The Ukrainian Folklore Archives were founded in 1977 when Bohdan Medwidsky assembled students' fieldwork projects from his first course on Ukrainian folklore. Dr. Medwidsky's vision is the development of a rich, vibrant and lasting resource for the study of diverse Ukrainian traditions.
Dr. Medwidsky was born in Ukraine and spent his youth in Switzerland and Toronto. He joined the University of Alberta faculty in 1971, where he has been the driving force in developing the Ukrainian Folklore Centre, degree programs in the field, and many community-based projects promoting Ukrainian culture.
The Ukrainian Folklore Archives was renamed the "Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives" in 2003, to honour Dr. Medwidsky. In 2009, the BMUFA moved to a beautiful facility in room 250 Arts Building. The Folklore Archives are open to students, scholars, and the general public.
The BMUFA is dedicated to creating the best possible long-term resource for research in Ukrainian folklore and traditional culture. Our core collection consists of classic Ukrainian and Ukrainian Canadian folklore: Ukrainian rituals and beliefs, folk songs and stories, material culture and traditional arts. We have a special interest in Ukrainian Canadian culture, and want to keep building on our strong holdings of oral histories, published and unpublished memoirs, family celebrations, ethnic symbols, and performing arts (plays, music, dance).
Donations to the Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives
We collect materials in many media: books, photographs, manuscripts, audio and video recordings, phonograph records, pamphlets, posters, concert programs, and more. Because of space and other limitations, we are not always able to accept everything of value. We sometimes try to find a new home for duplicates and items which do not fit our mandate.
We always appreciate if a potential donor can make a detailed list of the items they would like to offer. Through our Friends Society, or through the University of Alberta, we are often able to provide income tax receipts. If you have ideas or questions, please give us a call:
Andriy Nahachewsky, Curator, 780-492-6746, andriyn@ualberta.ca or
Maryna Chernyavska, Archivist, 780-492-6999, ukrfolk@ualberta.ca
The online content of the Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives includes the following collections:
This collection dedicated to the complex tradition of Ukrainian wedding ritual and its development in Canada. It contains an ethnographic overview of wedding traditions in Ukraine, video-recorded fragments, teaching resources and glossary of terms.
The database provides access to the inventory of Ukrainian music and songs preserved in the Archives. The actual recordings - vinil disks, audio and video cassettes, compact discs, digital files - could be accessed in the Archives.
Natalie Kononenko's fieldwork interviews from Ukraine are now available online. The recordings contain folk narratives, songs, discussions of folk beliefs, rituals and much more. The sound files and searchable by category (ex. domovyk).
Thousand of photographs collected as part of ethnographic fieldwork by the Kule Centre's researchers and students during the last two decades. The collection covers various aspects of culture including ritual, material culture, everyday life both in Ukraine and Canada. The collection is searchable by keywords, objects, subject, and date.
- Local Cuture and Diversity on the Prairies (coming soon)
The collection is a sample of field interiviews collected for the Local Culture Project. The interviews focus on the period prior to 1939 in the Canadian praries and explore a variety of of local traditions and everyday life of the communities.
- Ukrainian Edmonton Project (coming soon)
The project aims at creating a collection of oral history interviews, historical photographs and documents that reflect the history and culture of Edmonton's Ukrainian community ( 1930s - 1950s). Samples of interviews and historical photos are available online.