Many ethnic Ukrainians, of the ethnographic Lemko group, remain in eastern Slovakia, in the Presov (Priashiv) area. They were referred to as “Rusyny” or “Ruthenians” in the past, as were Ukrainians in general. 

After WWI, the Austro-Hungarian empire was broken up, and borders were re-drawn.  The Lemky were split into two groups, north and south, between Poland and Slovakia.  In Slovakia, they were concentrated in the Presov (Priashiv / Пряшів) region:

A map of Modern-day Slovakia

The Lemky of Priashiv make traditional Ukrainian pysanky, both with a stylus, and, more commonly, using a pin-head in the “drop-pull” style.  The pysanky pictured on the following page are mostly from Odarka Onyshchuk’s book, as other books tend not to separate out Priashiv from greater Lemkivshchyna.

There is an entire book about the pysanky of Priashiv by Pavlo Markovyc (Павло Маркович), the English language version of which is entitled “Rusyn Easter Eggs from Eastern Slovakia.”  It covers all sorts of pysanky (both drop-pull and linear batik) and decorated eggs made by these people.  There is an interesting section on drop-pull symbolism, some of which can also be seen on the Carpatho-Rusyn web site here.

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