The Dissemination of the concepts of ethnic culture in alternative music festivals in Lithuania : (Mėnuo juodaragis and Kilkim žaibu)

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Alternatyvi; Alternatyvi muzika; Archajinė etninė muzika; Atgimimo judėjimas; Etninė kultūra; Festivalis; Tautosaka; Muzika; Alternative; Alternative music; Archaic ethnic music; Ethnic culture; Festival; Folklore; Music; Revival movement.

ENMėnuo juodaragis (Black-Horned Moon, hereafter MJR) and Kilkim žaibu (Strike with Thunder, hereafter KŽ) are exclusive alternative music festivals in Lithuania, in which much attention is paid to the revival of ethnic culture of various forms. Due to the fact that the mentioned festivals are usually organized by people who do not belong to the state institutions, they can be viewed as an alternative not only to commercial popular music, but also to the ethnic culture revival movement, which is supervised and coordinated by the state system. In Lithuania, the term eEthnic culturei can be used to name the traditional (folk) culture or as a synonym for all of the national culture (Kalnius 2008: 39). In this article, the term is used in a broad sense, i.e. to identify the entire national culture, both archaic and modern. The term eEthnic musici is used as a synonym for traditional (folk) music. This article aims to compare the revitalizing elements of ethnic culture and other forms of expressing ethnic identity (not only ethnic music, but also other additional activities); to analyse how the processes of dissemination and interception of ethnic culture concepts proceed in two different festivals. The article is based on the emic thought categories of informants (ordinary visitors and main organizers of festival). The research results reveal that the archaic pre-Christian era music, Baltic, Indo-European culture and historical past are emphasized in both festivals. However, organizers and audience have different concepts about the authenticity of ethnic music performing in festivals.