The story of pysanka

“The Story of Pysanka. A Collection of Articles on Ukrainian Easter Eggs.” 

• What do Egyptian Kneph and Ptah, Māori Tangaroa and Finnish Ilmatar have in common? 
• Why are cross, meander and swastika associated with some cultures’ Easter egg? 
• What is the difference between the two most popular types of Ukrainian Easter egg, pysanka and krashanka? 
• What message could one pass with a pysanka? 
• Can a pysanka protect your family and ward off evil powers? 
• Answers to these and some other questions can be found in this book. 

“The Story of Pysanka” consists of articles written by Ukrainian ethnographers in the 19th century. This is their first translation into English. Contemporary pysanky expert, Pavlo Rybalko, wrote the foreword. An extensive bibliography, glossary and indexare included, as well as black and white illustrations. 

Who would have thought that Easter eggs could be a topic of one’s Doctoral Dissertation? Well, indeed, it was, and not once. As they say, ‘ab ovo’ ☺. 

“The Story of Pysanka” is the first book in Sova Books’ Ukrainian Scholar Library series. It will be followed by publications on Ukrainian Spells, Ukrainian Herbal Medicine, Ukrainian Mythology and others. 

About the Series: Sova Books’ Ukrainian Scholar Library offers works written by Ukrainian intellectuals on various subjects. Let it be History, Folk Music and Lore, Literary Studies, Religion or Politics – these subjects and hopefully more with time will be covered by the series. The works span several centuries and most have Ukraine as their main or starting point of discussion. Whether you are a scholar or not, you may find the answers to what you are looking for in your quest of knowledge in these books.