Res Humanitariae

This article uses folklore analysis and comparative and descriptive research methods to examine children’s frightening expressions from a contemporary perspective, considering their significance in child-rearing practices and the forms these texts have taken today. The study is based on children’s frightening expressions from the late 20th and early 21st century, taken from the file ‘Children’s Frightening Expressions’ (VDU ER 2304) in the Ethnology and Folklore Manuscript Collection of the Department of Cultural Studies in the Faculty of Humanities at Vytautas Magnus University. These are compared with children’s frightening expressions collected from various folklore sources in traditional Lithuanian culture at the end of the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century. The study revealed that since the second half of the 20th century, changes in traditional lifestyles and child-rearing practices have also altered the nature of frightening expressions. They are used less frequently, the subjects of fear have changed, and they are presented to children in milder forms and are less mythologised. Children’s frightening expressions, which are characteristic of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, reveal themselves to be a continuation of this traditional short form of folklore. This folklore has undergone certain transformations due to changes in living conditions.

The formation of Estonian folklore collections reflects a tension between archaism and modernity, with folklore serving as a cornerstone of 19th-century national identity and ethnic historiography. Authenticity, rooted in orality, historicity and philological precision, dominated collecting practices to rescue ‘old treasures’ from destruction and disappearance in a modernising society. This study examines the interplay of oral and printed traditions in the runosong corpus, employing a hybrid methodology of close reading of archival texts (supplemented by historical publications) and distant reading via the Estonian Runosongs Database and linked FILTER database. This approach bridges quantitative pattern detection with qualitative, contextual interpretation, addressing challenges in analysing dialectical, poetic corpora.

The Donetsk region is a Ukrainian region characterised by a complex and dynamic history, a distinctive culture, and a tragic fate. The article examines testimonies concerning the state of musical traditions during and after the Holodomor periods. It discusses how the extreme conditions affected traditional rituals and musical leisure practices during the years of hardship and famine, and examines selected folk songs that reflect people’s attitudes towards the Soviet way of life. The study concludes that, despite the prolonged ethnocide and Russification, Ukrainian song and traditions remained dominant in the Donetsk region until relatively recently; however, due to a series of recent tragic events, this intangible cultural heritage has suffered irreversible destruction.

The dance heritage of selected national and ethnic minorities living in Kraków and the Małopolska voivodeship is currently undergoing dynamic changes. This paper discusses the attitude of minorities towards phenomena such as commercialisation, folklorisation and (self)folklorisation of the heritage, as well as its functioning in the global cultural supermarket. In-depth interviews and informal conversations were conducted with respondents regarding the dance heritage and its importance to minorities. The findings confirmed the thesis that it is an important component of the intangible cultural heritage of the communities discussed, and, in some cases, forms the core of their identity. Although the respondents were aware of the processes mentioned above, they expressed a predominantly conservative attitude towards changes to the heritage, and sought to pass it on to the next generation in an unchanged form.

The purpose of this scientific article is to present the unique rhythm formula (RF) 5+3, revealing its genre and stylistic connections in the context of the Lithuanian singing tradition. The main methods of the research are historical and typological comparison, as well as structural and semiotic analysis. The scientific novelty of this particular research article lies in the fact that the unique RF 5+3 is analysed in the context of the interweaving of different musical styles and genres, seeing the prospects for further broad comparative research in the light of ethnogenesis.

The beginning of the article discusses phenomena related to the perception of music (specifically, the perception of pitch, musical scale and intonation) that can lead to misinterpretation. The result of the intersection of two emic systems (for example, the original tone system and 12-tone equal temperament) can be perceived as chromaticisms and ‘Greek modes’. Performance rules determine slight variations in intonation, depending on the melodic and harmonic context. This can also be misinterpreted as chromaticisms. The notations of the melodies of the songs of Lithuania Minor (from the collections of Christian Bartsch and Ludwig Rhesa) are analysed below, revealing manifestations of the aforementioned phenomena. The fact that chromaticisms and modulations in these notations arose due to misinterpretations is evidenced by the notators’ comments on the singers’ peculiar intonation, as well as by comparisons with the results of measurements of sound recordings of other musical dialects.

The article examines the songs of Prussian Lithuanians collected by Ludwig Rhesa in the early 19th century, their publication and translation history, and practices of revival, applying theories of cultural memory and performativity. The editorial principles of editions and translations reveal the continuous adaptation of texts in different cultural contexts. Based on an analysis of audio and video recordings, publications, and the long-term activity of 11 folklore ensembles (1970–2025), three directions of Rhesa’s song interpretation are identified: historical-ethnographic, ethnomusicological, and mixed. Song performance is understood as a creative-performative process, in which interpreted texts acquire new meanings. This unique source of sung folklore is presented as a dynamic phenomenon of the cultural memory, combining continuity with constant change.

2025 m. Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla išleido KU Socialinių ir humanitarinių mokslų fakulteto Filologijos katedros vyriausiojo mokslo darbuotojo

5-oji tarptautinė mokslinė konferencija „Baltų kalbos ir kultūros“, skirta lituanistikos studijų Klaipėdoje 55-mečiui ir prof. habil. dr. Audronės Jakulienės-Kaukienės 85-osioms gimimo metinėms paminėti

Tarptautinė tarpdalykinė mokslinė konferencija „Tradicijos ir modernybės sąveika“, Klaipėdos universitete rengiama nuo 2010 m., per penkiolika metų išaugo į tęstinį humanitarinių mokslų forumą, telkiantį Lietuvos ir užsienio tyrėjus diskusijai apie tradicijos gyvavimą, kaitą ir jos santykį su šiuolaikine kultūra. Nuo pat pradžių konferencijos tematika aprėpė įvairias humanitarinių mokslų sritis – kalbotyrą, etnologiją, folkloristiką, etnomuzikologiją, literatūrologiją, kultūros istoriją, religijos tyrimus ir kt. Tokia apimtis atitiko keliamą mokslinę problemą – tradicija egzistuoja ne izoliuotai, bet kalboje, socialinėje ir kultūrinėje atmintyje, papročiuose, mene, religijoje, literatūroje, kasdienybėje ir bendruomenės savivokoje.