Kryžių kalnas: katalikiška etninė kultūra

LTMokslo monografijoje yra pristatoma kultūros istorijos, etnologijos ir etnomuzikologijos mokslų tyrimų kontekste surinkta medžiaga apie Kryžių kalno aplankymo pamaldumo praktikos Lietuvoje ypatumus, apeiginius papročius ir jų kilmę bei sąlyčius su Kryžių kalnu, esančiu Lenkijoje. Atlikto tyrimo išvados pagrindžia monografijos pradžioje išsikeltą hipotezę, kad Lietuvos Kryžių kalno aplankymo pamaldumo praktikos ištakos yra žuvusiųjų ir mirusiųjų atminimo (paminėjimo) ir pagerbimo vieta.

ENIn Lithuania of old each homestead or crossroads was marked by a cross. Today, a lot of crosses in one place can be found near the city of Šiauliai, on Jurgaičiai mound, known as the Hill of Crosses. According to the sources, this place had many names: Mounds of Daumantai, Jurgaičiai, Castle Hill, Pilalė, Holy Hill, Hills of Prayer, Superstition, Sighs, Tears, Atonement, Devotion, Promises. Today it is called the Hill of Crosses and for the Catholic Church is a holy place. This is confirmed by the visit of Pope John Paul II who here on September 7, 1993, offered the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Then, the world learned about the Hill of Crosses. Pilgrims from many places of the world come to the Hill of Crosses; there they stand their faith signs, crosses and crosses with mounted paintings and statuettes, meditate, pray, sing, play musical instruments and perform various rites. Today, it is impossible to regulate the erection of crosses on the Hill. Pilgrims, religious tourists, participants of christening and marriage ceremonies and persons praying individually bring them there. Young people actively taking part in the summer night’s vigils, organized by the Franciscan friars, also took a liking to the Hill of Crosses. During these vigils you can hear the sounds of various musical instruments (especially guitars) and Taizé community chants. One of the most important tasks of Šiauliai diocese administration is to maintain order during the visits of pilgrims and religious tourists, self-willed erection of crosses, prayers and hymn singing. It would be easier to control everything and to keep peace, concentration and sacredness if near the Hill of Crosses, without destroying sacred mountain area, a shrine could be built. This is the aim of Šiauliai diocese.Part of the Lithuanian society asks: why do we need to build a church near the Hill of Crosses, if there already are chapels of the Franciscan monastery and Pope John Paul II’s visit to the Holy Hill of Crosses? This shows that the Hill of Crosses is not only a mound. The Hill of Crosses is a sacred place of pilgrimage, its defenders’ tombs, folk piety crosses, fortress of God’s mercy practices in Lithuania or a religious place of worship, which could be paid tribute to by everyone not only in the open space, but also in the place of God’s mercy of our times – in the church built near the Hill of Crosses. Is it necessary? The answer to this question is one of the reasons that encouraged the author of the monograph to take interest in the history of visits to the Hill of Crosses, ritual customs and music. The investigations while preparing this monograph open up new pages of the religion history of the Hill of Crosses, its ethnology and ethnomusicology, and in turn allow the continuation of the author’s investigations looking for new insights in them. The author hopes that this work is only the beginning and also the key to the new scientific discoveries of Lithuanian Church history, liturgy, ethnology and ethnomusicology. The monograph consists of the preface, list of author’s scientific publications on the subject of the monograph, introduction, four chapters, conclusions, general list of references, list of informants, summaries in Lithuanian and English, and index of place-names. The devotional practice of visiting the Hill of Crosses or honoring the place is one of the objects of European Catholic religion history, ethnology and ethnomusicology. Here especially important are the ritual customs of this devotional practice consisting of liturgical worship elements: actions, gestures, saying prayers, singing hymns, playing musical instruments and celebrating church calendar holidays.The devotional practice of visiting the Hill of Crosses is considered to be a peculiar ritual-liturgical and folk ethnic cultural phenomenon the analysis of which helps to reveal how the ethnic culture has influenced the Christian one. There are no scientific studies on this devotional practice as a phenomenon of a complex ritual liturgical and ethnic cultural interaction. The monograph summarizes the author’s investigations of many years. They allow to look at the history of the devotional practice of visiting the Hill of Crosses, its ritual customs and music in Lithuania in a new way. So the work is relevant not only to the Catholic Church in Lithuania, but also to Lithuanian ethnology and ethnomusicology, because probably for the first time the ritual customs and music are described from ethnological and ethnomusicological aspects. As compared with our neighbor’s (Poland) orthodox analogue, this helps to reveal the peculiarities of the devotional practice in Lithuania. The pilgrim Pope John Paul II, who on September 7, 1993 at 10 a.m., after Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, offered the holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the Hill, also went down in history of the devotional practice of visiting the Hill of Crosses. [...].

• Teologija / Theology
• Etnologija / Ethnology
• Muzikologija / Musicology