Klaipėdos universitetas

The article deals the beliefs about the whirlwind in Ukrainian demonology. On the basis of the empiric materials the аuthor considered the features of human behavior at a meeting with whirlwind and consequent after contact’s with him; retraces whirlwind’s connection with other mythological characters – a devil, a sorcerer, a witch, self-murderer spirits and others.

The article searches for manifestations of the trickster phenomenon in Lithuanian folklore and folk customs, trying to investigate whether Lithuanian trickster traits are observed in folk culture, and what names they could be given. The search for an image that is well known to cultural researchers in the West in ‘one’s own’ Lithuanian culture opens up opportunities for a broader analysis and understanding of traditional culture. The study reveals a wide variety of destructive, mischievous, joking or even harmful figures in folk tales and stories, calendar feasts and work customs, which do not allow for naming a single one as a trickster, and thus the multifaceted nature of the trickster phenomenon is established. Future research into manifestations of the trickster in our culture could include a deeper reflection on the Lithuanian national identity behind the masks of the dressers, or the text of the folk tale and the story.