Relics of totemism in the Lithuanians customs of lyfe cycle: end of the 19th - middle of the 20th centuries

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Etnologija; Gyvenimo ciklo papročiai; Lietuvių šeimos papročiai; Lokys; Meška; Totemizmas; Vilkas; Bear; Customs of life cycle; Ethnology; Totemism; Wolf.

ENThe objective of the present work is to reveal the relics of totemism in the Lithuanian customs of life cycle. The subject of the research is the customs ofthe life cycle at the end of the 19th century and in the middle of the 20th century. The article deals with the main images - those of the wolf and the bear - most common in the Lithuanian customs of life cycle. The goals of the work are: to single out the most popular totems in the customs of Lithuanian life cycle; by means of the ethnographical and folklorist material of the neighboring countries and with the help of historical-comparative analysis, to reconstruct the elements of totemism in the said customs; to reveal the semantics of the totemie symbols of the wolf and the bear. The main source of the article is field investigation carried by the author in 1994-2002 in all ethnic regions of Lithuania. Besides, it is based on the ethnographical and folklorist material of Balts and Slavs. Hypothesis of the article is to prove, that the totemic symbols of both the wolf and the bear in the Lithuanians customs of life cycle are connected with the passage of rites. Methods: the historical-comparative and reconstructive methods. [From the publication]

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