Summary

The wedding rituals in the area of Dusmenys in mid-20th century

Irma Šidiškienė

The present paper is based on the ethnographic material collected by Lina Balčiūtė (now Būgienė) in 1988–1989, during the expedition organised by the Ramuva Ethnography Club of Vilnius University. The material obtained enabled to make an attempt to disclose the wedding rituals and traditions of Lithuanians in mid-20th century with both archaic and new elements of rituals fixed. A course of wedding ceremonies has been established; the summarised and folklore material stored in inventories has been presented. The specific elements of wedding rituals and traditions are compared to those in other areas (mainly Dzūkija). The mid-20th century wedding rituals and traditions in a small area of Dusmenys–Naujieji Valkininkai–Babriškės showed, that this area did not make an exclusive unit in Dzūkioja region. According to the old elements of traditional rituals, the area studied belongs to a larger zone of the eastern part of the region, while the new elements had spread in all Lithuania, including the environs of Dusmenys.