Švč. Mergelė Marija lietuvių liaudies pasakoje "Dievo Motinos augintinė"

LTStraipsnyje analizuojama lietuvių liaudies pasaka „Dievo motinos augintinė“, kurioje pastebimas prieštaringas Švč. Mergelės Marijos vaizdinys: ji pateikiama kaip mergaitės globėja ir kaip negailestinga baudėja. Kokios tokio Švč. Mergelės Marijos paveikslo ištakos bei koks jo santykis su liaudiškąja, folklorine tradicija – tai klausimai, gvildenami šioje publikacijoje. Tuo tikslu aptariami lietuviški pasakos variantai, analizuojamos pasakoje užsifiksavusios Švč. Mergelės Marijos paveikslo detalės. Tyrimas papildomas analogiška tarptautine folkloro medžiaga. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Draudimas; Tautosaka; Laumė; Liaudies pasakos; Liaudies tikėjimai; Pasaka; Švč. Mergelė Marija; Blessed Virgin Mary; Folk beliefs; Folk tale; Folk tales; Folklore; Pixie; Taboo; The Blessed Virgin Mary.

ENThe current paper deals with the Lithuanian folk tale "Our Lady's Child", which contains a contradictory image of the Blessed Virgin Mary: she is presented both as a guardian and a merciless punisher of a girl. What are the sources of this image of Mary, and what is its relation with the folk tradition - these questions are analyzed in the paper. For this purpose, the Lithuanian variants of the tale are discussed, and the details of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary registered in the tale are explored. The research is supplemented with analogous material of international folklore. In Europe, the literary origin of the tale dates back to the 16th–17th centuries. The plot line and the advanced idea found in the first published texts of the tale are quite typical of fairy tales, though the character of the Blessed Virgin Mary is still absent. The contradictory image of Mary in the tale can be explained by its multi-layer character. A large influence was made by different religious images - the goddesses that protected the activity of land cultivation worshipped in agricultural societies (e.g. the goddess of earth Demeter), who later gradually surrendered their sphere of influence to Christian religious figures. This can be seen in the Lithuanian variants of the tale as well, where mythical beings - fairies (laumės) - are represented in parallel to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In archaic cultures, the transitional periods of human life were controlled by transcendental powers. It is probable that having taken over the functions of the goddesses who previously appeared in the tale, Mary became perpetuated as a person who puts the girl to test and is in charge of the initiation rite.This can explain the cruelty of the Mother of God. On the other hand, the tale contains universal social models reflecting typical conflict situations in a family. It is revealed by attaching to the image of the saint represented in the tale some qualities of the negative female characters - a witch, a mother-in-law - found in fairy tales. These women are usually distinguished by their destructive activity directed against the main character of the fairy tale and are usually punished by death at the end of the tale. The literary origin of the narratives of this type goes back to the period of the Mediaeval Ages. The negative colouring of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary is mitigated by one of the fundamental truths of the Christian faith – the confession of sins. It is probably an innovation of this tale that appeared under the impact of the Christian faith. [From the publication]