Darna: A Lithuanian Pagan Approach to Life
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v13i2.130Keywords:
Pagans, group, community, organization, leadershipAbstract
Pagans constitute a minority of long standing in society; even in Lithuania, the last state of Europe to be Christianized, they've endured for over six hundred years. This persistence probably indicates that the movement meets certain religious and spiritual needs in society, but may also reflect something about how Pagans function as a movement. Here we report an ethnographic investigation of a Pagan group in Lithuania where we find evidence for a Pagan ideological influence on the movement's organizational functioning. These Pagans not only seek inspiration in their national heritage and folklore but in the concept of darna, which relates to harmony, morality, honor, and fruitfulness. Our research shows that darna is one factor affecting a Pagan group’s organization and functioning.References
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Vaišnys, Rimas J., Andrius Buivydas, and Egidija Ramanauskait?. “Groups in Theory and Practice.”Grup?s ir aplinkos—Groups and Environments 2 (2010): 23–55.
V?lius, Norbertas. Balt? religijos ir mitologijos šaltiniai. T. 1–4. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedij? leidykla, 1996–2005.
Vyd?nas. Raštai. T.2. Vilnius: Mintis, 1991.
Wiench, Piotr. “Neo-Pagan Groups in Central-Eastern Europe.” Grup?s ir aplinkos— Groups and Environments 2 (2010): 105–108.
Balsys, Rimantas. “Meil?s deiv?s Mildos autentiškumo klausimu”(On the authenticity of the love goddess Milda). Logos 60 (2009): 149–155.
Beresnevi?ius, Gintaras. Lietuvi? religija ir mitologija: sistemin? studija. Vilnius: Tyto alba, 2004.
Bonito, Joseph and Robert Sanders. “The Existential Center of Small Groups: Member’s Conduct and Interaction.” Small Group Research 42, no. 3 (2011): 343–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1046496410385472.
Bumblauskas, Alfredas. “The Heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Perspectives of Historical Consciousness.” In The Peoples of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, edited by Potašenko Grigorijus, 7–44. Vilnius: Aidai, 2002.
———. K? užmiršti ir k? prisiminti iš Lietuvos t?kstantme?io istorijos?, Vakar? ekspresas, September 11, 2009.
Carley, Katheleen. “A Theory of Group Stability.” American Sociological Review 56, no. 3 (1991): 331–54.
Coco, Angela and Ian Woodward. “Discourses of Authenticity within a Pagan Community: The Emergence of the ‘Fluffy Bunny’ Sanction.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 36 (2007): 479–505. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0891241606293160.
Delis, Renatas. “Neopagonyb?s jud?jimas posovietin?je Lietuvoje: alternatyvus lietuviškumas kaip atsakas modernybei?” Lietuvos etnologija 6, no. 15 (2007): 187–222.
Dundzila A., and Jonas Trink?nas “Romuva:Lithuanian Baltic Religion.” In Of Gods and Holidays: The Baltic Heritage, edited by Jonas Trink?nas, 145–62. Vilnius: Tverm?, 1999.
Ellwood, Robert S. “Notes on a Neopagan Religious Group in America.” History of Religions 11, no. 1 (1971): 125–139. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/462645.
Gaigalait?, Aldona. “Mokslin? istorin? periodika nepriklausomoje Lietuvoje (1921– 1940).” Mokslo darbai. Istorija 3 (2009): 40–51.
Ivinskis, Zenonas. “Krikš?ioniškosios Vakar? Europos santykiai su pagonišk?ja Lietuva.”Athenaeum 4 (1933): 135–144.
Lahtia, David, and Bret Weinstein. “The Better Angels of our Nature: Group Stability and the Evolution of Moral Tension.” Evolution and Human Behavior 26 (2005): 47–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.09.004.
Lassander, Mika. “Modern Paganism as a Legitimating Framework for Post-Materialist Values.” The Pomegranate 11 (2009): 74–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/ pome.v11i1.74
Narbutt, Teodor. Dzieje staro?ytne narodu litewskiego. T. 1, Mitologia litewska. Wilno, Nak?adem i drukiem A. Marcinowskiego, 1835.
Ramanauskait?, Egidija. “Lithuanian Youth Culture versus Soviet Culture: on the Path of Cultural Liberalization toward Post Modernism.” In The Baltic Countries Under Occupation, edited by Anu Mai Köll, 315–40. Stockholm: Department of History, Stockholm University, 2003.
———. Subkult?ra: Fenomenas ir modernumas. Kaunas: Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas, 2004.
Ramanauskait?, Egidija, and J.Rimas Vaišnys. “Introduction to the SAL Research.” Grup?s ir aplinkos — Groups and Environments 2 (2010): 9–14.
Shnirelman, Victor. “Ancestral Wisdom and Ethnic Nationalism: A View from Eastern Europe.” The Pomegranate 9, no. 1 (2007): 41–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/ pome.v9i1.41.
Strmiska, Michael, and Vilius Dundzila. “Romuva: Lithuanian Paganism in Lithuania and America.” In Modern Paganism in World Cultures, edited by Michael Strmiska, 240–97. Santa Barbara, ABC-Clio, 2005.
Tamkevi?ius, Sigitas. “Brangiausias perlas,” Bernardinai, July 29, 2011.
Taylor, Bron. “Idolatry, Paganism, and Trust in Nature.” The Pomegranate 12 (2010): 103—108.
Tesser, Abraham. “On the Confluence of Self: Esteem Maintenance Mechanisms.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 4, no. 4 (2000): 290–99. http://dx.doi. org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0404_1
Trink?nas, Jonas. Balt? tik?jimas. Krantai, 2000. http://www.scribd.com/ doc/40992156/Jonas-Trinkunas-Baltu-Tikejimas.
Vaicekauskas, Ar?nas. “The Academic Youth Movement Ramuva: From Passive Resistance to the Community of the Old Faith of the Balts.” In The Baltic Countries Under Occupation, edited by Anu Mai Köll, 357–64. Stockholm: Department of History, Stockholm University, 2003.
Vaišnys, Rimas J., Andrius Buivydas, and Egidija Ramanauskait?. “Groups in Theory and Practice.”Grup?s ir aplinkos—Groups and Environments 2 (2010): 23–55.
V?lius, Norbertas. Balt? religijos ir mitologijos šaltiniai. T. 1–4. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedij? leidykla, 1996–2005.
Vyd?nas. Raštai. T.2. Vilnius: Mintis, 1991.
Wiench, Piotr. “Neo-Pagan Groups in Central-Eastern Europe.” Grup?s ir aplinkos— Groups and Environments 2 (2010): 105–108.
Published
2013-01-14
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Ramanauskaite, E., & Vaišnys, R. (2013). Darna: A Lithuanian Pagan Approach to Life. Pomegranate, 13(2), 130-145. https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v13i2.130
