Vertep
In
In
".A typical vertep was a wooden box, one or two storeyed. The floors had slots through which the puppeteers controlled wooden puppets. The upper floor of the two-storeyed box was used for the nativity scene, while the lower was for interludes and other mystery plays (most often featuring the Herod and Rachel plots) and secular plays, often of comedy character.
After the
Ukraine
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2021) |
The Ukrainian vertep, or puppet theatre, first appeared in the latter half of the 16th century, beginning of the 17th century from a popular
The sacred act was based on the Nativity scene with interludes, while the secular was based on day-to-day life often lampooning the various national traits of the local population with characters such as the Kozak (Ukrainian/Cossack), Liakh (Pole), Moskal (Muscovite), Zhyd (Jew), Tsyhan (Gypsy). Each was accompanied by representative dance music (Kozachok, Krakowiak, Kamarinskaya, etc.) Religious Christmas carols were also sung, often in harmony. Some early verteps told of the destruction of the Cossack Sich.
The vertep box often had the construction of a multi-storey building. The sacred act took place on the upper level (with occasional interludes on the lower floor) and the secular one taking place only on the lower floor.
In recent times at Christmas young children dress as the various characters and act out the plays of the vertep. This form, following the old tradition of Malanka, is quite popular in Western Ukraine.[citation needed]
Vertep in Ukraine also became heavily intertwined with singing of the
See also
References
- ^ "Vertep" at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine online. Archived August 14, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- Литературная энциклопедия 1929—1939, Article "Вертепная драма".
- Entsyklopediya ukrainoznavstva Vol 1. p. 232, Paris, 1955.