Photos by Andrei Sinyavsky/BelTA
MINSK, 13 February (BelTA) - An evening of Belarusian culture was held at the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus presenting a collection of traditional rushnyks (embroidered towels), BelTA has learned.
An interactive exhibition was set up in the theatre's bel étage foyer before the screening of the national opera The Grey Legend by Dmitry Smolsky. As part of the creative project “The Year of the Woman at the Bolshoi” the theater space was transformed into a museum displaying rushnyks, namitkas (traditional headdresses made of linen fabric), and sashes - woven items that preserve the character and soul of the Belarusian woman. All exhibits come from the collection of the Museum of Ancient Belarusian Culture. A workshop on tying the namitka was held during the evening.
The exhibition is just a one-day event, Candidate of Art History Boris Lazuko noted.
"We are very glad to meet the audience, those who came to see the amazing performance. All the rushnyks in our selection are traditional for every corner of Belarus, but each deserves attention, as it embodies our family, traditions, and national heritage. Even now, they hold something sacred and valuable. The rushnyk accompanies us throughout life. I think the exhibition reveals and details this. We also managed to recreate the ways women used to wear a namitka,” he said.
Rushnyks were very diverse, said Maria Vinnikova, Senior researcher at the Center for Belarusian Culture, Language, and Literature Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
“The tradition of creating rushnyks continuously evolvd. For example, 20th-century samples could feature black color. In Western Belarus, archaic traditions persisted for a long time both in household textiles and costumes. Therefore, products from there did not use complex weaving techniques. However, when comparing, one can find something common to all Belarusian rushnyks - the composition,” the expert noted.
Photos by Andrei Sinyavsky/BelTA
An interactive exhibition was set up in the theatre's bel étage foyer before the screening of the national opera The Grey Legend by Dmitry Smolsky. As part of the creative project “The Year of the Woman at the Bolshoi” the theater space was transformed into a museum displaying rushnyks, namitkas (traditional headdresses made of linen fabric), and sashes - woven items that preserve the character and soul of the Belarusian woman. All exhibits come from the collection of the Museum of Ancient Belarusian Culture. A workshop on tying the namitka was held during the evening.
The exhibition is just a one-day event, Candidate of Art History Boris Lazuko noted.
"We are very glad to meet the audience, those who came to see the amazing performance. All the rushnyks in our selection are traditional for every corner of Belarus, but each deserves attention, as it embodies our family, traditions, and national heritage. Even now, they hold something sacred and valuable. The rushnyk accompanies us throughout life. I think the exhibition reveals and details this. We also managed to recreate the ways women used to wear a namitka,” he said.
Rushnyks were very diverse, said Maria Vinnikova, Senior researcher at the Center for Belarusian Culture, Language, and Literature Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
“The tradition of creating rushnyks continuously evolvd. For example, 20th-century samples could feature black color. In Western Belarus, archaic traditions persisted for a long time both in household textiles and costumes. Therefore, products from there did not use complex weaving techniques. However, when comparing, one can find something common to all Belarusian rushnyks - the composition,” the expert noted.
Maria Vinnikova also spoke about various traditions. For example, married women would cover their hair with a rushnyk; uncovered head was not customary.
“As soon as a girl got married, her hairstyle changed, Secondly, it was her headdress, without which she could no longer appear in public. Rushnyks were used to adorn icons, and people prayed before them,” Maria Vinnikova explained. “Rushnyks had their uses in funeral traditions, for example in Gomel Oblast, and in Polesie they were tied on grave crosses.”
Photos by Andrei Sinyavsky/BelTA
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