Bukovynian Pysanky

 
 

Most of Bukovyna lies in the modern Chernivtsi oblast; the rest is in Romania and Moldova.  Bukovynian pysanky are beautiful and colorful, and share with the Hutsuls a love of resheto and church motifs.


One common characteristic of Bukovynian pysanky is use of the diagonal division and  diagonal bands. Sometimes the bands wrap around the entire egg; other times they are just on one face. There might be a single diagonal band encircling the pysanka:


There might even be two intersecting diagonal bands:


Another popular type of Bukovynian pysanka is the “rooster” type.  That is the name given to those pysanky with certain goddess motifs: sigmas (S) with wings.  These “kucheri” usually have a crown, which apparently looks like a rooster's comb.


A common and characteristic motif found on Bukovynian pysanky is the compound cross, also known as a cross crosslet.  This is an equilateral cross which has further crossing at the end of each crosspiece.  It is an ancient, pre-christian sun symbol.


Complex crosses are often, seen, too; these are crosses made from piled up squares; individual square may have Xs through them.


While the simple cross crosslet can be found in other regions (e.g. Hutsulshchyna), the compound complex variant below is rarely seen outside of Bukovynian pysanky.


Compound crosses can also have other elements, like ruzhi:


A note should be made about the colors found on Bukovynian pysanky.  Dark red/mahogany backgrounds are popular, as opposed to the black and dark brown preferred by the Hutsuls.  The pysanky also appear bright because of the frequent use of pinks, blues and greens in fairly large amounts.


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