Glossary

of Pysanka-Related Terms

 
 

O

oberih (оберіг): a talismanic object, its purpose is to protect a person or house from evil spirits or harm.  A pysanka was, traditionally, a type of oberih, not an art object. 

oblast (область): modern-day Ukrainian political division, equivalent to a state or province.  Ukraine has twenty four oblasts.

odudok (одудок): a term used in the Dnipropetrovsk region for a stylus, the instrument used to write pysanky.

Onyshchuk (Онищук): Odarka Onyshchuk, author of “Symbolism of the Ukrainian Pysanka.” Self-published in Canada, this book contains a number of traditional pysanky, but the author has changed the names of many from those in earlier literature. Her interpretations of the symbols are also non-standard and often fabulist.

orange rinse: using a vinegar-free orange dye to remove blue or green colors from a dyed egg.

oranta: Latin for praying, it refers to the type of icon which depicts the VIrgin Mary standing with upraised arms (example on right).  This depiction is very similar to that of the Berehynia.

ostrich: large flightless African bird that produces large white eggs.  The eggs are often used in pysankarstvo. 






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