SEMANTICS OF THE RUSHNYK

by Borys Prokopovych

Anyone growing up in a Ukrainian community has seen the traditional Ukrainian "Rushnyk" displayed 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 embroidered Rushnyk were revealed and the symbolism of the ritual towel explained.

The guest speaker, Yuriy Melnychuk—the director of the textile section of the Ivan Honchar museum 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. 

His visit to the United States was made possible through the efforts of Vera Nakonechna, 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 College.  Chrystyna Prokopovych, a member of UNWLA Branch 88 and curator of the UHSC museum, coordinated 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 Semantics of the Ukrainian Embroidered "Rushnyk"

Background. One of the oldest Ukrainian traditions, 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 designs 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. 

Yuriy Melnychuk instructs Vera Nakonechna and Bill Jula in the semantics of the rushnyk  

       There were designs for attracting 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 embroidered 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” corner 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.

Spinning and Weaving. Even without embroidery, spinning the threads and weaving the linen used for the rushnyk contributes to its spiritual powers. As Ukrainians make the sign of the cross holding three fingers together, so too the threads are twisted together using the same three fingers, imbuing them with all the human energy that becomes part of the material as the threads are woven into a “living cloth of life.” Through the process of its creation, the linen goes through five levels of sainthood, eventually whitened in the magic of the Sun and the Moon, white being a sacred color to our ancestors .

“Chernytsky” Cherkasy Province, City of Chyhyryn, 1809

Needles and Threads. Needles used in embroidery were carefully selected, kept hidden, never loaned or used for other purposes, and preferably purchased on a Monday, a day of the Moon, a celestial body associated with the female gender. There should be one needle for every color thread used in a pattern. Threads used range from the cobweb of a silkworm cocoon, to wool, silk, flax, hemp, and raw cotton with silk being the most valued.

Sacred Stitches. Over 200 known stitches, divided into 20 technique groups have been identified. Choosing the particular stitches and laying them out has a meaning and energy that impacts on the pattern.  Each element of a pattern using the two-sided thread technique, for example, consists of a separate flattened spiral, which is a model for the creation of the Universe. The pattern, both above and below the linen, creates the negative and positive and the visible and the invisible, which is interpreted as the side one shows the world and the hidden, inner person.

Two rules of the old traditions underscore the mysticism of ritual embroidery. The first required that “mistakes” should never be ripped up, for this could confuse the energy field of the towel and bring destruction. The second held that both sides, visible and invisible, should be in full harmony since the visible side reflects our public actions and the invisible reflects our thoughts and desires.

Colors and Numbers. Color has always been an integral part of customs and rituals. Black and white are the most ancient of colors and symbolize Life and Death. These two colors are usually used in towels for burial rituals. White is the color of power since it contains all other colors and radiates energy. Black absorbs energy and is also the color of earth, richness, and solemnity.

Like white, red is a strong, active color and radiates energy. It is used for wedding towels. Two-color combinations of red and blue symbolize the union of the active, hot male red with the passive, cold female blue. The classic Ukrainian embroidery consists of red and black threads on white or the “trypillian” look. The colors of the five races of Man: blue for Arabs, yellow for Asians, red for Native Americans, black for Africans, and white for Europeans, are all present in the traditional colors of rushnyky.

Numbers make up Nature and the rushnyk passes on the harmony of nature and numbers in its motifs and symbols. Divided into even and odd, numbers symbolize the spiritual and material sides of man. From the number One, which is the basis of all life and all numbers, to the number Twelve, which is a perfect number of completeness, each pattern in a rushnyk is carefully thought out for a specific purpose.

Symbols. The symbols embroidered on a rushnyk can be looked at in three ways: exoteric—forms, parts, lines, colors, and other parameters; conceptual—the idea behind the symbol and its meaning; and esoteric—the effect of the symbol on feelings.

One of the most prevalent symbols is the Tree of Life that can be traced back to the ancient Celts and Druids. The grape, the only fruit to absorb most of the sun’s energy, dates back to the ancient mysteries associated with the sun. The oak, which symbolizes health and long life, and the lily, which symbolizes spiritual life, are two predominant symbols in rushnyk designs.  Other symbols used depict animals, birds, crosses, stars, spirals, chevrons, squares, and rhombuses.  Each symbol has a specific purpose and radiates a particular energy.

Preserving tradition. Established in 1993, the Ivan Honchar Museum is dedicated to the collection and preservation of Ukrainian culture and ethnic identification and is a center for the study of traditional Ukrainian arts. The three-volume Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Embroidery, being prepared for printing, has a large section devoted to the rushnyk which serves as a bridge between the past and the future.