Seniausios žinios apie šventus miškus Lietuvoje

LTKarštuose Nacionalinio miškų susitarimo ginčuose dėl baltų religijos giraičių įteisinimo kaip dvasinės paskirties miškų daugelį kartų buvau klausiamas apie istorinius Lietuvos alkus, t. y. šventus miškus, kuriuos užfiksavo seniausi istorijos šaltiniai. Šiandien - proga šias surinktas žinias pirmą kartą plačiau pristatyti ir apibendrinti. Nuo XIV a., kuomet į Lietuvos Didžiąją Kunigaikštystę karo žygius rengė Vokiečių ordinas, iki XVI a. I p., kuomet buvo parašyta legendinė Lietuvos metraščių dalis, rašytiniuose šaltiniuose paminėta 13 šventais laikomų miškų, miškelių, medžių grupių (kai kurie - po kelis ar keletą kartų). Straipsnyje nagrinėjamos XIV a.-XV a. I p. istorijos šaltinių žinios apie penkias iš šių vietų. Prieinama prie išvados, kad seniausiuose šaltiniuose šventi miškai paminėti kaip geografiniai taškai, pastoviui tinkamos vietos. Dauguma atvejų tie miškai nepranyko be pėdsakų - juos mena vietovardžiai, padavimai, išliko kitų jiems priklausiusių šventviečių, o kai kuriais atvejais toje pačioje vietoje iki šiol auga miškas. Reikšminiai žodžiai: baltų religija, šventvietės, šventi miškai, kryžiuočių kelių aprašymai (vok. Wegeberichte), Nacionalinis miškų susitarimas. [Iš leidinio]

ENIn the article, data from historical sources about the sacred forests of Lithuania is presented in detail and summarised. From the 14th century, when military campaigns were organised to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by the German Order until the first half of the 16th century when the legendary part of the Lithuanian chronicles was written, 13 groups of forests, woods, and trees (some - several times over) were mentioned in written sources. The article examines the knowledge of historical sources from the 14th to 15th centuries about five of these places. Descriptions of the Crusaders’ war routes to Samogitia refer to sacred forests in five different locations as geographical points, usually referring to their proper names, as permanent locations or places for military camps. Thus, it is no coincidence that the reports of crusaders’ scouts reveal the connection of sacred forests with rivers (and in one case, a lake). On the other hand, there could be a deep mythological connection between sacred forests and water bodies - “Nemakšte” was the name for both the sacred forest and the sacred lake; near the Ašva stream, now called Ašvija, there was the Ašvietė forest, the name of which can be understood as “the place of Ašva.” This suggests that the names of the sacred forests coincided with the names of the local deities and that there may have been many different types of temples in their environment (cf. the case of Pakalniškiai Alka hill). Near sacred forests, there were residential areas, which are evidenced by archaeological findings and/or historical knowledge. For example, Ašvietė was a few kilometres from Kaltinėnai - the historic centre of the region in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, an intersection of roads, while Ventis coincided with the western boundary of Veliuona Castle (a territorial and administrative centre) in the late 13th and 15th centuries.The unique knowledge about Ventis tells us that this was a sacred place for the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Its roots reach to the prehistoric period of the Samogitian tribes. In the 15th century, the governor of Ventis, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas, declaratively distanced himself from the religious tradition associated with this forest, but in October 1416, by an old custom, he invited the Polish kings, magistrates of the German Order and Livonian region, and representatives of the nobles to meet in Ventis. In the place of the oldest sacred forest known in Lithuania, about 45 ha of forest has survived to this day, part of it is called Draustinė (from the Lithuanian word drausti — “saying that what not to do; to not allow; warning; defending”) and a mound not yet explored by archaeologists. The holiness of Nemakštė is evidenced by the stories about Nemakštė Lake (now known as Paežeris). Ašvietas is mentioned in a legend written down in the second half of the 20th century about the Alka Hill of Pakalniškės, and the image of Rambynas, the eternal sanctuary of the Lithuanian nation, is still widely known. Thus, as many as four of the five sacred forests mentioned in the oldest historical sources are still part of the narrative tradition, still site names. It is necessary to continue the historical studies and start archaeological research of these sites. [From the publication]