Quite often in everyday life there is such a thing as a "rosary". Many people do not even have a clue about the purpose of this attribute. This article discusses the history and purpose of the rosary, as well as a way to correctly weave the rosary.
What is a rosary?
Prayer beads are ribbons or dense threads closed in a circle with knots tied to them, various beads or decorated with other decorative or church elements. They are used in various religions, for example, in Christianity, Islam, Buddhism. The name itself comes from the word "count" ("honor"), that is, to make any calculation. Most often, they are a dense cord on which beads are strung and a cross is attached.
Origin history
The oldest mention of the rosary dates back to the 2nd millennium. The birthplace of origin is India. In Christianity, it is very difficult to find out the specific date of their appearance. Not a single church book of the early times, especially the Bible, has any words about the rosary. Not about what it is, nor about what they were used for at that time. From this we can conclude that in early Christianity there was no such attribute at all.
The appearance of the rosary in Christianity is associated with Anthony of Egypt and Pachomius the Great. Their students were not always educated, many even did not know how to write and read. But they studied church affairs. In order for the disciples of Pachomius to remember the prayer (Appeal to Jesus), he made the disciples repeat these lines a certain number of times every day. But since his students felt bad, they were given a rope. After each time the prayer was read, the disciples tied one knot on their rope.
In addition to this version, there are still thoughts that the appearance of the rosary is associated with Basil the Great, who lived in Caesarea. Before leaving life, he left a testament in which he mentioned the sacred bitch, the meaning and significance of which must be respected.
Bead assignment
The main purpose is connected with the church, since the rosary is a church attribute. This meaning is that they serve to count the prayers that have been read. In order not to stray during service or ordinary everyday prayer, rosaries have been and are being used. The number of beads or nodules on them - the required number of prayers to read. Basil the Great also pointed out that the rosary serves to appeal to God himself. The monks have an unusual name - the "spiritual sword." The main prayer is the Jesus Prayer.
Features
The rosary has many interesting and important features that reflect some parts of the historical and religious parts of this church attribute. Among the main features distinguish:
- The item, which will be located at the very end of the rosary. This item will reflect the canons of religion. In Orthodoxy, a brush and a small cross will be attached at the end. In Catholicism, it will only be a cross. In Buddhism, these are also tassels, alternating in a certain order with beads. In Islam, at the end of the rosary there is a pebble. And among the Old Believers on the rosary you can see a triangle that indicates the Holy Trinity.
- Symbols If you know the purpose of each symbol, then you can better understand the essence of religion. In Christianity, this is the mystical garden of the Virgin, in Buddhism - the wheel of Samsara, in Hinduism - the cyclical nature of time.
- The number of beads. In Buddhism, this number will reach 108, since there were 108 brahmanas. In Christianity, there will be 10 to 160 beads. In Hinduism, 32, 64, or 108. In Islam, the number of beads will be 99: they are divided into links, only 3 links with 33 beads each.
Design
The design you need to know in order to properly learn how to weave the rosary. In this issue, there are three main components.
- A thread, knot or cord serves as the basis for the entire product. Beads and other attributes are strung on the thread, and knots are also tied. Those who adhere to tantric Buddhism generally create a thread immediately from 5 different colors (blue, white, red, green, yellow), these colors represent five different elements (fire, water, space, air and earth).
- A variety of separating elements. Most often it is used to separate a certain number of beads from each other.
- Pendants. They are religious crosses, pebbles and tassels. You can also use larger beads as pendants. Or beads that differ in color from the rest.
Necessary materials
In order to weave a rosary with your own hands, you need to prepare all the materials necessary for this.
- A thread. It is best to use a tight thread or cord that will not break. Sometimes even rubber bands are used, thanks to which the product can stretch.
- Beads. They should be considered in more detail, because they can be from a variety of materials. Beads are made of the following types of beads: bread, glass, ebonite, from polymer clay, from wood. If weaving beads is new to you, it is best to use the most ordinary beads. Be sure to choose a color and size.
- Attributes: crosses, pebbles, brushes.
- Pins - they will help when stringing beads on your base.
- Scissors.
Step-by-step instruction
How is the weaving of Orthodox rosary? For the manufacture will be necessary:
- stone beads;
- metal beads;
- chain;
- cross;
- dense thread;
- separators (they are caps for beads);
- pins
- water;
- scissors.
If desired, you can also take glue. It will take you one to two hours to create such a rosary. Next, follow the instructions presented:
- Take exactly 33 beads. This number is used in Christianity, as it is associated with the life expectancy of Christ on Earth. You can take another quantity, but it should be a multiple of twelve or ten. 30 beads you use mainly a circle, and the remaining three - to create the so-called "tail", on which after you also place a cross.
- Since the beads are made of such a difficult material as stone, you need to lower them into a bowl with water, and then with the help of an awl, expand the holes in them a little. Remove all sharp corners. It is desirable that these holes in all beads be equal in size.
- The assembly phase is rosary. Take a dense thread, put one metal bead on it. Then, after the bead, place the chain with the cross on it.
- Dense thread must be threaded into a metal bead. Thus, you should get a loop, and the cross will be a separate element attached to the rosary. Tie a strong knot. It can be poured with glue so that the product is stronger and does not fall apart. Cut off all the excess.
- Weaving beads requires attention and concentration, so you need to carefully monitor the number of beads used. Next, you just need to string the stone beads. They can be separated using dividers of 11 beads, for example. The personal desire of everyone is more important here. The end result can be fixed with bead caps. Also fix everything with glue.
- Beads should have space to move freely along the cord or thread. To do this, leave 1-2 cm between each wooden bead.
- All threaded beads need to be secured again by tying a knot, then put on another metal bead. This is followed by an important point - the thread is threaded into the tube, after which again the entire product is secured with a knot.
- The rosary has already acquired its final form. You just need to tie a couple more strong knots. Your Orthodox rosary is ready. Weaving was not difficult, but it took time and attention.
Main mistakes
The weaving of the rosary, although it seems simple, is also accompanied by many errors. Especially for beginners.
- Some wear a rosary bracelet on their arm. How to weave these correctly? Everything is simple. Weaving occurs, as with ordinary rosaries, only many do not take into account the fact that when putting on such a bracelet on your hand, difficulties can arise. If you use a regular thread, then it will not stretch. For many, the mistake lies precisely in the fact that in the manufacture of a bracelet in the form of a rosary, beginners use an ordinary thread or cord. In this case, you need a dense elastic band. Thus, you will get a good bracelet-rosary on hand. How to weave? This question will no longer seem so scary.
- Using too bright colors. Do not forget that the rosary is a church and religious attribute. It is better to approach the manufacture of beads intelligently, without using too bright color combinations.
- A cross and a brush should correspond to the size of future rosaries. If you take them too large, then the rosary will be bulky and messy.
- Many beginners buy raw stone beads. This is a mistake, since it will be quite difficult to bring them to their proper form on their own.
Manufacturing tips
After you learn about the main mistakes when weaving beads, it is worth familiarizing yourself with important tips. Some of them are presented below.
- If you decide to apply weaving of rosaries in 4 threads, then it is worth choosing small beads so that the final version does not look huge. The optimal size will be 5-6 millimeters.
- Some people prefer weaving a cross of thread for a rosary with their own hands. For this, professionals are advised to use 4 silk ribbons 1 m long each. The type of weaving does not matter.
- If you want to make a rosary from a material such as plexiglass, then masters advise you to buy it whole in different construction markets. There, the material is cheaper, and enough for several products at once.
- Most often, beginners make Orthodox rosary with their own hands. Weaving from beads is not so difficult, since the number of symbols is much less than in the beads of other religions. Here, beginners are advised to adhere to the rule: the simpler, the better. Making rosaries from complex materials takes much more effort, time and material resources than weaving the most common Orthodox rosaries, for example, from wooden beads.
Price
Making rosaries is a relatively cheap job. Of course, it all depends on the selected materials. If the price of ordinary wooden beads will be from 50-100 rubles - depending on the quantity, the price of plexiglass beads will be much higher. Plexiglass itself in a hardware store will cost at least 500 rubles, not counting consumables, such as ribbons, threads and other paraphernalia.
Weaving rosary from soutache will cost more than from ordinary wooden beads. Soutache is used instead of a thread, and its cost will be about 60 rubles per 20 meters. But this is not counting the beads that you will also use.
Reviews of the masters
To understand many of the nuances in the performance of any work can be very simple. You just need to carefully read the reviews of professional masters or the same newcomers. This way you can get around many errors. Judging by the reviews, weaving the rosary is a reassuring activity, and relatively little money is spent on it. After people try to weave a rosary from soutache, subsequently they use only it, since it is very durable and comfortable. Some people use wooden beads as their first experience in weaving beads. They say that it turns out beautifully, and it’s easy to use.