Village community: the features of the way of life

Remiantis bendruomenės koncepcija, straipsnyje nagrinėjami įvairūs Rytų Lietuvos vietovių aspektai (ekonominio, socialinio, kultūrinio gyvenimo bruožai), atskleidžiama įvairių socialinių grupių situacija. Siekiant sustiprinti įspūdį ir atskleisti vidinius respondentų išgyvenimus, susijusius su socialiniais pokyčiais (kartais pasireiškiančiais tam tikro pobūdžio socialinėmis psichologinėmis traumomis), remiamasi žmonių pasakojimais apie susiklosčiusią būklę, naujus j ų vaidmenis. Straipsnyje taip pat atsispindi fizinės aplinkos ir žmogaus ryšiai, gyvensenos skirtumai, kultūros ir religinio gyvenimo bruožai, vartojimo kultūra, šeimų rūpesčiai. Vietovės bendruomenės apmąstymas, įvairių vidinių jos ryšių atskleidimas yra svarbi visuomenės, kaip visumos, analizės dalis.In the article using the concept of community, features of the way of life in East Lithuanian villages are analyzed. The authoress uses the information of no formalized answers and life stories of women and men from Lithuanian villages and small towns. The life stories method is realized in sociology as the recognition of competence of the subject; it coincides with the changing situation in this science where the existence of a plurality of perspectives and local, contextual studies versus grand narratives, disorder and openness are respected. The development of communities is related with the formation of the new type of relations, the activity of self-government and local authorities, political parties and non-governmental organizations. The inhabitants of little towns and villages pay more regard to the environment and historical memory. The locality as a whole of the physical places (lake, forest) forms different cultural and social meanings and national identity of people. In the space we can see the symbols of the soviet past - destructed farms, weed-grown fields. It reflects the disorder of the changing time. In village communities we can accentuate new social structurization: different groups of people according to age, social position and social mobility, influence over community and strategics of life. For the most part they consist of aged peasants. Despite the troubles of the period of market economy the members of communities are becoming more independent and autonomous; among them we can single out such types as the leaders, the unemployed, and the middle strata. The structure of culture during this decade has changed; the role of state and official culture in the definition of the content of culture in villages has decreased. In public life the role of some voluntary groups is increasing. The new structure of state, traditional, national and private feasts is established. The communities must pay more attention to the cultural needs of youth. In the article some features of religion traditions in East Lithuania are analyzed. The authoress concentrates on the main aspects of religious authority, its close relationship with public order, confidence, the negative consequences of the excluding of this authority at the soviet time. In contemporary society the necessity of authority as a general analytical concept is related with such categories as social stability, socialization. Such meanings of the participation in the religious events as transcendental experience, solidarity of people, cultural representation of local culture, developments of religious traditions are revealing. The family as value stands high in the value scale of society. The investigation material shows that the inhabitants of villages have financial troubles in sending their children to high schools. The problem of youth migration abroad is discussed too. The authoress focuses her attention on description of the consumption problems, the attitudes of people towards the markets, which are popular in small towns of East Lithuania