Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis

In the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, an opposition between official medicine and folk medicine, partly based on ethnic aspects, formed in Lithuania. The article analyses the alternation in the ‘self-other’ opposition in the choice of treatment. Folk medicine traditions existed alongside standard medicine in the town of Aukštadvaris, which was characterised as multi-confessional in the first half of the 20th century (despite the tensions, Lithuanians, Poles, Jews and Tartars lived together harmoniously). Faith healers with extraordinary qualities or powers were classified as ‘other’. So the choice of treatment reveals two aspects: the concept of ethnicity, and mythical perception (when dealing with those engaged in other activities). Studies have shown that in a disaster or illness, the ‘self-other’ opposition declines. An opposition between official medicine and folk medicine did not form in the Aukštadvaris area.

The article provides an overview of the emergence of the term ethnic culture, analysing how the notion of ethnic culture is understood in the ethnology of Western countries, and how it is interpreted by the creators of ethnos theory. In Lithuania, not only cultural workers but also scholars and researchers understand ethnic culture very differently. In order to dispense with the chaotic and extremely varied understanding of ethnic culture in Lithuania, the author offers several possible ways out: 1) if most ethnologists and cultural workers in Lithuania have accepted the fundamental postulate of ethnos theory, recognising that ethnic culture can be discerned from the entirety of the culture of the nation, then the notion of ethnic culture existing in the theory of ethnos should also be adopted; 2) if this understanding is rejected, then guidance should be taken from the theoretical approach existing in the ethnology of Western countries requiring us not to apply the notion of ethnic culture when discussing cultures of nations.

The tradition of the European maritime culture is directly related to development of spiritual and mental horizons of the personality. The most prominent factors of the maritime development are as follows: Arabic origins of the maritime navigation and astrophysics; Greek mythology and philosophy raising sea symbols; maritime missions, which have been encouraged from the Judeo-Christian mentality and manifested on new geographic and ethnographic discoveries. The decisive role of this mentality appeared in formation of European states and institutional culture, in development of literacy and rising of universities from monastic libraries (X–XI c.) and first Portuguese maritime schools (XV c.). Aim of the research is a revelation of moments of a transcendental ideal of the European maritime self-concept as an important cultural leap. Tasks of the research are as follows: analysis of a pagan basis of the maritime self-concept, and discussion of a valuable direction of the Judeo-Christian maritime self-concept. The research type is theoretically descriptive. There were used such research methods: retrospective, comparative, heuristic analysis of scientific literature, interpretation, systemization and synthesis. Methodological attitude is neotomism that refers to the transcendental ideal of the European culture identity formation in long-term prospect.

The article deals with the historical circumstances and reasons which predetermined the possession of Klaipeda by Lithuania, with the idea and the practice of the Versailles system mainly taken into consideration. As argued by the author, Klaipėda’s jurisdiction to the Lithuanian Code is linked to the balance of power which predetermined the existence of national states in the Eastern and Central Europe, especially in the East Baltic region.

Anthropology as a discipline is largely concerned with understanding human beings on a local and inter-national scale. As the subject has evolved, a number of sub-disciplines have come to the fore, the most prominent being biological, archaeological, linguistic, social and cultural. Political anthropology is generally placed as a sub-specialism within the context of social and cultural anthropology. This essay argues for greater significance for political anthropology as a sub-discipline of anthropology generally and especially within the Baltic States. Following an initial review of political anthropology in and of Europe, the essay outlines some of the key issues to which the Baltic States can make particularly unique contributions. The Baltic States already have a well-developed tradition of European Ethnology. This essay emphasises that they are also in a unique position to contribute to the development of political anthropology as an important sub-discipline which has acquired a new relevance in the context of an ever-changing EU. In a Europe that has witnessed many political changes over the past half-century and the emergence of new borders is going, insights into the political process can hardly be acquired through the disciplines of politics or sociology alone. The Eastern enlargement of the EU gives an urgency to our thinking about Europe.