Bukovynian Folk Pysanky

Reproduced from Vira Manko's The Ukrainian Folk Pysanka (Table 19, No. 31), Chernivtsi Province. This pysanka features ornate crosses within the "sakvy," or "saddlebags" division.

Reproduced from Vira Manko's The Ukrainian Folk Pysanka (Table 21, No. 30), Chernivtsi Pronvince. This pysanka features typical and "broken" ("svarha") crosses and crosshatching ("resheto") in a diagonal division. Notice also the wave pattern ("bezkonechnyk") along the outer boundary.

Reproduced from Vira Manko's The Ukrainian Folk Pysanka (Table 20, No. 30), Chernivtsi Province. This pysanka is divided into eighths by six cross motifs and features crosshatching ("resheto"). The crosshatched triangle is a rain symbol.

Reproduced from Zenon Elyjiw's Sixty Score of Easter Eggs (Table 9, No. 8). This pysanka is divided into fourths by two cross motifs (not visible, but located on the sides of the egg). Featured in the four sections is probably a goddess motif, resembling a snake with wings. The prominent "S" shape with no curls could also denote Zmyia, or the god of earth, who is also featured as a serpent.

Reproduced from Zenon Elyjiw's Sixty Score of Easter Eggs (Table 59, No. 10). Elyiw calls this division "six roses" as it results in six eight-pointed stars evenly spaced over the surface of the egg.

The ethnohistorical region of Bukovyna is located in the eastern Carpathian Mountain region and is currently split between Ukraine and Romania. This region constituted a part of medieval Moldavia, became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the northern region (most of which is Chernivtsi Oblast) was annexed to Ukraine by the Soviet Union in the 1940's. Historically, the northern region has been ethnically mixed, including Ukrainians (many of them Hutsuls), Romanians, and Poles. 

Bukovynian pysanky are famous for their complexity and use of greens and blues. They often feature cross motifs and diagonal bands. The Hutsul influences are clear in the intricate patterning. 

These pysanky were featured in the class I recently taught at the Pysanky USA retreat.