Towel - a product with a deep symbolic meaning. It is created according to the laws of art to decorate life, and not only. Towel holds invisible bonds that connect people with their race. The patterns that are embroidered on the canvas are encrypted information about the life of the people, individuals, nature.
From the article you can learn about the use of towels by people, especially in wedding ceremonies, as well as on the meaning of the most common elements that are used in patterns to create the canvas.
Range of use
For its intended purpose, such an item was used very rarely. This refers to wiping hands. A towel is a ritual element that was an essential component of human habitation, clothing, and ceremonies. They were decorated with corners in houses, windows and doors.
It was used as a festive belt. In many nations, the belt was an indispensable element of clothing. If a person appeared in public without him, it was believed that he had lost human dignity. There was even an expression "unbelted."
The use of towels:
- To honor the mother and her newborn baby. Towel became a defense against enemy forces, he protected the baby from the evil eye.
- The godmother gave the woman in childbirth. A baptismal version was also embroidered in order to take the child to the temple and wipe it after dipping in the font. After the christening, a shirt was sewn from the canvas for the child, or it was stored until his wedding, or perhaps a funeral.
- A symbol of the path of the deceased to another world. In some regions he was hung outside the window until forty days after the funeral. So the soul of the deceased could wipe his face from tears. On the fortieth day, the rushnyk was carried to the grave and tied to it on a cross. For forty days after death, this element was a kind of window between the worlds of the living and the dead.
It was also widely used in calendar ceremonies, in magic rituals and medicine.
Wedding Towel
At all stages of the wedding, the rushnyk was the main rite (this is not just an element of decor).
Stages of the wedding:
- matchmaking;
- betrothal;
- loaf ceremony;
- blessing;
- giftedness.
Matchmaking in some regions was otherwise called the taking of rushnyks. This component was a sign of the girl’s consent to marry. To do this, the girl tied a cloth with embroidery to matchmakers or brought them bread on embroidered fabric.
When engaged, the hands of the young were tied with a cloth. Conducted this official ceremony, the elder warden. After this, the bride bandaged matchmakers with rushnyks.
At the wedding, the young stood on the canvas, it was also used to decorate horses, harnesses, guests' clothes.
Amulets functions
Towel - it is a talisman in many nations. For example, the canvases lit in the church during Easter, people hung out on the front doors to protect themselves from thunder. Objects that needed protection were often covered with ornamented fabric. How did these ritual elements be made?
Manufacture
In the old days, towels were made (embroidery depended on the destination) from linen and hemp cloth. The following size was considered standard: width - forty centimeters, length - more than three meters.
Embroidery (satin stitch, cross) is used as decoration, although options with lace, ribbons or print are possible.
Initially, each embroidered pattern had its own sacred meaning. Ornaments could be zoomorphic, plant, geometric, cult, anthropomorphic. By the end of the nineteenth century, for many, embroidery had lost its ritual significance.
To design the pattern, different colors were used depending on the region. Most often used red, black, white. Although there are works using blue, green, yellow.
Floral ornament
From ancient times, plants have been part of human life and culture. The rushnik embroidery pattern often contains one or another plant motif.
The value of floral ornament:
- oak - a young man, reliability, a sacred tree;
- lily - girlish purity and innocence;
- rose - infinite solar movement, eternal rebirth;
- viburnum - beauty, fidelity;
- periwinkle - memory;
- grapes - creation of a family;
- poppy - protection from evil, indestructible memory of the people;
- hops - development, young riot, love; refers to wedding symbols.
If flowers or leaves grow up - this is a symbol of life, and down - a symbol of death.
Character Meaning
Cross rushnyk schemes often contain geometric shapes. They also make sense:
- Rhombuses are the most common cross-stitch ornament. A common element for most East Slavic peoples. Rhombuses with curls designated the goddess of the earth, were a protective symbol that brings happiness and fertility. Often used as a decoration for women's clothing, especially in the head, chest, and shoulders.
- Stars - an idea of an ordered universe, which is filled with harmony.
- The flowerpot was depicted with large branches of flowers and birds. It was embroidered, as a rule, with red threads, which meant a cleansing fire, the sun. It was a symbol of protective magic, purification and healing.
- Water and the Sun - these two symbols were depicted together, since water was the mother's energy, and the sun was the father's. The sun looked like an octagonal rosette or flower, and the water looked like a curled snake.
- The maternal symbol is an eight-pointed star decorated with a stylized garland of flowers. The symbol indicates the special role of the mother in the continuation of life. The mother symbol is the main one on the canvas.
Towels, the schemes of which differed depending on the primary purpose, played a significant role in the life of the Slavs. They accompanied the person from birth to death.