Lesson plan
Molfar
Molfar (Ukrainian: мольфар) is a traditional Hutsul magician and healer in the Ukrainian Carpathians who is believed to possess supernatural abilities. The image of the molfar was formed within the folk culture of Hutsulshchyna and is associated with a syncretic combination of pagan beliefs and Christian practices. In folk tradition, molfars are also referred to as soothsayers, seers, healers, and sorcerers. Widespread interest in molfars arose in the early 20th century after the publication of Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky’s novella Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1911) and its film adaptation by Sergei Parajanov (1964).
Article summary
Molfar (Ukrainian: мольфар) is a traditional Hutsul magician and healer in the Ukrainian Carpathians who is believed to possess supernatural abilities. The image of the molfar was formed within the folk culture of Hutsulshchyna and is associated with a syncretic combination of pagan beliefs and Christian practices. In folk tradition, molfars are also referred to as soothsayers, seers, healers, and sorcerers. Widespread interest in molfars arose in the early 20th century after the publication of Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky’s novella Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1911) and its film adaptation by Sergei Parajanov (1964).
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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