Robežmītu pārvērtēšana: Dienvidkurzemes garie saucieni un leiši

ENThere are three longstanding border myths associated with Dienvidkurzeme (Southern Kurzeme), one of Latvia‘s richest regions in terms of traditional music. According to these myths: The tradition of vocal polyphony in Dienvidkurzeme (Bārta and Nīca) is monolith, and its diversity does not display any significant local differences, Traditional music in Rucava is monophonic, Homophonic harmonious polyphony, found in Leiši (Lithuanian) songs, which belong to the Springtime Jubilation Songs, has been borrowed from Lithuanians. The article deals with a unique and little studied phenomenon of Latvian traditional music, which has been recorded in the area of Bārta and Nīca in Dienvidkurzeme - The Springtime Jubilation Songs - paying special attention to the high number of melodies and variations of the Long Calls and Leiši songs, as well as their origin and popularity in the Dienvidkurzeme region. The aforementioned phenomenon has not been studied in detail yet. None of the existing studies covers all folk tunes recorded in the region or takes into account information on the songs’ origins or their connection with the particular territory, provided by the bearers of the tradition. The origins of the Leiši songs has been explained based on their indicative name, which points to influences from the neighboring Lithuania, as well as the musical similarity of the Leiši songs and the homophonic polyphonic Lithuanian songs.The objective of the article is to show that some of researchers’ assumptions about the origin, spread and local uniformity of Dienvidkurzeme’s traditional vocal polyphony can be disputed after painstaking analysis and systematization of all materials recorded in and characteristic of the above region. Based on the analysis and comparison of Long Calls and Leiši melodies recorded in Bārta and Nīca the author provides a typology of melodies found in the Springtime Jubilation Songs as well as specifies each song’s area of distribution and diversity of variations. The article also addresses the issue of the number, sequence and functional connections of the Long Calls and Leiši songs which form the Springtime Jubilation cycle.