Tracing back the myths of Perkūnakiemis

The paper investigates the myths about the village of Perkūnakiemis and its surroundings which became part of the Lithuanian thermal power station and Elektrėnai town during the Soviet period. The paper attempts to generalise the data of archaeology, history, folklore and language about the past of Perkūnakiemis, and to present the unpublished legends about the origin of the place name. The data reveal the intriguing past of the historical place. Perkūnakiemis was a village of Lithuanian noblemen, established near the place of worship of Perkūnas [Thunder] or inherited from earlier local inhabitants, perhaps priests of the old religion. The descendants of the latter might be the representatives of the Laimutis family. The myths about the origin of the place name of Perkūnakiemis are a unique collection of texts about Perkūnas who helped the Lithuanian army and was the hero of the battle against Crusaders or Swedes, which took place in Perkūnakiemis surroundings, by beating the enemy alone at the hardest moment for Lithuanians. A possible parallel between this folklore motif and the written tradition about the miracles of St. Casimir requires special investigation. Gojus Wood, which once belonged to the noblemen of Perkūnakiemis, should be considered as the first candidate to localise the old holy site that functioned at the settlement of Lithuanian nobility. Eastern Lithuanian barrows in Gojus Wood imply a relationship of the place of worship of Perkūnas and pre-historic burial sites related to the cult of the deceased. This relationship of the wood and the souls could have been the major or one of the major reasons for the sacred character of the wood. The annexes to the paper present the myths of the origin of the place name of Perkūnakiemis