Gyvensenos ypatumai prie Raigardo (pasaulėžiūrinis aspektas)

LTSukaupti tautosakiniai duomenys, įvertinant juos kartu su istorinėmis bei archeologinėmis žiniomis ir lyginamąja medžiaga, leidžia gana tiksliai apibūdinti gyvensenos prie Raigardo slėnio ypatumus dviejų vietovės apgyvendinimo laikotarpių metu. Ankstyvųjų metalų laikotarpiu (II tūkst. pr. Kr. vid. - 1 tūkst. pr. Kr. pab.) šiuos ypatumus neabejotinai fiksuoja Švendubrės mitologinis akmuo, vienas iš nedaugelio išlikusių šios rūšies paminklų Lietuvoje. Maždaug I tūkst. pr. Kr. antrojoje pusėje akmuo buvo dirbamuose laukuose arba jų pakraštyje ir, kaip byloja duobutės akmenyje, jis archeologinių Švendubrės 1, 2 bei 3 gyvenviečių bendrijoms turėjo tam tikros mitinės-sak- ralinės reikšmės. XV a. pab. ar XVI a. pr. prie Raigardo slėnio įsikūrusio ir iki šiol egzistuojančio Švendubrės kaimo gyvenamojoje aplinkoje žinoma kur kas daugiau vietų, su kuriomis buvo siejami mitiniai vaizdiniai. Pasakojama, kad Astravo arba Šventąjį kalną supylė kareiviai, o vietoje, iš kur jie ėmė žemes, liko Karaliūno dauba. Akmenį, esantį kaimo gale, atnešė Velnias. Šilalių kalne senais laikais buvo paslėpta daug aukso ir pan. Netgi yra pagrindo manyti, kad viduramžiais švendubriečių kapinės Raigardo slėnyje buvo įkurtos todėl; kad slėnio pelkėtoje - pietrytinėje dalyje buvo lokalizuojamos mitinės paskandos - lietuviškasis požeminis ar povandeninis mirusiųjų pasaulis. [Iš teksto, p. 76]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Nemuno slėnis; Raigardo slėnis; Akmens amžiaus gyvenvietės; Mitinės vietovės; Nemunas valley; Stone age sites; Villages; Mythical places.

ENConsidering folklore material and mythological data scarcely ten authentic legends have been known at an early start of the research work on revealing the peculiarities of the mode of living near the Raigardas Valley. Over six hundred stories and beliefs concerning the nature of the name Švendubrė, the mythological stone, flat-grave cemetery, the Uolikalnis (rock mountain), the swamp called the Raistas (marsh) in the Raigardas Valley, the Kleboniškė, the Astravas Mountain, also other places have been recorded from the 1998-1999 prospecting expeditions. In addition, about fifty microtoponyms on the Raigardas Valley and its environs have been fixed and localized. On the ground of this availability of the data which have formed the data base considering the world outlooking aspect an opportunity of giving a proper characterization of the peculiarities of the mode of living in the Raigardas Valley at the turn of the century has emerged. In reconstructing the features of the outlook of the previous periods some data from the former exploratory expeditions, the retrospective method as well as the comparative material have been referred to. During the Bronze and Early Iron Age (the mid-second millennium-the second half of the 1st millennium B. C.) the mythological cup marked stone of Švendubrė had sonic mythical sacred meaning for the communities living near the Raigardas Valley. That is a pink granite rubble with the length of the sides reaching 4,9, 3,5, 3,2, 3,1, 5,4 metres at its base (the total length - 20,1 m). The stone is 3,15 metres high. There are seven distinct cavities and two crumbled ones on the eastern side surface of the stone. The least cavity measures about 2,5 cm in diameter and it is 0,3 cm deep, whereas the largest one reaches 4,5 cm across and it is 0,5 cm deep. The Švendubrė stone is ascribed to the well-known group of cup marked stones, as it is known by investigators.This type of monuments is largely known throughout Europe, the Near East, Asia, Australia, North and South America. In relation to Western, Eastern and Middle Europe cup marked stones are usually regarded as the monuments of the Neolithic and the Bronze Ages. Considering the context of these monuments the supposition could be made that in the Bronze Age the Švendubrė stone was located on the arable land’s site or on its edges bodcring with the upper margin of the one of the terraces of the Nemunas. 'Ehe stone had a certain mythical and sacred meaning which is evidenced by the little pits hollowed on it. The archaeologically and historically fixed second wide-range chronological period linked with the communities at the Raigardas Valley is far more picturesque. The environs of the presently existing Švendubrė village, which was formely settled at the end of the 15th - the beginning of the 16th centuries, contain far more places with which concrete mythical images used to be linked. Not only the places which had relation with the purely mythical images but also the ones with evident sacred features have been ascertained. Among them the Raigardas Valley comes first (more exactly its southeastern swampy part). Among the great majority of the legends on it the first place is taken by the one which evidences the fact on the town perished (buildings, the church and “all the ends of it” and on the opportunity of recreating it to its former condition, i. e. a certain “sacred program” is meant by this. Tite plunged Raigardas church is the crossroad of the villagers ofŠvendubrė as far as their religious convictions are concerned (this is expressed by the content of the beliefs and legends). The church is both sacred and anti-sacred: the reason for its sinking was people’s disobedience to God, on the other hand, an audible ringing of bells symbolizes its sacrcdncss.This situation is also reflected by the legends according to which the church together with the pledged Raigardas town is being closely related to the church of Ratnyčia. Apart from diverse specimens (for example, padlocks, chains) that are being found in the varied places of the valley the bell ringing heard in the valley tells the villagers of Švendubrė about the mythical town of Raigardas. Presumably, the listening to the sounding was one of the relics evidencing a certain ritual treatment. As early as the first half of the 20th century on the first Easter Day parents used to take their children to the valley, they wanted their children to listen to the ringing of the bells. At the time of the existence of the historical village ofŠvendubrė the sacred meaning was imparted to the above mentioned stone ofŠvendubrė as well. Its sacredness could be evidenced by the legends and widespread beliefs which claimed that the stone was sacred. Generally, the stone was considered to be sacred “from the olden times”. In 1936 the act of its sacrcdncss was legalized by erecting the cross on the stone and by consecrating it. In the Soviet period the cross was torn down, and by the virtue of the information from the systems of education, culture and turism the stone became anti-sacred: according to the prevalent opinion it was considered to be the stone of the Velnias (Devil). In summary it could be mentioned that the communities which had lived in the exceptional natural- 78 geographical locality near Raigardas distinguished themselves by their own peculiarities as far as their world ourlooking aspect is concerned. The character of the settled environment was created by the mythical images of the populance according to which the standards of their routines and their sacred treatment were formed evidencing by this the historical, mythical and sacred value of the concrete places. [From the publication]