Bandymas atkurti Šventaragio mitą

LTLegendiniai kunigaikščiai gyvena legendose, istoriniai - istorijoje. Tačiau Vilniaus vardo paminėjimo 700 metų jubiliejus - puiki proga sugrįžti prie Šventaragio, kurio legenda dera su valstybės politinės ir religinės istorijos raida. Straipsnyje sutelktos žinios apie tai, koks vaidmuo Šventaragiui tenka legendinių kunigaikščių genealogijoje, kaip vyko jo laidotuvės ir sugrįžtama prie išvados, kad Šventaragis pasireiškė kaip naujos religinės tradicijos steigėjas. Iš esmės tai jau žinoma iš baltų religijos ir mitologijos tyrėjų Vladimiro Toporovo, Algirdo Juliaus Greimo, Gintaro Beresnevičiaus darbų. Tačiau Šventaragio tyrinėjimai iki šiol buvo atsieti nuo Lietuvos metraščiuose ir Motiejaus Strijkovskio kūriniuose aprašytos Palemonaičių genealogijos ir jo protėvių laido- senos. Būtent tai, lyg mitinis pasakojimas apie kitados Rytų Lietuvoje buvusius skirtingus laidojimo papročius, pabrėžia paties Šventaragio vaidmenį valstybės kūrimo metu reformuojant senąją religiją; atsiranda pagrindas naujai Šventaragio mito rekonstrukcijai, kuri ir yra pagrindinis šio straipsnio tikslas. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos metraščiai, Motiejus Strijkovskis, Šventaragis, baltų mitologija, laidosena. [Iš leidinio]

ENThis article returns to the legendary part of the second and third redactions of the Lithuanian Chronicles and the works of Motiejus Strijkovskis, written in the second half of the 16th century, which raised the question of Šventaragis’, duke of Lithuania, Samogitia, Naugardukas and Ruthenia, place in the genealogy of legendary dukes (descendants of Palemonas), how his funeral took place, and polemised about the religious reform that took place in the 13th century in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, with which many researchers of the old Baltic religion and mythology, including the author of this article, associated Šventaragis. The problem is that, until now, research on Šventaragis has been separated from the genealogy of the Palemonas line and legends about Šventaragis’ ancestors’ burial traditions, described in the chronicles and Strijkovskis’ works. It is precisely these, as a mythical story about the different burial customs in Eastern Lithuania in prehistoric times, that emphasises the role of Šventaragis himself in the religious reform and the introduction of the practice of burning the dead during the era of state building. Thus, in the second redaction of the Chronicles, Šventaragis becomes the first ruler of Lithuania, Samogitia, Naugardukas, and Ruthenia, while in the third redaction, his place is taken by Mindaugas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and later King (reigning about 1236-1263). The legendary part of the Chronicles and M. Strijkovskis’s work tell exclusively about the ancestors of Šventaragis: the funerals of Kernius, Pajauta, Kukavaitis and their neighbour, Spera, who died without descendants.At first glance, there is a pattern in the depiction of them (their loving children or subjects bury the deceased duke or duchess; an idol is built in remembrance, which is later considered to be a god), and it hides the connection of the dead to lakes (the case of Spera), to a lake and linden trees (the case of Pajauta), a river and forest (the case of Kukavaitis). The legend of Kernius is distinguished by the fact that the body of the deceased grand duke was burned on the shore of a lake and the remains were buried in a mound. All four cases of similar and at the same time different burial rituals in different generations of the predecessors of Šventaragis form an introductory part of the reconstructed myth of Šventaragis. It also shows a different topography of the burial sites, according to which different possibilities of the fate of the souls of the dead are created; it shows the holiness of the lake, river, individual trees, and forest, based on a complex of mythological images. This tradition would be replaced by a new funeral ritual, established by Šventaragis and performed by his son for the first time. In the light of the cult of the state gods- sovereigns, which has been studied in the author’s earlier works — the dead would be burned from that point on. It seems that the significance of the place for burning the bodies of the dead increased with Šventaragis; in such cases, the funeral gained political importance. It should be noted that the new establishment maintained a link with the waters. An analysis of mythological images - the burial customs that existed before Šventaragis and the new tradition - will expand the reconstruction of the myth of Šventaragis, based so far more on historical and archaeological data. [From the publication]

• Etnologija / Ethnology
• Literatūrologija / Literary Studies