As I get older, I feel the need to get in touch with my heritage and find out about my family history. When I was younger I could care less and then in my teens I was too busy trying to identify with other cultures all the while ignoring my own. I am basically a giant mutt but the majority of my heritage is Ukrainian. I am fluent in French and have also taken Spanish and Portuguese in school but yet Ukrainian is completely foreign to me. My grandmother is no longer around to tell me about things or teach me words in Ukrainian but she did leave behind many things for me to discover. Right before she died she made a trip back to the Ukraine and stayed with family there. She brought back a lot of souvenirs and things, one being my nesting dolls that I cherish to this day. Last weekend I was back at my mother’s house and was digging through old things when I stumbled upon what seemed to be a childrens Ukrainian song/story book.
It makes me realize I really wish I knew what it said, or that I could even make out what some of it meant. I’m going to make it a goal of mine to start learning a bit more about the Ukraine. I remember my grandmother making amazing homemade pyrohy and my mom can even come close but I’m going to be horribly ashamed if that tradition dies by my hand.
So here’s to 2010 & embracing where I came from and trying to keep it alive, maybe I’ll start by making some pyrohy this week.
Posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 8:06 pm. Books, Miscellaneous.
i LOVE nesting dolls! when i was in latvia, i bought hand carved/painted nesting dolls from a vendor. they are painted as obama and other recent presidents haha.
In countless science fiction novels, the re-occurring theme of the “collective consciousness” presents itself. This idea that the “beings” plug into a “hive mind” or “single stream of ego/identity” at a certain age to become familiar with culture, mass behavior, intelligence, traditions, history etc… If only it were that easy.
Humans aim to do this too, through stage of life celebrations. Most notably through religious means; Age of Accountability in Christianity, the Divja in Hinduism or the Jewish Bat Mitzvah.
I guess my overall observation is that discovering ourselves by means of a cultural past can truly serve to enrich our lives. Growing up I always felt conflicted knowing we ate uncommon Italian food at home, listened/danced to strange music (the bagpipes) or was dragged to Italian school every weekend so I could speak a different language. After years of internalizing this struggle, accepting my need for cultural awareness was key to personal development and my intellectual enlightenment.
Follow through with your desire to reconnect with your heritage! I guarantee nothing will make you feel more satisfied