Kur veda sėlių Šventtakis

LTStraipsnis skirtas 2023–2024 m. Gražutės regioniniame parke, Lūžų miške prie Antalieptės (Zarasų r.), sumanytam ir įrengtam Sėlių šventtakiui. Lyginant su kitais pažintiniais takais, Šventtakis išskirtinis ne tik tematiniu požiūriu. Kruopščiai atrinktos baltų paveldo vietos buvo ir vis dar yra visapusiškai tiriamos; Klaipėdos universiteto Baltijos regiono istorijos ir archeologijos instituto ekspedicija jau atliko archeologinius Šavašos šventvietės su ritinio formos akmeniu tyrimus. Straipsnyje yra grindžiamas Šventtakio sumanymas, atskleidžiamos jo sąsajos su baltų religine tradicija, plačiai supažindinama su kultūriniu ir istoriniu kontekstu. Zarasų rajono pietinio ir Utenos rajono šiaurinio paribio raida I tūkstm.–II tūkstm. pradžioje lieka neaiški, manytina, kad apie XIII–XIV a. Antalieptės apylinkėse sėlių ir lietuvių gyventa mišriai. Antroji straipsnio dalis skirta į pažintinį taką įtrauktoms baltų paveldo vertybėms. Apie jas telkiamos išsklaidytos žinios, atliekama nuodugni archeologinių, istorinių, etnologinių ir mitologinių duomenų analizė. Reikšminiai žodžiai: saugomos teritorijos, pažintiniai takai, baltų gentys, šventvietės, Antalieptė, Šavaša.

ENThe article is dedicated to the Selonian sacred path, or trail, established and opened on 25 August 2024, in Gražutė Regional Park, Lūžai Forest near Antalieptė (Zarasai d.). Compared to other discovery trails in Lithuania, this sacred path is unique not only in its thematic approach. The carefully selected Baltic heritage sites included in this trail have been and continue to be comprehensively studied. In addition, the new discovery trail can be seen as an effort to strengthen and develop Selonian self-awareness in the Antalieptė area. The article substantiates the concept of the “sacred path,” reveals its connections with Baltic religious tradition, and bradly introduces its cultural and historical context. The development of the southern Zarasai and northern Utena district borderlands in the first millennium–early second millennium remains unclear. Antalieptė is surrounded by hydronyms characteristic of the Selonians (including the Šavaša stream, from which the sacred path doesn’t stray far); however, the external features of the burial mounds are characteristic of Lithuanian tribes. Thus, it is suggested that around the 13th-14th centuries, Selonians and Lithuanians lived here in a mixed community. The approximately 11 km long sacred path continues the tradition of ancient roads connecting settlements with sacred sites or leading past sacred places. It is made up of two intersecting loops (the trajectory resembles the number “8”) and connects seven Baltic heritage sites. Moreover, a traveller unconsciously traces an infinity-shaped trajectory, embarking on a journey that seems to have neither a clear beginning nor end (Fig. 4).Such circular movement, or movement in two circles while changing direction – just as bees dance to indicate the position of flowers located further away – is another additional reference to the sacred experience that travellers are invited to draw from here. The second part of the article is dedicated to the Baltic heritage values included in the discovery trail. Scattered knowledge about them is consolidated, and thorough data analysis is performed. The authors show that the Lūžai Forest, the Šavaša flowing through it, the sequence of heritage sites (from the life-giving spring to ancestral graves in burial mounds), and the remarkable diversity (the spring, the stone with fo otprints, a stone with a bowl, a hillfort, two sacred hills, and burial mounds) are significant prerequisites for understanding and experiencing Baltic religious sacredness on this trail. Additionally, at least three chronological periods of this region’s prehistory and early history can be explored here. The hillfort of Lūžai Forest represents the first centuries of our era; the Lūžai Forest burial mounds represent the 5th–8th centuries; the Šavaša sacred site with its cylindrical stone with a bowl is estimated to have been established in the 13th–14th centuries.

• Etnologija / Ethnology
• Istorija / History