Sága krásy - Lemkos - Rusíni. Wedding song. Eastern Slovakia. Slovak folklore.

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• published: 28 Jul 2008
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Sings Maria Macoskova. Archival record. Lemkos - one of several quantitatively and territorially small nationalities who also traditionally call themselves Rusyns (Ukrainian: Руснаки, Lemko: Руснакы, Rusnaky; sing. Руснак, Rusnak),are one of the four major groups inhabiting the Eastern Carpathian Mountains. Their language has been variously described as a Lemko language in its own right (literary Lemko language is one of the four literary norms of the Carpatho-Rusyn language), a dialect of the Rusyn language (a group of dialects which is, itself, sometimes described as a distinct dialect of the Ukrainian or Slovak dialect group). In any case, the Lemko tongue and the Ukrainian language are akin but not always mutually intelligible (ref: Best and Moklak)The Lemkos' homeland is commonly referred to as Lemkivshchyna (Ukrainian: Лeмкiвщина, Lemko: Lemkovyna (Лeмкoвина), Polish: Łemkowszczyzna). Up until 1945, this included the area from the Poprad River in the east to the valley of Oslawa River in the west, areas situated primarily in present-day Poland, in the Lesser Poland and Subcarpathian Voivodeships. This part of the Carpathian mountains is mostly deforested, which allowed for an agrarian economy, alongside such traditional occupations as ox grazing and sheep herding. This area was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until its dissolution in 1918, at which point the Lemko-Rusyn Republic (Ruska Lemkivska) declared its independence. Independence did not last long however, and the territory was incorporated into Poland in 1920. As a result of the repatriation of Ukrainians from Poland to USSR, the majority of Lemkos from this territory were resettled throughout Poland and in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, leaving a significant population only in the Prešov Region of present-day Slovakia. Lemkos are/were neighbours with Slovaks, Carpathian Germans and Lachy sądeckie (Poles) to the west, Pogorzans (Poles) and Dolinians (Dale Dwellers subethnic of Lemkos) to the north, Ukrainians to the east, and Slovaks to the south.The name "Lemko" derives from the common expression Lem (Лeм), which can mean "but", "only", or "like" in the Lemko dialect. "Lemko" came into use as an endonym after having been used as an exonym by the neighboring Boykos and Hutsuls, who do not use that expression in their respective dialects. Prior to this moniker, the Lemkos described themselves as Rusnaks ((Ukrainian: Руснaки, translit. Rusnaky) or Rusyns (Ukrainian: Русини, translit. Rusyny), as did the rest of the inhabitants of present-day Western Ukraine in the 19th century and first part of the 20th century. In the early 20th century, a majority of these peoples became active participants in the creation of the Ukrainian nation and came to call themselves Ukrainians (Ukrainian: Українці, translit. Ukrayintsi). However, while they may have accepted the new state of Ukraine, some Lemkos, including many in Poland and Slovakia, consider themselves to be a distinct ethnicity, while some claim to be Ukrainians and still others identify themselves as Rusyns. Wedding song-sings Maria Macosko from Presov.