Autor: Martina Cichá, Jana Máčalová, Andrea Preissová Krejčí, Jasna Skotáková

Ukraine has been recently under the scope of all of the Europe as much as it used to be watched by the whole world after the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in 1986, which had disastrous impact on society, human health and life, their property and also on the environment. In our study, we focus on two faces of Ukraine, the dichotomy of tradition and modernity that is so strong in Ukraine. Firstly, we discuss very low level of care displayed towards environment in the modernized parts of Ukraine and the impact it has on nature and human health; secondly, we focus on the traditional lifestyle and connection between human and nature. We also thoroughly analyze practices of traditional medicine, folk magic and rituals that are connected to native beliefs in superstitions, witches, supernatural forces and unnatural creatures and their role in everyday rural life. All that is based on our terrain research that took place between the years 2013 and 2014 in two Ukrainian areas called Polesie and Transcarpathia. Their understanding of space or landscape (evilness or tabooization of specific areas) and of nature (revenants, imps, pixies, etc.) are different than we are accustomed to. Post-Enlightenment era was stripped of all the supernatural and belief systems, world is not since viewed as magical or as being influenced by magical forces, witches, demons and personified spiritual forces are not seen as real anymore. Here we use the dichotomous categories of “good” and “evil force” to uncover the remains of this so called “magical world” on our “old continent”.

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