Representation of the horse in Lithuanian legends

Straipsnyje aptariamas arklio vaizdinys lietuvių liaudies padavimuose: kaip jis vaizduojamas, kokios būdingiausios situacijos. Atskleidžiamas ryšys su papročiais ar tikėjimais, gyvavusiais tradicinėje kultūroje, taip pat su kitų tautosakos žanrų medžiaga, ypač mitologinėmis sakmėmis. Bandoma palyginti mūsų padavimų vaizdinius su kaimyninių kraštų tautosakine medžiaga.This paper discusses the ways the horse is represented in Lithuanian legends. Legends frequently deal with extraordinary events which determined the origin of a striking landscape feature or a historical monument. The focus of this paper is the horse, a recurring figure in Lithuanian legends. Legends which mention the horse are classified into groups; the main characters of each group are discussed; their possible connections with traditional culture and folklore material (especially mythological tales) are established. Then parallels between Lithuanian legends and tales from neighbouring countries are considered. Legends often suggest the connection of the horse with the mythic world, for instance, when they tell about horses that can see something a man's eye cannot. The horse can be depicted as restless, anxious, or even petrified, especially when approaching a mound. Thus it is possible to argue that such representation is a reflection of the archaic belief that horses can see souls, and Lithuanian legends frequently refer to the horse as one of the most important elements in burial rituals. In some legends, horses give names to various localities, which also speaks about the importance of the horse in traditional Lithuanian culture. In this case, horses, ridden or driven by someone, can be seen as a distinguishing feature of their masters and can emphasize the oneness between humans and animals as well as suggest people's dependence on the other world. The colors of such horses (as opposed to white and black) suggest a fusion of Christian and pre-Christian worldviews. Horses can also be depicted as ghosts, in which case they are linked with property and affluence. Sometimes such a horse is named money or the red horse of gold. Similar stories can be found in the folklore of neighboring countries. In Lithuanian culture, horses are traditionally related to benevolent spirits as well as agrarian rituals, sometimes to devils and the water space, to which the horse is often sacrificed. In legends which tell about sleeping armies or sunken towns, the figure of a beautiful and rich horse refers to dominant ideas about afterlife