{"id":2822,"date":"2001-03-15T19:32:32","date_gmt":"2001-03-16T01:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/?p=2822"},"modified":"2016-02-14T09:16:15","modified_gmt":"2016-02-14T15:16:15","slug":"beautiful-lithuania-samogitians-a-breed-of-their-own","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/beautiful-lithuania-samogitians-a-breed-of-their-own\/","title":{"rendered":"Beautiful Lithuania: Samogitians: a Breed of Their Own?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Tra\u010devskis Rokas<\/p>\n

\"2001-03-15-LHERITAGE<\/p>\n

In western Lithuania there is a group of people who speak a different dialect and sometimes claim a different nationality. Still, they remain a part of Lithuania. Rokas M. Tra\u010devskis reports on how the Samogitians became a \u201csub-nation\u201d of Lithuania.<\/strong><\/p>\n

WE ARE AN INTERNATIONAL FAMILY, SAID Vilma laughing, her words carrying a hint of the Samogitian dialect. Vilma is an employee of the architectural heritage protection department who lives with her husband Arturas, a historian, in Vilnius.—<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand what my wife says to her relatives when we go to her native Tel\u0161iai,\u201d said Arturas. \u201cWhen they want to speak with me, they switch to normal Lithuanian.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arturas, who traces his roots to the eastern Lithuanian town of \u0160vencionys, points out the difficulties of understand the Samogitian dialect.<\/p>\n

\u201cSamogitians put the emphasis at the beginning of the words and cut the endings, like some Latvians do. Endings like cas\u2019 or cis\u2019 are transformed into just \u00a3s\u2019. And if that is not enough, Samogitians also invented plenty of their own words that are different from Lithuanian,\u201d said Arturas.<\/p>\n

Tel\u0161iai is the unofficial capital of Samogitia. Locals and Lithuanians refer to Samogitia as \u017demaitija and its inhabitants as \u017demaiciai, but most English literature uses the name Samogitia, which is the Latin variation of the name.<\/p>\n

While there may be different terms, there is only one location. Samogitia is situated in western Lithuania. It covers some 21,000 square kilometers of Lithuania\u2019s total of 65,300. Many Lithuanians meet Samogitians during the massive exodus to the sea-resort of Palanga during the summer months.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking about the four ethnic regions of Lithuania (some say there are five regions, including Ma\u017eoji Lietuva or Lithuania M inor – Ed.) \u2014 Auk\u0161taitija, Dzukija, Suvalkija and Samogitia \u2014 we can say that only in the latter the process of forming an independent nation related to Lithuania \u2014 the Samogitian csub-nation\u2019 \u2014 was visible,\u201d said historian Alvydas Nik\u017eentaitis who went on to explain what a sub-nation is. \u201cIt is an ethnic group that has failed to grow into an independent nation but retained some features distinguishing it from the parent nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the Samogitians never had their own state. \u201cAt the beginning of the 15th century, the Lithuanian Grand Duchy had territory equal to the current United States. It reached the Black Sea in the South and the outskirts of Moscow in the East,\u201d said Vilma. \u201cIt is ironic that at the same time Lithuanians had difficulty keeping tiny Samogitia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"2001-03-15-LHERITAGE
Tel\u0161iai \u2014 historic capital of Samogitia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was sold a couple of times to German crusaders who ruled Estonia, Latvia and Prussia. Samogitia was an obstacle to uniting these German territories. However, the Germans failed to conquer the Samogitians who preferred to be part of Lithuania and finally joined it in 1410,\u201d said Vilma.<\/p>\n

Vilma speculates that Latvia could also have become a Samogitian-type sub-nation of Lithuania if German crusaders had not occupied it starting in the 13th century.<\/p>\n

\u201cLithuanians were the only Balts who managed to create their own state in the M iddle Ages. So, most Baltic tribes joined the Lithuania nation. Only the Germans didn\u2019t allow our brother Latvians to join,\u201d said Vilma. A couple of years ago the Samogitian Cultural Society started issuing \u201cpassports of Samogitia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no time to get this passport. So, I\u2019m not a citizen of Samogitia,\u201d said Vilma laughing. She considers the passports a \u201cjoke\u201d issued to raise the self-esteem of Samogitians, something Vilma doesn\u2019t think they lack. \u201cO ur cultural society works in Vilnius as well as in other places throughout Lithuania,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Samogitians can also be found in high places. \u201cLithuanian Prime Minister Rolandas Paksas is Samogitian. Former Prime Minister Gediminas Vagnorius is Samogitian. The latter speaks with very strong traces of our dialect. So, we are ruling Lithuania,\u201d explained Vilma with a smile.<\/p>\n

\"2001-03-15-LHERITAGE<\/p>\n

Vilma does not think Lithuanians need to fear possible Samogitian separatism. For now no one is seeking independence from anyone. Vilma pointed out that it is not clear who would seek independence from whom \u2014 Samogitians from Lithuania, or vice versa. Up until the end of the 19th century a clear distinction was made between Samogitians and Lithuanians, but it has become fuzzy with time. Today, besides a few unique characteristics, Samogitians are a part of the Lithuanian nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cInhabitants of the four Lithuanian ethnic regions have different characteristics,\u201d said Vilma who went on to list some of the more common stereotypes associated with the people in each region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe inhabitants of Suvalkija, southwestern Lithuania, are rich scrooges. Inhabitants of Dzukija, southern Lithuania, are poor and friendly. Auk\u0161taitija is simply too big to have its own particular character. Samogitians are slow, quiet, hospitable and stubborn. Lithuania was baptized in 1387 while Samogitia only in 1413. But, I guess, Samogitians are the most devout Catholics now,\u201d said Vilma.<\/p>\n

She also said that Samogitians support right-wing parties more than people in the rest of Lithuania: Samogitia and the city of Kaunas were a stronghold for Valdas Adamkus in the last presidential elections.<\/p>\n

While they are not separate, Samogitians maintain their unique identity with radio and TV programs in their own dialect. They also publish their own calendars, magazines and newspapers. A textbook on Samogitian history for schools in western Lithuania has also been issued and in 1994 the Lithuanian Heraldry Commission approved a coat of arms and flag for the region. O n both, the historic symbol of Samogitia, a bear standing on its hind legs, appears.<\/p>\n

Samogitians also have contributed and continue to contribute to the Lithuanian nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can mention hundreds of Samogitians who contributed, and are contributing, to the glory of the Lithuanian nation. For example, mountaineer Vladas Vitkauskas, who has taken the Lithuanian tricolor to the tops of the highest mountains of all continents of the world. Another Samogitian, Eimuntas Nekro\u0161ius, was recognized as the best European theater director by European critics. And Samogitians are famous for their slightly crazy imagination. For example, Nekro\u0161ius invited Andrius Mamontovas, a Lithuanian rock star with punk hair, to play Shakespeare\u2019s Hamlet,\u201d said Vilma.<\/p>\n

Direct evidence of this contribution can also be seen on Lithuanian bank notes: half of the portraits on the notes are of Samogitians. \u017demaite, a pioneer of realism in Lithuanian literature in the beginning of the 20th century, can be seen on the 1-litas note. Motiejus Valancius, a bishop and writer of the 19th century, appears on the 2-litas note; and Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas, the first Lithuanian pilots to make a transatlantic flight, in 1933, are on the 10-litas note.<\/p>\n

A Samogitian also appears on the 100-litas note in the face of Simonas Daukantas, a historian of the 19th century. Vilma and Arturas named their son Simonas after him. \u201cThe historian, not the 100-litas note, of course,\u201d explained Vilma.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 8, the Samogitian Culture Fund announced a plan to establish a \u201cHouse of Simonas Daukantas\u201d in Vilnius. It will be the center of Samogitian culture in the Lithuanian capital where, according to the student organization \u201cSamogitia,\u201d poor but talented students from the region will be able to stay while studying in Vilnius. The house will also be a cultural home away from home for other Samogitians. It seems that every Samogitian will be able to find \u017eemaiciu blynai, a Samogitian potato pancake filled with meat, in Vilnius.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Tra\u010devskis Rokas In western Lithuania there is a group of people who speak a different dialect and sometimes claim a different nationality. Still, they remain a part of Lithuania. Rokas M. Tra\u010devskis reports on how the Samogitians became a \u201csub-nation\u201d of Lithuania. WE ARE AN INTERNATIONAL FAMILY, SAID Vilma laughing, her words carrying a hint …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2825,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[78,153],"class_list":["post-2822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-history-before-1900","tag-lith-heritage","tag-tracevskis-r"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}