The singing tradition of Lietuvininkai

The singing tradition of Lietuvininkai (inhabitants of Lithuania Minor) is a distinct component of the culture that represents the identity of Lithuania Minor. This old tradition was documented in the sources from the 9th and 10th centuries, where the Aesti and Prussian tribes and the fragments of their customs were mentioned. The uniqueness of this tradition lies in its folk songs, documented in the 17th to 20th century.

The musical dialect of Lithuania Minor is heterogenous. The lyrics and melodies of the songs show two individual song areas – the northern and the southern one. They almost coincide with western Samogitian and western Aukštaitian dialects, both of which were spoken by Lietuvininkai.

The songs of Lietuvininkai are sung in monody and unison, they have a wide melody range, a dominant major scale and unique melodies of variable musical modes, as well as elegiac mood. The singing that foreign chroniclers once described as rough and reminiscent of a wolf howl, has become reserved and lyrical with time. The change in the tradition was determined by its interaction with religious and secular music; it was also affected by pietism and the changed view on folklore during the epoch of Enlightenment.

The most common songs in Lietuvininkai music repertoire are those related to wedding, family, as well as war and history. Calendar cycle and ritual songs as well as children’s songs are rare. The poetics is usually lyrical, inspired by nature and love. The uniqueness of the regional singing tradition comes from the lifestyle of the coastal fishermen of the Baltic Sea, Curonian Lagoon, and Nemunas Delta. The historical events and geopolitical processes of the 20th century dramatically changed the demographic composition of Lithuania Minor. The numbers of local people kept decreasing, and the natural singing tradition was dying.

Today the tradition is adopted and consciously maintained by folklore groups and locals in Lithuania Minors devoted to this culture. They aspire to not only show and preserve the singing tradition of Lietuvininkai, but also to perpetuate the memory of those who built the history of this land, as well as recreate and creatively develop the Lithuanian identity of the region.

Submitter – Klaipėda City Municipality Centre of Etchnic Culture, 2020

Tradition bearers – the folklore ensembles, communities, song performers of Lithuania Minor