Iš prigimtinės kultūros žodyno: juoda žemė
LTŽinija apie žemę, jos spalvą, sudėtį ir savybes yra lietuvių prigimtinės kultūros dalis. Šiame straipsnyje pirmą kartą nagrinėjama savita juodos žemės samprata. Archeologinė jos iliustracija – kultūriniai sluoksniai. Sekant prigimtinės kultūros tradicija žemės juodumas visuomet yra susijęs su ugnimi arba iš jos kyla. Tai gali būti lydiminės žemdirbystės pasekmė, visų anksčiau gyvenusių kartų įdirbis: įdėto darbo, išlieto prakaito rezultatas arba kurstytos, aukomis ir žodžiais maldytos ugnies žymė. Istorinę ir šiuolaikinę juodos žemės perspektyvą gerai atskleidžia apidėmė, kuriai skirta antroji straipsnio dalis. Apidėme vadinama nukeltos, sunykusios sodybos vieta, išsiskirianti juoda spalva ir pasižyminti derlumu. Kaip vietovardis, rašytiniuose šaltiniuose apidėmė daugelį kartų minima Valakų reformos metu ir vėliau, jai pasibaigus. XX a.-XXI a. pradžioje apidėmėms reiškiama religinė pagarba yra prigimtinei kultūrai būdingas reiškinys. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Apidėmė; Juoda žemė; Kultūrinis sluoksnis; Prigimtinė kultūra; Sodybvietė; Sudeginta sodyba; Ugnis; Apidėmė; Black earth; Black earth, burned down homestead; Cultural backgrounds; Fire; Homestead; Indigenous culture.
ENLithuanian indigenous culture has distinctive concept of "black earth" farmland, explains its origin. Black earth has long been the object of religious respect. This paper for the first time will consider the following issues and an initial examination is performed. Earth that for a long time is lived on and worked – ploughed, fertilized, putrefied – turns black. This is its highest quality level; this land is most fertile and valuable. In indigenous culture the research field of black earth includes prehistoric settlements, cultural layers of hill forts (piliakalniai), clearings (Lith. "lydimas", cultivated fields in a deforested area), as well as historic homesteads, village sites and the manor-houses. Following in the tradition of the indigenous culture, the blackness of the land is always associated with fire or it comes from fire. According to legends, the tops of piliakalniai turn black from burned sacrifices or cremated corpses. Fire burns out a forest clearing, it manifests as a working man’s inner heat and sweat, which irrigates the land. The blackest areas in the ancient settlements, homesteads and villages were where a fire burned, food was made, and people went to get warm. A. J. Greimas expresses the opinion that attachment to homesteads is also connected to fire – it is the home of the family’s hearth’s deities and the dwelling of their ancestors.Historical and contemporary black earth perspectives are revealed through apidėmė – the location of a relocated, rundown, or possibly burned down homestead, characterized by its black colour and exceptional fertility. In place names from the second half of the 16th c. and the 17th c., almost exclusively in the names of fields, the word "apidėmė" was often used, indicating where, what kind or to whom belonged a homestead. Over the centuries the number of farms and homesteads in Lithuania grew, however they are no longer called "apidėmės". Historical data does not doubt that "apidėmė" meant homestead, while the ancient Samogitian goddess "Apidėmė" confirms that these locations were religiously important and revered. In the indigenous Lithuanian culture a special, living connection with one’s birthplace and the home of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents was cherished. Along with consecrated crosses, chapels, and memorial stones, newly planted trees also retained memories of the departed; these sites would not be ploughed. In this way, many of the undestroyed patches of black land in Lithuania preserve the bond with the goddess "Apidėme", who was entrusted with caring for the family hearth deities and the ancestors who stayed behind in the homestead. [From the publication]
