Res Humanitariae

Liaudies išmintis byloja, jog sveikatą branginame, kada ją pradanginame. Ir išties, 2020 metų kontekstas ypatingas kalbant apie sveikatą – koronavirusas (COVID-19) sukaustė pasaulį ir pridarė daug rūpesčių žmonijai. Kiekvieną dieną girdime, skaitome apie koronaviruso pandemiją: vieni skaičiuoja jos aukas, kiti pranašauja verslo pražūtį, treti gąsdina, kad lydimi nerimo ir įtampos gyvensime dar ne vienerius metus...

Using authentic material from inhabitants of Lithuania Minor, the article analyses the specific nature of the feast of Pentecost in this region, in terms of its chronological development (starting with the first written references up to this day), in order to reveal the most conspicuous stages in its development, and modern transformations of the customs and traditions. The article covers the main elements of the feast of Pentecost for the Lietuvininkai dating from the end of the 19th and the 20th century. These elements are then compared to the feast of Pentecost in other regions, in order to reveal structural and functional changes in calendar festivals.

Principles of State Protection of Ethnic Culture defines the ethnographic region as a historically formed part of the country in which a distinctive dialect, traditions and customs have been preserved, and the heritage of the Baltic tribes has been integrated, it is difficult to coordinate the data and attitudes of linguists, historians and ethnologists. The article shows the difference between ethnographic maps (which are based on the values of traditional culture), most of which attribute Vilnius to the ethnographic region of Dzūkija, and the view of the people living in these areas that the Vilnius area belongs to the ethnographic region of Aukštaitija.

The article analyses the concept of leisure time, and the ways it is perceived by two generations of people. It seeks to reveal the specifics of leisure in the area around Vilnius, by analysing: Catholic Sunday leisure; leisure as replacing one activity with another; and the concept of ‘own’ and ‘family’ leisure, revealing the relative perception of the importance of leisure and work. The main source of the work is ethnographic fieldwork data collected in the Vilnius area in 2017 and 2018. Research on family leisure was also used, which was based on the same methodology carried out in Vilnius (2012 to 2015), for the purpose of comparison.

In the article, personal festive celebrations of co-workers in a diachronic perspective are examined. The following occasions: birthdays, childbirth, marriage, funerals (the family life cycle), and employee employability, seniority or similar achievements and retirement (the working life cycle), are important for socialising with co-workers, for job satisfaction, and in the formation of an organisational culture. By analysing fieldwork data, we determine the intensity of the commemoration of these occasions in the studied areas.

Research was conducted in a group of alternative healing practitioners, focusing on their approach towards ‘health’ and ‘illness’ in Lithuania at the begining of the 21st century. The research took place during the author’s qualitative (empirical) research in the biggest cities of Lithuania from 2016 to 2019 (the research is continuing). It was detected in 30 in-depth interviews with practitioneers of alternative healing that individuals reflect on their ‘illness’ and ‘health’ (well-being), and interpret it in a philosophical-metaphysical dimension. The study of data disclosed approaches towards ‘health’ (wellness) as harmony, a balanced state between the physical (outer) and one’s inner world, like ‘micro’ and ‘macro’ worlds in their constant dynamics and mutual resonance. Meanwhile, ‘illness’ is understood as a loss of harmony, ‘the true path’, or purity.

This article examines the impact of the historiographical work of Simonas Daukantas (1793–1864) on the dramas by Vydūnas (real name Vilhelmas Storostas, 1868–1953). From 1900 onwards, Vydūnas’ published works increasingly featured mentions of Daukantas and excerpts from the historian’s writings. A number of Daukantas’ intertexts are found in the drama Probočių šešėliai (Shadows of the Ancestors), written in 1900. This article, based on a comparative analysis of the writings by Daukantas and Vydūnas, raises the hypothesis that the author of the dramas was the ideal reader of the historian’s writings, and took various concepts, motifs and images from them. Vydūnas was inspired by Daukantas, and used the historian’s phrase ‘bočių probočių’ (ancestors of ancestors) and the concept of ‘tautos būdas’ (national identity) as a description of the essence of the nation, which is prevalent in his work published in 1845, and other concepts. He was the first to objectify the world created by Daukantas, and allowed Lithuanians to play the role of the ancient Lithuanian on the stage, and choose what was relevant in establishing modern Lithuanian society. The analysis reveals that Vydūnas saw the ancient Lithuanian world created by the historical writings by Daukantas as an archetype, and transposed it to a philosophical level. He also created a universal model for the link between the individual and the homeland; and in dramas, he presented simulation models for testing the proposed axiology.

Tarpukariu Sedos vidurinėje mokykloje (1921–1935) mokėsi daug mokinių, vėliau tapusių reikšmingomis asmenybėmis, prisidėjusiomis prie lietuvių kultūros išsaugojimo ir plėtotės, ypač emigracijoje. 1928–1935 m. ją lankė ir trys būsimi poetai, kultūros darbuotojai – Leonas Vytautas Mačernis, Kazimieras (Leonardas) Andriekus ir Povilas (Paulius) Jurkus. Detaliau yra tyrinėti tik Vytauto Mačernio mokslo metai Sedoje. Bet tuo laikotarpiu surinkta medžiaga paliko ne vieną dviprasmybę, neatskleistą faktą. Juos, remiantis naujais archyviniais šaltiniais, liudininkų prisiminimais ir tų laikų spauda, bus bandoma išsiaiškinti straipsnyje. Taip pat bus gilinamasi į K. Andriekaus ir P. Jurkaus veiklą Sedoje, tiriama, kiek tai galėjo lemti jų pasirinkimo kelią, aiškinamasi, ar miestelyje yra likę ženklų, liudijančių trijų poetų buvimą Sedoje.

The article focuses on the morphological structure of infixed and sta-stem verbs in two written sources in the north Samogitian dialect of Kretinga, in particular Ziwatas and Purpura. The verbs in question are analysed in terms of their morphological composition, by comparing them to those recorded in a dictionary of the Kretinga dialect, and highlighting the changes and innovations that took place in the verbal system. The data gathered is further compared to linguistic facts regarding two authors using the same Kretinga dialect, Motiejus Valančius and Simonas Daukantas, and also to data provided by the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language.

The aim of the article is to describe various aspects of the study of Lithuanian as a foreign language at Klaipėda University during the last two decades. The survey deals with activities that come under Lithuanian language courses.