Marusia Churai

Maria or Marusia Churai (; 1625–1653) was a mythical Ukrainian Baroque composer, poet, and singer. She became a recurrent motif in Ukrainian literature and the songs ascribed to her are widely performed in Ukraine.

According to the legend she was a native of Poltava (then in Crown of the Kingdom of Poland), and is regarded as the purported author as well as the subject of the well-known Ukrainian folk song "Oi Ne Khody Hrytsiu Tai na Vechornytsi" (Oh Gregory, Don't Go to the Evening Dances) known in the West as "Yes, My Darling Daughter".

Life No documentary evidence exists about Marusia Churai's life, and the historicity of her person is a subject of discussion. Alexander Shakhovskoy, the author of a 1839 biography dedicated to the legendary poetess, claimed to have received the information about her life from Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko. Some literary scholars consider the figure of Marusia Churai to be Shakhovskoy's own invention.

According to her traditional biography, Marusia was born around 1625 in Poltava, where she spent her whole life. Her father was supposed to be Hordii Churai, a Cossack sotnyk and one of the leaders of the Ostryanyn Uprising against the Polish rule. After the rebellion's defeat, Hordii was executed in Warsaw. Known for her great beauty, Marusia became an object of courtship from many people in her city, including young Cossack Ivan Iskra. However, she was said to have fallen in love with a certain Hryts Bobrenko, the son of a Poltava Regiment khorunzhy. The couple became engaged, but soon thereafter, in 1648, Hryts left the city to participate in the battles of the Khmelnytsky Uprising. Four years later, after his return from war, Marusia learned, that her loved one had fallen in love with another girl, and decided to poison herself. However, the poison was accidentally taken by Hryts himself, leading to his death. As a result, the city court of Poltava sentenced Marusia to death, but she was pardoned by a universal personally issued by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. It is said that later Marusia visited Kyiv to repent her sins, and died soon upon her return to Poltava, either because of the grief after Hryts, or due to tuberculosis. Another version claims that she became a nun.