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Mikalay

from Slavalachia by Slavalachia

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about

Mikalay Tarasiuk was a villager of Stoily, a nearly abandoned village in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha of Belarus, the last standing swathe of ancient primeval forest in all Europe. Brother Hill and the Slavalachia crew spent some time in Stoily in January 2020, where they learned of the story of Mikalay. After every one of the other villagers either died or departed for work in the cities, Mikalay chose to stay, and lived alone there for 20 years. He once said his greatest fear was that the memory of the Stoily would die with him. To cope with this, Mikalay carved thousands of wooden figures depicted in acts of everyday folk life. These figures kept him company there, and in his eyes kept the story of the village alive. Before he passed on to glory in 2015, he claimed God had come to him in a dream and told him the day he would die.

There are now two villagers there, a married couple who have taken up the mantle to keep the story of Stoily alive.

Вечная светлая памяць Мікалаю Тарасюку

lyrics

Mikalay, Mikalay
God came to him in a dream and told him the day he’d die

Oh Mikalay, Mikalay
God showed up in a vision and told him the day he’d die


Oh Lord, bless these hands
Bless the stories that survive from they who lived upon the land

Yur’ya, bless the seed
Bless the soil neath the plow may we find joy in all our toil

[like] Mikalay , Mikalay
Ten thousand wooden figures and every on from up on high


That village like an island
That all chose to depart
Save the cat, ten geese, a goat and a sheep and a single wooden handcart

[and] Mikalay, Mikalay
In the patron saint of Stoily there is more than meets the eye


Oh Mikalay, Mikalay
Who could ever change him oh I’d like to see them try

Yur’ya, bring down the keys
We ask and if it please ye we’ll anoint the land with oil

[for] Mikalay, Mikalay, oh Mikalay

credits

from Slavalachia, released April 24, 2022
Musicians:
Artur Temchenko - drum, percussion
Benya Stewart - mandolin, vocals
Brother Hill - vocals, guitar, bodhran
Marichka Chichkova - vocals, concertina, cello
Marta Bodnar - vocals, fiddle
Siarzhuk Douhushau - vocals, flutes, hurdy-gurdy
Sviat Halas - bass guitar
Producer and band manager: Nadzeya Ilkevich
Documentary production team: Bart Kuraga & Quintin Schomaker
Recorded, Mastered and Mixed: Shpytal Records (Ternopil, Ukraine)
Contacts: slavalachia@gmail.com
Website: slavalachia.com

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Slavalachia Ukraine

Slavalachia is an alliance of folk musicians from Belarus, Ukraine, and the Appalachian region of the USA whose mission is to create revolutionary new pathways for cultural alliance and exchange.

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