Vytitnanka – belarusian view to create the universe

Vytinanka, vybivanka, vystriganka are not a set of meaningless words, bu – types of one of the most beloved decorative and applied arts of Belarusians – vytinanki! Traditional Belarusian vytinanka is openwork paper patterns cut without preliminary drawing of contours from one solid sheet of paper, most often red, black and white.

The first vytinanki appeared in China around the II century AD, and with the spread of paper around the world, the art of carving conquered other countries.

Vytinanka reached its heyday in Belarus in the XIX century. This is due to the following factors. In the XIX century, chicken houses that were heated in black gradually disappeared. They are replaced by "clean" houses.  It was after this that the meaning and desire to decorate the dwelling appeared. In addition, paper production is developing, there are more and more manufactories. Therefore, paper was an affordable material for making openwork jewelry – it acted as a temporary and cheaper substitute for fabrics, lace, embroidery.

        

People of the older generation remember how village huts were decorated with openwork clippings from large sheets of paper. Paper curtains hung on the windows – "firanki", tables and shelves were decorated with paper napkins, valances, "vugliki". Even the icon in the red corner was decorated with paper towels! It was believed that an embroidered towel was a valuable and expensive thing, it was hung out on big holidays, and a paper one was hung for every day. Paper symbolic images were pasted on the wall between the windows or on the stove: the tree of life is a symbol of the genus, the firebird is a symbol of material prosperity, the rooster is the guardian of the family hearth, doves are birds of love.

  

The main themes of the Belarusian vytinanka are the "tree of life", birds, the sun, houses, less often – animals and people. The tree is a symbol of life. Its roots go deep into the earth, and its branches stretch to the sky, the sun, warmth, life, symbolizing the memory of ancestors, of the souls of the dead. The tree is surrounded by birds symbolizing the connection of earth and sky, two opposites, two elements.

The Belarusian Vytinanka is a kind of text about the creation of the universe, its structure and the place of man in it. It can be read as a collection of fairy tales and legends, having mastered the alphabet of artistic images.

Today, vytinanka can be considered one of the most popular types of modern folk art, which is almost on a par with such a national phenomenon as straw weaving. In addition to the classical application – jewelry boxes and postcards – now it can be seen in the scenery of children's and adult performances, the style of the Slavic bazaar, urban installations.