History of folk songs from Merkinė: vision and reality

Straipsnio objektas - lokalinė Merkinės apylinkių dainuojamoji tautosaka. Darbo tikslas - nustatyti šiuolaikinės Merkinės dainuojamosios tautosakos tradicijos pagrindinius bruožus, užčiuopti senosios dainų patirties tęstinumo ir transformacijos apraiškas. Išanalizavus gausius per visą XX amžių sukauptus duomenis, daroma išvada, kad trečiojo tūkstantmečio pradžios Merkinės dainavimo tradicija yra jau gerokai nutolusi nuo XX amžiaus pradžioje gyvavusio jos modelio, nors daugybe saitų tebėra su juo susijusi.The article focuses on the characteristic features of folk songs and folk singing tradition in a small ethnographic region of southern Lithuania - locality of Merkinė. Having presented a historical survey of various folk song genres, existing in this region, the author raises a question whether or not we have today a truly authenticated folk singing tradition from this region. In the course of almost two centuries Lithuanian folklore researchers investigated essentially just the most archaic poetical layer of the folk songs. Therefore naturally during all this time less attention was paid to the modem folklore processes, especially to the continuity and change of the old folkloric experience. The aim of this article is to determine and specify the scope of the folk singing tradition in Merkinė. The author makes use of over one hundred years long process of theoretical studies of folklore tradition in Merkinė, as well as publications and the archived data. The region of Merkinė was chosen as subject for this study just because it belongs to the area of intensive traditional folk singing culture. According to the author, in the beginning of the third millennium the ancient layer of the ritual folk songs (calendar, work songs and other genres) was completely replaced by folk lyrics of the new-fashioned type (late folk romances, partisan songs, etc.). It should be acknowledged, however, that songs more closely related to the ritual moments of nowadays' family life retained their form more steadily up till the present day. The shifting and changing, yet incredibly lively and active folk singing tradition in this region, along with its broad context demands continuous study and attention. The modern folk singing situation in Merkinė is depicted in accordance with the results of the extensive fieldwork project "Natural and Cultural Heritage of Merkinė: Its Value and Context", carried out during two years (2000-2001) and supported by Science and Study Foundation