The Hutuli tradition of egg-decoration is passed through the generations. The girls learn from their mothers how to decorate the eggs, who in turn have learned from their grandmothers, and so on.
Usually, the process begins a week before Easter. For some women this tradition has turned into a small business, for example Vasilena Crevco is fully occupied all year round in producing the beautiful eggs. During past visits, I have discovered many secrets about this ancient craft. Vasilena welcomed me warmly, as is customary for the Hutuli people, and imparted many secrets of her work.
The colours used to decorate the eggs are not accidental. The white symbolizes the sky, the yellow is the sun, the red means life and the black represents the earth.
This tradition takes much patience and talent. Most of the designs are also passed down from generation to generation. The oldest ones shown to me by Mrs. Crevco, and for which she has won several prizes, include: the starry sky, worms, combs, cherries, turkey-crests, the trefoil, the sun, horseshoes, the priest's wallet and the Easter cross.
We can recognise the source of all the various patterns: animals, vegetables, life and work in the fields, but the main source has a more religious flavour: the cross, the monastery and the star.
The egg is emptied of its contents with the help of a syringe, and after it is painted white, it is covered in wax, into which a pattern is worked. Then the egg is placed into yellow paint, and dried so that the next stage is completed. Next it is dipped into a bath of red paint, to complete the new design.
During another stage, the egg is covered in black paint and left to dry thoroughly, after which the egg is placed above the fire to melt the wax (the wax is re-used each time). Later the egg is given a coat of lacquer in order to give it lustre.
Vasilena uses specific instruments such as a “chirsita”, and other tools which she has made. One of these is a container for the egg, in which is placed a light bulb, with another, smaller container on top, which helps to keep the wax in liquid form.
She also uses an iron stand where she sits the egg, to enable the wax to melt more quickly.
Vasilena works on 120 eggs at a time, applying the stages on different days. 600 eggs are made each year, from which many are sold to the local market or any other interested parties. Some of the eggs are also sold to the folk museum in Radauti, where tourists are able to admire and buy these gems of the Hutuli tradition.
If we linger to gaze upon a decorated egg, it makes us feel joy, exultation, amazement, humility and reconciliation. Within the designs we find spiritual symbols (the sun, the moon, the cross, etc.), natural patterns (plants, animals, domestic objects) and traditional clothing, the whole repertoire resounding in our soul.
