Res Humanitariae

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 intended as a presentation and investigation of the historical terminology of traditional Lithuanian musical instruments, details of their construction, and their music-making features. The research material was collected after reviewing Lithuanian ethnomusicological literature from the end of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century, in order to find the earliest descriptions in the field of actual terminology. Most attention is paid to the historical works of Mikas Petrauskas (1873–1937), Pranas Puskunigis (1860–1946), Justinas Strimaitis (1895–1960), Mykolas Biržiška (1882–1922), Adolfas Sabaliauskas (1873–1950), and Teodoras Brazys (1870–1930). In this respect, traditional Lithuanian musical instruments are not studied in a systematic way, so the facts presented in this article supplement the work by the contemporary ethnomusicologists and ethno-instrumentologists Romualdas Apanavičius, Marija Baltrėnienė, Gaila Kirdienė, Vida Palubinskienė, Algirdas Vyžintas, Rūta Žarskienė, and others.