Ukrainian Easter traditions

Ukrainian Easter traditions

National Centre of Folk Culture “Ivan Honchar Museum” made a beautiful video about pysanky. Pysanka is Ukrainian Easter egg, an absolutely unique cultural creation. It is striking in its elegance, perfection and wealth of compositional variations, ornamental elements, and motifs. On the eve of Easter, 

Why Scientists Are Starting to Care About Cultures That Talk to Whales

Why Scientists Are Starting to Care About Cultures That Talk to Whales

It’s not clear exactly when people developed the technology that allowed them to begin hunting whales, but scholars generally believe Arctic whaling developed off the coast of Alaska sometime between 600 and 800 CE. For thousands of years before then, Arctic people survived by hunting 

Alan Lomax’s Massive Archive Goes Online

Alan Lomax’s Massive Archive Goes Online

Alan Lomax (right) with musician Wade Ward during the Southern Journey recordings, 1959-1960. Shirley Collins/Courtesy of Alan Lomax Archive Folklorist Alan Lomax spent his career documenting folk music traditions from around the world. Now thousands of the songs and interviews he recorded are available for free 

Kvitna/Verbna Nedilya

Kvitna/Verbna Nedilya

Kvitna/Verbna Nedilya (Blooming/Willow Sunday, i.e. Palm Sunday). After the pussy willow branches have been blessed by the church, people tap friends, family and passers-by with the branches for strength, happiness and health. The catkins were swallowed as a precaution against fever and sore throats. They 

Sorbian  Easter Egg Tradition

Sorbian Easter Egg Tradition

With a deftness of hand cultivated over generations and a technique centuries old, a Slavic minority are putting the final touches to their Easter preparations. Easter is a particularly important time of year for Sorbs, from eastern Germany, and the period includes the tradition of 

This Peruvian Farmer Grows Over 400 Varieties of Potatoes

This Peruvian Farmer Grows Over 400 Varieties of Potatoes

Consider the humble potato. Many of us take the starchy tuber for granted. But not Julio Hancco Mamani. That’s because deep in the Andes mountains, in the Cusco region of Peru, this “Potato King” is continuing a family legacy by cultivating more than 400 native