"Kelionėse po Lietuvą kaip visaregis burtininkas" (Z. Žemaitytė): apie muziejininką, kraštotyrininką Juozą Petrulį

LTŠio straipsnio tikslas – remiantis įvairiais istoriniais šaltiniais, apibendrinti J. Petrulio gyvenimą ir veiklą, parodyti jo indėlį Lietuvos etninei kultūrai, išanalizuoti jo tyrinėtas Kupiškio krašto sritis. Lietuvos nacionalinėje Martyno Mažvydo bibliotekoje yra saugomas muziejininko archyvas. Perskaičiusi saugomus rankraščius ir išsamiau susipažinusi su jo gyvenimo istorija, galiu teigti, kad tai – žmogus savo tikslą pasiekęs kruopščiu, sąžiningu kasdieniniu darbu. J. Petrulį žavėjo liaudies menas, paprasta kaimo žmonių buitis, papročiai, senolių išmintis rado vietą ne tik popieriaus lape, bet ir šviesuolio širdyje. Anksti palikęs gimtąjį Rudikų kaimą (Kupiškio vlsč.), liko jam ištikimas ir artimas. Atliktais darbais įrodė, kad gimtinės meilė pati tikriausia, pati patvariausia [p. 79].

ENKupiškis land has raised and nurtured famous Lithuanian museologist and ethnographer Juozas Petrulis (1904–1975). The goal of the paper is to summarize J. Petrulis’ life and work and to show his contribution to Lithuanian ethnic culture and museology by referring to different sources. J. Petrulis studied at Salamiestis primary school, Kupiškis and Biržai secondary schools. From 1926 to 1933, he was jailed in Kaunas, Panevėžys and Šiauliai jails for his refuse to serve in the army. In 1934 he studied in Italy. J. Petrulis was invited to work at Šiauliai Aušros Museum by his fellow-countryman, famous pre-war museologist Peliksas Bugailiškis. From 1938 to 1944 he took an active part in Šiauliai Ethnographic Society’s work, his articles were published in the journal “Gimtasis kraštas” (“The Native Land”). Since the end of 1944, he worked as a Head of the Museums and Monuments Department at People’s Commissariat of Education. In 1947–1954, he was a Director of the Institute of History of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and in 1955–1958 – a Head of the History-Ethnography Department at the same Institute.During the first years of German occupation in Šiauliai, J. Petrulis helped to hide and rescue Jews from Nazis. He was posthumously awarded with the Order of Righteous Among the Nations for this. J. Petrulis has dedicated nearly 50 years of his life to ethnography and museology. He took a part in many expeditions organized in different locations of Lithuania, collected material for the book “Lietuvių liaudies menininkai” (“Lithuanian Folk Artists”), compiled about 70 biographies of god-carvers, however, the publication wasn’t released. J. Petrulis had a special relationship with his native Kupiškis land. Together with P. Bugailiškis, he fostered an idea to release a book “Kupiškio kraštas” („Kupiškis land“). However, the collected material remained in handwritings. J. Petrulis cared about the establishment of Kupiškis Ethnographic Museum. A special exploration is needed to research all J. Petrulis’ legacy.