Bloga akis: tradicijos raiška modernaus žmogaus gyvenime

LTStraipsnio tikslas: remiantis lauko tyrimų rezultatais, parodyti, kaip šiuolaikinėje Lietuvoje pasireiškia blogos akies kompleksas, pabrėžiant, kad bloga akis šių dienų Lietuvoje nelaikytina nei praeities atgyvena, nei nykstančiu prietaru, nei gėdinga atsilikimo žyme, būdinga senyvo amžiaus mažai išsilavinusiems žmonėms. Straipsnis remiasi autorės ir jos pagalbininkų 2000-2012 m. atliktais lauko tyrimais. Išvada: blogos akies savitas santykis su tradicija ir nūdiena lemia šio itin skvarbaus ir tvaraus kultūros elemento gyvybingumą moderniojoje šių dienų visuomenėje. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Bloga akis; Bloga akis, tradicija, modernybė, jaunimas, Lietuva; Jaunimas; Modernybė; Tradicija; Bloga akis; Evil eye, tradition, modernity, youth, Lithuania; Jaunimas; Modernybė; Tradicija.

ENDrawing on the field research data collected by the author and her as sistants in 2000-2012, as well as on relevant literature, the present article seeks to demonstrate how the evil eye complex (Evil Eye) is represented in the life of modern people. Field material was gathered in different parts of Lithuania by means of an original questionnaire developed by the author. The number of respondents involved in the research totalled 527 (452 females and 75 males). Additionally, a questionnaire-based anonymous survey of 493 students (242 females and 251 males; mean age 20.24) from different Vilnius University departments was carried out by the author. The findings of the research indicate that Evil Eye may not be regarded in Lithuania as a relic of the past or an obsolete prejudice, or a shameful mark of backwardness which is typical of elderly uneducated people. In Lithuania, like in numerous highly-developed countries of the world, the evil eye image participates in the daily life of modern people. The fear of evil eye features not only among elderly population but also among the representatives of younger generation. Young educated people adopt the traditional notion of evil eye enriching it with the elements of popular culture, such as "energy vampirism". Evil Eye is a very peculiar cultural phenomenon related equally both to tradition and modernity. This particular relationship accounts for the exceptional vitality of this pervasive and persistent cultural element in the modern contemporary society of Lithuania.For example, modern scientific and / or parascientific vocabulary features very largely in popular interpretations of the evil eye phenomenon. The evil eye vocabulary in cludes such words as "aura", "hypnotism", "magnetism", "energy vam pirism", "stress", "genes", "ultrasound", etc. They make the evil eye discourse modern. What is more, they, alongside other evil eye actualisation measures, lend actuality to the evil eye phenomenon, promoting it to the state of a "real fact". A homogeneous yet at the same time very elastic construct of Evil Eye adopts this outward shell of modernity readily and easily, remaining however intact and stable at its core. Surprisingly resistant to fundamental changes, on the one hand, and always prone to give a sign of modernity, on the other, the evil eye image offers a unique chance to modern people to explain their personal failures, unfavourable circumstances of life or general lack of fortune. Developed perpetually in the process of social and reflexive interactions, the Evil Eye representation in contemporary Lithuania undergoes endless modern modifications, remaining a steady element in a changing world. [From the publication]