The Egg Evaldas Jasiunas Faculty of Arts, Siauliai University
Summary Creating the work which would have relation with the Baltic culture, I have decided to make one of the symbols of spring – the egg. The egg in the pagan religion symbolizes cosmos, appearance of life, fertility. It is believed that when you break the egg, a new life, in the form of a snake which is turned into the embyo, comes out. Therefore, there is a ritual to hit one egg into another. It is believed that snakes are creatures of the nether world which protect crops. Having the appearance of the snake, the spirits of ancestors show up. Snakes wake plants, their blossoming and fertility. Therefore, the painted eggs are rolled on the ground. The touch with the ground awakes beings of the nether world. Painting of eggs has a magical meaning. Sun is painted on eggs (so that plants would always had enough light), stars (so that they had enough light even at night), little snakes (so that the life would awake) as well as various plants, etc. The colour of the egg also has a specific meaning. The ornaments of eggs are an archetype manifestation of the Baltic culture. In order to emphasize the sainthood of an egg, earlier people painted eggs using peels of onion, barks of an apple-tree or alder, blossoms of rose mallow. The variety of eggs scripts symbolizes human’s spirituality. In ancient times it was believed that the egg protected from thunder, possession of evil spirits; an egg which was set into the substructure of a house protected from disasters, thrown over the roof – from fires, also protected domestic birds from a hawk. Iconographic sources point at the relations of eggs with the rituals of All Soul’s Day; therefore, there is still a tradition to visit graves of relatives on Easter day. Materials used to create the work: wire, net, gypseous bandage, decorative aids.