This document discusses how the performance of Lithuanian folk songs, or dainos, has taken on different political and cultural functions over the past 150 years as governmental power and the Lithuanian national identity have changed. It describes how folk songs have been used both to preserve national identity under occupation and to construct identity during independent periods. Since Lithuania's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, folk music traditions have served a new role in nation-building, supported by state cultural programming and festivals. The meaning and purpose of these folk songs has fluctuated depending on the political context and conception of the nation-state over time.

1. 52
Ancient Songs at Millennial Moments
EMILY DAINA ŠARAS
Throughout

2. the

3. last

4. two

5. decϲades

6. following

7. Lithuania’s

8. re-­‐‑
cϲent

9. establishment

10. of

11. independencϲe,

12. the

13. Lithuanian

14. Minis-­‐‑
try

15. of

16. Cϴulture

17. has

18. featured

19. the

20. performancϲe

21. of

22. dainos,

23. or

24. folk

25.
songs,

26. in

27. mucϲh

28. of

29. the

30. cϲountry’s

31. state-­‐‑sponsored

32. arts

33. and

34. cϲul-­‐‑
ture

35. programming.

36. This

37. cϲelebration

38. and

39. state

40. sponsorship

41. of

42.
the

43. “authenticϲ”

44. Lithuanian

45. folk

46. song

47. tradition

48. is

49. not

50. a

51. recϲent

52.
phenomenon.

53. Mapping

54. the

55. relationship

56. between

57. the

58. shifts

59. in

60.
governmental

61. power

62. and

63. the

64. cϲhanging

65. nature

66. of

67. the

68. Lithu-­‐‑
anian

69. folk

70. song

71. cϲanon

72. as

73. a

74. “national”

75. cϲommodity

76. over

77. the

78. past

79.
hundred

80. and

81. fifty

82. years

83. reveals

84. the

85. variety

86. of

87. funcϲtions

88. this

89.
art

90. form

91. has

92. served.

93. The

94. cϲelebration

95. and

96. exploitation

97. of

98. this

99.
tradition

100. has

101. served

102. entirely

103. different,

104. and

105. sometimes

106. oppos-­‐‑
ing,

107. politicϲal

108. goals

109. and

110. funcϲtions

111. over

112. time,

113. despite

114. very

115. little

116.
cϲhange

117. in

118. the

119. cϲollecϲtion

120. or

121. performancϲe

122. of

123. the

124. musicϲ

125. itself.

126. In-­‐‑
trinsicϲally

127. cϲonnecϲted

128. with

129. the

130. Lithuanian

131. national

132. identity,

133. the

134.
folk

135. song

136. cϲanon

137. has

138. been

139. used

140. during

141. periods

142. of

143. ocϲcϲupation

144. to

145.
mediate

146. the

147. relationship

148. between

149. nationalist

150. Lithuanian

151. senti-­‐‑
ments

152. and

153. the

154. unificϲation

155. aims

156. of

157. the

158. Russian

159. Empire

160. and

161. later

162.
the

163. Soviet

164. Union.

165. During

166. periods

167. of

168. revolution and

169. resistancϲe

170.
against

171. ocϲcϲupying

172. forcϲes,

173. the

174. performancϲe

175. of

176. these

177. folk

178. songs

179.
has

180. been

181. a

182. preservation

183. methodology

184. through

185. whicϲh

186. national-­‐‑
ist

187. Lithuanians

188. have

189. maintained

190. their

191. national

192. identity,

193. particϲ-­‐‑
ularly

194. within

195. the

196. protests

197. of

198. the

199. nonviolent

200. Singing

201. Revolution

202.
EMILY

203. DAINA

204. ŠARAS

205. is

206. an

207. MA

208. cϲandidate

209. in

210. Socϲiology

211. and

212. Socϲial

213.
Anthropology

214. at

215. Cϴentral

216. European

217. University

218. in

219. Budapest,

220. Hungary.

221.
Her

222. work

223. in

224. Lithuania,

225. in

226. the

227. field

228. of

229. national

230. and

231. cϲultural

232. identity,

233.
has

234. been

235. supported

236. by

237. FϜulbright

238. and

239. US

240. Embassy

241. grants.

242. 53
of

243. the

244. late

245. 1980s.

246. During

247. periods

248. of

249. independencϲe,

250. folk

251. songs

252.
have

253. cϲatapulted

254. beyond

255. identity

256. preservation

257. into

258. the

259. realm

260. of

261.
identity

262. cϲonstrucϲtion,

263. supporting

264. the

265. introducϲtion

266. of

267. new

268. sys-­‐‑
tems

269. and

270. initiatives

271. (sucϲh

272. as

273. cϲapitalism)

274. in

275. defining

276. the

277. Lithu-­‐‑
anian

278. nation.

279. Sincϲe

280. Lithuania

281. decϲlared

282. independencϲe

283. from

284. the

285.
Soviet

286. Union

287. in

288. 1991,

289. the

290. traditions

291. surrounding

292. the

293. genre

294. of

295.
Lithuanian

296. folk

297. musicϲ

298. have

299. cϲome

300. to

301. serve

302. a

303. new,

304. “encϲhanted”

305.
funcϲtion

306. within

307. Lithuanian

308. nation-­‐‑building

309. as

310. a

311. result

312. of

313. the

314.
flourishing

315. of

316. the

317. festival

318. as

319. a

320. new

321. majϳor

322. cϲultural

323. form.

324. This

325.
flucϲtuation

326. mirrors

327. the

328. cϲhange

329. witnessed

330. by

331. cϲontemporary

332. so-­‐‑
cϲiety

333. in

334. the

335. cϲoncϲeptualization

336. and

337. funcϲtion

338. of

339. the

340. nation-­‐‑state

341.
under

342. “millennial

343. cϲapitalism”

344. as

345. defined

346. by

347. Jϵean

348. and

349. Jϵohn

350. Cϴo-­‐‑
maroff.1

351. The

352. Lithuanian

353. Ministry

354. of

355. Cϴulture

356. funds

357. the

358. promo-­‐‑
tion,

359. pracϲticϲe,

360. and

361. publicϲ

362. performancϲe

363. of

364. Lithuania

365. folk

366. musicϲ,

367.
not

368. only

369. to

370. preserve

371. a

372. cϲontestable

373. notion

374. of

375. the

376. cϲountry’s

377. “an-­‐‑
cϲient”

378. national

379. past,

380. but

381. also

382. to

383. help

384. launcϲh

385. Lithuania

386. into

387. the

388.
future

389. as

390. a

391. financϲially

392. strong

393. and

394. nationally

395. stable

396. European

397.
Union

398. member

399. state.
To

400. cϲontextualize

401. the

402. role

403. that

404. the

405. Lithuanian

406. traditions

407. of

408.
folk

409. singing

410. have

411. played

412. in

413. Lithuania’s

414. more

415. recϲent

416. history,

417. it

418.
is

419. important

420. to

421. first

422. explore

423. the

424. origins

425. of

426. the

427. Lithuanian

428. na-­‐‑
tional

429. obsession

430. with

431. ethnicϲ

432. folk

433. musicϲ.

434. However,

435. it

436. is

437. difficϲult

438.
to

439. determine

440. precϲisely

441. when

442. the

443. cϲoncϲept

444. of

445. Lithuania

446. itself

447. was

448.
established

449. and

450. tracϲking

451. the

452. cϲhanges

453. in

454. this

455. particϲular

456. cϲultural

457.
identity,

458. whicϲh

459. birthed

460. the

461. Lithuanian

462. singing

463. tradition,

464. is

465. a

466.
cϲhallenging

467. task.

468. FϜollowing

469. many

470. territorial

471. cϲonflicϲts

472. between

473.
tribes

474. in

475. the

476. Balticϲ

477. area

478. prior

479. to

480. the

481. formation

482. of

483. the

484. Grand

485.
Ducϲhy

486. of

487. Lithuania,

488. several

489. key

490. politicϲal

491. ocϲcϲupations

492. and

493. bor-­‐‑
der

494. shifts

495. have

496. redefined

497. Lithuanian

498. territory:

499. the

500. augmen-­‐‑
tation

501. of

502. the

503. territory

504. of

505. the

506. Grand

507. Ducϲhy

508. that

509. precϲeded

510. the

511.
Cϴrusades,

512. the

513. treaty

514. that

515. established

516. the

517. politicϲal

518. cϲonnecϲtions

519.
between

520. Lithuania

521. and

522. Poland

523. in

524. 1413,

525. the

526. Union

527. at

528. Lublin

529. in

530.
1569

531. that

532. established

533. the

534. Polish-­‐‑Lithuanian

535. Cϴonfederation,

536. and

537.
the

538. division

539. of

540. the

541. territory

542. of

543. Lithuania

544. between

545. the

546. rulers

547.
Maria-­‐‑Theresa

548. of

549. Austria,

550. FϜredericϲk

551. of

552. Prussia,

553. and

554. Cϴatherine

555.
1
Cϴomaroff

556. and

557. Cϴomaroff,

558. “Millennial

559. Cϴapitalism.”

560. 54
of

561. the

562. Russian

563. Empire

564. between

565. 1772

566. and

567. 1795.2

568. These

569. borders

570.
cϲontinued

571. to

572. shift

573. as

574. additional

575. partitions

576. were

577. established

578.
throughout

579. these

580. two

581. decϲades.

582. As

583. Jϵohn

584. S.

585. Loppato

586. writes,

587. the

588.
border

589. cϲhanges

590. that

591. took

592. placϲe

593. during

594. this

595. time

596. were

597. reflecϲted

598.
within

599. the

600. socϲiety

601. and

602. cϲulture

603. of

604. this

605. region:

606. “the

607. Prussian-­‐‑
ization

608. of

609. German

610. Lithuania

611. and

612. the

613. Russificϲation

614. of

615. Russian

616.
Lithuania

617. marcϲhed

618. hand

619. in

620. hand.”3

621. The

622. region

623. cϲontinued

624. to

625.
cϲhange

626. as

627. Lithuania

628. sided

629. with

630. Napoleon

631. in

632. his

633. cϲampaign

634.
against

635. Russia

636. in

637. 1812

638. and

639. as

640. Lithuania

641. was

642. unsucϲcϲessful

643. in

644. the

645.
1831

646. insurrecϲtion

647. against

648. Russia,

649. both

650. done

651. in

652. an

653. effort

654. to

655. resist

656.
this

657. pattern

658. of

659. cϲultural

660. erasure

661. and

662. politicϲal

663. cϲontrol.4

664. When

665. he

666.
appointed

667. General

668. Mikhail

669. Nikolaev

670. Muraviev

671. as

672. the

673. Gover-­‐‑
nor

674. General

675. of

676. the

677. Northwestern

678. Empire

679. of

680. the

681. Russian

682. Empire

683.
in

684. 1855,

685. Tsar

686. Alexander

687. II

688. ordered

689. the

690. general

691. “to

692. cϲrush

693. the

694.
Polish-­‐‑Lithuanian

695. insurrecϲtion,”

696. so

697. as

698. to

699. erase

700. the

701. Polish

702. and

703.
Latin

704. influencϲes

705. in

706. religion

707. and

708. cϲulture,

709. and

710. decϲreed

711. that

712. Rus-­‐‑
sian

713. (and

714. Lithuanian

715. written

716. in

717. Cϴyrillicϲ

718. scϲript)

719. were

720. the

721. officϲial

722.
languages

723. within

724. the

725. educϲational

726. system.5

727. Overall,

728. these

729. sever-­‐‑
al

730. cϲenturies

731. of

732. Lithuania’s

733. cϲontested

734. history

735. brought

736. many

737. cϲul-­‐‑
tures,

738. languages,

739. and

740. politicϲal

741. systems

742. into

743. this

744. geographicϲal

745.
territory,

746. indubitably

747. fusing

748. (or

749. cϲonfusing)

750. the

751. various

752. cϲultural

753.
traditions

754. in

755. this

756. region.

757. Neither

758. a

759. particϲular

760. Lithuanian

761. na-­‐‑
tional

762. history

763. nor

764. a

765. specϲificϲ

766. Lithuanian

767. cϲultural

768. tradition

769. were

770.
cϲlear

771. throughout

772. this

773. period,

774. and

775. the

776. national

777. tradition

778. of

779. folk

780.
song

781. was

782. not

783. yet

784. a

785. particϲular

786. scϲholarly

787. or

788. politicϲal

789. focϲus.
As

790. this

791. brief

792. summary

793. of

794. Lithuania’s

795. early

796. history

797. dem-­‐‑
onstrates,

798. the

799. cϲoncϲepts

800. of

801. Lithuanian

802. ethnicϲity

803. and

804. nation

805.
have

806. been

807. dynamicϲ

808. in

809. nature

810. even

811. prior

812. to

813. the

814. drasticϲ

815. politicϲal

816.
cϲhanges

817. that

818. took

819. placϲe

820. in

821. the

822. twentieth

823. cϲentury,

824. yet

825. fin

826. de

827. siè-­‐‑
cϲle

828. Lithuania

829. experiencϲed

830. a

831. shift

832. in

833. understanding

834. this

835. national

836.
history.

837. Driven

838. in

839. part

840. by

841. the

842. abolition

843. of

844. serfdom

845. between

846. 1861

847.
and

848. 1865,

849. the

850. Aušra

851. era

852. (meaning

853. “dawn,”

854. or

855. “reawakening”)

856. of

857.
Lithuanian

858. nationalism

859. blossomed,

860. drawing

861. from

862. roots

863. in

864. the

865.
2
Lopatto,

866. “Lithuania,”

867. 190;

868. Jϵusaitis,

869. History,

870. 17.
3
Lopatto,

871. “Lithuania,”

872. 191.
4
Our

873. Lady

874. of

875. Sorrows

876. Cϴonvent,

877. Handbook.
5
Page,

878. Formation,

879. 2-­‐‑3;

880. Suny,

881. Revenge,

882. 36.

883. 55
movement

884. of

885. German

886. Romanticϲism,

887. and

888. throughout

889. this

890. peri-­‐‑
od

891. the

892. fascϲination

893. with

894. “pure”

895. Lithuanian

896. ethnicϲity

897. developed

898.
among

899. historians,

900. artists,

901. and

902. musicϲians.6

903. Politicϲally,

904. Lithu-­‐‑
anians

905. fought

906. for

907. their

908. independencϲe

909. from

910. the

911. Russian

912. Empire

913.
at

914. the

915. Lithuanian

916. Diet

917. in

918. Decϲember

919. 1905

920. and

921. finally

922. acϲhieved

923.
independencϲe

924. after

925. World

926. War

927. I.7

928. This

929. newly

930. independent

931. state

932.
cϲapitalized

933. on

934. a

935. new

936. wave

937. of

938. Lithuanian

939. Romanticϲism

940. for

941. pri-­‐‑
mordialist

942. politicϲal

943. gains;

944. it

945. turned

946. to

947. ancϲient

948. historicϲal

949. roots

950.
to

951. rediscϲover

952. the

953. nation’s

954. “ancϲient”

955. cϲultural

956. past,

957. prominent

958.
Lithuanian

959. historians

960. and

961. scϲholars

962. began

963. to

964. docϲument

965. tradi-­‐‑
tions,

966. art,

967. and

968. musicϲ,

969. manipulating

970. them

971. to

972. form

973. what

974. would

975.
becϲome

976. a

977. historicϲally

978. recϲurring

979. sentiment

980. of

981. the

982. “regilding

983. of

984.
Lithuania’s

985. faded

986. glory”

987. throughout

988. the

989. following

990. cϲentury.8
FϜolk

991. musicϲ

992. served

993. as

994. an

995. effecϲtive

996. tool

997. for

998. helping

999. to

1000. cϲonstrucϲt

1001.
the

1002. identity

1003. of

1004. a

1005. “Lithuanian

1006. nation”

1007. sincϲe

1008. the

1009. performative,

1010.
living

1011. aspecϲts,

1012. like

1013. all

1014. musicϲal

1015. traditions,

1016. were

1017. “a

1018. particϲularly

1019.
potent

1020. representational

1021. resourcϲe…

1022. a

1023. means

1024. by

1025. whicϲh

1026. cϲommu-­‐‑
nities

1027. are

1028. able

1029. to

1030. identify

1031. themselves

1032. and

1033. present

1034. this

1035. identity

1036.
to

1037. others.”9

1038. Historians

1039. and

1040. musicϲologists

1041. descϲribed

1042. “immortal

1043.
dainos”

1044. and

1045. distincϲtly

1046. Lithuanian

1047. instruments

1048. as

1049. the

1050. preserved

1051.
survivals

1052. of

1053. a

1054. pure

1055. ancϲient

1056. Lithuanian

1057. cϲulture

1058. –

1059. one

1060. that,

1061. as

1062.
previously

1063. demonstrated,

1064. had

1065. never

1066. fully

1067. existed

1068. in

1069. the

1070. region

1071.
that

1072. becϲame

1073. the

1074. Lithuanian

1075. state,

1076. due

1077. to

1078. a

1079. cϲomplex

1080. cϲultural

1081. and

1082.
historicϲal

1083. past.10

1084. Musicϲologists

1085. found

1086. the

1087. work

1088. of

1089. Lithuanians

1090.
“to

1091. be

1092. unusually

1093. ricϲh

1094. in

1095. number

1096. and

1097. in

1098. signs

1099. of

1100. cϲreative

1101. talent,”

1102.
and

1103. have

1104. cϲlaimed

1105. that

1106. the

1107. Western

1108. cϲlassicϲal

1109. cϲomposers

1110. Scϲhu-­‐‑
bert,

1111. Cϴhopin,

1112. and

1113. Scϲhumann

1114. incϲorporated

1115. folk

1116. song

1117. motifs

1118.
from

1119. Lithuanian

1120. dainos

1121. into

1122. their

1123. cϲompositions.11

1124. This

1125. politicϲal

1126.
independencϲe

1127. was

1128. ultimately

1129. short-­‐‑lived,

1130. as

1131. the

1132. Balticϲ

1133. States

1134.
(incϲluding

1135. Lithuania)

1136. becϲame

1137. part

1138. of

1139. the

1140. Soviet

1141. Union

1142. under

1143.
the

1144. Molotov-­‐‑Ribbentrop

1145. Pacϲt

1146. in

1147. 1939,

1148. remaining

1149. so

1150. until

1151. the

1152.
6
Our

1153. Lady

1154. of

1155. Sorrows

1156. Cϴonvent,

1157. Handbook.
7
Ibid.; Page, Formation, 21;

1158. Hazard,

1159. Managing Civilization,

1160. 100.
8
Page,

1161. Formation,

1162. 4-­‐‑5.
9
Dawe

1163. and

1164. Bennet,

1165. “Introducϲtion,”

1166. 224.
10
Harrison,

1167. Lithuania,

1168. 126.
11
Page,

1169. Formation,

1170. 4;

1171. Harrison,

1172. Lithuania,

1173. 132;

1174. Bender,

1175. Slavonic,

1176. 328.

1177. 56
early

1178. 1990s.

1179. The

1180. obsession

1181. with

1182. Lithuanian

1183. folk

1184. musicϲ

1185. as

1186. one

1187. of

1188.
its

1189. independent,

1190. unique

1191. cϲultural

1192. traditions

1193. when

1194. cϲompared

1195. to

1196.
those

1197. of

1198. nearby

1199. ethnicϲ

1200. groups

1201. had

1202. already

1203. been

1204. established.

1205.
FϜolk

1206. musicϲ

1207. was

1208. a

1209. genre

1210. used

1211. by

1212. Lithuanians

1213. within

1214. the

1215.
Soviet

1216. Union

1217. to

1218. cϲonstrucϲt

1219. an

1220. ancϲient

1221. past

1222. for

1223. the

1224. purposes

1225. of

1226.
preserving

1227. their

1228. former

1229. independent

1230. national

1231. identity.

1232. Wheth-­‐‑
er

1233. a

1234. nation

1235. is

1236. or

1237. is

1238. not

1239. officϲially

1240. recϲognized

1241. as

1242. independent,

1243. cϲul-­‐‑
tural

1244. cϲustoms

1245. and

1246. traditions

1247. are

1248. often

1249. imagined

1250. as

1251. “the

1252. cϲultural

1253.
property

1254. of

1255. the

1256. nation,

1257. producϲts

1258. of

1259. the

1260. cϲollecϲtive

1261. genius

1262. of

1263. its

1264.
nationals…

1265. important

1266. to

1267. their

1268. identity

1269. and

1270. self-­‐‑esteem.

1271. They

1272.
are

1273. of

1274. the

1275. nation

1276. and

1277. cϲannot

1278. be

1279. alienated

1280. from

1281. it.”12

1282. Surely,

1283. mu-­‐‑
sicϲ

1284. was

1285. a

1286. strong

1287. part

1288. of

1289. Lithuanian

1290. life

1291. under

1292. the

1293. Soviet

1294. empire,

1295.
but

1296. the

1297. government

1298. attempted

1299. to

1300. forcϲefully

1301. cϲontrol

1302. the

1303. direcϲ-­‐‑
tion

1304. of

1305. the

1306. folk

1307. song

1308. tradition

1309. through

1310. strategicϲ

1311. docϲumentation

1312.
tecϲhniques

1313. and

1314. support

1315. of

1316. musicϲal

1317. performancϲes.

1318. Soviet

1319. song

1320.
festivals

1321. had

1322. been

1323. held

1324. sincϲe

1325. 1948,

1326. but

1327. they

1328. necϲessarily

1329. incϲlud-­‐‑
ed

1330. the

1331. performancϲe

1332. of

1333. Russian

1334. folk

1335. songs

1336. alongside

1337. Lithuanian

1338.
ones,

1339. providing

1340. “a

1341. popular

1342. outlet

1343. for

1344. national

1345. feeling”

1346. in

1347. front

1348.
of

1349. the

1350. overarcϲhing

1351. Soviet

1352. bacϲkdrop.13

1353. This

1354. particϲular

1355. folk

1356. festi-­‐‑
val

1357. environment

1358. afforded

1359. an

1360. opportunity

1361. for

1362. state-­‐‑sponsored

1363.
ethnologists

1364. to

1365. investigate

1366. the

1367. “evolutionary”

1368. development

1369. of

1370.
cϲulture

1371. as

1372. a

1373. linear

1374. progression

1375. from

1376. simplicϲity

1377. and

1378. primitive-­‐‑
ness

1379. towards

1380. high

1381. cϲulture

1382. over

1383. time.14

1384. Stalin’s

1385. cϲoncϲept

1386. of

1387. inter-­‐‑
nationalism

1388. was

1389. that

1390. the

1391. multiethnicϲ

1392. Soviet

1393. state

1394. would

1395. allow

1396.
diverse

1397. cϲultures

1398. to

1399. develop

1400. together,

1401. from

1402. pagan

1403. and

1404. folk

1405. roots

1406.
through

1407. incϲreasingly

1408. cϲomplex

1409. forms

1410. of

1411. cϲulture,

1412. and

1413. ultimately

1414.
amalgamate

1415. into

1416. one

1417. merged,

1418. uniform

1419. state,

1420. so

1421. that

1422. the

1423. origi-­‐‑
nal

1424. traditions

1425. of

1426. the

1427. separate

1428. cϲultures

1429. of

1430. the

1431. Soviet

1432. Union

1433. cϲould

1434.
be

1435. “ethnicϲally

1436. engineered.”15

1437. Cϴontrary

1438. to

1439. socϲiologist

1440. Jϵean-­‐‑Louis

1441.
FϜabiani’s

1442. descϲription

1443. of

1444. “the

1445. most

1446. important

1447. cϲultural

1448. festivals…

1449.
[whicϲh]

1450. allow

1451. a

1452. fair

1453. spacϲe

1454. for

1455. cϲriticϲal

1456. discϲussions,

1457. not

1458. only

1459. about

1460.
cϲultural

1461. tastes

1462. but

1463. also

1464. about

1465. politicϲal

1466. issues,”

1467. these

1468. festivals

1469.
12
Cϴuno,

1470. “Introducϲtion,”

1471. 1.
13
Iwaskiw,

1472. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania,

1473. 38;

1474. Misunas

1475. and

1476. Taagepera,

1477.
The Baltic States,

1478. 111.
14
Hirscϲh,

1479. Empire,

1480. 213;

1481. Kozlov,

1482. Peoples,

1483. 153.
15
Tishkov,

1484. Ethnicity,

1485. 24.

1486. 57
provided

1487. the

1488. Soviet

1489. state

1490. with

1491. a

1492. mecϲhanism

1493. for

1494. slowly

1495. stifling

1496.
the

1497. nationalist

1498. spirit

1499. expressed

1500. through

1501. performancϲe

1502. of

1503. Lithu-­‐‑
anian

1504. folk

1505. musicϲ,

1506. promoting

1507. cϲonformity,

1508. and

1509. quelling

1510. notions

1511.
of

1512. independencϲe

1513. instead

1514. of

1515. encϲouraging

1516. debate.16

1517. The

1518. Soviet

1519.
system

1520. cϲontinued

1521. to

1522. flourish

1523. for

1524. several

1525. decϲades,

1526. encϲouraging

1527.
ethnicϲ

1528. groups

1529. to

1530. define

1531. themselves

1532. in

1533. terms

1534. other

1535. than

1536. cϲlass

1537. or

1538.
religion,

1539. and

1540. musicϲ

1541. was

1542. one

1543. cϲultural

1544. cϲategory

1545. through

1546. whicϲh

1547.
the

1548. Lithuanian

1549. people

1550. cϲould

1551. cϲontinue

1552. to

1553. understand

1554. their

1555. cϲul-­‐‑
ture

1556. and

1557. ethnicϲity

1558. while

1559. part

1560. of

1561. the

1562. USSR.
However,

1563. this

1564. pracϲticϲe

1565. took

1566. on

1567. an

1568. new

1569. aim

1570. as

1571. the

1572. move-­‐‑
ment

1573. for

1574. independent

1575. Lithuania,

1576. whicϲh

1577. becϲame

1578. know

1579. as

1580. the

1581.
Singing

1582. Revolution,

1583. and

1584. the

1585. politicϲal

1586. organization

1587. cϲalled

1588.
Sąjϳūdis

1589. grew

1590. stronger

1591. with

1592. Gorbacϲhev’s

1593. glasnost

1594. policϲy

1595. in

1596.
1987.17

1597. The

1598. publicϲ

1599. demonstration

1600. of

1601. nationalist

1602. sentiments,

1603.
incϲluding

1604. events

1605. sucϲh

1606. as

1607. the

1608. Balticϲ

1609. Way

1610. and

1611. the

1612. Vilnius

1613. Tele-­‐‑
vision

1614. Tower

1615. acϲtions

1616. that

1617. were

1618. acϲcϲompanied

1619. by

1620. the

1621. peacϲeful

1622.
performancϲe

1623. of

1624. folk

1625. songs

1626. by

1627. demonstrators,

1628. were

1629. part

1630. of

1631. the

1632.
acϲtions

1633. that

1634. broke

1635. down

1636. the

1637. cϲommunist

1638. system.18

1639. Lithuania

1640. be-­‐‑
cϲame

1641. the

1642. first

1643. nation

1644. to

1645. decϲlare

1646. independencϲe

1647. from

1648. the

1649. Soviet

1650.
Union

1651. in

1652. Jϵanuary

1653. of

1654. 1991.

1655. In

1656. his

1657. book

1658. Nations

1659. and

1660. Nationalism,

1661.
Ericϲ

1662. Hobs

1663. bawm

1664. asserts

1665. that

1666. “Nations

1667. do

1668. not

1669. make

1670. states

1671. and

1672.
nationalisms

1673. but

1674. the

1675. other

1676. way

1677. around,”

1678. and

1679. following

1680. from

1681.
this,

1682. folk

1683. musicϲ

1684. becϲame

1685. one

1686. of

1687. the

1688. key

1689. tools

1690. through

1691. whicϲh

1692.
developing

1693. Lithuanian

1694. nationalist

1695. sentiments

1696. have

1697. helped

1698. to

1699.
cϲonstrucϲt

1700. the

1701. modern

1702. Lithuanian

1703. state

1704. and

1705. a

1706. new

1707. cϲorrespond-­‐‑
ing

1708. independent

1709. and

1710. free

1711. national

1712. identity.19

1713. The

1714. performancϲe

1715.
of

1716. folk

1717. songs

1718. alongside

1719. Sąjϳūdis

1720. acϲtions

1721. and

1722. protests

1723. has

1724. been

1725.
incϲreasingly

1726. glorified

1727. as

1728. a

1729. grand

1730. ritual,

1731. taking

1732. on

1733. new

1734. signifi-­‐‑
cϲancϲe

1735. that

1736. ritualizes

1737. the

1738. demonstration

1739. of

1740. independencϲe

1741. today.

1742.
Today

1743. in

1744. post-­‐‑Soviet

1745. cϲapitalist

1746. cϲountries

1747. this

1748. involves

1749. not

1750. simply

1751.
ideologicϲal,

1752. but

1753. also

1754. financϲial

1755. support,

1756. sincϲe

1757. “state

1758. support

1759. of

1760.
artists

1761. suggests

1762. direcϲt

1763. financϲial

1764. support,

1765. through

1766. fellowships,

1767.
16
FϜabiani,

1768. Festivals,

1769. 2.
17
Hazard,

1770. Managing Nationalism,

1771. 100.
18
Gleason,

1772. “Sovietology,”

1773. 6.
19
Hobsbawm,

1774. Nations and Nationalism,

1775. 10.

1776. 58
purcϲhase

1777. of

1778. art

1779. works,

1780. or

1781. funding

1782. of

1783. arts

1784. organizations.”20

1785. Now

1786.
more

1787. than

1788. ever,

1789. there

1790. is

1791. a

1792. strong

1793. trend

1794. in

1795. Lithuania

1796. towards

1797.
manipulating

1798. its

1799. national

1800. history

1801. through

1802. publicϲ,

1803. performative

1804.
presentations

1805. of

1806. national

1807. cϲulture.

1808.
Two

1809. decϲades

1810. after

1811. the

1812. fall

1813. of

1814. the

1815. Soviet

1816. Union,

1817. and

1818. nearly

1819.
a

1820. decϲade

1821. after

1822. Lithuania

1823. becϲame

1824. a

1825. member

1826. of

1827. the

1828. European

1829.
Union

1830. in

1831. 2004,

1832. Lithuanians

1833. use

1834. their

1835. musicϲal

1836. tradition

1837. to

1838. dis-­‐‑
play

1839. their

1840. ancϲient

1841. ethnicϲ

1842. roots,

1843. imagining

1844. that

1845. their

1846. folk

1847. songs

1848.
are

1849. living

1850. relicϲs

1851. of

1852. their

1853. ancϲient

1854. past.

1855. Lithuanians

1856. demonstrate

1857.
and

1858. cϲelebrate

1859. these

1860. primordialist

1861. sentiments

1862. at

1863. folk

1864. song

1865. fes-­‐‑
tivals

1866. that

1867. reflecϲt

1868. national

1869. and

1870. pan-­‐‑Balticϲ

1871. regional

1872. pride.

1873. This

1874.
new

1875. use

1876. of

1877. folk

1878. cϲulture,

1879. not

1880. jϳust

1881. to