Lietuvos etnografiniai regionai: kalendorinių švenčių simboliai

LTEtnografinis regionas svarbus konstruojant etninio tapatumo jausmus. Simbolines kitoniškumo ribas gali žymėti ir glaudžiai su tapatumo formavimu susijusios šventės. Straipsnyje, remdamasis asmeninių 1988-2014 metų etnografinių lauko tyrimų metu sukauptais duomenimis, išsikeliu tikslą - atskleisti Lietuvos etnografiniams regionams būdingus ritualinių metų simbolius. Siekdamas šio tikslo išsikeliu uždavinius: atskleisti kiekvienam Lietuvos etnografiniam regionui būdingus, XIX a. pabaigoje - XX a. pirmojoje pusėje gyvavusius kalendorinių švenčių papročius. Istoriniu geografiniu metodu atlikus tyrimą kaip atskiriems etnografiniams regionams būdingiausi, išskiriami: Žemaitijos Užgavėnių, Suvalkijos tarpušvenčio persirengėlių vaikštynės, Aukštaitijos Sekminių sudėtinio alaus Sambūrių paprotys, Dzūkijos Velykų lalavimas ir Mažosios Lietuvos foninių apeiginiai laužai. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Etnografiniai regionai; Kalendorinės šventės; Užgavėnės; Persirengėlių vaikštynės; Sekminės; Velykos; Ethnographic regions; Calendar holidays; Shrove.

ENAccording to Ingo Schröder, people living in the region made it a significant place. The region as a unique social environment is visible through the operational forms, power relations, social classification and etc. An ethnographic region is very important for the development of feelings, related to ethnic identity. An ethnographic region has a specific meaning and value that raise a spiritual and emotional attachment to the native land, as well as allows maintaining closer ties with the homeland. The symbolic boundaries of versatility can also be marked by holidays, which are closely related to the formation of identity. The question is what is the coherence of these events and how can the holiday mark a regional identity? In the article, based on my personal data of 1988-2014, obtained during the ethnographic studies of the field, my objective is to reveal the symbols of the ritual year that are typical to the ethnographic regions of Lithuania. In order to achieve the objective, I had to reveal the customs of calendar holidays that existed between the end of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century, which were specific to every ethnographic region of Lithuania. It's not easy to distinguish the region's typical symbols. During the interview of the local people in all five ethnographic regions, I received similar answers. The most frequent answer was: “The most favourite holiday is Christmas; meanwhile, the funniest holidays are Shrove (Lith. Užgavėnės) and St. John’s Day”. How to distinguish the specific holidays that are typical to one or another region? My chosen method was to analyse ethnographic material on the basis of advantages of historical and geographical approach, revealing peculiarities that were typical to one or another region.The certain holidays gathered young people together to outdoor fetes (Lithuanian “vaikštynės”), during which young men visited their neighbours’ houses, wished them well and were treated by food and, in some cases, money for the provided entertainment. One form of such outdoor fetes was visits by people wearing traditional masks and costumes. An exclusive festival of the ritual year - Shrove - was important for all farmers in Lithuania; however, festivals when people wore traditional masks and costumes were most typical to Samogitia. In addition to the most frequent characters “Jews”, there were also "beggars", “gypsies”, “soldiers”, “reapers", “devils" and other personifications. They performed such roles that corresponded to a certain character or general roles, corresponding to the spirit of Shrove. During the interwar period, a compact area of this custom coincided with the border of Samogitia ethnographic region. Nowadays, although the customs of Shrove, during which people wear traditional masks and costumes, spread in Lithuania and even in the communities of Lithuanian emigrants (Ireland, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Latvia, Poland, Luxembourg, France, the Russian Federation, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Hungary and Germany), Samogitia has the most traditional features personifying Shrove.People wearing masks and costumes were also typical to Suvalkija. However, here young boys started visiting people from the second day of Christmas and continued it until the Twelfth Night. The main character, which a group of people, wearing costumes, created was a grey horse (Lithuanian “šyvis”), formed from one or, sometimes, two men. For the group of people, wearing costumes, to enter a living house, the horse had to jump over the bench from the place it was standing or to run and jump over the table. During the interwar period, jumping of a grey horse covered a narrow area. Currently, jumping of a grey horse custom was noticed only in Gražiškiai, where people wearing masks and costumes visited several villages from Christmas to the Twelfth Night. Moreover, a person wearing costume is also depicted in the coat of arms of this town. The most difficult task is to distinguish one festival held in Aukštaitija (Highlands). It is the largest ethnographic region of Lithuania, covering almost 40 percent of Lithuania’s territory. According to the descriptions of the 16th century and ethnographic data, collected between the end of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century, I can distinguish the haymaking feasts, which were held during the Pentecost (Lithuanian “Sekminių Sambūriai") and which remained only in Aukštaitija (Highlands) ethnographic region. [...]. [From the publication]