Etnografinis regionas mokslinių tyrimų šviesoje
LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Etnografinis regionas; Kalba; Kultūra; Liaudies kultūra; Maistas; Regioniniai tyrimai; Regioninis identitetas; Culture; Ethnographic region; Folk culture; Food; Language; Lithuania; Regional identity; Scientific research.
ENThe year 2015 is the most important event popularizing the ethnographic regions of Lithuania. For years, an ethnographic region has not been formally recognized as a cultural value. Although the modern concept of an ethnographic region formed in the first half of the 20th century, only in the end of the 20th century on the efforts of Ethnic Culture Council established at the Seimas of Lithuania an ethnographic region was legalized. In the Ethnic Culture of the Republic of Lithuania State Protection Law it is defined as a historically formed part of the territory, in which a distinctive dialect, traditions and customs are preserved and the heritage of the Baltic tribes is integrated, but to this day the debates go on concerning the borders of one or another region or even its name. The criteria of determining ethnographic belonging to a region – dialect, material and spiritual culture, regional self-awareness of the people – are changing rapidly. On the other hand, to determine the boundaries of an ethnographic region on the basis of self-awareness studies is also difficult. The residents of big cities, non-Lithuanians, people living on the borders of ethnographic regions, those who came to live there from other regions, especially from Lithuania Minor, can hardly grasp their ethno-regional identity. The study suggests that boundaries of Lithuanian ethnographic regions should be only conditional. On the other hand, an ethnographic region can be an important source of local identity, uniting fellow country people. In a large city or in a foreign country may be created possible spaces based on blood relationship symbolic to fellow country people. This would allow to maintain ethnographic or local identity, implanting love for Motherland even at a distance, and during a variety of events of fellow country people societies there would be created opportunities to visit it. [From the publication]
