Šv. Martyno diena Mažojoje Lietuvoje: tradicijų rekonstrukcija

LTStraipsnyje, pasitelkiant autentišką lietuvininkų medžiagą, analizuojama Šv. Martyno dienos Ma- žojoje Lietuvoje specifika chronologiniu aspektu (nuo pirmųjų paminėjimų iki šių dienų). Siekiama atskleisti bendruosius šventės raidos etapus ir šiuolaikines papročių transformacijas. Analizuojami pagrindiniai XIX a. pab. – XX a. Šv. Martyno dienos modelio elementai, atskleidžiant struktūrinius ir funkcinius kalendorinių apeigų pokyčius. Taip pat siekiama išanalizuoti ir šiuolaikinius (nuo 2002 m.) šventės papročius bei aptarti etninės tradicijos tęstinumo galimybes šių dienų šventės modelyje. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: Šv. Martyno diena, šventė, Mažoji Lietuva, papročiai, žąsis. [Iš leidinio]

ENSt Martin’s Day (11 November) is the last autumn festival celebrated in Lithuania Minor, which usually marked the end of the farm-hand’s term. On that day, villagers paid for the work of the herdsman (the main shepherd) and the blacksmith in grain and food. The weather on St Martin’s Day served to predict the weather at Christmas. The main element in the old festival in Lithuania Minor was paying wages to the farm-hands for their work. Using authentic Lithuanian material, the article analyses the specifics of St Martin’s Day in Lithuania Minor from a chronological point of view (from the earliest mentions to the present day), in order to show the general stages in the development of the festival, and the modern changes to the customs. The article analyses aspects of the St Martin’s Day celebration in the late 19th and 20th centuries, showing the structural and functional changes in the calendar feast. It also aims to analyse the modern customs in the festival (since 2002), and to discuss the prospects for the continuity of the ethnic tradition in today’s festival. In summary, it can be stated that changes in the economic and social conditions prompted processes of change in the world-view and the ritual behaviour of the lietuvininkai (residents of Lithuania Minor). With the collapse of the feudal system, the archetypal culture of the village community, and also the obligation to fight, naturally disappeared, so the old customs also ceased. The spread of urban culture and new educational opportunities encouraged new kinds of tradition. The celebration of St Martin’s Day clearly mixes old Lithuanian folk customs (such as the custom of leading a goat around a tree) with elements of German culture (a procession with lanterns, which could be considered the leitmotif of the legend of St Martin, etc).Cultural and educational institutions became the most important factor supporting the viability of symbolic forms of ethnic culture at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Although the institutionally organised St Martin’s Day takes place according to more or less the same scenario for all of Lithuania, by emphasising elements of the festival typical in Lithuania Minor, the centralised organisation of cultural institutions may be favourable for fostering local Lithuanian traditions. Keywords: St Martin’s Day, holiday, Lithuania Minor, customs, goose. [From the publication]

• Lietuvių apeiginė etnochoreografija / Dalia Urbanavičienė. Vilnius : Lietuvos muzikos akademija, 2000. 459 p., [8] iliustr. lap.
• Piemenavimo kultūra Lietuvoje XX amžiuje - XXI amžiaus pradžioje : disertacija / Mikštaitė-Čičiurkienė, Regina. Kaunas : Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto bibliotekos Leidybos skyrius, 2014. 172 p.
• Tautos metai / Libertas Klimka. Vilnius : Etninės kultūros globos taryba, 2008. 375 p.
• Tradicinių kalendorinių švenčių semantika / Libertas Klimka. Vilnius : Vilniaus pedagoginio universiteto leidykla, 2009. 195 p.