One is elaborately decorated with patterns filled with symbolism, while a simple color is the canvas for the other.
As they have been for time immemorial, the centerpieces of Ukrainian Easter baskets this year will be the pysanka and krashanka. While both are important components of Ukrainian culture and heritage, there is an important symbolic difference between these two types of decorated eggs.
“The krashanka is used as food. These are boiled eggs to be eaten after they are blessed,” said Myroslava Boykiv, a deputy director from Kolomiya’s famed Pysanka Museum. “The pysanka…represents fortune, happiness and love, and involves a raw [decorated] egg.”
While no one is certain when the first krashanka appeared, experts generally agree the pysanka dates back to ancient times. It is closely tied to the pagan Trypillian civilization that inhabited Ukraine some 7,000 years ago.
Today the pysanka is accepted as the symbol of Ukraine. It is the greatest national memorial.
– Myroslava Boykiv, a deputy director from Kolomiya’s famed Pysanka Museum
What is evident from surviving artifacts is that the Trypillian people were in a constant state of waiting. “Particularly for those who lived with four seasons, when the first birds arrived, people believed in renewal,” Boykiv said. The coming of spring was subsequently celebrated with decorated eggs as they were considered magical and a source of life.
Although blowing out its yoke and white has become popular in modern times, Boyko said a true pysanka involves the ornamentation of a raw egg with a batik, or a wax-resistant dyeing technique.
In a country filled with diversity, the symbols impressed onto pysankas have remained identical throughout all of Ukraine and have not changed much over the centuries. The krashanka is dyed in a single color, usually with vegetable dyes.
While no example of the pysanka has survived from Trypillian culture – eggshells are delicate – experts believe the Trypillians would have decorated eggs with the same symbols seen on surviving pottery and other artifacts.
The Trypillian people’s system of beliefs was reflected in their symbolism, Boykiv said. The triangle, for instance, represented sun, fire and water, while a woman’s rounded figure was the symbol for fertility.
People color a two-meter tall Easter egg during the Easter fair in Ukrainian House on April 15. (Maks Levin / LB.ua)
As Christianity edged out pagan beliefs and spread throughout the region, symbolism changed. The triangle became the symbol for the Holy Trinity, while the female figure became the sign of the Oranta – the Virgin Mary. These are the two most prominent symbols impressed on the pysanka.
Plenty of superstitions exist with the pysanka, Boykiv said. In the Carpathian Mountains, farmers still believe if a cow is sick, it can be cured by being fed a pysanka. It is also believed to have curative powers if rubbed around a wound or a sore spot.
A damaged pysanka must never be thrown out. It can only be buried, or given a new lease on life if used as part of a new decoration.
The oldest example of a pysanka dates back to the 10th century and is displayed at a local museum in Opole, Poland. Because of its age, it is extremely rare. Although the pysanka is largely indigenous to the Slavic people, it became most deeply rooted in Ukraine. Experts are not sure why this is the case.
“Trypillian culture was here on our land. Maybe it is the genetic code, a historical memory that allows itself to be remembered,” Boykiv said.
“Today the pysanka is accepted as the symbol of Ukraine. It is the greatest national memorial.”
Kolomiya’s Pysanka Museum,
Ivano-Frankivsk region, 43/B Chornovola Prospect.
Boasting a collection of more than 12,000 decorated eggs, the museum is open daily, except for Mondays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Entrance is Hr 10.
The museum offers a variety of classes about the pysanka. Details: http://pysanka.museum/, 03433-278-91
Kyiv Post staff writer Natalia A. Feduschak can be reached at [email protected]
