Other Examples
Rushnyky are used in other rituals: baptisms and funerals, and for other ritual purposes.
Here are some funeral rushnyky
Traditional embroidery continues throughout Central Ukraine, the one major difference being the use of very bright colors made possible by acrylic threads. In addition to traditional embroidery, several new trends have emerged since independence.
There has been a spread of motifs and designs from Western Ukraine to other territories. Many, if not most, villages have revived their churches. To staff the new or newly reopened churches, the villages needed clergy and most, including Orthodox priests, were trained in Western Ukraine. Ukrainian priests, both Orthodox and Eastern rite Catholic, are allowed to marry. Thus, when a priest came to a village, he brought his family with him. Clergy hold positions of prestige and everything that they and their families do is scrutinized and emulated. Seeing the Western-style embroideries in the homes of the clergy, many villagers in Central Ukraine have begun making rushnyky that resemble the ones found in the home of their priest. This has happened in the village of Ploske. Our hostess, Zina Ivanivna Latysh is making 4 wedding towels, one for each of her grandchildren. She is using Western Ukrainian motifs and colors. Similar towels can be found in the homes of many villagers alongside more traditional designs.
More new trends – the text towel. In the past, towels conveyed their messages in symbols rather than words. Thus pumpkin flowers conveyed wealth and poppies, embroidered on wedding towels, referred to beauty and the intoxication of love. The symbolism of the various rushnyk motifs in listed under the Rushnyk glossary on this website. The various motifs did not need to be labeled because everyone knew the language of rushnyk symbols and could “read” the meaning from the flowers, leaves, berries, and geometric designs alone. Text was just not something that went along with embroidery. Letters are difficult to embroider and text was more appropriate to songs and stories than to rushnyky. There were a few categories of text towels, but these were not to be displayed for all to admire; rather, they were personal expression of loss and pain. Text towels were routinely made for the unquiet dead. People who died violently and before their time were believed to roam the world unless proper measures were taken. Proper measures included the production of special towels. Soldiers who died in battle were routinely commemorated by their sisters who made special towels to insure their repose. Natalia Ponomarenko’s towel for her son falls into this category. Some text towels express other loss: the loneliness of an orphan, the despair of a person for whom all life seems to be going wrong.
In the past, text towels were restricted to expressing loss and easing the pain of sad situations. Today’s innovation is the use of texts on a variety of towels, including those for happy occasions such as weddings. Several factors motivate the use of text. One is loss of meaning. While people could previously “read” towel symbols, the language of symbols is now known by fewer people. The other is the introduction of new motifs whose symbolic meaning is not alien: the motifs and designs from Western Ukraine discussed above. When symbolic meaning becomes obscure, conveying it by different means becomes necessary. Thus, wishes for the happiness and prosperity of a couple about to be married are now often conveyed by embroidering words expressing those sentiments on a rushnyk. Print towels with text were widely used during the Soviet period. Soviet policy was precisely to get away from old beliefs with deep emotional nuanced and to move toward a more rational, more clearly articulated view of the world. Explicit text rather than inarticulate symbolism fit this world view. And, while many aspects of the Soviet system have been rejected with the independence of Ukraine, some practices have remained. Text on ritual towels is one of these.
