Everything about Lemkos totally explained
Lemkos, one of several quantitatively and territorially small nationalities who also traditionally call themselves
Rusnaks, are one of the four major groups inhabiting the
Eastern Carpathian Mountains. Their language has been variously described as a Lemko language in its own right (literary Lemko language is one of the four literary norms of the
Carpatho-Rusyn language), a dialect of the
Rusyn language (a group of dialects which is, itself, sometimes described as a distinct dialect of
Ukrainian dialect group). In any case, the Lemko tongue and the Ukrainian language are akin but not always mutually intelligible.
Location
The Lemkos' homeland is commonly referred to as
Lemkivshchyna (
Polish: Łemkowszczyzna). Up until
1945, this included the area from the
Poprad River in the east to the valley of
Oslawa River in the west, areas situated primarily in present-day
Poland, in the
Lesser Poland and
Subcarpathian Voivodeships. This part of the Carpathian mountains is mostly deforested, which allowed for an
agrarian economy, alongside such traditional occupations as ox grazing and sheep herding.
This area was part of
Austro-Hungarian Empire until its dissolution in
1918, at which point the
Lemko-Rusyn Republic (
Ruska Lemkivska) declared its independence. The independence didn't last long, and the territory was incorporated into Poland in
1920.
As a result of
Operation Wisła, the majority of Lemkos from this territory were resettled throughout Poland and in the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, leaving a significant population only in the
Prešov Region of present-day
Slovakia.
Lemkos are/were neighbours with
Slovaks,
Carpathian Germans and
Lachy sądeckie (Poles) from the west,
Pogorzans (
Poles) and
Dolinians (
Dale Dwellers subethnic of Lemkos) from the north,
Ukrainians from the east, and
Slovaks from the south.
Etymology
The name "Lemko" derives from the common expression
Lem (Лeм), which can mean "but", "only", or "like" in the
Lemko dialect. "Lemko" came into use as an
endonym after having been used as an
exonym by the neighboring
Boykos and
Hutsuls, who don't use that expression in their respective dialects.
Prior to this moniker, the Lemkos described themselves as
Rusnaks ((
translit. Rusnaky) or
Rusyns (
translit. Rusyny), as did the rest of the inhabitants of present-day Western Ukraine in the 19th century and first part of the 20th century. In the early 20th century, a majority of these peoples became active participants in the creation of the Ukrainian nation and came to call themselves
Ukrainians (
Ukrainian: Українці,
translit. Ukrayintsi). However, while they may have accepted the new state of Ukraine, some Lemkos, including many in Poland and Slovakia, consider themselves to be a distinct ethnicity, while some claim to be Ukrainians and still others identify themselves as
Rusyns.
History
Lemkos are generally considered to be descendants of
Ruthenian settlers who arrived in 14th century or probably earlier to the area traditionally inhabited by Lemkos.
The term "Lemko" is from a pejorative description for any person who excessively uses word LEM. This word, as correctly described in the article, is commonly used in many dialects mainly around eastern Slovakia, Polish and Ukrainian border. Slovakia on its own would have more than 1,000,000 users of local dialects which would commonly use word LEM. Pejorative description in Slovak dialects would be Lemko, in Rusyn dialect it's Lemkiv, in Polish Lemkwich.
After World War I, Lemkos founded two short-lived republics, the
Lemko-Rusyn Republic in the west of Galicia, which had a
russophile orientation, and the
Komancza Republic, with a Ukrainophilic orientation.
It is estimated that about 130,000-140,000 Lemkos were living in the Polish part of
Lemkivshchyna in
1939. Mass emigration from this territory to the Western hemisphere began in the late 1800s, diminishing the cultural uniqueness of the Lemko homeland. Additional depopulation of these lands occurred when the Lemkos began to be removed in a
forced resettlement, first to the
Soviet Union (about 90,000 people) and later to Poland's newly-acquired western lands (about 35,000) in the
Operation Wisła campaign of the late
1940s. This action was a
state ordered solution to the struggle waged by the
Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in south-eastern Poland.
While a minority of Lemkos returned (some 5,000 Lemko families returned to their home regions in Poland between
1957-
1958, officially having been allowed the right to return in
1956), the Lemko population in the Polish part of Lemkivschyna only numbers around 10,000-15,000 today. Some 50,000 Lemkos live in the western and northern parts of Poland, where they were sent to populate former
German villages in areas
Stalin had ceded to Poland. Among those, 5,863 people identified themselves as Lemko in the
2002 census. However, some people suspect that 60,000 ethnic Lemkos may reside in Poland today. Within Lemkivshchyna, Lemkos live in the villages of
Łosie,
Krynica,
Nowica,
Zdynia,
Gładyszów,
Hańczowa,
Zyndranowa,
Uście Gorlickie,
Bartne,
Binczarowa and
Bielanka. Additional populations can be found in
Mokre,
Szczawne,
Kulaszne,
Rzepedź,
Turzańsk,
Komańcza,
Sanok,
Nowy Sącz, and
Gorlice.
Religion
Christianity in the region is thought to date to the efforts of
Saints
Cyril and
Methodius in the 9th century. The religion of many Lemkos is
Greek-Catholicism. In Poland, they belong to the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and to the
Ruthenian Catholic Church (see also
Slovak Greek Catholic Church) in Slovakia. A substantial number belong to the
Eastern Orthodox Church. Through the efforts of the martyred priest Fr. Maxim Sandovich (canonized by the Polish Orthodox Church in the 1990s), in the early 20th century Eastern Orthodoxy was reintroduced to many Lemko areas which had accepted the Union of Brest centuries before. The distinctive wooden architectural style of the Lemko churches is to place the highest
cupola of the church building at the entrance to the church, with the roof sloping downward toward the
sanctuary.
Language
The Lemko language is considered by Ukrainian scholars to be the most western of
Ukrainian dialects. Because the ethnic territory occupied by the Lemkos wasn't politically part of Ukraine, the language used by the Lemkos has been influenced greatly by the language spoken by their neighbours. So much so that some consider it a separate entity.
Some scholars state that Lemko is the western-most dialect of the
Rusyn language. Lemko speech, however, includes patterns matching those of the surrounding
Polish and
Slovak languages, leading some to refer to it as a transitional dialect between Polish and Slovak (some even consider the dialect in Eastern Slovakia to be a dialect of the Slovak language).
Metodyj Trochanovskij published a Lemko Primer ('Lemkivskj bukvar') and a First Reader ('Persa knyzecka') for use in schools in the Lemko-speaking area of
Poland in the 1930's. These were banned by the Polish government in 1938. Important fieldwork on the Lemko dialect was carried out by the Polish linguist
Zdzisław Stieber before their dispersal.
In the late 20th century, some Lemkos/Rusyns, mainly emigres from the region of the southern slopes of the Carpathians in modern-day Slovakia, began an effort to codify and standardize a
grammar for the Lemko dialect. This happened on the 27-th Jan. 1995 in Presov, Slovakia. The Lemko/Rusyn language became a language.
Famous Lemkos
- Bohdan-Ihor Antonych, poet
- Paul Best, historian,
- Thomas Bell, American novelist
- Patriarch Dymytriy, Patriarch of Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
- Oleksandr Dukhnovych, writer
- Volodymyr Kubijovyc, historian, geographer, politician
- Ostap Steca soviet general (1900-1978) (External Link
)
- Nikifor, painter
- Petro Trochanowski, Lemko poet, involved with contemporary Lemko issues
- Metodyj Trochanovskij Lemko grammarian
- Mykhaylo Verbytsky , composed the Ukrainian national anthem
- Andy Warhol (birth name Warhola), major figure in the pop art movement
- Andy Kay, inventor of the digital voltmeter (1953), and inductee of the Computer Hall of Fame for founding Kaypro Computers.
- Waldemar Januszczak, art critic.
- Walter Maksimovich, Lemko publicist and founder of lemko.org
- Jan Kieleczawa, Scientist, DNA Sequencing, published 3 books and numerous articles on DNA sequencing"
- Vladimir Fekula, American Businessman
Further Information
Get more info on 'Lemkos'.
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