Are there specific gestures unique to Ukrainian traditional practices

Ukrainian traditional practices include specific gestures, particularly in the context of folk dances and symbolic ritual movements. For example, traditional Ukrainian haivkas (ritual songs) from villages contain choreographic movements consisting of figures based on pre-Christian beliefs, such as walking in circles or snake-like patterns, along with a variety of symbolic gestures. These gestures are encoded in motion plastic that blends conditional and naturalistic gestures representative of Ukraine’s ancient folk culture. Such gestures are deeply linked to ritual symbolism and cultural identity within Ukrainian traditional festivities and theatrical practices. ¹

Additionally, ritual gestures are notable in traditional customs, such as the inviting of deceased relatives during certain holy days, where ritual greener and symbolic gestures hold spiritual significance. This spiritual and symbolic aspect reflects a broader cultural practice where gestures are intertwined with Ukrainian cosmology and familial traditions. ²

Thus, unique Ukrainian gestures often appear as part of traditional dance choreography, spiritual ceremonies, and symbolic folk customs that connect to pre-Christian and Christian beliefs, reflecting Ukrainian cultural heritage richly expressed through motion and symbolic acts. ^{1, 2}

References

• ТРАДИЦІЙНА СКЛАДОВА СИМВОЛІЗМУ ЛЕСЯ КУРБАСА (НА МАТЕРІАЛІ ГАЇВОК З СЕЛА СТАРИЙ СКАЛАТ ПІДВОЛОЧИСЬКОГО РАЙОНУ ТЕРНОПІЛЬСЬКОЇ ОБЛАСТІ)

• Bibliographic Description of the Article: Paholok, І. & Hrynokh, N. (2020). Klechalny custom as a spiritual phenomenon of Ukrainian culture. Skhidnoievropeiskyi Istorychnyi Visnyk [East European Historical Bulletin], 17, 212–218. doi: 10.24919/2519-058x.17.218198 KLECHALNY CUSTOM AS A SPIRITUAL PHEN

• The nature and functions of tragedy-farce in a real show (based on the material of the Ukrainian projects “I am changing my wife” and “Hello, I am your mother!”)

• PERSONNEL SELECTION AS INFORMATION SECURITY CONTROLS

• Presentation of the Exhibition of Traditional Ukrainian Clothing from Different Regions of Ukraine “Born in a Shirt”

• Ethnomathematics in Balinese Traditional Dance: A Study of Angles in Hand Gestures

• DiffTED: One-shot Audio-driven TED Talk Video Generation with Diffusion-based Co-speech Gestures

• It’s All in the Touch: Authenticating Users With HOST Gestures on Multi-Touch Screen Devices

• EMG-based Multi-User Hand Gesture Classification via Unsupervised Transfer Learning Using Unknown Calibration Gestures

• Peculiarities of the Chinese Traditional Medical Discourse Translation into Ukrainian and English

• Botanical Provenance of Traditional Medicines From Carpathian Mountains at the Ukrainian-Polish Border

• A MAUNDY THURSDAY CANDLE AS THE CHARM OF POTTERS OF THE CHERNIGOV REGION AND ITS SEMANTICS

• Ducaches in the ukrainian culture area

• A WOMAN IN THE UKRAINIAN RITUALS OF THE WINTER CALENDAR CYCLE

• Symbolic and Ritual Practices in the Post-Soviet Urban World: Symbolic Space and Festivity in the Cities of Eastern and Southern Ukraine, 1990s–2010s

• Home-Field-Temple as Existentials of Ukrainian Culture

• Dialogue of Generations as Communicative Dimension of Bread Culture Semantics in the Ukrainian Sacral Tradition

• FORMATION OF THE UKRAINIAN NATION: ETHNOCULTURAL TRADITIONS AND HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES

• The cycle of pre-Christmas winter folk holidays as held in Western Podillya in Ukraine with the processes of urbanization and globalization in the background

• ORIGINS OF MILITARY-PATRIOTIC EDUCATION OF UKRAINIAN YOUTH

• UKRAINIAN FOLK EMBROIDERY AS A WAY OF IDENTIFICATION AND COMMUNICATIVE INTERACTION OF THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE IN MODERN CONDITIONS

• PROFESSIONAL STAGE ART AS AN EXPRESSION OF NATIONAL, SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL PROPERTIES OF THE UKRAINIAN DIASPORA

• CONFLICTIZATION OF UKRAINIAN ETHNOCULTURAL SPACE AS THE OBJECT OF UKRAINIAN STUDIES

• Traditional Ukrainian songs as performed by folk choirs of ‘Sloboda’ Ukraine

• Ukrainian Folk Ornaments in Modern Knitting

• National Myths and Symbols in Modern Ukrainian Cinema