Zielona ruta (lit. žalios rūtos) jako podstawowy atrybut litewskiego ślubu w pieśniach ludowych

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Dainos; Tautosaka; Lietuviškos vestuvių tradicijos; Lietuvių folkloras; Nuotakos vainikas; Ritualai; Rūta; Rūtos simbolis; Rūtų darželis; Santuokos simbolika; Simboliai; Vestuvės; Bridal crown; Folklore; Lithuanian folklore; Lithuanian wedding traditions; Matrimonial symbolism; Rituals; Rue garden; Rue symbol; Songs; Symbols: Ruta; Wddings.

ENIn every culture, the ritual of marriage is one of the most important events in human life. It is also a cultural indicator of the functioning of human civilization in the sacred, legal, social, moral or aesthetic sense.Wedding in the folk tradition is full of customs and rituals. Matrimonial symbolism is well-developed also in Lithuanian folklore, especially in folk songs. The article analyzes the basic/ key wedding symbol - the me herb, which is used in different variations (garden, wreath, plant, etc.). The aim is to explain the phenomenon of the dissemination of these motifs, their semantics and the role/purpose in the sources of folk art. Due to the fact that most often these motifs are found in Lithuanian folk songs, this type became the center of our attention and has been chosen as the main research material. Symbols associated with me operate in different contexts and in different semantic fields. They arc, inter alia, 1) the identity of the girl, her self-expression, 2) her maturity, reproductive capabilities and, at the same time, innocence. A particularly interesting thread is the link between the wedding and death symbols. In this comparison, the key position is also granted to the symbolism of the me.The analyzed symbols, or at least their meanings, are very ancient, primitive, pre-Christian. However, today we arc also dealing with the vestiges of archaic traditions. The influence of various factors (c.g. the progress of civilization, industrialization, technocracy) leads to the inevitable simplification of rituals, the loss of the sense of rites, as well as the deprivation of people of the relationships with nature and of the experience of previous generations. All of those arc associated with the disappearance and decay of tradition, and some kind of the end of transmission of cultural traditions which have been practiced continuously for centuries. [From the publication]