Beggars in Lithuania at the end of the 19th с.–first half of the 20th с.

Straipsnio objektas – elgeta XIX a. pabaigos–XX a. pirmosios pusės lietuvių kasdienybėje. Tikslas – remiantis etnografijos bei tautosakos šaltiniais, atskleisti elgetos, kaip savito socialinio sluoksnio atstovo, reikšmę kasdieniame XIX a. pabaigos–XX a. pirmosios pusės Lietuvos kaimo gyvenime. Metodai – aprašomasis, analitinis, interpretacinis, iš dalies lyginamasis. Išvados: elgeta XIX a. pabaigos–XX a. pirmosios pusės Lietuvos kaimo bendruomenėse pasirodo kaip savitą socialinį statusą turintis asmuo. Šio socialinio statuso savitumą atskleidžia su elgetomis susiję papročiai ir tikėjimai. Elgetos vaidmuo bendruomenėje nevienareikšmis: jis gali tiek padėti, tiek pakenkti. Jo veiklos sfera kasdieniame kaimo gyvenime labai plati –jis atsakingas už sveikatą, derlių, gyvulius, visą namų gerovę.This paper discusses the image of beggars at the end of the 19th c.-first half of the 20th с. in Lithuania and their visual expression in the then-prevailing everyday customs of the rural communities. In these traditions the beggars are revealed as especially important individuals, belonging to a distinctly marginalized section of the population. The activities of beggars can be treated in two ways - they can hurt or they can help. Performing the functions of magicians, sorcerers, and fortune-tellers, beggars became responsible for human health, the welfare of crops, livestock and the rest of the household. When traveling through the villages, praying, collecting alms, helping in a wide range of everyday life and having a distinctive social status, beggars appear as intermediaries between "this side" and the "other side", and are particularly revered. […] Beggars are desirable participants at certain family and calendar holidays. Their presence and the provision of alms to beggars guarantees success in further life. Certain calendar holidays highlight the role of beggars as livestock guardians or as being responsible for good future harvests. Beggars become particularly important during festivals associated with death - funerals, memorials. All Saints day (Vėlinės). Here beggars appear as intermediaries between the living and the dead. This importance of beggars during holidays at the end of the 19th c.-first half of the 20th с. in Lithuanian rural communities gives meaning to beggars as a group performing specific functions and forming a unique social layer