Embroidery on a towel is ancient Rus'. Towel - a symbol of holiness, purity, protection

There are many things around us that we are so used to that we often do not attach any importance to them. First of all, this applies to towels - a person uses it constantly throughout his life: from infancy to death. The funds of the Museum of Art and History have a large collection of towels.

It is often believed that the word towel” comes from the well-known word “hand”, that is, a towel is a towel for hands. However, this is not the case; a cloth for wiping hands was called a towel, a handle, a wipe, and even a handbrake, but not a towel. The latter, in comparison with a hand towel, is decorated with more refined and expensive decor: embroidery, braid, ribbons and lace. Thus, initially a towel is a torn piece of fabric, which was decorated with embroidery and used in rituals and ceremonies. The fact that a piece of linen was torn off and not cut off is quite logical, since weaving arose much earlier than knives and scissors appeared in everyday life. In order to carve out a towel desired shape(35-40 cm wide, and 3 to 5 meters long), an incision was made on the canvas with a sharp stone, and then the fabric was already torn by hand.

From time immemorial, the towel has been considered a multi-valued and symbolic product. They decorated life, but besides this, the towel carried a certain reminder of family ties with ancestors. After all, if you look at the embroidered patterns, you can safely assume that this is not just beautiful drawings, but an encrypted story about the life of ancestors. There was big number varieties of towels, each of which carried its own meaning and had a clear purpose.

Ordinary towels were embroidered during one light day. Charms were attributed to such towels, protective properties. They were created exclusively during daylight hours, when the evil forces of darkness could not harm them. Such towels were used in various rituals, for example, when a drought began or a death of cattle. Such towels were never woven in advance, but only on the day of use in the ritual.

If we recall the well-known saying “good riddance”, which now has a negative meaning, then earlier, in this way, travelers were wished a happy journey. And this is due to special travel towels. Small, with modest embroidery, they were given on the road to those who left their home, going on a journey: warriors, merchants, travelers. The travel towel personified the wish for an easy way and a speedy return.

On maternity a midwife took a towel, and embroidered on christening baptismal towel on which the child was carried to the temple and wiped after dipping into the font. After the christening, the first children's shirt could be sewn from this towel, or they could keep it until the wedding, or even until the funeral. After death, towels accompanied a person during his burial - they carried a coffin on them, hung them on a grave cross.

For major annual holidays, special holiday towels were embroidered. For example, on Maslenitsa, in gratitude for the treat, the owners of the house presented pancake towel. Easter towels were intended for baked Easter cakes, breads and are similar to hospitable towels, but differ in ornamentation - they often contain the abbreviations ХВ (Christ is risen) and egg symbols. " Goddess” called the towel framing the icons.

wedding There are about 40 towels. But only five were considered the main ones: parental towel, allied towel, divine», wedding towel and hospitable towel.

Since ancient times, the production of wedding towels was considered the duty of the bride. Our ancestors perceived the towel as a canvas on which the past, present and future were depicted with a red thread. It was believed that by embroidering a wedding towel, the bride embroiders her family future, therefore, only with good thoughts and good mood was it allowed to start embroidery.

From all of the above, it follows that the towel played an important role in the life of the Slavs, accompanied a person from birth to death, was an important element in everyday life and has survived to this day.

Olga Timonina - candidate of pedagogical sciences, lecturer Sunday School Assumption Kolmovsky Temple Timonin points to the Christian meaning of wedding towels: they should recall the words of the Apostle Paul, which are read during the wedding, that the combination of two loving people- this is a "secret" that should be hidden from prying eyes. The vine, the bunch, the tree of life embroidered on the towels symbolize the Kingdom of Heaven, in which those who are getting married should find themselves.

***

The art of weaving and embroidery has a long history, it has been known since Old Testament, which mentions women who are wise in heart, spinning for the temple of Solomon and making skillful fabrics. According to the Biblical texts, God Himself filled their hearts with wisdom, "to do all the work of a skilled weaver and embroiderer on blue, purple, scarlet and fine linen." Archaeologists know fragments of embroidery that have survived from the time of Ancient Egypt and the heyday of the Babylonian culture; fragments of embroidery are also found in ancient Slavic barrows. The East is generally considered to be the cradle of embroidery.

The distribution of embroidery in Ancient Rus' is evidenced by the finds of archaeologists dating back to the 9th-10th centuries, the time of the baptism of Rus'. At this time, gold embroidery became widespread. Its motifs and patterns were adopted from Byzantium. Gradually, embroidery has become one of the most beloved and widespread types of needlework. By the 19th century, as evidenced by ethnographic materials, in Rus' all women already mastered the art of embroidery, they embroidered fly and towels with wool, linen, silk, and gold. In folklore texts we find references to this:

She sewed and embroidered a fly,
Sheela embroidered with pure silver,
She scribbled lines in red gold.

There were also woven towels, which was also reflected in folk poetry:

As in that yes in the light room
How the red-haired girl sat here
Annushka's soul wove a cloth,
Joy Karpovna and Mitkaline,
That there are circles of gold around the edges,
Falcons are clear in the corners ... "

In the embroidered patterns of towels, as well as in folklore texts, folk ideas about the universe are revealed, which is crowned by the Church of God.

I note that such names as Makosh, Dazhdbog, Perun, etc. in folklore texts, if they are mentioned, then as idols and with the epithet "nasty".

The embroideries of the 19th century are the most preserved and have survived to this day; among the museum exhibits of this time, towels are common embroidered works of folk art.

The use of embroidered towels is still closely connected with folk Orthodox customs and rituals. In the sacrament of the spiritual birth of an infant, immediately after the font, the recipient receives in baptismal shrouds. On the towel - the foot stand young people in the sacrament of the wedding. An ubrus or a god covers icons in churches and in the holy corners of modern houses. Icons are carried on embroidered towels during religious processions, they hang towels under the icons in churches, cover the lectern with towels, give a towel to the Church on the fortieth day for the remembrance of the soul, donate towels to the Church before wedding and baptism, they take out bread and salt for young people on a towel, priests use a towel in the altar, wipe icons with them .

However, most art historians, ethnographers and cultural scientists speak mainly about obsolete pagan rites, rituals and folk superstitions associated with patterns and the use of towels. These interpretations are often speculative. At one time, Rybakov made an attempt to generalize and systematize all the material about pagan beliefs, reflected, in his opinion, in Russian folk Orthodox art.

Scientists are still considering all the archaeological and pictorial material, which is in a large chronological gap between the Scythian-Sarmatian antiquities, on the one hand, and the ethnographic collections of the 19th - 20th centuries. - on the other hand, from the point of view of ancient pagan beliefs.

Now, after scientists have studied all the historical and ethnographic data about the Slavic deities and the rudiments of this cult in folk culture, we can begin to consider the ritual role of towels in the Orthodox tradition.

Depending on the use in the old days, the towel was called differently. There are about 30 titles in total. The most ancient of these names is "ubrus". In this name, Orthodox tradition stores real reasons special reverence for embroidered and embroidered towels and the breadth of its ritual use in folk Orthodox culture.

According to this Eastern tradition, the 4th c. AD, became the first icon miraculous image Christ, who was imprinted on a towel-ubrus, with which the Lord wiped His Face. Thus, a towel is a thing chosen by God Himself for the miraculous imprint of His Image in the first centuries of our era.

In the dictionary of the living Great Russian language by Vladimir Dahl, we find references to the following towels and their ritual use in Orthodox rites: "UBRUS m. kerchief, shawl; veil; fly, cloth, towel, especially smart and scruffy; || lowered headman, under the crown, on the images of pleasers, or not a forged icon salary at all, but embroidered, scolded, lowered, women's work. Ubrus newlywed, old. an honorary fly, brought by the young, to bow; this article turned into a tax, and in some places, in our time, the fly was collected from the newlyweds as a tribute. And whoever gives his daughter in marriage, and he gives to the volost, for a pulled ubrus, four money, Acts. Wiping away tears with a brush, chronicle. Ubrusny salary. DEVOTIONER, GODDESSION m. resin. towel hung on the icon.

veil in general, a wide, or sewn with panels, fabric, to cover what; fabric, for wrapping, wrapping what. The table is covered with a white veil, a tablecloth. The windows are hung with colored shrouds and curtains. Bedclothes, sheets. Coffin shrouds, a shroud, into which in ancient times, and other peoples to this day, corpses curled. || Ubrusets, hung under the icon, often embroidered with gold, strung down. On the image of an ubrus, under the image of a veil. A baby's veil, a diaper, a sheet in which they wrap him up until he wears clothes. || Church. boards, with a sewn cross, to cover the throne and the altar. What is the veil (i.e., fabric), such is its price. I'm still in diapers - and my laziness is from the calf! Holy husband, just wipe with a veil, but let him go to heaven. Deer in diapers. Swaddle cover, sling. Sev. stare pron. sing and sing: probably sing one root from the sang, meaning: to expand, stretch far and wide. LENTIE cf. Greek church washcloth, fly, towel, handbrake. ORDINARY TOWEL, ordinary, ordinary, sowing. east one-day, one-day, daily, made in one day, lasting one day. There is an ordinary church in Moscow and Vologda; according to legend, they were built by the world in a day, according to a vow, after a plague or pestilence: the Vologda Spas was celebrated in 1618. This is an ordinary way, to go or go a day. Everyday, west. towel, fly on the icon; spinning and turning, according to a vow, a day. For a good groom, she promised the Mother of God an ordinary woman.

In the Sacrament of Baptism, the veil symbolizes the spiritual purity that the person being baptized acquires. During the sacrament of the wedding, the towel-foot also marks the purity and sanctity of marriage, marital fidelity. In this sacrament, the bride represents the Church that loved Christ, and the bridegroom represents God Himself, who loved the Church of Christ. The footstool of the Lord in the Biblical texts is called the ark of revelation (cf. Ps 79:2; 98:5; 131:7; 1 Chron. 28:2; 2 Sam. 6:2; 2 Sam. 19:15), which the word commands to worship God's (Ps. 98:5; 132:7). The meaning of the prototype of spiritual purity and reverence for the shrine is also preserved behind the veil under the icon and the robe, the god, the pious, covering the icons and in the images of towels in fresco painting. Their symbolic meaning akin to the symbolic meaning of titles over letters in Church Slavonic.

Until now, a towel consecrated in the Church Sacraments of Baptism or Wedding, becomes a family shrine and is kept in the red corner. Each pattern on it for believers is not just an ornament.

Researcher of Christian church archeology A.S. Uvarov wrote: “Here each image has its own symbolic meaning, corresponding to a well-known concept or a well-known expression ... The main source for symbolic images (Christian - O.T.) were pagan monuments. The works of pagan writers also served to borrow famous expressions or typical formulas ... in choosing symbolic images, Christians relied on the works of St. Clement of Alexandria (? - until 225), the head of the Alexandrian theological school, striving for the unity of the Christian faith and Hellenic culture, as well as other contemporary authors. It was St. Clement who pointed out the convenience of using Egyptian hieroglyphs for the symbolic language of Christians.The signs of the boat, bird (dove), fish, lyre and anchor were originally borrowed from them.St. Clement advises Christians to expand the language of symbols, but at the same time shun those that resemble the abomination of some sacraments of pagan deities, human sacrifice and so on bnoe. The Primate Church listened to his advice. The language of symbols began to be replenished, first of all, with new borrowed from the Bible books or those symbols that were mentioned by church writers preceding St. Clement."

We list some of these symbols found in Christian symbolism and interpreted in detail by A.S. Uvarov. To the prototype of the boat (the Church on Earth and Heaven), over time, a mesh ornament was added (mesh, seine - the Kingdom of Heaven), a trident (a sign of the apostolic ministry, trapping human souls by faith in the Holy Trinity). From plant signs, the following prototypes can be distinguished. The vine is Jesus Christ, the branches are His disciples, the grape bunch is the blood of Christ and the holy martyrs. The Tree of Life is the Shaft of the Cross of the Lord, the Church of Paradise, the Wisdom of God. A tree, a flower - a righteous person, a family tree of a righteous person, flowers on it - righteous human souls, two flowering trees - Paradise, the stay of holy souls in Paradise. Grass, leaf - the frailty of human flesh. The fruits are the fruits of the virtues, the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual maturity of the soul. Wreath - honor, glory. The sown field is the world. Grain, seed - the Word of God sown into the world, the Sons of the Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. The bowl (barrel), spikelets are a sign of the Eucharist (communion), the same as bread and wine. From the zoomorphic symbols of the Bible books began to be depicted a deer - a prototype of Christian humility, a horse - a symbol of serving the Lord and obedient following His Will, a prototype of an entire people or a person led by God, a lion - an unlike image of our Lord Jesus Christ, two lions - Heavenly Forces helping the righteous. The bird is a prototype of a prayerful soul, eating the fruits of virtues, a peahen is a prototype of incorruption and immortality, a rooster is a sign of the Resurrection. Finally, anthropomorphic signs. The horseman is an angel or a person fulfilling the Will of God, a female figure is the Earthly Church, hands raised up are the prayer of the Earthly Church.

There are also borrowed geometric signs. And this is not the whole list of symbols considered by Uvarov on the basis of church archeology and tradition of the Church. All of them are found in embroidered compositions on towels, flyers, valances and on the clothes of Orthodox peoples. A lot has been written about each of these signs in twenty centuries of preaching the Christian faith. Apparently, the Russian people were very well acquainted with the oral tradition of the Church and with these written sources, since there is no such folk pattern in which Orthodoxy would not be preached. We meet the same signs in Orthodox church architecture, and on altar barriers, and on the fabrics of priestly vestments, and on embroidered peasant towels.

Certainly its Orthodox meaning It also has the color of embroidery. And to this day, on all holidays, Orthodox priests put on festive clothes of a certain color, and on Easter, during Divine services, they take off their dark Lenten robes and put on clothes of all festive colors, in turn. Crowning this rainbow of colors in the Easter sequence is white. The same symbolism of color also takes place in the coloring of the domes, by which it was possible to determine from a mile away in honor of which event the temple was consecrated. Let us consider how the symbolism of color correlates in the centuries-old art of the Orthodox Church and in oral folk art.

Red (scarlet, crimson, burgundy, pink) color. In a folklore word: “Combed my dear curls, my joy! According to the scarlet caftan, my hope!”, “And all the scarlet flowers, one of all is all the best, and even all the friends are nice, one of all is nicer.” Red in Russian folklore is a synonym for the beautiful, sublime, having royal dignity, dedicated to Christ. This is the color of the Cross Sacrifice of Christ, the color of Easter joy, joy eternal love and eternal life. It is this color that is mainly used in folk embroidery. It is no coincidence that the wedding, wedding sundress was red.

White color. In folklore texts: "white face", "white hands", "white as a swan". In Rus', they embroidered in red on white and white on red. White is the color of unearthly purity and holiness, the color of divine, angelic dignity, the color of spiritual transformation.

Silver and gold color. The color of the holy saints of God, which in sacred texts are compared with refined gold and silver. Angels are girded on their chests with golden ribbons, the Lord promises the righteous golden crowns, crowns of glory and honor. Brocade gold and silver vestments are worn by priests on the days of remembrance of the saints.

Immaculate young people entering into a God-blessed marriage are crowned with gold and silver crowns, adorned with pearls and expensive stones, in the Church, it is customary to exchange rings during this ritual. About the New Jerusalem, garnished like a bride adorned for her husband, the Bible says: the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.

In folklore texts: “golden ring”, “golden ring”, “golden crown”, “pearl crown”, “He dresses in goat boots, he equips himself in a colored dress, he looks like, well done, in God’s Church ... He’s a cross - he lays down according to the written, he himself makes the Jesus prayer, worships on all four sides, his curls are curled in three rows. In the first row they curled with pure silver, the second time they curled with red gold, in the third row they curled with pitched pearls. "She sewed, embroidered with pure gold"...

Blue (blue, azure) color. The color of heavenly, virginal purity holy virgin Mary. Priests put on clothes of blue and white shades on the days of the memory of the Most Holy Theotokos, incorporeal forces, virgins and virgins.

In the works of folklore: "like an azure flower - our girls are red", "she enveloped the blue caftan".

Green color. The color of the Holy Spirit, which gives life to everything, It breathes everything, everything grows and flourishes. Green is the color of eternal life, the color of unfading gardens of Eden, which do not know death and decay, the color of the eternal spring and summer of the Lord. In green vestments, priests come out on the Day of the Holy Trinity, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, and on the days of remembrance of the saints, ascetics, holy fools, filled with the Holy Spirit. In the sacred texts, Lebanese cedars, green vineyards, flowering herbs, dense foliage, branches - represent the righteous, the withering of herbs and flowers - frailty human life, dry herbs - sinners.

In folklore texts: "the grass ant is green", "my willow is my willow, with grapes a twig", "what a grass for an ant! What a brave fellow", "Not ripe, the green (cheryomushka) cannot be broken, - without recognizing, the red girl you can't get married."

Black color. Monastic vestments are black. It symbolizes detachment from the world, deep repentance, in-depth self-contemplation, as if a constant stay human soul in hell, looking to the Lord with hope, death to sin. It is the color of earth and decay. IN great post priesthood and wears dark clothes in memory of Christ's suffering on the cross, His burial and descent into hell. In museums in Russia and in private collections there are samples of men's shirts with black thread embroidery on white.

In folklore texts: "black melancholy - kruchinushka", "black blueberry, red strawberry", "my blueberries, my sisters", "black cassock". All these colors and symbolic signs have been known since the era Upper Paleolithic, with the adoption of Christianity, they were all rethought, in the Word of God (in the Bible) they were returned to their God-given and original meaning. The search for various pagan pre-Christian interpretations of the Indo-European patterns, of course, is of scientific interest, but they no longer have anything to do with the art of the Russian Orthodox people.

Olga Timonina

Quoted from:

Ritual role of towels in the Orthodox tradition //

Notes of the Branch of the Russian State Humanitarian University in Veliky Novgorod. Issue #8

Traditional Slavic embroidery is distinguished by characteristic ornamental elements, each of which has its own meaning. Their correct layout and performance of work is a rather difficult task for a novice craftswoman.

Features of traditional embroidery

When performing work according to old traditions, the following rules are observed:

• no knots, twists, thread breaks in the pattern. According to beliefs, if knots and twists of threads took place, the ritual significance of the ornament on towels would disappear. The stitches must pass into each other, the thread ends after the execution of a separate fragment or at the end of the embroidered section. Tacks are used instead of knots;
• using only natural fabrics and threads. It is believed that manually spun threads, woven fabric, dyed fibers give the maximum effect, as a talisman;
• the mood of the needlewoman in the process of sewing should be calm and kind.

When performing embroidery at a wedding, these rules are especially significant. After all towel will become a talisman new family , and it is necessary to create such a talisman only with the best attitude and maximum diligence.

Important: in one product, you should use not only matching colors, but also matching symbols.

Patterns and their symbolism

The common origins of the Slavic peoples determine the similarity or unity of the meanings of traditional fragments of embroidery.

The main signs are:

Given the huge number of symbols and traditional ornaments, consider the most common motifs in wedding embroidery:

Differences between Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian towels

It is strange to talk about the basic difference in the embroidery of wedding towels in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, taking into account modern understanding and reworking of old patterns. The meaning of ornaments is lost, the meaning of the combination of motifs is lost - external aesthetics and compliance with fashion remain.

However, there are basic differences:

• in the Russian and Belarusian traditions (especially in the northern regions), signs of earth and water, the sun predominate, from plant ornaments - oak, cornflowers, ears of corn, from animals - horses and deer, birds - roosters;
• Ukrainian embroidery pleases with a wide variety of plant motifs, multicolor patterns;
• in the northern regions they preferred to embroider with counted seams(flooring, wicker, smooth surface), in the south - with a cross and artistic smoothness.

The photo below shows the traditional different countries towels:

Belarus
Russia
Russia
Ukraine

More examples of ornaments on towels:

Regional local history conference Municipal educational institution
"Mikulinskaya Gymnasium"

Section: Ethnography

Research work:

"Towel and its importance in the life of the Russian people"

Completed:

Efremova Veronika

Supervisor:

librarian

Introduction……………………………………………………………………....…. 3

Main part……………………………………………………….………………5

1. History.of.towels…………..……………………………………………….5

1.1. The role of towels in family rituals…………………………… 5

2. Features of the symbols of Russian embroidery on towels.…………. 9

3. Meaning of embroidered patterns……………………………………………… 11

4. Use of towels in modern world.………………………. 14

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….15

Applications…………………………………………………………………… 16

IN research work the following materials were used:

1. earmuffs - our pagan past, 2002, Folk art, №7

2. .I. Good hands craftsmanship. Works of folk art in the collection of the State Russian Museum. Leningrad "Art" 1981. 311 p. (About peasant embroidery p. 136-150)

· Acquaintance with the exhibits of the school museum and local history museum with. Mikulino.

An object research : a towel as a household item in traditional culture Russian people.

Subject of study : types of patterns and embroidery on towels

Stages of work

· Study of special literature, analysis of the information received.

· Acquaintance with historical expositions of museums.

Summarizing the received information.

· Teacher consultation.

The relevance of research:

We see the relevance of our work in drawing attention to the study of the history of towel embroidery. Folk art, unique and diverse in its types, is a significant part of our culture. Among the many forms of artistic folk crafts, it is embroidery that is the most accessible and favorite type of creativity; this is the opportunity, through the application of one's own labor, to transform the white fabric of the canvas into a beautifully decorated thing.

How and where can embroidered towels be used in our time?

Artworks applied arts, decorated with artistic embroidery, gradually again began to penetrate into our life, clothes. At present, there is a great interest in elegant, colorful, elegant embroidered things. Many well-known domestic and foreign fashion designers use embroidery in the development of clothing and interior collections. Increasingly, stylized weddings are coming into fashion.

Practical significance: information about towels can be used in technology lessons, in the work of the school museum, in folklore holidays.

Main part.

1. The history of the towel

We began to look for the definition of the word "towel" in dictionaries. In Ozhegov's dictionary, the meaning of this word is given as "a simple product made of absorbent cloth or paper, usually intended for drying or wiping something."

Exactly how the towel appeared, scientists do not know, but suggest that it came from a belt made of cloth. The surface of such a belt increased in width, and the pattern turned from vertical to horizontal. The simplest form of a towel is a linen.

1.1. The role of towels in family rituals.

From the article by T. Blinova "Towels of Central Russia - our pagan present", we learned that towels were of two types: household and festive (ceremonial).

- HOUSEHOLD towels called utirka, utiralnik, fly, towel, handle, handbrake- a rag hanging by the washstand. , were small and they were intended “for wiping the face or hands” (according to the dictionary), washing the floors, etc. The wipes were usually poorly decorated. (Annex 1)

Towels used in ritual actions - towels - should be distinguished from household towels. A towel is a towel woven and carefully embroidered by women. From a piece of bleached linen, they tore (teared) a strip 4 meters long, hence the name came - a towel.

From birth to death, the towel accompanied all life, linking representatives of different generations of the same clan into a single chain.

Towel in the house - the king. Each towel has its own meaning.

At the birth of a child, a MATERNITY towel was previously used - a midwife took the child on it, and baptismal towels (KRIZHMO) were embroidered on it, on which they carried the child to the temple and wiped it after dipping into the font. The baptismal towel was embroidered by the godmother, it should not have been black. (Annex 2)

A long rectangular piece of fabric always meant a path for our ancestors, a path that leads a person, helps him live. After the death of a person, towels accompanied him during burial, a coffin was carried on them, they were also hung on memorial crosses. FUNERAL towels at the wake were spread on the windowsills so that the edge of the towel hung over open window- it was believed that on the fortieth day the soul of the deceased washes himself with dew near his house and wipes himself with this towel. Such a towel was embroidered modestly, with a narrow strip along the edge. With the advent of Christianity, the custom appeared after the fortieth day to transfer the funeral towel to the church. In this custom, they see the desire to protect themselves from the spirits of the dead, so that they would not find their way back to the house by the memorial towel, but, returning, would come to the temple. Towels were used to decorate grave crosses.

Many of these traditions have survived to this day.

Washing off sleep every day, a person “caressed” his face with a towel-washer, which were practically not decorated. (Annex 3)

Sitting down at the table, the members of the household prayed, their eyes were turned to the red corner, in which the Holy Icon was framed by towels-scrolls. (Annex 4)

Remembering the well-known proverb “good riddance!”, one cannot help but recall the ROAD towels. Such towels, small, with modest, but carefully thought-out embroidery, were given with them on the road to those who left their home: soldiers, merchants. The travel towel symbolized the wish for an easy journey and a speedy return.

EASTER towels are intended for baked bread, Easter cakes and are similar to hospitable ones, but differ in ornamentation - they often have the abbreviations ХВ (Christ is Risen), egg symbols are embroidered. With the advent of Christianity, there were also towels CHRISTMAS, TRINITY. (Annex 5)
There are several types of WEDDING towels. Wedding towels were made from the best linen. Their length was from 2 to 4 meters, width 35-40 centimeters. (Appendix 6) . In the poorest family, at least a dozen towels were collected as a dowry, and in wealthy families - up to a hundred. As a sign of the consent of the parents and the bride to the marriage, the groom's family was presented with a richly embroidered hand-made towel. When the bride was ready for the wedding, her father, with a specially chosen messenger, sent to the groom's house a Messaging towel specially embroidered for this purpose - a sign that you can go for the bride, start the wedding. Such a towel was embroidered in red, but black was never woven into embroidery. Traditional motifs for embroidering a messenger towel - birds symbolizing news.

Sacredly, such a towel meant that the bride had already “died” for her father’s family, and it was time to introduce her into the groom’s family.

Separately, they wove and embroidered the “PARENTAL” or “BLESSED” towel, on which the young kneeled when their parents blessed them for marriage.

The UNION towel is inferior in size to other wedding towels, it is narrower - they tie the hands of the bride and groom, symbolizing the common future life, love and spiritual bonds.

FRIENDLY towels are presented to witness-friends (hence, by the way, modern custom wear ribbons over the shoulder for witnesses in the registry office). The most important wedding towel is now called “WEDDING”, young people stand on it in the church. As if on a cloud, the bride and groom are delivered, torn out of the world for a while and, as it were, caught up into the Kingdom of Heaven, for there the blessing of their marriage takes place.

The wedding towel depicts pairs of birds (larks, doves), they symbolize the bride and groom. The birds represent family happiness, fidelity in love. Floral ornaments are also embroidered as a talisman against evil forces, and a wish for the young "prosperity", health, wealth, and the birth of children. Sometimes the first letters of the names of the bride and groom are also embroidered on the wedding towel. Couples of matchmakers were bandaged with towels.

With bread and salt, which was on the towel, they saw off and met the young on the threshold of the house.

The most expensive family shrine - an icon - was allowed to be taken out of the house (in the context of a number of traditional rites) only by covering it with a towel.

Towel, filled to the maximum with red patterns of ornaments, was used by traditional healers. (Annex 7)

Towels are known, which were embroidered for the first cattle pasture, for the spring holiday of Yuri. Such towels were given to shepherds, and they were called "Yurievsky", or cattle-breeding. (Annex 8)

Those codes, keys that were applied to towels, thanks to lines and colors, helped people communicate with the invisible world, which is inhabited by various spirits. These spirits belong to the four elements - Fire, Air, Earth and Water. Our ancestors knew about this, and they communicated with the spirits, attracting the light or "good" for life and scaring away the "evil".

In fact, towels served as the same holy images. With the introduction of Christianity, they did not disappear, but together they began to coexist with icons, serving as decoration for them. Probably, since then the significance of the towel began to diminish, reduced only to its decorative function.

Patterns on towels are now embroidered in a variety of ways, and often their meaning has already been lost. But if we talk about the original traditions of such embroidery - every ornament, every motif, its location met strict rules. A well-embroidered wedding towel could tell the wedding guests a lot about the people getting married, their personal history and their families. (Annex 9)

Famous scientists turned to the study of the traditions associated with the use of towels in Russia, as well as its function and aesthetic significance:, and others.

2. Features of the symbols of Russian embroidery on towels.

The history of embroidery begins in Ancient Rus', gradually embroidery spreads everywhere, capturing absolutely all segments of the population from the eighteenth century. This occupation becomes one of the main ones for peasant girls. From childhood, girls were taught to hold a spindle and a needle in their hands.

In the old days, there was not a single house in Rus' without original towels. For the people, he performed important ritual and everyday functions: he accompanied a person from birth to death. The ritual role of towels in folk life was multifaceted. They were hung on the branches of sacred trees, decorated with a red corner of the hut and icons; dozens of embroidered towels were being prepared for the wedding; a coffin was lowered into the grave on a towel and a newborn child was received.

It is said that a house without an embroidered towel is like a family without children. The most important purpose of this shrine was amulets. Even our ancient ancestors used an embroidered towel as a talisman.

By the number of towels they judged the well-being of the family, by the complexity of embroidery - the skill and diligence of needlewomen.

On excursions to local history museum With. Mikulino, we learned: “That a towel is the only ritual item from the pagan past, which is used in folk life in its own way without interruption of tradition. intended purpose- protect.

magic and magical power gave him embroidery. Embroidery is the main decoration of the towel. It reflected the artistic tastes and ideas of people. The concept of life and the environment.

All drawings on towels are symbols that have absorbed both the most ancient and newer ideas of people about the cosmos, about their place in it, about their actions, about what they should be proud of and what to respect.

What do the drawings mean - the symbols on the towels?

In embroidery, most of the patterns and drawings came from ancient times, when many of them had a magical meaning. No wonder they were used to decorate festive and ritual objects. Signs - patterns embroidered on clothes, ritual items and household items played the role of amulets; some protected from evil spirits, sorcerers; others helped in the hunt, fishing, household, contributed to the harvest.

For clarification, we turned to the book "Paganism of the Ancient Slavs". The book, written in a complex scientific language, helped us understand the variety of patterns and ornaments of Russian embroidery.

Russian embroidery is characterized by motifs of geometric and floral ornaments, arranged in the form of straight stripes, which emphasized the edge of the product. It was believed that such an ornament (along the edge) served as a talisman. The traditional towel is embroidered with a cross (no matter how you depict the cross, it will always be a talisman). And in embroidery, too, the cross filled the product with protective power. The embroidered symbols absorbed the prayer well. Images of fantastic animals, birds, and plants were embroidered in colorful ornaments that adorned towels and valances. The language of Russian folk embroidery is a kind of writing system, where paper is replaced by canvas, and ink is replaced by thread.

Through the ancient patterns of embroidery on towels, the wisdom of generations appeals to us, because in different centuries and on different lands the values ​​are the same. This is well-being home, that's prosperity native land! (Annex 10)

3. The meaning of embroidered patterns.

In order to have an embroidered towel, it was necessary to make a lot of effort and work. First of all, it is the spinning of threads and the manufacture of linen for towels. The towel was a holy thing and was treated with great respect. This is evidenced by the fact that the best, thinnest, whitest, best quality linen, very expensive red threads were bought, and black threads were rare and difficult to produce. The predominant red and black color in the embroidery of the towel is also not accidental:

Red is the color of the sun, warmth and beauty, blood ( life force). Black is a symbol of wealth, black soil, Earth.

When embroidering ritual towels, certain rules for composing an ornament can be traced. In general, the number 7 is somehow inherent in rushnyk art. So, the length of the rushnyk should be its width multiplied by 7. Seven stripes of the ornament should make up a composition that is repeated on the right and left panels. One report of the pattern should ideally be repeated 7 times, and if the pattern is large, then it should have 7 elements.

Despite the fact that the embroidery of each nation has its own national flavor, its own secrets, certain techniques of execution and the nature of the ornament, there are common patterns for all, coming from ancient times. These are:

Straight horizontal line	ground surface;
horizontal wavy line
vertical wavy line
Triangle
Crossing lines	fire and lightning;
Six-star socket
Bird Sirin	Feminine, a symbol of happiness, light and joy, promising the onset of spring, harvest and wealth; sky idea.
Elk
deer and horse	« life-giving luminary "- the sun, they brought happiness and fun and well-being.
Unicorn	chastity
Griffin	relationship between heaven and earth
solar sign	symbolized the sun
Female figure with raised or lowered hands	image of Mother Earth. Later - the East Slavic deity Bereginya, or Makosh - the patroness of water, household, family hearth, women's work.
Mermaid	keeper of the waters
Trees with spreading branches and a figure in the form of a frog	denoted the fertility of the earth; grasses, flowers, bushes and trees were called "hairs of the earth";
Circle, square, rhombus, rosette

The main symbol was a rhombus, endowed with many meanings:

Rybakov in his book "The Paganism of the Ancient Slavs" called Russian embroidery, including on towels, "a treasury of large and small plots", "linen folklore". Learning to understand the language of patterns in Russian embroidery means learning to understand a Russian person, to understand one's own past, to know and follow the values ​​of one's people.

5. The use of towels in the modern world.

Nowadays, towels can be found not only in the silence of museum halls.

In the modern world, hand-woven towels with hand embroidery have been replaced by towels with patterns printed on a print, as well as embroidered on a special machine.

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in embroidery, which today is mainly intended for home decoration.

In some houses, to this day, you can find a towel "iconnichki", covering all the icons.

Today, a towel can be presented as a gift, made independently or bought in a store.

It is worth noting, however, that interest in the ethnic heritage of each nation is growing all over the world. After all, without a past, without roots, there is no future for any nation, or for a family, or for a single person.

And we had a desire to embroider a towel ourselves, we picked up the fabric, threads, now we are choosing a pattern. The underside of old towels almost always looks very neat, which we should strive for in the future.

Conclusion:

Our hypothesis fully confirmed the importance and relevance of this study and lies in the fact that the towel for many centuries remains required attribute in holding holidays, rituals, accompanied a person from birth to death, was an important element in everyday life and has survived to this day. They still decorate houses. We consider this topic "" interesting, informative, modern, necessary for studying the culture of the native land.

It seems to us that this project will increase the interest of many people - after all, almost every family has similar towels, but not everyone knows what they were intended for. this work will help to understand, to answer many questions. Show interest in your small homeland, a particle of our culture.

Today I want to talk about towels, the history of their origin, meanings and folk traditions in Rus' associated with them. I am extremely interested in the history of folk embroidery, I will tell you with pleasure and show you a photo. We will never know who first began to embroider, but having arisen in antiquity, the art of cross-stitching has become a favorite needlework of Russian women. Folk traditions associated with my favorite art cause me a special thrill, a desire to learn more.

Towels - the history of occurrence

IN different times, embroidered with threads of hemp, cotton, linen, silk and natural hair. Not so long ago, in Russia, archaeologists discovered fragments of clothing dating back to the 9th-12th centuries, embroidered with gold.

Needlewomen embroidered towels, bed covers, hats, everyday clothes and festive dresses.

But cross-stitched towels are not only a household item. For many centuries, embroidery has become inextricably linked with the ancient rituals and customs of the Russian people. Each towel had its own meaning.

The meaning of towels - photo

From early childhood, girls were taught the art of embroidery, and by the age of 13-15 they became real craftswomen. By embroidery, they judged how economic and hardworking future bride. The girls embroidered the dowry themselves, and during the matchmaking, future relatives carefully examined it.

Not a single wedding in Rus' was complete without towels, traditions were observed sacredly.

The young were greeted with a loaf, showing off on a towel embroidered with red and gold threads. During the wedding, the young people stood on the wedding white towel. The hands of the bride and groom were tied with a "union" towel, on which the names of the bride and groom, the words "Council and love", "For happiness" were embroidered. Like a symbol life path where husband and wife walk together.

Wedding towels were kept in the family, passed down from generation to generation, from mother to daughter.

Icons were decorated with cross-embroidered towels, these were long homespun canvases with patterns on the ends, or embroidery along one side. The god was usually embroidered with a predominance blue color- the colors of the Virgin. Be sure to embroider two initial letters on behalf of B.M. (Mother of God) or J.S. (Jesus Christ).

There were also special bread towels. They put bread on them, since it was considered a great sin to put bread on an uncovered table.

Visiting towels spoke of prosperity in the house, protected housing from evil forces. They were hung in the upper room, decorated with doors, windows, corners.

Embroidered towels for christening must be embroidered godmother. She embroidered them in light and bright colors so that the life of the child would be happy and joyful. Black has never been used.

I remember that in childhood, in our house there was a towel, from old age it became thin, my mother cut out the middle and sewed it together. How old he was, and who embroidered, I do not know, and I'm terribly sorry. I wonder if your family has towels and traditions associated with them. ? And do you know the history of their origin and meaning?

information] Interesting needlework: