Baltiškų vilkolakių pėdsakais: saulėgrįžiniai pasivertimai

LTStraipsnyje pristatomi ir nagrinėjami įvairūs baltų mitologijai aktualūs, tačiau iki šiol į Lietuvos mokslinę apyvartą dar neįtraukti XVI-XVIII a. istoriniai šaltiniai, kalbantys apie žmonių pasivertimą vilkais per žiemos ir vasaros saulėgrįžas. Straipsnis pradedamas „Baltų religijos ir mitologijos šaltinių“ rinkinyje įsivėlusio rikto analize, tolydžio kreipiant žvilgsnį link susijusių pirminių šaltinių. Sutelktų šaltinių visuma leidžia daryti prielaidą, kad saulėgrįžiniai pasivertimai vilkais yra integrali baltų mitinio pasaulėvaizdžio dalis. Nelietuviškų asmenvardžių rašyba atskiru sąrašu pateikta straipsnio gale. Visi paryškinimai ir visi citatų kitomis kalbomis vertimai, jei nenurodyta kitaip, mano. Prasminiai žodžiai: baltų mitologija, istoriniai šaltiniai, vilkolakis, vilkas, pasivertimas, saulėgrįža.

ENThe article introduces and examines a range of 16th-18th century historical sources relevant to Baltic mythology, which, for the most part, have not yet entered Lithuanian scholarship. These sources concern the transformation of humans into wolves during solstices. The article begins with an analysis of an error that appeared in a Lithuanian sourcebook on Baltic mythology. It is first demonstrated that the metamorphosis into wolves mentioned in Christian Kelch’s Chronicle of Livonia (1695) does not occur on the birthday of the person who becomes a wolf (as the sourcebook asserts), but rather on the birth of Christ, i.e. Christmas, associated with the winter solstice. Kelch’s note is then traced ad fontes through its various repetitions, back to its original source - Olaus Magnus’s work of 1555. The article continues with the presentation of other related historical sources that refer to the transformation into wolves at the winter or summer solstice. In the concluding section, attention is focused on the winter solstice, which in the Baltic mythological worldview extends from a single night into the Twelve Days of Christmas (Twelfthtide) called the “wolves’ period” (vilku strekis in Latvian), and encompasses the entire month of December, called the “month of the wolf” (vilką menesis in Latvian, vilko mėnuo in Lithuanian).From the body of sources presented, the following conclusions may be drawn: 1) In the Baltic mythological worldview, there existed a conception of transformation into wolves at both solstices; 2) Transformations into wolves during the winter solstice sensu lato (Christmas, Twelfthtide, or the whole of December) are mentioned in the sources twice as often as transformations during the summer solstice; 3) The mythical significance and frequency of attested periodical metamorphoses into wolves on other days (at Pentecost, at Easter) are in no way comparable to transformations into wolves at the solstices; 4) In sources that mention periodical metamorphoses into wolves without specifying a particular time of year (as in the case of Neuri in Herodotus’ Histories), what is likely meant is one of the solstices, most probably the winter solstice; 5) The mythical significance of transformations into wolves during the summer solstice may reflect beliefs connected with the witchcraft practices typical of this period: in the werewolf trials examined here, members of the bands were said to transform into wolves on St. John’s Day precisely in order to fight sorcerers and witches.