"Old people, just like modern ones, were motivated by the desire to raise prestige and fashion. Therefore, it should not be surprising that in old, folk costumes, including Bojkowski's, there are" non-Boyko "details, even associated with Bavarian ornamentation. Jara pays a lot of attention. Marianna Jara conducts classes in Carpathian cross-stitch embroidery at ULRA in Wola Sękowa. As part of the University's activities, successful attempts were made to recreate folk costumes: Lemko serdaks, siraks, the entire male and Boyko costume. Currently, Marianna Jara is working on reconstructing a female costume. Boykowski.
Carpathian embroidery was also in fashion. The general content, the symbolic meaning of the embroidery, had to be shared, but each girl added something of her own to the embroidery. It was about her individuality. After the embroidery on the shirt, it was judged whether the girl is hardworking or has taste:
Did she just blindly stuck a cross from her friend, or did she add something of her own, but tastefully ?! How does it look like? Did she know how to do it exactly? The old women were looking > or < > People have always searched, nothing stands still. Evolution continues in every area (...)
Cross stitch has a very old genealogy. It is believed that crosses were embroidered as early as 2000 years ago. Its symbolism is very deep, and its design refers to pre-Christian practices. First of all, it is about the Carpathian rosette symbolizing the sun, that is, this element of the universe without which man cannot live. Over time, rosettes transformed into "spiders", into six or eight-pointed stars. The embroidery also features the sign of infinity, as well as the symbol of joining the temporal world with the spiritual. By embroidering, tales of ancestral genealogy were told. Embroidery has floral and geometric motifs. Colors are also important here. The basic colors are red and black. Red symbolizes the life of love. For the inhabitants of the mountains, black has never been the color of mourning sadness, unlike dark purple or navy blue combined with white. Black in the mountains has always symbolized abundance. Black is earth: the earth that gives birth, nourishes. Red, therefore, associated with love symbolized the sensual world, heart and spirit. The black material world (food, earth).
If red comes close to orange, it was fire. It was a combative color, a passion. It meant that a man is a rebel, he does not accept evil. The color of victory, truth. If yellow comes closer to light green and to green it was the color of hope. The color of green is a rebirth of hope, sure! Blue was very rarely used. In the twentieth century, this color began to enter, and it was believed that it was the color of the Mother of God and belonged exclusively to her, but under the influence of various cultures, blue came into the Boyko embroidery and purple. Less often brown. Brown was the color of fear. The base was black and red. Without the black color, the post was simply blind. It's just like our eye, imagine an eye without a blind pupil! Same goes for embroidery. "
Fragment of an interview with Marianna Jara by Helena Urbańczyk, August 2020.
"The mementoes of material culture can be found in the Boyko Museum in Myczków . The exhibition is very interesting because it shows, among other things, a large variety of Boyko costume. We can find Carpathian jewelry as museum exhibits, for example at the exhibition of folk costumes at the Folk Architecture Museum in Sanok . It is also a kind of local product that can be purchased in many places in the Bieszczady Mountains (eg the "U Tesi" store in the MBL area in Sanok, the Gallery at the Bojków Museum in Myczkowce, Chyża Bojkowska in Zatwarnica). It is also possible to take part in workshops organized by the Folk University of Artistic Crafts in Wola Sękowa , or at the Miodosytnia Studio of Ewelina Matusiak Wyderki.
The same is true in the context of Carpathian embroidery. As an element of the folk costume, it is presented both in the open-air museum in Sanok and the Boyko Museum in Myczków. A single example is also on the exhibition of the Polish Chamber of Remembrance. The Carpathian embroidery is handled by Marianna Jara, who conducts ULRA courses. Both the bead jewelry and Carpathian embroidery are enlivened by the Widymo team. The singers present traditional attire during performances. The band's concerts are extremely romantic and authentic because they combine visual and auditory elements of Carpathian (Ruthenian) culture, often in the walls of the church. The activity of Józef Sowa is also noteworthy, as apart from the musical aspect, he attempts to reconstruct the Wallachian outfit. As part of his workshops, the artist presents shepherd's instruments that correspond to visual associations related to the Wallachian culture.
Examples:
1. Performance by Widymo bands:
2. ULRA workshop offer:
The text comes from the study "INVENTORY OF CULTURAL RESOURCES OF THE BORDERLAND - THE ETHNOCARPATHIA PROJECT" realized by the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University for the District Museum in Rzeszów.
Author: Mrs. Helena Urbanczyk.
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