A collection of traditional Sorokoklyn pysanky from Odarka Onyshchuk’s “Symbolism of the Ukrainian Pysanka”

Three Specific Types of Traditional Pysanky

There are two variations on the wax-resist pysanka that deserve extra scrutiny.  One is a variation on the method (different instruments are used), one utilizes etching, and the other is a very widespread pattern that is seen, in one form or another, in almost every part of Ukraine.

First, there is the drop-pull pysanka, a wax-resist decorated egg made by using a pin head or a match to apply the wax rather than the traditional stylus.  These pysanky are most common in the Lemko regions, which are found in Zakarpattіa oblast, and in ethnographically Ukrainian areas of modern-day Slovakia and Poland.

Second, there are white pysanky.  This type of pysanka, created by etching the surface of the pysanka as a final step, is found throughout central and northernUkraine, although relatively uncommon.

Third, there is a the Sorokoklyn, or  ”40 Triangles” style of pysanka.  This type of pysanka, named after the division of the surface into many small triangles, is common throughout Ukraine, although most popular, it seems, based on the patterns I’ve seen, in Podillia.