The Chronicle of the Village of Rakiv Lis

Kamin–Kashirsky district has an ancient and a very interesting history. There are 65 settlements in our district. Rakiv Lis is the nearest village. Kamin–Kashirsky is a district town on the Tsyr River. It is one of the oldest towns in Ukraine. The town has been known since1196 as a fortress Kashyra. The fortress was ruined by the Horde. It was rebuilt in the15 th century. The town and fortress become the centre of the estate of the Russian feudal Sangushski-Kashirsky. The town boasts the wooden church of Natality in 1723. In 1823 the town of Kamin-Kashirsky was sold to landlord S.Orda in the village of Rakiv–Lis. For some time Kamin-Kashirsky belonged to Krasitsky, but later in the 19 century it belonged to Smolianskiy.

1665- The first mentioning of Rakiv Lis.

XIX c. - The village had 185 houses.

1783- A wooden church was built.

1817- The school was built in it.

1914- A new church was built.

1936- At that time Dym Liudoviy was built by the means of people.

1942- Ten of young citizens took to Germany for forced labour.

1960-1983 The church was closed.

1970- The Eternal Glory memorial complex in a form of obelisk with a statue of soldier who takes a sward was built.

1977- The building of culture was built.

1983- The first –aid post was built.

1984- The church was reestablished and was opened again.

1987- The kindergarten was opened in the village of Rakiv Lis.

1997- The tragic day for our village. The hurricane rushed by the village.

A Form of Populated Settlement

The village Rakiv Lis of Kamyn-Kashirsky district is situated in the North-West part of Volyn region. It is not far from the district centre Kamyn-Kashirsky. It is situated 4 kilometers away from Kamyn-Kashirsky and 125 kilometers away from the regional centre Lutsk. Our village borders on Kamyn-Kashirsky, the villages Pidritcha, Buzaky and Zalas’ko. Rakiv Lis covers an area of 774, 8 square kilometers.

The History of Origin and Foundation of Inhabited Settlement

The name of the village Rakiv- Lis descend from the lakes and wood which are situated in the forest. Once there were many crayfishes. The crayfishes are found in the lake nowadays. The black heap of crayfishes turned in the mule of forest’s lake. They stuck to the deaf bottom. There were as many crayfishes as prisoners in a prison. The heap of crayfishes as they feel a disaster hid themselves in a dark dense forest from the world and their instinct enjoyed them that nobody has gone. But rumour about big crayfishes forces removed in impregnable woodland. So that dense forest called Rakiv- Lis and the lake was Rakiv Lis and the nearest village called Rakiv Lis. In a novel “Hrymuchy Ozera” Margarita Malinovs’ka wrote about Rakiv Lis.

The village of Rakiv Lis consists of two parts: Old village and New one-Dovha Nyva, which was a separate village. The name of it comes from one of a long street. This long street refers to Pidritcha. The Old village consists of corners: Polsky, Bolotens’ky, Zaromannia and Horbaha. Not far from the village in the forest there are two lakes: Sviate and Dobre were filled of crayfishes. They were described by Margarita Malinovs’ka in her novel. The banks of the lakes covered with thick needled and leaf bearing forest.

There are 11 plots of land which have very interesting names:

“Ozertse”, “Tsehel`nia”, “Pans`ke”, “Syneliado”, “Gorava”, “Mal`tseve”, “Matka Boska”,“Yaseniha” ,“Dubrava” ,“Kalynnyk” ,“Dovha Beresyna” on the territory of the village.

I want to tell you about “Ozertse”. Once upon a time there was a deep lake. Later it was overgrown. Our ancestors cut the square windows and wet hemp there. Fortunately these windows were overgrown. The people were shot here at a military time. The trees, mushrooms are growing nowadays.

“Tsehel`nia” is called so because the people mined a clay and made bricks. At present time the people are using these fields and managing on them. Though there are pieces of bricks, but it is not a problem. The harvest is good.

“Matka Boska”

Once in our village lived a family, who moved from Lithuania. They spoke Ukrainian and Lithuanian, but they spoke in Lithuanian more. Almost too all the words they said “Matka Boska” which translated into Ukrainian as “Maty Bozha”. Since that time the lands got the name “Matka Boska”

“Pans’ke”

Pans’ke. At the time of selfdom here lived a landowner, who bought these fertile soils. He used these soils for ten years and sold them and moved. This name exists nowadays.

“Syneliado”

There are two versions of origin of this plot of land. The first version- these soils were covered by heather. This plant has a flower of blue colour. People said “Syn- liado”, because the land looked like heather. The next version- our lands became a part of Poland. People sew flax in these fields. Flax was flowered a blue colour. From here became the name ’’Syneliado’’.

“Gorava”

You can see a hill. Gorava looks like a hill.

“Mal’tseve”

Once at farmstead lived a man with a surname Mal’tseviy. He worked hard on his plot of land. He invented a plough which tilled the ground. He wanted to lighten the work of his family. His family settled in a new place of the village. The farmstead remained its name from the surname of his first inventor of plough.

“Yasenyha”

Since older days there was a forest. Among the trees were almost all ashes. The people went to the forest and enjoyed these ashes. Our countrymen called this forest Yasenyha. The years had passed, all the forest was cut down. At those places formed fields, which were called Yasenyha too.

“Kalynnyk”

There was a big swamp where men cut grass. The bushes of snowball tree grew at that swamp. The people gathered medicinal berries of the snowball tree.

“Dybrava”

Oak is a beautiful and strong tree. Good and enduring things make of it. The people said the same about soils which gave a good harvest ’’Dobre pole”.

“Dovha berezyna’’

The high and wide birches grew in a wide field for a long time. But the most beautiful was the highest tree birch. When people passed the birch they were proud of it. The birch got old and the people cut it. At that place formed a field which was called “Dovha berezyna’’.

In the old days there lived a landowner. He thought to plant the birches in the middle of a field. The people sat down to have a rest in this field. Our countrymen recollected that landowner with a good word. Rakiv-Lis is first in 1665 and chronology of the village began with that date. At the time of it`s first record it belongs to the count Krasitskiy. Later it was the property of nobleman Edmund Orda. Polish landlord E. Orda possesses two estates in the villages of Pidritcha and Zalas`ko. So as E. Orda had many debts that place was sold to a wife of a colonel Ann Orda. It mentioned in a book of M.I. Teodorovich “Volyn in the descriptions of towns and countries”. In ancient times inhabitants of Rakiv-Lis were working on the plots of lands. They grew the rye mainly. Our ancestors milled the grain on the stone-rub. The cattle breeding play important role- breeding of pigs, livestocks. But hunting, fishing, gathering of honey berries, nuts took great place in the life of our ancestors.

The craft had developed the tailors and carpenters were working. The wooden weaving looms are kept nowadays, in which our ancestors spin the linen Today many people have a surname Tkatch.

Flora is the various in our district. The ordinary pine-trees, birches, aspens, hornbeams are growing in our forests and in the swampy places. You can see black older trees. There are many black berries, blue berries and heather. The cranberry and bramble are growing among the swamps.

Fauna is a very various in our district too. You can see such animals in our forests as elks, foxes, and hares, sometimes you can see wolves. In the forest where oaks and willows are growing you can meet the wild boars.