"Ką kalba mielė, bačkoj būdama?.." : apie meilę ir karą alaus mitologijoje

LTStraipsnyje nagrinėjamos alaus darymo procedūros, siekiama atskleisti, kokios mitologinės reikšmės teikiamos šio gėrimo dėmenims – miežiams, apyniams ir mielėms – ir jų tarpusavio santykiui. Pasitelkiamas analitinis, semiotinis, interpretacinis tyrimo metodai. Daroma išvada, kad alaus skonio ypatumai (saldu vs. kartu) atitinka moteriško ir vyriško požiūrio skirtį: moterys pirmenybę teikia saldžiam alui, besisiejančiam su draugiškais santykiais, meile ir linksmumu, o vyrai vertina kartų ir stiprų gėrimą, tai susiję su mitine stipraus, narsaus, nuožmaus kario samprata. [Iš leidinio]

ENIn the article, the process of brewing beer is explored through a mythological viewpoint: the taste properties gained through fermentation (sweet vs bitter), the key components of beer (barley, hops, yeast) as well as the connections between them. The study reveals that different meanings are applied to the palatability of beer – sweetness is related to love and friendship, while bitterness – with strength and hostility. These different meaning reflect the differences in the attitude of women and men towards taste: women value sweet beer and love, while men – bitterness and power. The author of the article presupposes that there used to exist ritual drinks with different purposes: sweet (feminine) beer was meant for strengthening communal bounds, while bitter (masculine) beer was used in war, seeking a create a certain mental status of the warriors, to overcome fear and increase strength and bravery. For this, plants with different various characteristics were used. Now in the brewing of beer the hop is used to replace the previously used plants (it is believed that the Marsh Labrador tea [Ledum palustre], Bog-myrtle [Myrica gale] and others were used), but Lithuanian feast songs have still retained the mythological meanings of the plant additives to beer. Two mythological images – drone bees (bičių tranas, the zoomorphic form of the Lithuanian god of bees, Bubilas) and bears (lokys) are also explored. These consumers of honey and sweets are associated with a strong man, while in the beer brewing process – with fermentation and the strength of the beer (amount of alcohol), thus representing the masculine approach to beer. [From the publication]