Folklore in the modern culture of Lithuania and Latvia

Juzala, Gustaw

doi:0137-4079

Pobierz

Tytuł: Folklore in the modern culture of Lithuania and Latvia

Abstrakt:

The present article focuses on the issue of references to folklore and mythology present in contemporary art in Latvia and Lithuania. Any scholar analysing Baltic cultures or even a person visiting Lithuania or Latvia for the first time and wishing to learn something about the culture of these countries will quickly notice that it contains a kind of a ‘folklore paradigm’ present in all aspects of everyday life, as well as in modern literature, music and visual arts. Folklore and the old world-views connected with it infiltrate professional art through various channels: (1) Subconsciously, as a part of spiritual experience, ancient beliefs still present in everyday life; (2) Consciously or subconsciously through traditional culture, which includes mythology as a ‘cultural relic’; (3) Consciously, if the artist makes deliberate references to mythology, studies it to find the answer to the eternal question of the meaning of life and conveying this meaning through works of art. Each day takes us further away from the times when mythology and folklore were the only means of conveying thoughts on the world and humankind as a whole. Nonetheless, folklore still inspires Lithuanian and Latvian artists. The ‘high culture’ of these countries, created by educated people, repeatedly returns to the motif of the lost Baltic paradise, the archetypical pagan community. Unfortunately, Lithuanian and Latvian literature is still relatively unknown in Poland and in the world, possibly due to its hermetic nature. The modern music and visual arts created by Baltic peoples are widely known and valued abroad, yet their literature is very difficult to translate, not as much because of linguistic concerns, but due to the frequent use of references to folklore and mythology that make these texts incomprehensible to people who lack knowledge about these cultures

Bibliografia:

Barons K. 1893–1915, Latvju dainas, vol. 1–6, Jelgava–Petersburg
Chodźko A. 1879, Les chants historiques d’Ukraine et les chansons populaire des Latyches des bords de la Dvina occidentale, Paris
Egle K. 1935, Tautas tradīciju krāšana, [in:] ed. L. Bērzinša, Latviešu literatūras vēsture, vol. 1, Rīga
Greble V. 1950, Latviešu bērnu folklora, Folkloras instituta raksti, vol. 1, Rīgā
Greble V. 1955–1957 Latviešu tautasdziesmas, vol. 1–2, Rīga
Greble V. 1979–1984 Latviešu tautasdziesmas, vol. 1–5, Rīga
Greimas J. A. 1990, Tautos atminties beieškant. Apie dievus ir žmones, Vilnius–Chicago
Hobsbawm E., Ranger T. 1983, The Invention of Tradition, Cambridge
Kolberg O. 1989, Dzieła Wszystkie, vol. 42. Litwa, Wrocław
Kondrotas S. T. 1996, Žalčio žvilgsnis, Vilnius
Martinaitis M. 1986, Tautosaka lietuvių poezijoje, Metmenys, no. 52, pp. 3–33
Martinaitis M. 1995, Wiersze podobne do Litwy. Eilėraščiai, panašūs į Lietuvą, Sejny
Oinas F. J. 1978, The Balto-Finnic Epics, [in:] Heroic Epic and Sagas. An Introduccion to the Worlds’s Great Folk Epics, Bloomington
Polański K. 1999, Encyklopedia językoznawstwa ogólnego, Wrocław
Toporov V. 2000, Baltų mitologijos ir ritualo tyrimai, Vilnius
Vėlius N. 1992, Profesionalusis menas ir mitologija: Laiko samprata K. Donelaičio poemoje “Metai”, P. Repšio freskose “Metų laikai” ir H. Šablevičiaus filme “Imu Jūsų duoną”, Tautosakos darbai, vol. 1 (8), pp. 135–155
Vėlius N. 1989 Mitologinė švenčių semantika. Petro Repšio piešiniai, Krantai, no. 2, pp. 20–35
Vėlius N. 1979 Laumių dovanos: Lietuvių mitologinės sakmės, Vilnius
Vėlius N. 1977 Mitinės lietuvių sakmių būtybės: Laimės, Laumės, Aitvarai, Kaukai, Raganos, Burtininkai, Vilktakai, Vilnius
Vike-Freiberga V. 1976, Echoes of the dainas and search for identity in contemporary Latvian poetry, Journal of Baltic Studies, no. 5, pp. 20–31
Vike-Freiberga V. 1977, Linear and Cyclic Time in traditional and Modern Latvian Poetry, World Literature Today, no. 51, pp. 538–543
Šmits P. 1936–1939, Tautas dziesmas, vol. 1–4, Rīga
Venclova T. 1991, Tautosaka ir lietuvių literatūra, [in:] Vilties formos. Eseistika ir publicistika, Vilnius
Venclova T. 1991, Erdvė ir laikas Kristijono Donelaičio “Metuose”, [in:] Vilties formos. Eseistika ir publicistika, Vilnius