Child in the Natal Narratives of Modern Ukrainian Mothers: Folkloric Symbols and Frequent Motifs

Abstract

The article focuses on the manner natal narratives accumulate and transmit prevailing traditional ideas about motherhood and the baby in modern society. It lists and exemplifies the major motifs that are typical of oral tradition of the Ukrainians, Slavs, and other peoples. This research is based on stories of more than 500 women about personal experience of pregnancy and childbirth, which were recorded using the narrative interview method. The thick description method (Clifford Geertz 1973) has been applied for material interpretation. The authors analyse animal–child symbolism in the narration of pregnancy, the accents on weather and time while telling about the moment of birth, and the manifestation of each child’s uniqueness in the mother’s interpretation.