Archajinio lietuvių mąstymo atkūrimas: šventumo samprata
ENSuch essential values of human life as family, community, publicity and others, today have lost or changed their original meanings beyond any believable recognition. We observe continuous devaluation of the spiritual dimension replaced by political, economic, sociological, etc. systems gaining dominance in almost all residential areas of the living world. Holiness, the fundamental feature of the archaic mytho-poetic worldview, has nearly lost its importance in everyday human life. But it undoubtedly had been one of the most important attributes of the mytho-poetic substrate. And it is remarkably witnessed in Lithuanian folk songs, thus revealing the distinctive and original character of ancient Lithuanian tradition. In the old Lithuanian mytho-poetic worldview, humans find themselves on equal standing with the other elements of the world, as a tree among trees in the forest. Attunement to the environment in the old Lithuanian songs is perceived poetically. And holiness comes down not from official religious hierarchical “heights”, but naturally springs from being alongside nature and the cosmos. The approach of the ancient Lithuanian sung poetry avoids dualistic metaphysical alienation. It is not anthropocentric, it does not overly “humanise” the world nor does it downgrade it to pragmatic manipulations as in the Western world today. The archaic poetic attitude leaves enough space for holiness and spiritual dimension, it emphasises the vitality of the world as a whole. This experience at the same time is very particular. It is revealed from the inside by the poet who finds themselves within the very depth of holiness.
