Polish Folklore and Myth (2019)
This is a treasure of folk art and lore.
Edited by Joanne Asala, the stories are vividly and dramatically interpreted and portrayed in the paper-cuts (wycinaki) by Alice Wadowski-Bak, noted paper-cut and folkore artist.
This book of engaging folk stories includes such tales as ‘The Violin’ ‘The Headache Cure’, ‘Midsummer’s Eve’, ‘The Flower Queen’s Daughter’, ‘The Legend of the North Wind’, ‘The Flaming Castle’, ‘The Village Dance’, and ‘The Unfinished Tune’.
The work of Alice Wadowski-Bak, native of Niagara Falls, New York, is found in private collections and galleries worldwide. The art of wycinanki appeared in Poland in the middle of the 1800s, especially in rural areas where sheep shears were readily available. The method of folding, layering, coloring, and overlay is related to the ancient Chinese art of the block print. Wadowski-Bak explores both wycinanki and oriental stencil cutting. Her original designs for this book attest to her exquisite artistry.
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Zielony Balonik book club notes:
Patrycja Jankowska writes:
These fairy tales are called Polish but many of them have been transformed or rewritten from tales of different countries. There are many word mistakes or wrong translations, but despite all this the book is interesting, easy to read and perfect for a free evening with a steaming cup of tea. The reader may consider morality or lessons floating from the stories.
‘The Terrible Wilas’ tells of a blind old man and the shepherd Baltazar. One day Baltazar met the Wilas, who offered him gifts – an apple, a rose and brush for his hair. But Baltazar refused all of these. The nasty Wilas had stolen the old man’s eyes, and tried to replace them with eyes of owl, wolf or bear. Baltazar threw the Wilas one by one over the cliff and into the water to make sure that they never come back to harm anyone. Then Baltazar found grandpa’s eyes at the bottom of the pile of stolen eyes, returned them and looked after him until the end. The lesson from this story is that people do not value what is important, but become blind by small worthless gifts. It is important to recognize the real treasure.
‘The Violin’ is the story of Garek, the violin artist, who was afraid to become old. Garek signed a pact with the devil to remain young as long as he never goes to Rome. Unfortunately, the next day Garek, trying to gain fortune and fame, stopped at the village tavern, where he collapsed. With his last breath he asked the name of the tavern, which was ‘Rome’. As devil the promised, Garek died young. This story teaches people not to look for fame or fortune, but use their talents to make people happy. It is a natural process to get old.
It has been noticed that ‘The Violin’ is a retelling of the popular Polish tale about Pan Twardowski, who signed a contract with devil to stay immortal. One day he too stayed in a pub called Rome, but was able to escape from the devil, flying to the moon on a rooster. Pan Twardowski stays there still, missing Krakow and looking at everyone.
Forgiveness is what we learn from many stories. ‘Marya and the Rusaje’ is a fantastic example. Marya was a poor girl brought up by stepmother because her real mother passed away. She was given the most difficult work to do by her step-sisters. One day, an invitation from the palace called all beautiful girls to a ball, as the prince wanted to choose a wife. The step-sisters were well prepared, dressed in beautiful, fashionable dresses, while Marya had to pick out lentils from ashes. Marya asked the hen and cock for help so she could go as well. When Marya had everything selected, a fairy Rusaje appeared, conjuring a beautiful dress. Marya promised to come back before midnight as the charm will disappear by this time. The egg turned into a coach and six mice became beautiful horses. At the ball the Prince fell in love with Marya and danced with her, but at midnight, as she was running away, she lost her shoe. After that, the Prince walked from home to home looking for the owner of the shoe. When he knocked where Marya lived, both sisters tried on the shoe but it did not fit. Then he noticed Marya, and when she tried the shoe, the Rusaje came to her room and turned her poor dress into beautiful ball gown. Both sisters begged for forgiveness. Marya forgave them but remembered how the family treated her. This story looks like the popular ‘Cinderella’ fairy tale by Charles Perrault.
In ‘The Three Magic Wishes’ poor Kazimierz met Saule, the goddess of sun in her gold carriage, pulled by six large cats. He helped to pull the carriage from a muddy road and Saule gave him a reward – three wishes. But his inconsiderate wife lost two wishes in anger, asking for a sausage nose for her husband. The third wish returned his nose but the couple stayed poor with sausage, cheese and bread on the table. The moral message from this tale is that people should consider their words before telling anything because each wish comes true.
‘The King’s Son-in-Law’ is a story about a snake who turned into a knight, and who married the king’s daughter. It shows that no-one should judge another person according to appearance. The wife asked her husband to go and find a child in the forest, but he brought back a jewel-coloured snake. The snake grew as human, learning even their speech, and one day asked the old man to go to the king and ask for the hand of his daughter, the princess. The old man did so, but the king said that the princess will become his son’s wife only if by tomorrow he levels the forest, sows the wheat and makes sweet milk cake made from the grain. The old man wept, thinking that the wish of the king was impossible, but the snake turned this wish into reality during the night. When the snake presented himself in the castle, he turned into a handsome knight with sword and armour. The princess fell in love with him, and when they had a family they taught their children about respect and kindness to others.
Folklore tales and stories can be regarded as interesting because readers can find something to think over and read again in moments of doubt. Nevertheless, many can find them boring, without any action or any plot.