ТЕКСТИЛЬНЫЕ ПРЕДМЕТЫ КУЛЬТОВОЙ ПРАКТИКИ СЕМЕЙСКИХ СТАРООБРЯДЦЕВ В СОБРАНИИ МУЗЕЯ ИСТОРИИ БУРЯТИИ ИМ. М.Н. ХАНГАЛОВА
Authors: А.В. КОСТРОВ , Л.Ф. ЛЕВИТИНА 
Published: November 2024

Статья посвящена научному обзору текстильных предметов конфессиональной культуры семейских старообрядцев, хранящихся в фондах Музея истории Бурятии им. М.Н. Хангалова. В центре внимания исследователей - анализ лестовки (молитвенных четок), подрушников (ковриков-подушечек для земных поклонов), а также настенных «карманов», имеющих отношение к оформлению «переднего» угла с иконами. На основе анализа структуры и декора предметов выявляются элементы христианской символики чисел, которую использовали семейские старообрядцы Забайкалья. Ключом к пониманию этой символической системы является лестовка как обязательный спутник старовера, позволяющий понять сложные комбинации форм и чисел, которые семейские мастерицы помещали на поле других текстильных атрибутов молитвенной практики. В результате мы видим игру основных христианских чисел (3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 33, 40), которые формируют образ Неба и наряду с иконами помогают визуализировать его в «переднем» углу дома. Таким образом, анализ материалов, хранящихся в Музее истории Бурятии им. М.Н. Хангалова, позволяет реконструировать разные аспекты культуры семейских старообрядцев прошлых эпох и приблизиться к пониманию их мировоззрения.

The article is devoted to a research review of textile objects of confessional culture of the Semeiskys Old Believers stored in the fonds of the Museum of History of Buryatia named after M.N. Khangalov. The focus is on the analysis of lestovka (prayer ropes), podruchniks (small prayer pillow rugs for prostration), as well as wall “karmany” [pockets] (wall decorations) related to the design of the “Krasny” [holy] corner with icons. Based on the analysis of the objects’ structure and decor, the elements of the Christian symbolism of numbers, used by the Old Believers of Transbaikal, are determined. The key to understanding this symbolic system is the lestovka as an obligatory companion of an Old Believer, which allows you to understand the complex combinations of shapes and numbers that the Semeiskys craftswomen placed on other textile attributes of prayer practice. As a result, we see a game of basic Christian numbers (3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 33, 40), that form the image of the Heaven and, along with icons, help to visualize it in the “krasny” corner of the house. The analysis of the structure and correlation with similar objects from this and other regions allow us to reveal the information potential of not numerous, but very illustrative podruchniks stored in the museum’s collections. Along with the 9-part (symbolizing the 9 Choirs of Angels, etc.) and 5-part (symbolizing the evangelists and Christ) design of the face area typical for the Semeiskys Old Believers, unique complex variants are presented here. Through the latter, a creative interpretation of the traditional Christian symbolism of numbers by the Semeiskys Old Believers who created these objects of confessional culture was manifested. The special place of such a wall decoration as a “karman”, which was hung on the sides of the “krasny” corner, allows us to interpret it as the border of the celestial and earthly, sacred and secular. Moreover, its well-established structure, including 3, 4 or 5 parts, correlates it with the symbolic structure of the lestovka and the podruchnik. As a result, the number of segments can be understood as the Trinity, evangelists, or evangelists with Christ. The information capacity of an object if significantly increased by the hand or cross-stitch embroidery, which presents both Christian and archaic symbols preserved due to general traditionalism. The analysis of the objects involved shows that the Old Believer culture in general and the Semeiskys version of it in particular are characterized by deep symbolism, in which the most important Christian categories are comprehended and translated through structure, forms and numbers. This creates a specific atmosphere of prayer practice and helps a Christian put aside the secular focus on the sacred.