LITUANUS
LITHUANIAN QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
 
Volume 43, No. 2 - Summer 1997
Editor of this issue: Antanas Klimas
ISSN 0024-5089
Copyright © 1997 LITUANUS Foundation, Inc.
Lituanus

SOME ASPECTS OF LITHUANIAN FOLKLORE IN LITHUANIA AND THE UNITED STATES*

VILMANTĖ LIUBINIENĖ
Kaunas University of Technology
MARY E. KELLY
Stephen F. Austin State University

Introduction

In spite of the popularity of folk songs and dances in Lithuania and among Lithuanian Americans, the question arises concerning the social functions of folklore in a transitional period of overwhelming changes. Is its primary function to preserve ethnic authenticity or is it a source of community-building? And what are the new functions or perspectives of folklore in the future? This paper attempts to answer these questions on the basis of questionnaires administered in April - May 1993 among the members of four folklore groups in Kaunas, Lithuania as well as questionnaires administered to members of Lithuanian folklore groups in Kansas and Seattle, United States during the fall of 1993 and summer of 1994.

History Of Lithuanian Folklore

The Lithuanians have preserved one of the oldest languages in the world, a unique culture, and unique customs. The earliest information we have about Lithuanians came from the writings of Pliny the Elder, Marcus Claudius Tacitus and Claudius Ptolemy. Although in the Quedlinburg Annals Lithuania is first mentioned in 1009, the beginning of the Lithuanian state is considered to be the year 1236 when Grand Duke Mindaugas united a large portion of the Baltic lands. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania survived for about 500 years, yet this country lost its independence because it found itself on the crossroads of never-ending wars among European states.1

The Lithuanian nation and its traditional culture has managed to survive, for this tiny plot of land on the Baltic and its traditions have always been defended by at least 150 Baltic and 70 Lithuanian generations. Over the centuries, the Lithuanian language has had to struggle against foreign attempts to belittle, suppress, and annihilate it. Canon Mikalojus Daukša, the first author of Lithuania Proper, published his famous postile ("Postilla Catholicka") in 1599 in Vilnius. In the preface he addresses his readers as follows: "...Nations survive not because of their soil's fertility, the diversity of their clothing or the strength of their cities and fortresses, but primarily by preserving and using their own language which increases and sustains a common foundation, harmony and brotherly love."2 At all times the strongest support for the Lithuanian language has come from the common people, the Lithuanian rural population. It maintained undamaged the Lithuanian tongue and the national spirit. The enlightened intelligentsia, which rose from the Lithuanian peasantry, won the nation's freedom and independence especially during the period of National Rebirth (end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th centuries).

On the first page of his journal Aušra, published in 1883, Jonas Basanavičius, the heralder of the Lithuanian rebirth, characterized folk songs as a national wealth which is bound to call the nation to struggle for a better future. This is exactly what the Lithuanians did during the years of Soviet occupation.3 Folklore was one of the primary sources stimulating the rebirth of the nation for the second time.

Lithuanians consider it very important to collect, preserve, and investigate Lithuanian folklore. The earliest information about Lithuanian folklore comes from chronicles dating back to the 9th century. It was in Prussia that the investigation of Lithuanian folklore was first undertaken methodically. Among the pioneering native ethnologists were S. Stanevičius and L.A. Jucewich. The first Lithuanian folklorist to have paid attention to all the basic genres of folklore was the historian and educator S. Daukantas.4

Later, the Lithuanian national revival in the 19th century gave a powerful impetus to folklore research. The Folklore Commission (1930-1935) collected some 132,000 folklore items and published ten volumes of the series Mūsų Tautosaka (Our Folklore) as well as a number of books. The Archives had amassed by 1940 some 442,000 important folklore items. Folk traditions were still alive in the country and it was not yet too late to collect them.5 During the Lithuanian independence, the Lithuanian government took great interest in Lithuanian folklore and not only sponsored people to collect it, but also to introduce it eager students in schools, recreation centers, and physical education departments. As a result, Lithuanian folk dancing and singing experiences a revival at social occasions.6

In 1940 after the gulp of fresh air which it got during its 22 years of independence, Lithuania fell victim to the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and was incorporated into the Stalinist Soviet Union. Lithuania lost about a third of its population during the Soviet and German occupations. After the war, Lithuania was bled white by the mass emigration of intellectuals to the West, by the mass deportations to Siberia, and by the bloodshed in the post-war years. Yet the continuity of Lithuania's creative activity was never broken. Material and spiritual values continued to be created and handed down from generation to generation. Together with religion, they played a major role in the preservation of the ethnic way of life. Lithuanian ethnic culture received its greatest blows between the 1940s and the 1970s, i.e. in the period of deportations, collectivization, and reckless land reclamation which brought about the depopulation of villages, mass resettlement in the cities, and the destruction of millennia-long customs and traditions.7

The fall of freedom in Lithuania was followed by catastrophe in the spiritual sphere. In essence, society became dehumanized and people became conformists.8 Lithuanians were told to think as they were told. That is why ideological alienation of the Soviet time may be compared only to that of the Middle Ages.9 Yet, as powerful as the totalitarian regime was, it couldn't force absolute spiritual stagnation. The spiritual energy of the nation was accumulating and waiting for the moment to express itself. Lithuanian national revival coincided with the beginning of perestroika in the Soviet Union. The greatest difference between the cultures of the West and the East was primary stress on individuality in the West, but collectivity in the East. Only with the abolition of the consequences of Stalinism could a person's spirituality, self-consciousness, self-expression and self-regulation could come out and expose itself.10

With regards to folklore, its studies were continued due primarily to the devotion of Lithuanian scholars and writers and the support they received in the academic community and the population at large. The mid 1960s saw the appearance of the first ethnographic and folk groups. Folklore files were constantly increased by new pieces. In 1988 the files of the Manuscript Department of Lithuanian Language and Literature contained over 1,100,000 items, while the files of the folk music library of the Conservatory had about 70,000 pieces. In recent years there has been a great upsurge in the folklore movement, today there are about 1,000 ethnographic and folklore groups in Lithuania.11 The cultural activity, the search for spiritual force was the greatest drive in the revival of a nation. This drive was finally expressed politically in June 1988 with the beginning of the reform movement Sąjūdis.

The period leading to the regaining of freedom on March 11, 1990 was called the singing revolution. During it, a very great importance was assigned to folk songs which came to symbolize unity, strength, longing for freedom, hope, strong will and at the same time peacefulness and quietness. One song could be sung at a time by a crowd of nearly 250,000 people.12 The only weapons against the tanks and arms of Soviet troops in January 1991 were songs. A sociological study was made in October 1989, investigating the political activity of Lithuanians. The data showed that only 8% of the population considered themselves outsiders, others were more or less engaged in political life- often through folklore.13

Folklore does help to preserve customs and traditions in Lithuania. The great part of the work is done by folk groups, which had educational aims and had an awakening spiritual impact in the period preceding national rebirth and during it. The social place of folklore changed during the time from the secret underground, practiced by only the enthusiasts, to a massive powerful movement.

Lithuanian Folklore In The United States

Lithuanian immigrants have brought their folk culture with them to the United States. Folk art and folk dancing are the main art forms practiced because they do not need the knowledge of Lithuanian, like folk singing and literary expression do. The practice of Lithuanian folklore in the United States is for two primary reasons: "to acquaint American society with Lithuanian achievements in the arts" and to revive and disseminate Lithuanian folk culture among Lithuanian colonies in the U.S.14 Therefore folklore performances are directed both to Americans and Lithuanian Americans to educate Americans about Lithuania and to preserve the Lithuanian culture.

While we have records of Lithuanians immigrating to the United States as early as 1659, organized Lithuanian folk groups are a more recent phenomenon.15 The greatest number of Lithuanians immigrated at the turn of the century (between 1899 and 1914). They participated in folk dancing and singing at specific occasions such as weddings and other social occasions where the majority of the participants were of Lithuanian descent.16 There were organized Lithuanian choirs, however, and Lithuanians such as Mikas Petrauskas popularized Lithuanian folk dances in the United States in the first decades of the twentieth-century.17 The popularity of Lithuanian folk singing and dancing in Lithuania during its independence had its parallel among Lithuanian Americans. "Old immigrants" (those who immigrated before the Lithuanian exiles after the incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union) such as Vytautas Beliajus did much to popularize Lithuanian folklore in the United States. Beliajus organized the first permanent Lithuanian folk dance group in 1933 and introduced Lithuanian folklore in his international folklore magazine, Viltis, established in 1944.18

Lithuanian folklore became a more wide-spread phenomenon in the United States, however, with the influx of Lithuanians to the United States following World War II. These new immigrants (there were 35,000-37,000 Lithuanian refugees from 1948 to 1953) "greatly enriched the cultural activity of Lithuanian Americans. They organized concerts and folk song and dance festivals."19 The first Lithuanian Song Festival of America was held in 1956 and the first Lithuanian Folkdance Festival was held in 1957; both events took place in Chicago.20 By 1970, there were about fifty Lithuanian folk groups across the United States. These groups often took the opportunity during their performances to remind the audience that Lithuania was still an unwilling member of the Soviet Union and performed at political events such as at Captive Nations Week observances.21 Song and dance festivals also served to kindle feelings of "Lithuanianess" in both the participants as well as in the viewers.

After The Singing Revolution

Five years have passed since Lithuania declared her independence. How can we characterize the situation in Lithuania and the United States today?

In the United States, the first Lithuanian folkdance festival since independence occurred in 1992. It was a festive occasion because it as the first time that a group from Lithuania was able to perform along with the Lithuanians in exile. This in itself led to a debate about the purpose and goals of he Lithuanian folk festivals. Dalia Dzikas, the Festival's artistic director, explained the differing aims: "Before, our primary goal was political - to help Lithuania become free. Now we want to maintain our cultural heritage through traditions like folk dancing."22

What do folklorists in Lithuania and the United States think about themselves? Do they have the same struggle with questions about the purpose of their participation in folklore? This paper attempts to answer these questions on the basis of questionnaires administered in April-May 1993 among the members of four folklore groups in Kaunas, Lithuania as well as questionnaires administered to members of Lithuanian folklore groups in Kansas and Seattle, United States during the fall of 1993 and summer of 1994. To begin to answer that, studies were conducted in the spring and fall of 1993 in Kaunas, Lithuania and Kansas, U.S. of Lithuanian folk groups. The hypothesis tested is the study was: The function of folklorists in Lithuania is to preserve customs and traditions. To test the hypothesis, a questionnaire was constructed consisting of thirty questions. The questionnaires were administered to members of four folk groups in Lithuania and two folk groups in the United States: Blezdinga was founded in 1992, Volungė in 1981, Uosinta in 1979, Kupolė in 1983, and Aidas and Lietutis /Ūkana23 in 1981. There were 128 questionnaires given out and 75 returned, making the response rate 59%. The authors used not only the questionnaires in their data analysis, but also participant observation. Vilmantė is a member of the folk group Blezdinga, and has been active in folklore since 1980. Mary has been a member of Aidas since it was founded in 1981, as well as a member of Volungė during the 1992-1993 academic year. She also got to know many of the members of the Seattle folk groups during the summer of 1994.

The Lithuanian respondents are all ethnic Lithuanians, their ages range from 17 to 65 and 47% are men and 53% are women. In contrast, the American respondents come from a mixture of ethnic backgrounds: 64% are of Lithuanian descent while 36% have no Lithuanian ancestry, including the director of Aidas. Their ages range from 13 to 69 and 41% are men, and 59% are women. Most of the Lithuanian respondents, 58%, have a higher education, 19% are students, 11% have a special secondary education, 3% have a vocational education, and 3% are still in school. Thirteen percent of the Americans have a high school degree, 56% have attended some college or have a BA/BS degree, 26 % have graduate degrees, and 5% responded "other." Concerning occupations, a variety were listed among both the Lithuanians and the Americans. In Lithuania, however, it is often common to organize folk groups within work groups, so there is less variety within groups. Consequently, in Kupolė, 57% of the members are studying or working in the Veterinarian Academy, and in Volungė, 56% are working (mostly as engineers) in Pramprojektas. In the American groups, 41% are in professional or technical occupations, students make up 13% of the groups, and homemakers, laborer/craftspeople and clerical workers comprise 10% each. The remainder are in sales or retired/unemployed. For more details on the general characteristics of the 5 groups.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FOLK GROUPS

Blezdinga

Volungė

Kupolė

Uosinta

Aidas

Lietutis/
Ūkana

Total

Number of members

8

25

36

30

32

30

161

Quest.administ.

8

25

18

25

27

25

128

Quest.received

7

9

13

7

27

12

75

% Resp. rate

88%

36%

72%

28%

100%

48%

59%

% Male

57%

33%

54%

43%

41%

42%

44%

% Female

43%

67%

45%

57%

59%

58%

56%

Age range

22-51

30-65

17-32

21-29

13-69

41-57

13-69

Most of the Lithuanian respondents became interested in folklore in the 1980s. They had many reasons for becoming interested in Lithuanian folklore. Among them there were such simple and accidental reasons as answering an announcement invited interested people to join a folklore group/ as well as seriously wanting to understand folk art, traditions, songs, and a desire to preserve the old Lithuanian culture. There were respondents who indicated parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents as contributing to their interest in folklore.

The Lithuanian American respondents became interested in folklore at various times throughout their lives. Those who had immigrated or whose parents had immigrated after World War II became interested in folklore in the 1950s for the most part. Others, who were descended from those who had immigrated much earlier did not become involved in Lithuanian folklore until they were adults, usually in the 1980s. Likewise, non-Lithuanians did not become interested in Lithuanian folklore until they were adults, again, for the most part in the 1980s. Their reasons for becoming members of Lithuanian folk groups are varied: most joined because of encouragement from family members. Other common reasons were friendships with members, interest in genealogy, enjoyment of polka dancing and for recreational purposes in general, and one person joined because she was of Latvian ancestry, and there were no Latvian groups in the area. Some were inspired by a visit to Lithuania or even by a non-Lithuanian spouse who wanted to learn more about her husband's heritage. The folk groups were also an extended family for new arrivals to the area who didn't have family there.

The data indicates that the family plays quite an important role in preserving customs and traditions in Lithuania. It may seem strange, but often our grandparents and we sometimes know more folk songs and dances than our parents. Their generation was growing up in the period of Soviet occupation and post-war deportations. This explains their preference for "pseudo" folksongs and illustrates the influence of massive Soviet culture on Lithuanians. If it weren't for the people who cultivated folk traditions, even under danger of imprisonment, during Soviet times, more traditional folk culture would have been lost. On the other hand, due to its isolation, Lithuanian culture was preserved better than in most European countries. To this day, folklore has been alive in the spiritual world outlook of the older generation. According to the data, however, without special training, the third generation looses its knowledge of folklore by 28%. The Lithuanian Americans did not, for the most part, come from families which practiced folklore regularly. Instead, they learned the majority of their folk songs and dances in organized groups.

Respondents were asked from what source(s) they learned their folk songs and dances. Seven sources were indicated among the Lithuanian respondents. Among the most often mentioned source is materials recorded during folk expeditions, folk-song collections, and from the leaders of the folk-groups. Among the American respondents, however, none of them reported materials gathered from folk expeditions. If the most authentic way of learning is through direct contact with living traditions, with people who still remember songs and dances taught to them by their great-grandparents, then the Lithuanians are more authentic than the Americans.

One way to try and understand why people would participate in folklore groups, is through the medium of music. Are people interested in folklore primarily because they are interested and have training in music in general, of is it more for the folklore itself? Nearly half of the Lithuanian respondents, 47%, have no musical education, so it is easier for them to learn a new song the way they hear it sung naturally, not reading from music. This is the traditional way folk songs were learned in ancient times. Almost half of the Lithuanians reported that they had participated in folklore expeditions/ indicating that they strive to go to the country and listen to and record the singing and dancing of old people. The respondents were on such expeditions from one to seven times, though no one was paid for their efforts. Most of the recorded songs, dances, and music are kept at the group leaders disposition. Now it is practically impossible to detect a new unrecorded item. You may find one or other variant of the pieces that are already included in folklore collections. It depends on who is organizing the expedition, i.e., if the conservatory organizes it, the recordings go to its files. Such kind of learning is considered to be authentic.

Again, if we are to compare the Lithuanians with the Americans, the Americans have a very difficult time learning music if they don't have at least the words to read from.

Another groups of questions were concerned with celebration of holidays. The ancient Lithuanian customs were formed on the basis of the life of farmers and parish communities. The 20th century has witnessed rapid social changes; the first half was very favorable for the individual initiatives of farmers, but in the 1950s, with the appearance of collective farms, individual initiatives were suppressed altogether. After the farmers were deprived of land, agricultural customs related to every foot of the native land, its fields and forests which had been lovingly cherished through the centuries, lost their meaning for the farmer. Calendar customs have been luckier. Despite the attempts of the official ideology to destroy them, they have been preserved much better.24

Practically all calendar customs are mentioned in the responses of both the Lithuanians and the Americans. Among them are Christmas Eve, Shrove Tuesday, Easter, Mid-summer Day, etc. There are not many nations in the world that celebrate Christmas Eve so devotedly as the Lithuanians. The celebration of Christmas Eve is part of the late Autumn and winter holiday cycle which includes the commemoration of the dead and the celebration of the winter solstice and the New Year. Christmas Eve is the day for family reunions, both their living and dead members.25 Shrove Tuesday is a merry carnival. It is celebrated on Tuesday, the eve of Ash Wednesday, to mark the winter's end. People do not do any hard work on Shrove Tuesday. They go on swings and merry-go-rounds, visit friends, enjoy sledding down the slopes while others try to pour water on them / All this is done to make "flax grow tall," to ensure hens lay more eggs, birds do not damage the corn, and so on. Folk customs associated with the celebration of Easter are livelier than those related to Christmas. Celebrations used to start on Palm Sunday and continue for a fortnight. Midsummer Day coincides with the summer solstice, though in fact it is not the Midsummer Day, but the evening and night preceding it being celebrated. In the pre-Christian period, Midsummer night was celebrated as the feast of the sun.26

There is a very wide range of responses to the questions, "What event connected with folklore was the most important in your life?" and "What has folklore given to you personally?" From the variety of responses given by Lithuanians (some respondents gave several answers), the most frequent are: spiritual rebirth, moral satisfaction, the joy of life, the possibility to travel to take part in festivals, participation in the rebirth movement of Lithuania, the pleasure of singing, the better understanding of the world, a pleasant way to spend leisure time, interest in folk art and practicing folk crafts, the possibility to acquire good friends, love and wife/husband, learn more about Lithuanian traditions, and to celebrate holidays.

Most of the American respondents wrote that the most important event connected with folklore was either participating in a Lithuanian Folkdance Festival or traveling to Lithuania with their folkdance group. The Folkdance Festivals were mentioned when it was the first one they attended or when it was the first festival in which a dance group from Lithuania was able to perform. Other responses were maintaining ties with their family and enjoying dancing with a spouse, and celebrating holidays such as Christmas, Weddings, and Lithuanian Independence Day.

One couple recounted planting birch trees when each of their children were born and another remembered her mother's folktales.

Certain tendencies by the Lithuanians can be explained by following the responses to the questions: "What years, do you think, were the most favorable to folklore in Lithuania, and why?" The years indicated most frequently were 1987-1989, which coincides with national rebirth (22 responses). This helps to explain why folklore has experienced such a massive popularity during the time and was able to encourage people to struggle, to raise their national spirit, to bring the people together. That is way the period has acquired the name of "the singing revolution;" songs had the power of weapons.

On the other hand, such a massive popularity has had negative effects as well. Maybe this explains why the majority of the respondents indicated that the present is the worst time for folklore in Lithuania today. It seems strange, but only 12 of 36 responses mentioned the period of banning and persecution (1940-1970), which was devastating for folklore. At that time, anyone could be put in jail for observing and practicing Lithuanian folk and religious traditions. Why most respondents consider the present period the worst for folklore can perhaps be explained by the responses to the following two questions: "What, to your mind, is the reality of the folk movement today," and "What is the future of the folk movement?"

A very wide range of answers were provided to these questions, 24 different responses to the first, and 18 to the second.27 Some gave several answers, among them economic difficulties; shortage of money and /or sponsors. On the whole, the apathy of others and bewilderment of folk group members is seen in the responses from the group Volungė: "We are not needed any more." A little more optimism is felt in the other groups. They consider it important not to lose hope, to attract young people to folklore, and to educate them: "Folklore will find its desired place if courses on ethno-culture are introduced into the school programs" suggested one of the respondents. The most important thing is considered to be the authenticity of folklore. It must be preserved and the authentic material arranged so that it is accessible to everybody. Folklore should resist political impact. If any representatives of any political party or movement gathers signatures in the street, wearing a national costume, to my mind, he/she is causing a negative influence on folklore as such. The over dose of folklore that people get during the years of struggle for freedom have had negative effects as well. The future of folklore is seen by many of the respondents not as a popular pursuit, but for professional performers. Quality in the performance should be encouraged, but only to a certain limit. There are controversial responses about the future of folklore. One respondent wrote, "if there are no material, economic conditions provided for folklore to become more popular, in the future folk tunes will be used for jazz improvisations" and this is seen as the end of folklore. On the other hand, another respondent sees the future of folklore from a different perspective, because in his/her mind, "folklore is jazz and jazz is eternal." It is even mentioned by some that the conservative character of Lithuanians will rescue folklore.

Most of the American respondents either did not answer or wrote that they didn't know in response to the questions about the best/worst times for Lithuanian folklore. The few who did respond wrote that the most productive time was during the organizations of the first Lithuanian folk group by Vytautas Beliajus, after the influx of "D.P.s" to the United States after World War II, or when Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 and afterwards when Americans could have more contact with Lithuania. Some wrote that the best time for folklore in the United States did not necessarily have to do with Lithuania. The 1960s and 1970s were a time for renewed cultural interest among many American ethnic groups searching for their "roots."

Some considered the least productive time today, when it is difficult to get young people involved with learning their cultural traditions. Others thought that immigrants from the turn of the century were told they had to become "Americanized," and therefore lost their traditions. Others wrote that the late 1970s and early 1980s were difficult, because the children of the refugee generation did not want to be as involved with folklore as their parents were.

The last question, "would you like to have a group of your own?" was answered negatively by the majority of the respondents, both Lithuanian and American. This might indicate that the number of folklore groups will not increase as rapidly in the future as they have in recent years. Others responded that they hadn't the ability to lead a folk group or simply that they didn't know if they would like to lead a folk group or not.

Discussion And Conclusions

The hypothesis raised at the beginning of the study is supported by the answers of the respondents. Folklore does help to preserve customs and traditions in Lithuania and in the United States. The great part of that work is done by folk groups, which have educational aims and an awakening spiritual impact during national rebirth and in the period preceding it. The social place of folklore in Lithuania changed during this time from the secret underground, practiced by only the enthusiasts, to a popular powerful movement. However, there is some indication that the folklore movement is declining once more. Massiveness was needed during the national rebirth period for everyone to learn or revive the folk traditions/customs, songs, and dances in order that they not be lost.

In the United States, folklore seemed to be affected most by the different waves of Lithuanian immigration. It was particularly affected by the large number of Lithuanians who came to the United States following World War II, often after an extended period in the Displaced Persons camps in Germany. It remains to be seen whether current waves of Lithuanian immigration will affect folklore in the United States.

We found in our research that folklore and its role in both Lithuanian and Lithuanian - American communities has changed due to great political changes, i.e. the fact that Lithuania is once again independent. In Lithuania, some folklorists feel that preserving and practicing Lithuanian folklore is not so important now that Lithuania is free. In the United States, there are debates about where the resources of Lithuanian - Americans should be placed: in educating Americans about Lithuanian culture or in aiding Lithuania in her time of change.

Folklore has become the fashion, but as all fashions change, so has folklore to find its place among other things in the whole Lithuanian culture and must not be insistently thrusted into every commemoration of the victims or every sad or joyful occasion. The important thing for Lithuanian folklore is its authenticity as most of the musical art traditions are continually passed from one generation to the other. This authenticity and liveliness, has been preserved better that in other European countries due to the isolation of the Soviet period. It would be interesting to test this supposition by further comparative studies. The calendar customs have been preserved quite well in Lithuania, mainly due to the traditions in the family. In the United States, it remains to be seen whether or not Lithuanian folklore will remain popular now that Lithuania has received its independence. Regardless of whether or not formal folk groups will continue, it is clear that some traditions at least will always continue in the families of Lithuanian descent.

 

 *The authors would like to thank Guntis Smidchens and Zita Petkus for their helpful comments on previous drafts of this paper. Vilmantė Liubinienė presented an earlier version of this paper at the First Conference on Baltic Studies in Europe, Riga, Latvia in 1995.
1 Kudirka, Juozas, 1991. The Lithuanians: An Ethnic Portrait. Vilnius, Lithuania: Lithuanian Folk Culture Center.
2 Quoted in Bindokienė, Danutė Brazytė, 1989. Lietuvių Papročiai ir Tradicijos Išeivijoje. (Lithuanian Customs and Traditions.) Translated by Vita Matusaitis. Chicago: Lithuanian World Community, Inc.
3 Kudirka,].
4 Encyclopedia Lituanica, vol. II, 1972. Boston: Encyclopedia Lituanica.
5 Leach, Maria, (ed.), 1972. Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend. New York: Funk and Wagnalls.
6 Beliajus, Vytautas. 1981. "Lithuanian Folk Dancing." Pp. 192-200 in International Folk Dancing U.S.A., edited by Betty Casey. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., Inc.
7 Kudirka, J.
8 Lekevičius, Edmundas. 1991. "Nužmoginimo mechanica ir prisikėlimo viltis." ("Mechanics of dehumanization and hope for resurrection.") Filosofia Sociologija (3): 3-16.
9 Minkevičius, J. 1990. "Atgimimo filosofija - filosofija atgimimas." ("The philosophy of the Renaissance - the Renaissance of philosophy"). Filosofia Sociologija, 1.
10 Gringas, R. 1990. "Visuomenės pertvarka it tautos atgimimas socialinių epochų lūžio sąlygomis." ("Social changes and national revival in the collision of three social epochs.") Filosofia Sociologija, 2.
11 Kudirka, J,
12 From the reminiscences of folk singer Veronika Povilionienė, who was leading the folk evening gathering after the first congress of Sąjūdis in 1988.
13 Gaidys, V. and D. Tureikytė. 1990. "Lietuvos gyventojų politinio aktyvumo charakteristikos." ("Features of the Lithuanian population political acticity.") Filosofių Sociologija, 2.
14 Fainhauz, David. 1991. Lithuanians in the USA: Aspects of Ethnic Identity. Chicago, IL: Lithuanian Library Press, Inc.
15 Simutis, Anicetas. 1959/1975. "First Schoolmaster of New York." Pp. 68-71 in The Lithuanians in America, 1651-1975: A Chronology and Fact Book, compiled and edited by Algirdas M. Budreckis. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, Inc. Original work published in 1959.
16 Jonas, Jr. 1899/1975. "The Early Immigrants in Pennsylvania." Pp. 85-89 in The Lithuanians in America, 1651-1975: A Chronology and Fact Book, compiled and edited by Algirdas M. Budreckis. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, Inc.. Original work published in 1899.
17 Roucek, Joseph. 1940. American Lithuanians. New York: Lithuanian Alliance of America.
18 Jensen, Mary Bee. 1981. "Vytautas Beliajus." Pp. 11-13 in International Folk Dancing U.S.A., edited by Betty Casey. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., Inc..
19 Budreckis, Algirdas M. 1976. "Chronology." Pp. 1-66 in The Lithuanians in America, 1651-1975: A Chronology and Fact Book, compiled and edited by Algirdas M. Budreckis. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, Inc., p. 42.
20 Budreckis, A; Kučėnaitė-Foti, Silvia and Michael Pirago, 1992. "Political Flavor of the Dances Changes with the Times." P. 46 in Ninth Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival. Rosemont, IL: American and Canadian Lithuanian Communities.
21 Kučas, Antanas. 1975. Lithuanians in America. Translated by Joseph Boley. Boston: Encyclopedia Lituanica.
22 Kučėnaitė-Foti and Pirago, p. 46.
23 Although Lietutis and Ūkana are treated conceptually as one group in this paper, the Lietutis Dance group was formed in 1981 while the Ūkana Singers were formed more recently, in 1993. Currently, the two groups share many of the same members.
24 Kudirka, J.
25 In Lithuania it is customary on Christmas Eve to set out place settings for family members who have died during the previous year.
26 Kudirka, J.
27 Three respondents considered the questions too difficult to answer, and three wrote that they had no opinion on the matter.