Tourist Itinarary through the small homeland:
Bragin-Galki-Asarevichi-Chemerisy-Maleiki-Bragin
Today we will travel to the native places of Bragin District to get acquainted with its unique sights. We are sure that it will be interesting not only for the residents of the district itself, but also for all guests who want to learn more about its history and culture.
Your journey begins at the cosy Hotel Veras, located in the heart of Bragin. Here you can enjoy comfort and relax before starting your adventure. The first point of our tourist itinerary will be the village of “Galki”, which is located 36 kilometres south-east of Bragin. This village is an important part of the rich heritage of the Bragin district and offers us a unique opportunity to immerse ourselves in its history and authentic atmosphere.
One of the villages of Bragin district – Galki – is situated on the bank of the Dnieper. With its beautiful places and picturesque landscapes it always attracts every guest, casual traveller. There is a very interesting historical document, which casts doubt on the current version of the name of this village. This document is called “Abmezhavauchy Act of Bragin County” drawn up on 7 March 1512. It is an entry in the deed book of the Mozyr city court dated 2 August 1776. The word “galki” in the genitive case of the then Belarusian pronunciation had the meaning of a bird, which the author adhered to. It is significant that the village has existed for five hundred years. In the course of the sociolinguistic experiment, we found an almost complete coincidence when comparing historical data about the village of Galki and associations with the toponym “Galki”. This can be explained by the familiarity of the word “Galki” as the name of a bird that lives on the territory of Bragin district. What word do you associate with the toponym ‘Galki’?
The next point of our route will be the village of Asareviči, which is located 29 kilometres south-east of Bragin. This unique place offers us a great opportunity to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of rural life and discover the charm of local culture. The name of the village “Asarewiczy”, as the locals confirm, comes from the surname of “Asar” – a man who settled here and was quite educated and maintained water connections with Ukraine. In his honour, a native of Asarevichi village, now a Minsk resident, editor Igor Vasilievich Zayats gave the name of his publishing house – “Asar”.
However, in the course of the research it was found that the associations to the toponym “Asarevichi” obtained during the sociolinguistic experiment do not coincide with the archival data, which speaks about the loss of information connection between the historical meaning of the toponym and its modern interpretation. The results also confirm the need for further education and educational programs aimed at spreading knowledge about the origin of toponyms among the local population. What do you associate Asarevichi with?
Moving further along our route, the next stop will be the village of Chemerisy. This village is located 23 kilometres southeast of Bragin, which means that it is a neighbouring village to the previous stop on our journey, the village of Asarevichi.
This close proximity between the villages of Chemerisi and Asareviči offers us the opportunity to continue our journey without travelling long distances. We can explore both villages, enjoying the unique atmosphere and attractions of each. The inhabitants of this village refer to themselves as Chemeris. This designation is also used by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages – Krivca, Malozhin, Hrakovici – when they talk about their neighbours from Chemeris. In the distant past, those who founded the village and made up its population were called “Chemerys”. This “collective nickname” was the basis for the geographical name (people and their places of residence were called the same). Old residents of the village, trying to answer these questions, recall the herb chemerica (a genus of plants of the Melanthium family), which grew around the village in large quantities and was often used for medicinal purposes. And others, draw a parallel between the geographical name Chemerisy and the ethnic name “Cheremis”. In a comparative analysis, we found out that the etymology of the toponym “Chemerisy” coincides with the associations of this word among the present inhabitants of Bragin district. Then “Chemerisy” was associated with a plant, which in the old days was called chemeritsa and which grew on the territory bordering the village. What do you think is the origin of the name of this toponym?
The last stop on our route was the village of Maleiki, which is closest to our arrival point, the town of Bragin. The village of Maleiki is only 8 kilometres east of Bragin, which makes it very convenient and accessible to visit.
Its close proximity to Bragin makes a visit to the village of Maleiki an easy and convenient end to our itinerary. Travellers can easily reach Maleiki by bus, taxi or even on foot if they prefer an active holiday. Since we were unable to find archival data concerning the origin of the toponym ‘Maleiki’, we turned to local residents of Bragin district in order to find out the source of the origin of the name of this village.
Based on the results of the survey, we can make an assumption about the origin of the name of the village “Maleiki”. Perhaps, this name is related to the fact that the village itself was small in size. This may indicate that the population and settlement in the area was relatively small.
It is also possible that the inhabitants of the village “Maleiki” were characterised by small stature or were known for their low stature. This could have been a characteristic that was eventually reflected in the name of the village.
Upon arrival in Bragin, our tourist itinerary comes to a close. It is with deep joy and gratitude to spend this day in your company, enjoying the beautiful views and soaking in the cultural heritage of this amazing place. We are glad that we were able to share with you a piece of historical memory and the richness of the toponymy of Bragin district.
Thank you for a wonderful journey!
