In the home, rushnyky must
be draped around the icons in the icon corner. Other uses
of rushnyky are optional, but extensive. Typically, rushnyky
are draped around pictures, be they family photographs or
images of important persons such as the poet Taras Shevchenko.
The most basic rushnyk to
used in the home is the one with the embroidery motif that
is called the tree of life. As its name implies, the tree
of life insures the longevity and prosperity of the inhabitants
of the household. The tree of life is believed to connect
all realms: the underworld, this world, and heaven. Because
of this, the tree of life also symbolizes continuity between
the past, current, and future generations of a family and
between people and the natural world.
The rushnyky presented here
were collected by Halyna Kapas' in the area where the Kyiv,
Poltava, and Cherkasy regions meet.
