Buvalshchyna (Memorate)

The buvalshchyna (memorate) is a genre of folk non-fairytale prose — a short oral narrative about a supposedly real event that the narrator or their acquaintances witnessed or took part in. The buvalshchyna is told and received as a true story (hence the name, from the Ukrainian 'it was'), unlike the tale, which is oriented toward invention. Often the buvalshchyna recounts a person's encounter with the supernatural — a house-spirit, a rusalka, a werewolf, a treasure, an 'unclean place' — combining everyday concreteness with elements of folk-belief demonology. The buvalshchyna is close to the perekaz and the legend but is distinguished by its personal, 'eyewitness' character of narration and its everyday background. Such narratives are a valuable source for studying the folk worldview and lower mythology. Ukrainian memorates and demonological narratives were collected and studied by Volodymyr Hnatiuk ('Materials for Ukrainian Demonology') and Vasyl Myloradovych.