The Chuvash ornament, like other ornaments of the peoples of the Volga region, Russia and the whole world, is built on the strict alternation of a certain motive, which can be any one consisting of graphic or geometric elements. The latter is more common.
The message of distant ancestors
Translated from Latin, this term means either decoration or pattern. The essence of the ornament is that it is not a simple pattern, but rhythmically alternating. The Chuvash ornament, like all others, has its roots in time immemorial. No wonder these elements of applied art are called writings from the past. Passed through the centuries, these drawings have absorbed the changing concepts of their ancestors about the world around them. All national ornaments contain information about this particular people.
Main amulet and decoration
It can be stated that the use of ornament was unusually wide also because it was he who embodied the functions of a talisman. He adorned clothes and utensils, other household items, weapons and jewelry, it was used in the construction of buildings and in the design of books. The material for applying the ornament can be anything: paper, fabric, leather, clay and stone, metal and wood.
The Chuvash ornament, like any other, occupies its worthy niche in world folk art. It underlies the entire culture of this ethnos. The ornament system is unique, and it certainly has an impact on the modern culture of the Chuvash. The ornament of any nation, especially a small one, has not been studied much.
Interest in their roots
Coming from prehistoric times, it was accepted as a legacy, passing from generation to generation, and no comments were created on it. With the growth of national identity, interest in the ornament, the media, is constantly growing.
Some works on the history of the Chuvash ornament in small numbers have been preserved since pre-revolutionary times: the album of the artist N. E. Simakov and the work of a number of ethnographers, relying on which, modern scholars published the index "Chuvash ornament", in which they tried to generalize and systematize all information from all sources.
What is characteristic of this ornament, presented in large quantities in embroidery and woodcarving, from other national patterns?
A purely national color scheme
In the Penza region, on the territory of which there are many Chuvash villages, patterned weaving and embroidery are very developed. Chuvash ornaments and patterns are presented in national clothes: headdresses, shoulder pads, belts and garters. Two-tone patterns are very common - on a white field, a diamond-shaped red ornament looks very bright. Chuvash ornament is rich in animal and plant motifs. The diagrams below illustrate this clearly.
The main colors of the patterns: black and red interspersed with yellow, orange and green. In combination with the latter, madder color is very common. Much later, blue and brown colors appeared in the patterns of the Chuvash. No less popular are multicolor ornaments on the red field.
Elements of folk art inherent only to the Chuvash
There are national features in the design of scarves, for the embroidery of which a dense seam “set” was used. An oblique stitch and a contour seam “painting” decorated the tunic tunic shirts. The ornament used in wood carving was different (kitchen utensils, furniture, household items, especially spinning wheels). On wooden household items, a “rope” is very common, symbolizing the sun in a semicircle with radiance and just a circle. In large forms, sawn thread was used.
In women's jewelry there are a lot of patterns from beads. It is found everywhere: in necklaces, headdresses, tassels, and purses, suspended from a belt, also richly decorated with beads.