Archaeologia Baltica

Martynas Liudvikas Rėza (Martin Ludwig Rhesa, 1776–1841) is not only one of the most famous Lithuanian in the history of Lithuanians writings, but also a famous member of the Königsberg Masonic lodge Zu den drei Krönen, who has been astonished by the amplitude of his interests and the abundance of his works that still surprising. The range of activities of Rėza, his literary ambition range are wide – from the religious writings to the publishing of secular literature and folklore. Carefully going into the professors’ Lithuanian activities, the aspect of Rėza’s Masonry is important. Masonic echoes are found in Rėza’s publishing activities, correspondence and in relationships with well-known scholars and writers. The article aims to look more closely at the Masonic relations of Rėza in his Lithuanian activities.

A person is a sexual being expressing oneself as a man or a woman. People exercise relationships and possess a certain gender identity. However, as a result of the sin and damaged sexuality, there is an incentive to use oneself and others as instruments whereas it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to build and maintain relationships and to experience sexuality (femininity or masculinity) and one’s gender the way that the Creator has planned for the human nature. Restoration of these sin-damaged abilities of relationships, sexuality and gender identity is possible by turning to God, recognizing His plan for people and believing in His power and willingness to restore within a person what has been ruined. Different practices of Christian faith, psychotherapy or self-help groups serve this purpose. One of the ways to render assistance is programs of “Living Water”. In Lithuania there are two active programs: “Living Water” and “In the Beginning”. In a number of cases these programs have a positive impact on personal relationships, sexuality and gender identity.This article focuses on God’s plan, personal relationships, sexuality and gender identity, which were all corrupted by the sin, discusses possible solutions to restore what has been damaged by the sin, as well as presents the analysis of the outcomes of the research on the influence of the programs of “Living Water” on women’s personal relationships, sexuality and gender identity.

The goal of this article is to analyze the challenges that arise from stigma and that relatives of people with Schizophrenia face in their relationships in primary social network. Schizophrenia does not only change everyday life and relationships of the ill but also of their relatives. This topic is not researched in Lithuania. Meanwhile in the international context, the biggest attention is paid to the subjective and objective burden that relatives of the people with Schizophrenia face, leaving aside the changes and dynamics in their relationships. Therefore, in this article the influence of the stigmatization on the relationships in the closest environment of patient is discussed. In order to achieve this goal, qualitative research has been completed and 15 half-structured interviews with the people who have relatives, who suffer from Schizophrenia, were carried out. The relation to the person with Schizophrenia varied according to the individual cases – some of them were spouses, some where children, parents, siblings or further relatives. The results of the research reveal that Schizophrenia causes complex emotional experiences of patient’s family members, and gives an effect on relationships within the family, as well as on relationships of the ill and his family members with further relatives, friends, neighbors and colleagues.

This article analyses symbolic horse burial rites in the East Lithuanian Barrow Culture of the tenth–eleventh centuries. Single imitative inhumations and cremations are the dominant forms of horse cenotaphs. A variety of group imitative burial forms also was practiced. Funerary rites for symbolic and actual horses were coexistent, and no chronological or spatial differences between them are observed. Grave goods in burials of symbolic horses indicate lower status. Imitative burials of horses were carried out by those who had no resources for the sacrifice of the animal itself as a grave good. The social implications of horse burials or symbolic burials gained substantiality along with growing military activity and social stratification.

The various ways of interpreting the meaning of battle-axes and swords as grave goods are discussed. Two Finnish Crusade Period (1050–1200AD) inhumation cemeteries (Kirkkomäki in Turku and Rikalanmäki in Halikko) are presented as a case study. Both swords and battle-axes in these cemeteries had several meanings: they were effective weapons, but also important symbols of the wealth and status of their owners and community. They also had other symbolic and magical dimensions, which were important in the burial ritual.