Tuliczów

Kolberg came to Tuliczów in the end of the summer 1862. This visit was the last stage of his two-month research in Volhynia. According to his notes, he stayed with the Dobrowolski family.

Tuliczów enriched Kolberg’s archives with the various accounts of musical folklore, customs and rites, and local architecture:
“A house consists of two parts: a chamber to the left (sometimes followed by an additional bedroom), and a pantry to the right. In some houses there is a basement or additional room, where they preserve food in barrels”.

Kolberg recorded here some customs related to annual feasts:
“On St. George’s Day (April 23) people go to the field with vodka, some meat, bread and other food; they eat, drink and roll in the field (they believe that this will make the wheat grow high)”.

“On the All Souls’ Day, or any other day in the fall, people bring to the cemetery some food. A priest reads out the names of all inhabitants of the village who died, and he prays for them. He is accompanied by another cleric who sings; he receives in exchange a few bottles of vodka and a lot of small pieces of bread in exchange”.

Among other Orthodox customs from the village, there is the account of baptism:
“Four people participate in a baptism [along with the newborn]: godparents and two old women. In the afternoon a midwife and godparents go to the church. They bring the priest a loaf of bread, a bottle of vodka, and chicken; in addition, each of the godparents give him three groszes (the smallest unit of money in Poland). The priest writes down the names of the godparents and gives them a shot of vodka. Then the group comes back to the house, wishes themselves happiness, health and solace and eats dinner. In general, during the celebration, they drink a lot of vodka; they believe that the more they drink, the more robust the child will be”.

There is also a description of the funeral custom:
“They put a bowl of groat pudding on the coffin, and they do not take it off until they reach the cemetery. During burial they share the pudding and eat it”.

Most of the songs Kolberg collected here are Ukrainian; however, there are a few Polish texts.