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THE SEMANTICS OF THE RUSHNYK by Borys Prokopovych Anyone growing up in a Ukrainian commu nity has seen the traditional Ukrainian "Rushnyk" dis played around icons and beautifully embroidered with various symbols and designs. But, very few of us have ever stopped to wonder why Ukrainians treasure and preserve this ritual towel and how the motifs, colors, designs, and fabrics for this ancient Ukrainian art form came to be. At a recent seminar held at Manor College, Philadelphia, PA, the semantics of the Ukrainian em broidered Rushnyk were revealed and the symbolism of the ritual towel explained. The guest speaker, Yuriy Melnychuk—the di rector of the textile section of the Ivan Honchar mu seum in Kyiv, Ukraine—spoke about the history of the symbolism in the embroidery of Rushnyky, Ukrainian Ritual Towels. Mr. Melnychuk is a Master Craftsman in embroidery and has initiated a project to publish a three-volume encyclopedia on Ukrainian embroidery. Mr. Melnychuk's visit to the United States was made possible through the efforts of Vera Na- konechna, a member of UNWLA Branch #90, who obtained a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts that funded the visit to provide instruction in the techniques of the rushnyk. The seminar was hosted by the Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center at Manor Col lege. Chrystyna Prokopovych, a member of UNWLA Branch 88 and curator of the UHSC museum, coordi nated the seminar. The following is a synopsis of the research into the rushnyk by Yuriy Melnychuk. The themes presented here were discussed at the seminar and will soon be published in a monograph entitled “The Se mantics of the Ukrainian Embroidered Rushnyk.” Background. One of the oldest Ukrainian tra ditions, the embroidered ritual towel or Rushnyk is an art form shared by many Slavic cultures. In each of these cultures, the embroidery has its own symbolism and meaning. The Ukrainian rushnyk reflects Ukraine's ancient history of spiritual culture and lore in woven and embroidered cloths. The symbols, colors, and de signs on rushnyky are cryptograms depicting the cycle of life and embody the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of those who create them. From birth to death, the rushnyk has guided the lives of Ukrainians and has acted as the median between God and man. Sacred Functions. Long before Christianity, Ukrainians hung embroidered towels in groves and woods and offered prayers to the Creator. The rushnyk was a vital part of everyday life in the annual calendar cycle, in holidays, and in ceremonies. The symbols, lines, and colors were associated with the invisible world and with the spirits that belonged to the four elements—Fire, Earth, Air, and Water—that combined to create all living forms. There were designs for at tracting kind spirits to help with daily chores and other designs for warding off wicked spirits. Ritual towels had magical powers and were used in a variety of situations. A mother sending her son off to war would embroider all her prayers for his safe return in the towel she gave him on his journey. An illness or other problem with a family member resulted in “obydenni” towels woven and embroidered in one night to cure the illness or solve the problem. During times of epidemics among humans, village women would gather to embroider a ritual towel, speaking not a word throughout the night but concentrating their thoughts into positive energies as they embroidered. Ritual towels were also embroi dered for the health of the livestock. These towels, called “yuriivski” or “skotarski,” were given to the herdsmen on the first day the cattle were sent out to pasture. Memorial towels were hung from windows to mark special days of remembrance, one end hanging outside the window and the other inside. Centered on this towel were a lit candle, bread, and water to honor departed family members and invite them into the house on the “road” of the rushnyk. A rushnyk was always hung in the “pokutia” comer of the room where the family gathered. Before Christianity, the rushnyk served as a holy icon and was later draped above Christian icons as an adornment. By far the widest use of the rushnyk was during wedding ceremonies. In fact, weddings required a number of different rushnyks for different purposes. 12 “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЖОВТЕНЬ 2003 Yuriy Melnychuk instructs Vera Nakonechna and Bill Jula in the semantics o f the rushnyk. Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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