecture of the hut of the pre-revolutionary period had archaic features that personified loyalty to the traditions of the Ukrainian people. The huts of that time, as noted earlier, had approximately the same layout for both ordinary peasants and wealthy Ukrainians.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, social stratification began against the background of changes in socio-economic conditions and the development of capitalist relations. During this period, significant differences can already be seen between the Ukrainian hut of a wealthy kulak and an ordinary peasant. The social inequality of that time makes it possible to see the development of the architecture of Ukrainian housing of that time, when more advanced hut designs began to appear in place of primitive structures, which were most often built by wealthy people with wealth.

A characteristic feature of pre-revolutionary Ukrainian housing is a simple layout, which is due exclusively to practicality, and roof drainage systems were generally possible only under such conditions. The simple rectangular shape was often used due to the more convenient location of the roof. The most primitive and simple to build was considered to be a one-room dwelling, i.e. the kitchen was combined with a living room. In the middle of the 19th century, this type of housing could often be found in the south of the Kyiv region, and in the Chernihiv province such houses could be seen in 50% of residents. By the end of the 19th century, one-room housing could be seen only in certain regions of Ukraine.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the absolute majority of housing in Ukraine had a two-room layout, i.e. it had a living room connected to a kitchen and a porch. A two-room Ukrainian hut is a kind of development of a one-room dwelling. In some places in Ukrainian villages, such huts can be seen even today.

Three-room houses are a continuation of the development of the architecture of Ukrainian buildings. Their greatest number could be seen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Typically, such dwellings had a living room, a hall, and a pantry.

Interior of a Ukrainian hut: what each element symbolizes

A Ukrainian hut inside is a real place of power, where each element plays its role. It is important to note that the two most sacred places in the interior of a Ukrainian hut were the stove and the penitentiary.

The stove was located to the left or right of the entrance to the hut. The stove of our ancestors was made of brick or clay, plastered, whitewashed, and often decorated with floral ornaments. Most often, the stove was decorated with such patterns if there was a girl in the family. The stove was large and sometimes occupied a quarter of the living space, and this is not surprising, because it was used for many processes:

• cooking food - including baking bread and pies;
• drying fruits - pears, apples, berries, etc.;
• sleep - in the cold season, the oldest and youngest members of the family usually slept on the stove.

The Ukrainian stove was the main and most important element of the Ukrainian hut and its interior. It determined the status of the building, carried a sacred meaning, was perceived as an isomorphic space of the dwelling, around which rituals were held.

In the consciousness of the Ukrainian people, the stove, as an element inside the Ukrainian hut, carried a mystical and sacred and protective meaning. For most of our ancestors, the stove personified the following elements:

• the inviolability of the family - it was perceived as a symbol of the maternal origin, homeland, native hut, continuity of life;
• the family altar - a ritual and cult place, and fire is sacred;
• the family hearth - the stove was not only a device for cooking food and providing heat, but also had a unifying meaning, uniting the whole family.

The stove is a true symbol of family comfort, happiness, kindness and love for the Ukrainian people.

The penitentiary was a “holy corner”, which was necessarily located diagonally from the stove. In pre-Christian times, pagan attributes could be seen in the penitentiary, in the Christian era, icons were placed on the walls of the penitentiary, sometimes up to 20-30 icons could be counted. There was also a lamp, and behind the icons, willow branches consecrated on Palm Sunday and consecrated flowers of the Savior were placed.

Another important element of the Ukrainian hut and its interior was the threshold. It symbolizes the beginning and end of the dwelling, as well as the place where the souls of ancestors reside. There was a tradition of burying the dead near the threshold of the house, which later gave rise to new rituals. For example, the bride was carried in her arms to the house of her betrothed, because it was believed that the spirits did not yet know her and might not treat her with all kindness.

Traditions and rituals associated with construction and life in a hut

When a hut was built, it was a question of many factors, such as appeasing the fertile land and nature, creating a safe environment, taming the forces of evil, etc. That is why the construction of Ukrainian housing had many rituals, customs and beliefs that were passed down from generation to generation.

The most significant factor was choosing the right place to build a Ukrainian hut, because everything else primarily depends on this. For construction, it was necessary to choose the most “clean place”. According to the beliefs of our ancestors, such places could be areas where livestock lay, where ants' paths pass, which indicated the fertility of the given place. Such a choice was sometimes made with the help of fortune-telling or simply at the discretion of the future owner. On the other hand, areas where lightning had once struck the previous house were unsuitable for construction. It was strictly forbidden to build a hut in places where a road once passed or someone had been maimed or killed.

In order to conduct a divination ritual, it was necessary to scatter grain at the corners of the future hut and leave it overnight. If the grain remained untouched in the morning, then such a place was considered lucky. Jugs of water were also used for this process, placing them at the corners of the future house. They were necessarily covered with wooden lids. If the water had started flowing in the morning, then such a place was considered unsuitable for building a hut.

The time when the hut was built was also of great importance. Traditionally, the best period was considered summer and spring days. Our ancestors also believed that if you lay a hut on a new moon, then the family will always have prosperity. The best days of the week were Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In addition, there was another archaic rite - redemption. In ancient times, it was necessary to make a sacrifice in order to strengthen the house. At first, the sacrifice could be a person, later it was replaced by an animal, and a little later, a plant or small amounts of money were quite enough.

Little-known facts about the Ukrainian hut

The Ukrainian hut is a whole universe for the Ukrainian people. Here our ancestors went about their daily business, gave birth to children, spent happy and sad moments, felt a close connection between family members and the spirits of deceased ancestors.

Among the little-known and interesting facts about the Ukrainian hut are the following:

• Creating a family hearth - our ancestors believed that building a hut was not just laying a foundation and erecting walls, but also creating a family place for raising children in faith and kindness.
• The hut as a tree of life - very often the Ukrainian hut was perceived as a tree of life, where there is a foundation, a prizba is the roots, walls are the trunk, and the roof is the top. The prizba was usually painted black, as the border between our world and the afterlife.
• Painting - houses were richly painted inside and out, because it was believed that only with a floral pattern was a house considered completely finished and suitable for life.
• Fire, as the strongest amulet - fire and its counterpart - the red color were considered the strongest warders of evil. That is why Ukrainians often circled the area above the floor in red, believing that this was a kind of closed circle that closed access to evil forces.

The significance of the Ukrainian hut in preserving cultural heritage

A Ukrainian hut is a true work of art, which can sometimes be seen in our time. It is the embodiment of Ukrainian traditions, beliefs and rituals. It is a place for family comfort, happiness, love and unity with past generations.

A Ukrainian hut is not just a type of building, it is a real cultural heritage that we must protect and explore. It is a real amulet against evil spirits and evil forces, which perfectly combines practicality and sacred meaning.