Rushnyk
Rushnyk (Ukrainian: рушник) for traditional East Slavic towels, highly decorated often with the ornamental pattern.
Decorated rushnyks are used for ceremonial events. An example of their use would be a host offering his guests bread and salt, which would then be served on a rushnyk. Rushnyks are also used at religious services, funerals, and other social functions. On each rushnyk, there is a decorative pattern, an ornament. The ornaments are commonly designed to show local plants and flowers. These patterns are also woven into outfits. An example of an ornament can be seen on the national flag of Belarus. They are made out of linen or hemp fabric.
The Rushnyk Museum is located in Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine as part of The Museum of Folk Architecture and Way of Life of Central Naddnipryanshchyna.
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[edit] Uses
The way that a towel is used depends on their name. The very basic rushnik is colloquially called the utyralnyk or wiper. The utyralnyk is a basic towel that is used to clean up the home. The towel either has no designs on it or it has very narrow strip on the edges. In contrast, a nabozhnyk is a highly decorated towel composing of embroidery and of lace. Nabozhnyks, also called nabraznyks or nakutnyks are used to decorate icons.
Rushnyks are widely used in rituals of the Slavic religion and many of these ancient customs have been incorporated into modern observances. The rushnyk is used during various ceremonies, including weddings and funerals. During a wedding ceremony, the bride and groom are standing on a towel called a pidnozhnyk, which translates as step-on towel. What happens to the pidnozhnyk is that the bride will drag the towel behind her, and her bridesmaids follow behind her. Tradition has it that when the bridesmaids follow behind the pidnozhnyk, they are following the path of the bride and hopefully be married themselves. The rushnyks were widely used to dress an icon corner in Ukrainian huts, which was called Krasny Kut (compare to the city of Krasny Kut (Russia)).
[edit] Wedding rushnyks
Colour plays a very important symbolic role in traditional Slavic embroidery. Red is the colour of life, the sun, fertility and health. The majority of rushnyks are embroidered with red threads. The very word "red" means "beautiful" and "splendid" in Russian: a red girl, a red sun or a red spring. The diamond-shaped design of the rushnyk is an ancient agricultural symbol, which means a sown field, or the sun, and expresses the idea of fertility and protection against anything evil. Ducks, in the centre of the rushnyk, symbolize the element of life-giving water. In wedding folklore a duck and a drake symbolize a bride and a groom, in other words a pair of ducks is a symbol of family life.
[edit] Etymology
The words are created with the common suffix "-nyk" ("-nik") that indicates a general association of the new word with the base one.
- Rushnyk: from ruka, hand
- Na-: a prefix meaning "on", i.e., the thing is supposed to be put onto something
- Pidnozhnyk: from pid-= under and nohy = feet
