Jaunimas: papročiai, apeigos ir kasdienis gyvenimas Merkinės apylinkėse XX a.

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Apeigos; Bendravimo formos; Jaunimas; Kultūra; Laisvalaikis; Merkinė; Merkinės apylinkės; Modernizacija; Papročiai; Tradicija; Vedybų papročiai; Communication forms; Culture; Customs; Leisure; Marriage customs; Merkinė; Merkinė district; Modernization; Rituals; Tradition; Youth.

ENThe article is based on the abundant field research material gathered in 2001-2002 in Merkinė and its environs situated within the Dzūkija National Park. Its purpose is to investigate the everyday life of 20th с youth and to contribute to the analysis of the problem of the development of traditional cultural heritage in today's society. The article looks at several characteristic aspects of youth subculture, namely the rites of passage, initiation customs, models of marital future, forms of youth interaction; and their social expression in the annual cycle. The analysis of rites of passage and initiation customs shows that youth rites and related customs recorded in Merkinė are characteristic to the Varėna Region, and in part to the whole area of Dzūkija. Only the marking of social maturity at wedding has withstood the test of time. However, its initiative sense was ousted by the entertainment functions of the wedding party. The study of the distribution of initiative actions according to gender indicates that the rather weak on an all-Lithuanian scale, the "male" and "female" ritual opposition has become scarcely noticeable in the past decades. The ancient charming or telling the future of marital life represents the "female" sphere of culture. The desire to marry and love has often made people neglect Christian morals consciously. On the other hand, marriage "out of calculation" was tolerated as an economic necessity. In recent years, with the growth of information offered by the mass media, marital forecasts have lost their regional character. Magic actions (charms) have decreased rapidly and are now rarely practiced.Apparently, this may be explained by the rising level of education, by the declining differentiation of society in terms of property, and by the tendency to create a family on the basis of love. The analysis of the forms of youth interaction shows their rapid modernization already in the inter - war period, especially in Merkinė. In recent years many forms of social interaction among young people have changed, but the basic area of youth communication remains the evening party with an open dance. The age of its participants is declining and the division between town and village culture is disappearing. The differences are clear when we look at youth customs in a yearly cycle. In Merkinė the archaic youth interaction forms (youth parries, gatherings of uninvited guests at weddings) disappeared earlier than in neighbouring villages, the duration of some calendar holidays was shortened, and the social activities of students was limited. Nevertheless, today the calendar customs of the Merkinė youth show less innovation than the ones of other ethnic regions. Disregarding the period of Soviet atheistic policy, specific characteristics of the Advent and Lent (together with the related Christmas and Easter) periods were preserved in Merkinė. The contribution of the church as well as of cultural and educational workers to the preservation of traditional forms of youth life is significant, but compared to the inter-war period political and public organizations pay little attention to the youth.An analysis of the diffusion of traditional forms of youth interaction in contemporary culture shows that it is possible to distinguish clearly several layers of the ancient ethnic culture. The investigation of ancient youth customs in terms of territory allows us to conclude that the influence of elements of modern culture becomes stronger in the areas to the west of Merkinė, but declines in the areas to the east of Merkinė. This process could be observed in both the interwar period and on a smaller scale today. [From the publication]

• Etnologija / Ethnology
• Istorija / History