January 2023

I learned about Malanka, which has miraculously survived through time, church and Soviet bans in the village where my grandfather was born, in 2021. In 2022, I came to do research and was impressed by the authenticity. On Malanka, they dress up in what they find in women's chests, so the bodies and masks look as if they are 100 years old. With each Lightning there are fewer and fewer bodies left. They tear and deteriorate during the ritual struggle. Maybe Malanka will end when there are no more bodies in the chests. And maybe it will be reborn and look different. In 2023, during Malanka, there was massive shelling and three Russian rockets flew over the participants.