Ivan Strichka: A Kobzar from Berezivka, from Whom Scholars First Recorded the Duma about Samiilo Kishka
Ivan Strichka (dates of birth and death are not precisely established; his active period falls within the first third of the 19th century) was a Ukrainian kobzar (bandura player) from the Left-Bank region. He is one of the earliest folk singers whose name has been preserved thanks to the records of folklorists. Some of the most valuable early recordings of Ukrainian folk dumy (epic ballads)—specifically a version of the duma about Samiilo Kishka—originate from him. Scholars consider this text to be one of the finest examples of the Ukrainian heroic epic. Strichka lived before the advent of sound recording and the systematic musical notation of kobzar melodies; consequently, little information about him remains. Nevertheless, researchers unanimously acknowledge the contribution his repertoire made to the preservation of the duma epic tradition.
Origins
According to reference sources, Ivan Strichka hailed from the village of Berezivka. In the 19th century, this village was part of the Poltava Governorate; today, it is located in the Chernihiv region. Like most kobzars of that era, he was blind and earned his living by traveling and performing songs. His musical activity was centered in the surrounding area, particularly in the vicinity of Romny—the very place where he was encountered by folklore collectors.
It is also known that his son, Sakon Strichka, was a kobzar as well. Thus, the art of singing accompanied by the bandura was passed down through generations within this family. Within the kobzar tradition, this was a common—though not the only—method of instruction. There are no precise dates for the life of Ivan Strichka. In an academic edition of Ukrainian dumy (epic songs), prepared by the Institute of Art Studies, Folklore, and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, his year of birth is estimated to be around 1800. Other reference sources date Ivan Strichka’s death to approximately 1832–1833. At the same time, researchers note that it is not known for certain who died first—the father or the son. These accounts contradict one another and have yet to be definitively clarified.
The Kobzar Tradition on the Left Bank in the Early 19th Century
Ivan Strichka was active during a period when the kobzar tradition was a living part of everyday folk life—particularly in the Poltava, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv regions. These lands served as the primary centers for the art of the kobzar (minstrel) and lirnyk (hurdy-gurdy player). Kobzars—most of whom were blind—traveled from village to village, performing at fairs, near churches, and in village squares. They organized themselves into guilds and brotherhoods, which featured structured, multi-year training programs and initiation rituals.
The core of the kobzar repertoire consisted of dumy—extensive epic works performed in a dramatic, recitative style, accompanied by the kobza, bandura, or lira (hurdy-gurdy). These dumy recounted tales of Cossack military campaigns, captivity in Turkish lands, escapes from bondage, the heroism and deaths of Cossacks, as well as themes concerning family relationships and moral values. In addition to dumy (epic songs), kobzars sang historical and everyday-life songs, as well as spiritual psalms and kanty (religious hymns).
At the beginning of the 19th century, the educated segment of society began to show interest in folk poetry. It was during this period that the first printed collections of Ukrainian songs and dumy appeared. For the first time, folklorists began recording not only the texts but also the names of the performers. Ivan Strichka is among the first kobzars whose name has entered the annals of scholarly history.
Meeting with Platon Lukashevych
The most significant information regarding Ivan Strichka is linked to the work of the folklorist and ethnographer Platon Lukashevych. He studied at the Nizhyn Gymnasium of Higher Sciences alongside Nikolai Gogol and later graduated from the Richelieu Lyceum in Odesa. During a trip to Prague, Lukashevych met with Czech figures of the Slavic Revival and, under their influence, began collecting Ukrainian folk songs.
According to researchers, in 1832, near the town of Romny, Lukashevych recorded the duma about Samiilo Kishka from Ivan Strichka. From this same kobzar, he also recorded the duma about Ivas Konovchenko (Udovychenko) and other works. In an academic edition of dumy, some of the recordings obtained from Strichka are dated 1835. This may indicate that the folklorist met with the kobzar on several occasions, though the exact dating remains an open question.
In 1836, Lukashevych’s collection, titled Little Russian and Red Russian Folk Dumy and Songs, was published in St. Petersburg. It was published without the compiler’s name. It included 176 folk songs of various genres, as well as dumy (epic ballads). Some of these dumy—notably the one about Samiylo Kishka—appeared in print for the first time in this collection. Others, including the duma about Ivan Konovchenko, were presented in new versions.
The collection itself does not specify the sources from whom the texts were recorded. Later, Lukashevych himself stated that he had recorded the duma about Samiylo Kishka in 1832. After the collector’s death, some of his notes were published by Vasyl Horlenko and Borys Hrinchenko. Lukashevych’s manuscripts—including the original handwritten versions of all the dumy from the 1836 collection—are preserved at the V. I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.
The Duma about Samiylo Kishka
The most famous work associated with the name Ivan Strichka is the duma about Samiylo Kishka. It tells the story of a hetman who spent many years in Turkish captivity aboard a galley; eventually, he and his comrades staged an uprising, seized the vessel, and returned to their homeland. The narrative is rooted in history: Samiylo Kishka was a real figure among the Ukrainian Cossacks of the late 16th century.
The recordings obtained from Strichka are valuable because they reveal how the duma epic sounded during the first third of the 19th century. This predates, by several decades, later recordings from kobzars such as Andrii Shut or Ostap Veresai. Strichka’s texts allow for the comparison of different versions of the same dumy and make it possible to trace the evolution of the epic tradition.
The Duma about Ivas Konovchenko and Other Works
A duma concerning Ivas Konovchenko (Udovychenko) was also recorded from Ivan Strichka. This is one of the most widespread duma subjects: a young Cossack—the son of a widow—sets out on a military campaign against his mother’s wishes and subsequently dies in battle. The version recorded from Strichka near Romny is considered a classic rendition of this duma. It was featured, for instance, in the 1955 publication Ukrainian Folk Dumy and Historical Songs.
Reference literature also associates several other dumy with Ivan Strichka’s repertoire, including those about the escape of three brothers from Azov; the tales of Oleksiy Popovych, Fedir Bezridny, and the Samara brothers; the Cossack’s farewell to his sisters; the story of a sister and brother; and the duma about the widow from Chychelnytsia. According to researchers, a number of songs were also recorded from him, in addition to these dumy.
The Question of Vasyl Lomikovskyi’s Recordings
A distinct scholarly issue concerns the recordings made by Vasyl Lomikovskyi, a historian and ethnographer from the Poltava region. In the early 19th century (researchers cite the year 1805 or around 1808), he recorded a number of dumy (epic songs) from a kobzar named Ivan. The singer’s surname is not indicated in the records. Some of these texts were later included in a collection by Mykola Tserteliev, published in St. Petersburg in 1819. This represents the first printed publication of Ukrainian dumy.
Some authors identify this "Kobzar Ivan" as Ivan Strichka. If this is the case, his repertoire would also include unique dumy known exclusively from Lomikovsky’s records—such as those concerning Otaman Matiash, Ivan Bohuslavets, the widow of Ivan Sirko and the Sirko family, and a dialogue between the Dnieper and the Danube rivers. Consequently, the total number of dumy associated with the name Strichka reaches thirteen. This constitutes one of the largest repertoires of dumy ever documented from a single performer. At the same time, many sources refer to this singer simply as an "unknown kobzar." Thus, this identification remains a hypothesis rather than an established fact.
His Son Sakon and the Testimony of Ostap Veresai
An important account regarding the Strichka family comes from the recollections of Ostap Veresai (1803–1890), one of the most renowned kobzars of the 19th century. In his later years, Veresai spoke to researchers about singers he had known personally. Among them, he mentioned Ivan Strichka and his son Sakon—who was also a kobzar—speaking of both with great respect. This evidence holds particular significance for scholarship. It confirms that the Strička family were recognized masters among the kobzars themselves, rather than merely serving as informants of interest to folklorists. Furthermore, it links Ivan Strička to the subsequent generation of kobzars—a generation that included Veresai—and attests to the continuity of the epic tradition in the Left-Bank region.
Memory in His Native Land
The name of Ivan Strička has also been preserved in local oral tradition. In Berezivka, accounts about the kobzar still circulate. One such account was recorded in 2008 by folklorist Mykola Zinchuk and published in the series Ukrainian Folk Tales. These narratives represent a form of folk memory rather than historical source material. They demonstrate that the figure of the kobzar remained significant to the village residents even a century and a half after his death.
Significance in the History of Ukrainian Musical Culture
Ivan Strička’s contribution to Ukrainian culture is defined primarily by the material recorded from him. The records made by Lukashevych captured only the verbal text, omitting the melodies. Consequently, nothing definitive can be stated regarding the specific characteristics of his singing or his bandura playing. Nevertheless, the texts preserved thanks to his memory and skill rank among the foundational monuments of the Ukrainian duma epic tradition. In reference works—most notably the Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine—Ivan Strichka is listed among celebrated Ukrainian kobzars, alongside Ostap Veresai, Andrii Shut, Ivan Kravchenko-Kriukovskyi, and other masters. He is considered one of the first kobzars to attract the attention of Ukrainian folklorists.
The story of Ivan Strichka is emblematic of the history of the kobzar tradition as a whole. Most folk singers from past centuries remain anonymous; the names of the few kobzars we know today have survived only thanks to chance encounters with folklore collectors. In Strichka’s case, this occurred through a meeting with Platon Lukashevych near Romny. As a result, one of the most significant Ukrainian dumas (epic ballads) has been preserved in a complete and artistically refined version.
For contemporary bandura players and researchers, the recordings obtained from Ivan Strichka remain a vital resource. They serve as a foundation for studying the poetics of dumas, reconstructing the authentic kobzar repertoire, and reviving ancient performance traditions.
