Kazis Grigs: kontakti ar Latvijas folkloristiku

ENKazys Grigas (1924-2002) has laid the academic foundations to Lithuanian paremiology, putting the studies of proverbs on the path of comparative folklore studies. He also introduced the Lithuanian public to Latvian folklore studies, especially paremiology, as well as Latvian proverbs he frequently quoted in his writing. In his monograph “Lietuviij patarles” (“Lithuanian Proverbs”) Grigas was the first Lithuanian folklore researcher to show Lithuanian proverbs as a system and a specific part of the system of European proverbs, bound to it by genetic, typological and cultural ties. In “Patarliij paralēlēs” (“Parallels of Proverbs”), published in 1987, Grigas demonstrated this by providing examples of Lithuanian proverbs that could be classified according to international typology, as well as their analogues in various European languages. Grigas’ most significant contribution to Lithuanian folklore studies is his inception of the multi-volume edition “Lietuviif patarles ir priežodžiai” (“Lithuanian Proverbs and Sayings”), which he prepared and started publishing. Being a pioneer of Lithuanian paremiology, Grigas sought contacts with proverb researchers of other countries and nations. He actively exchanged letters with Wolfgang Mieder of the US, Hungarian folklorist Vilmos Voigt, Estonia’s Arvo Krikmann and Finnish paremiologists.Grigas, however, had the strongest interest in the work of folklorists from Lithuania’s closest neighbor country Latvia. In his studies Grigas referred to the writing of Latvian folklore researchers Elza Kokare, Alma Ancelāne, Vilma Greble, Pēteris and Marija Birkerts, J. Zaube, and others. Grigas also had personal discussions with Latvian folklorists as they exchanged opinions on theoretical paremiology issues, as well as issues concerning the etymology and interpretation of some particular proverbs. Grigas’ correspondence with folklore researchers of other nations, including Latvians, is being kept at the Lithuanian Institute of Literature and Folklore. These letters reveal Grigas’ academic and personal contacts, as well as the circumstances of the social life of that time.