Magic booth

Mir Batleika will replenish the list of intangible historical and cultural values

A list of 19 elements of intangible heritage has been compiled in the Grodno Region, which in the future may supplement the State List of Historical and Cultural Values of the Republic of Belarus. The first in line is the puppet theatre from the Korelichi District, popularly referred to as Mir Batleika. Who and why has preserved this ancient tradition to the present day, and where can one see  a unique Christmas performance?

Remember the forgotten 

To answer this question, it is necessary to get acquainted with the main custodian of the tradition, Konstantin Petriman, teacher at the Mir State College. 
“By and large, inclusion in the list is just a tip of an iceberg, with which one can compare the work done. Nevertheless, it is very honourable and warms the soul, if only because it is not my personal merit, but the work of many people. Back in 1989, when our educational institution had just opened, leading artists and culturologists arrived here, who, on the wave of growing interest in everything national, delved into the heritage of a powerful layer of the folk culture of Mir,” Konstantin starts the conversation.
The city has been a craft and cultural centre for centuries, where Jewish, Christian and Muslim cultures intertwined and formed the life of a typical Belarusian town. 
“Mir Batleika is a family dynastic tradition that died out with the death of its heirs. However, Anna Vygonnaya, Galina Zharovina, Valentin Kaunin, who came here, managed to bring memories of their own cultural heritage to Mir, even though the residents no longer remembered it,” the teacher continues.  Bit by bit, art historians began to revive an element of folk culture, visiting, foremost, the Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg, where original Batleika dolls are kept. Already in 1990, the first performances for the local population went on, and in 1997 a troupe of enthusiasts received the title of folk amateur theatre.
“At the same time, information was collected from the old-timers. But only in 2004 it was possible to find people who remembered the family of Batleika puppeteer — the Silko brothers — and even described some moments of performances that had significant differences from the entire Batleika tradition that existed on the territory of Belarus. The secular school is fundamentally different from the others, and when we went with reconstructed performances, experts often asked us questions, they say, why is it like this? And here, each image was written off from a specific resident — both the manner of talking of the doll, and the location of the characters,” the keeper of Batleika explains.
Over time, a series of modern performances was created, but, despite the success, it seemed more important to revive the performances of the Silko brothers, the teacher emphasises, “We understood that this is a beautiful element of the local culture, which should be returned to the residents. But the matter turned out to be difficult. Even relatives did not know what their great-grandfathers were doing. 

The last of the Silko brothers, Eugene, went through the entire war, he was wounded. Zhenik Batlik, as the locals called him, played the violin in the orchestra, but never used Batleika.”

‘That’s exactly how it was...’

Since the beginning of the 20th century, Batleika performances have been held in Mir during the Philip’s Fast, from mid-November. This is not at all typical for the traditional Christmas Batleika, which gave performances from December 25th to January 19th. At the same time, the Batleika puppeteers congratulated both Catholics and Orthodox on Christmas. 
“The Silko brothers created an interesting play inspired by World War I called The Soldier and the Devil. It showed a person’s attitude to the war, reflections on how a believer will live on. The front line passed 15 kilometres from Mir, and this story was very close to its inhabitants.” says Konstantin Petriman.

Alena Vishchenko, Anastasia Azhgirevich and Dominika Andrievich

The Mir Batleika puppeteers understood that the literary language was completely unsuitable for performances. They had to study various dialectisms that people used to revive the characters. Take, for example, the same Devil, who likes to use either a Polish or a Russian word to look more respectable. This is how the live speech of the puppets was born. The reconstruction took two years, and when the 20-minute performance was shown to local old-timers, then suddenly an exclamation was heard from the audience: ‘That’s right, that’s exactly how it was!’ 
“Surprisingly, people began to recall elements of tradition, songs, chants that could not be found in any collections. In general, by some miracle, we managed to restore three Batleika performances in the original. They began to come to us, bring children, invite them to various festivals, including international ones. Batleika also acts as an element of the education of our students, helps to grow spiritually. 

People often ask us: ‘Where can I get such scripts?’ Nowhere. You just need to live the history of your land, your country,” Konstantin Petriman recalls.

Under the star of Bethlehem

In recent years, Mir Batleika is famous far beyond the urban-type settlement of Mir. 
“Now we have a golden team, consisting of five or six guys who play with full dedication. In parallel, we are preparing a new shift. It is important that children learn their history and culture not from hackneyed lines from a textbook, but touch their own roots. Many after graduating from college are ready to rush at the first call. For them, Batleika is forever in their hearts,” Konstantin Petriman believes.
The college is really proud that it was possible to restore another heritage of the Belarusian culture. 
“On December 25th, the Batleika season was opened in Nesvizh Castle. Our performance is included in the programme until January 19th. Of course, we are showing a ‘carolling’ action. In fact, this is a classic play about King Herod with an Angel, a Devil, Death and a cruel King,” Konstantin continues.

In ancient times, Batleika puppeteer came to the house in advance by agreement with the owner, he was given a special place. This is a chamber theatre that requires a small space for the best involvement of the viewer. The performance begins and ends with a festive edging. Viewers discover a real multicultural heritage that unites both Catholics and Orthodox. 

“Our wooden Batleika booth for performances is 30 years old. It was immediately made with chips in order to get as close as possible to the original. The dolls are also made according to the classic canons of Batleika. There are twelve in total. All made by hand, we did not buy anything,” the teacher shows. 


Meanwhile, a rehearsal is underway in a small room. Three girls are from among the newcomers. They are just learning the art of Batleika art. 
“For the role of the Tsar-tyrant, who shouts all the time: ‘On your knees! I am the king!’, it is necessary to deliver the royal voice. Another character of mine is Kamornik. I don’t know much about him yet. I understand that it is only in my power to make this piece of wood come alive,” Anastasia Azhgirevich laughs.
The Nativity performers are worried that there is no room for mistakes, because the viewer is sitting very close.
“I learn to play an Angel! It’s not as easy as it might seem. You need to have a voice range. After all, you are not visible, but you need to play in such a way that the people believe the doll. It seems to work. The most difficult thing is to smoothly move the dolls, ensuring that the voice matches the action,” first year student Alena Vishchenko says.
Future Batleika puppeteer Dominika Andrievich explains, “It’s a little easier for me, since I studied this skill in Nesvizh for two years at school. But here, in Mir, it is particularly felt that this is not some kind of remake or pseudo-folk, but the original folk art of our ancestors. And whether you like it or not, you are proud!”
The teacher carefully takes out small battered dolls from the same shabby suitcase. And then — you just have to see it with your own eyes...

By Tatiana Vrublevskaya
Photos by Aleksey Bibikov