Res Humanitariae

Pristatome gerbiamiesiems skaitytojams XXXIII Klaipėdos universiteto periodinio mokslo leidinio RES HUMANITARIAE tomą. Jame skelbiama trylika įvairių humanitarinių mokslų krypčių straipsnių, liudijančių tiek tradicinį, tiek šiuolaikinį požiūrį į kalbą, kultūrą, literatūrą ir visuomenę. Šiame tome, kaip ir ankstesniuose leidiniuose, pateikiami tiek solidžios akademinės ir mokslinės patirties turinčių mokslininkų, tiek ir tik pradedančių eiti mokslo keliu jaunųjų tyrėjų darbai. Keturi tokie jaunųjų mokslininkų straipsniai skelbiami su bendraautoriais – aktualių tyrimo krypčių ekspertais. Leidinys atspindi humanitarinių mokslų įvairovę ir gilumą, kviesdamas skaitytojus susipažinti su teologijos, etnologijos, etnomuzikologijos, literatūrologijos, lingvistikos bei tarpdisciplininių tyrimų aktualijomis.

We hereby present the 33rd volume of the Klaipėda University periodical Res Humanitariae, with 13 articles from various fields of the humanities, testifying to both traditional and contemporary approaches to language, culture, literature and issues of social life. As in previous publications, this volume presents the work of both scholars with solid academic and scientific experience, and young researchers just starting out on their scientific path. Four such articles by young scholars are published with experts in the relevant research areas as co-authors. The publication reflects the diversity and depth of the humanities, inviting readers to familiarise themselves with the latest developments in theology, ethnology, ethnomusicology, literary studies, linguistics and interdisciplinary research.

The article describes the pastoral duties of Pastor Kristijonas Donelaitis, and aspects in the life of the Tolminkiemis parish during his ministry. It examines Donelaitis’ path to the priesthood, the ethnic composition of his parish and the reasons for the decline in the number of Lithuanians, the construction projects initiated by the pastor, difficulties encountered during the Seven Years’ War, the entries made by the pastor in the church records, the liturgical life of the congregation, the pastor’s attitude towards Pietism, the case of land separation that was disadvantageous to the Church, and the opinions of later parish clergy about their predecessor. The author suggests that the village of Metai is a Lithuanian village in the parish of Tolminkiemis, as the pastor saw it in his interactions with his Lithuanian parishioners.

The article analyses Oswald Spengler’s philosophical work The Decline of the West, and the related philosophical and cultural context of the 20th century. This controversial work was written a hundred years ago, between 1918 and 1922, but its original contents remain relevant today. The author analysed the stages of development of world history, paying great attention to Western civilisation. History was understood in the sense of cyclical, recurring periodicity. Historical events repeat themselves, they are born, reach a climax, and die. In this sense, the idea is still relevant today, for example, in terms of peace and war in Europe. Even then, Spengler sensed that the devaluation of spiritual values ​​would lead to a new war. And it so happened. In the face of the current war between Russia and Ukraine, we can see that history is indeed repeating itself. It is interesting to note that, according to the author, crises occur when morality and moral values ​​decline. According to him, Christianity can no longer offer a very solid spiritual foundation; the God it proclaims seems neutral to the course of history, unknowable and distant. This is partially why nihilism, rationalism and pessimism appear, and then political authoritarianism, excessive individualism and honorifics, which begin to destroy the foundations of civilisation from within. Not all of Spengler’s prophecies have come true. It is true that there are many manifestations of all this even now; but the decline of the West that he predicted has only been partially fulfilled, because Christianity has not disappeared, and man is still searching for authentic truth, meaning and God today.

The article analyses the educational-didactic level of the sermons by the late 19th century priest and Lithuanian writer Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas. The target of the sermons is the community, whose value orientation and morality must be developed. A sermon as a religious discourse enables the orator not only to comment on the Word of God revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and to explain the truths of the faith, but also, with the help of these truths, to achieve pragmatic goals: to educate, teach and provide practical knowledge. The study focuses on the category of conscience, as determining the moral decisions of an individual and having the power to influence his thoughts and feelings. The problem and the main goal of the article is to find out how this special human ability to distinguish good from evil is measured and understood by Vaižgantas himself, what role he gives it in the process of the individual’s moral education, and how his perceived conscience and its meaning correlate with the texts of the Holy Scriptures. The sermons preached by J. Tumas-Vaižgantas in Mintauja in 1894 were selected for the study. During the analysis, it became clear that for the preacher, the conscience is not only the final authority of morality, which must be obeyed unconditionally, but also that the close relationship between the conscience and faith is important. Discussing the educational role of the conscience, Vaižgantas emphasises the need to form a clear conscience.

The article is part of a study aimed at a comparative analysis of the peculiarities of Ukrainian pysanky and Lithuanian margučiai in the context of pre-Christian and Christian paradigms of world-view: their role in the ritual culture of Lithuania and Ukraine, the symbolism of decoration, and the technique of performance. The aim of the article is to study the ritual functions of Ukrainian pysanky and Lithuanian margučiai. The research revealed the variability of the names of Ukrainian and Lithuanian ritual eggs in the context of pre-Christian and Christian cultures (the difference between the Ukrainian pysanka, the Lithuanian margutis, and Easter eggs); the similarities and differences in their use in traditional rites of choosing a pair and commemorating ancestors in Lithuania and Ukraine; and their gradual structural and semantic changes under the influence of Christian culture. The foundations are laid for the reconstruction of the original form and content of the rites in which pysanka, krashanka and margutis were (and are) used.

The article is based on agricultural customs and beliefs collected in the Lithuanian Folklore Archive taken from Lithuania by the ethnologist Jonas Balys and published in a book in the USA. The originals of the published sources are named in the Beliefs File (BF), and are stored in the library archive of the Institute of Lithuanian History. Based on this material, the article analyses the customs and beliefs of spring work in the Aukštadvaris region. The aim is to determine to what extent the published US sources correspond to the stored BF data, and it is concluded that most of the material published by Balys is BF, but there are unpublished as well as beliefs in the book which were not found in the Institute of Lithuanian History. The analysis of the beliefs about ploughing and sowing cereal crops and planting vegetables recorded in the Aukštadvaris region in the first half of the 20th century in the article revealed the possibility of using material from the book and the BF file to conduct a fully fledged study of the important local and wider area of ​​the economic and spiritual life of farmers in the first half of the 20th century.

This article addresses the issue of the simple system wooden transverse flute as an instrument present in traditional and folk music in four musical traditions: Irish, Cuban, Breton (France) and Roztocze (Poland). It traces the instrument’s transition from the professional concert sphere to amateur practice, and characterises the regional specificities of its use (performance technique, ensemble function, repertoire). Such an approach to the wooden transverse flute in folklore is pioneering. In addition to existing scholarship, the article also draws in part on the author’s own research (including fieldwork) concerning the Polish context.

Based on archival material, data on ethnic instrumentology expeditions suggests that, while exchanging the traditions of ethnic musicianship and the typical originality of old music (polyphony and prevailing multinational European musical instruments), fiddles and bellows instruments had a significant impact on the kanklės music of the west Aukštaičiai and Žemaičiai. The change and nature of the repertoire were determined by the dance music performed on multinational instruments of the second half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, dance fashions, and the geographical position of Lithuania. The repertoire consisted mainly of European multinational dances. The harmonium and other bellows instruments prevailing in the 20th century have once and for ever changed the peculiarities of kanklės ethnic music, while ethnic music has influenced the traditions of folk music of bellows instruments and fiddles. The strongest influence from Central Europe was experienced by west Aukštaitija and Žemaitija.

This article examines the phenomenon of the simultaneous functioning of three types of valačobnyja (Easter hymn) song melodies in the Hlybokaje, Miory and Šarkaŭščyna districts of the Viciebsk region of Belarus, relying on authentic terminology recorded during folklore-ethnographic expeditions. The study revealed that the ‘folk’ classification of these song melodies is based on an ethno-confessional component, and is consciously used by local tradition-bearers to differentiate and label types of song melody.