Marusia Churai is a semi-legendary Ukrainian folk singer and poetess of the 16th century, who, according to legend, lived in Poltava. She is credited with the authorship of a number of well-known folk songs: "Oh, don't go, Gritsu", "Kotilisya go z gori", "The cossacks got up" and others. Also known as Marusya Churaivna
Biography
According to legend, Marusya Churai was born in 1625. The parents' house was registered on the banks of the Vorskla River, not far from the monastery. Father - Gordey Churai belonged to the Cossack estate (there are also opinions that he was a regimental esaul). Father Marusya took part in the Cossack war against Poland under the leadership of P. Pavlyuk, was captured and was executed in Warsaw in 1638.
After the death of her father, Marusya lived alone with her mother Gorpina. For the heroic deed of the father, mother and daughter were highly respected by Poltava residents. The girl was revered not only from a glorious father, but also thanks to her special gift to perfectly compose and perform songs. Maroussia was endowed with a great talent for improvisation - she could easily express her thoughts in the form of poetry.
Personal life
Marusia was not married. Ivan Iskra, a noble youth, the son of Hetman Yakov Ostryanitsa, was in love with her. And Marusya loved another person - Grigory Bobrenko (according to other versions - Grigory Ostapenko), the son of the Poltava regiment, with whom the girl was secretly engaged. In 1649, Gregory went to war, and Marusya was waiting for him for four years. But upon returning home, Gregory no longer paid attention to the girl and, under the persuasion of his mother, became engaged to the rich bride Galya Vishnyakivna, the daughter of the Esaul. Maroussia was very upset by the betrayal of her beloved, expounding her suffering in the lines of songs. When Gregory married Gala, the girl fell seriously ill. She even tried to drown herself, but was saved by Ivan Iskra. Soon after meeting with her lover and his wife at parties hosted by Marusina's friend, the girl started a revenge plan. Having again charmed Grigory with her charm, Marusya lured him to her and poisoned him with a prepared potion from the hemlock root (according to another version, after the betrayal of her lover, Marusya decided to poison herself with a potion that Grigory accidentally drank).
For the crime committed, the girl was imprisoned. And in the summer of 1652, the Poltava court sentenced Marusya to death. But the death sentence was canceled by Bohdan Khmelnitsky's letter of pardon, which Ivan Iskra managed to deliver at the time of execution. The further fate of Marusya is interpreted in different ways. According to one version, after the pardon, Marusya suffered greatly, went on a pilgrimage to Kiev, and when she returned home, she died early from unnecessary worries and tuberculosis. According to another version, the girl left home forever and died in repentance in one of the monasteries.
Based on this legend, Lina Kostenko's novel "Marusya Churai" was written.
Career and creativity
Marusya Churai is credited with the authorship of about 40 songs. Among them are songs:
"Vіyut vіtri, vіyut buynі";
"The little coots got up";
"Oh, don't go, Gritsu …";
"Gritsu, Gritsu, before robots";
"Green little barvinochka";
"In the end of rowing to rustle the willows";
"In the vegetable garden";
"Isov miley bitterly";
"Carry on fire …";
"Fly a jackdaw through a beam";
"On the city, the willow is ryasna";
"Arrived zozulenka";
"Sitting blue on a birch tree";
"Steal, steal, greens to the pot";
"Why the water is kalamutna"
"Seam of miles bitterly."
Many of Marusya's songs were written based on the girl's own life.
