Title Saulės dukros vestuvių motyvai XIX a. pr.–XX a. latvių dainose: tautosakinė ir lyginamoji mitologinė analizė
Translation of Title Saules meitas kāzu motīvi 19. gs. sākuma – 20. gs. latviešu tautasdziesmās: folkloras un salīdzinošā mitoloģijas analīze.
Translation of Title Motifs of Sun Maiden's wedding in Latvian songs of early 19th - 20th century: a folklorist and comparative mythological analysis.
Authors Sinkevičius, Rokas
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Pages 32
Keywords [eng] Latvian mythological songs ; Wedding customs ; Heavenly wedding ; Celestial deities
Abstract [eng] The aim of the dissertation was to investigate the main motifs of heavenly weddings in Latvian mythological songs, clarifying data on the origin of these motifs and the semantics of images in the context of Latvian and Lithuanian folklore and comparative mythology. Analytical descriptive and interpretive methods were used when examining folkloric material and evaluating the meanings of individual images and motifs, their trends of stability and change, and their interrelationships. The historical comparative method was applied when juxtaposing the folklore material with customs in search of parallels in the mythology and folklore of other linguistic-cultural groups. The analysis of Latvian song material showed that the Sun’s Maiden (Saules meita in Latvian) is close to the rising and setting Sun. On the other hand, she is most often understood as the daughter of the Sun. Her image and name resemble those of the maidens of the sun and the moon in Balto-Finnic and Sami folklore. The motif of the sons of God or Auseklis visiting the Sun’s Maiden (for which parallels can be found in Germanic mythology) allows us to associate them with the celestial luminaries appearing in the pre-dawn sky. Many of the mythical participants, motifs, and formulas of the wedding mentioned in these mythological songs also appear in wedding songs or correspond to the semantics of wedding customs. Perkūnas (the Thunder God) striking the tree symbolizes the belligerence of the opposing wedding party, and the weeping Sun symbolizes the mother mourning her married daughter.
Dissertation Institution Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas.
Type Summaries of doctoral thesis
Language Lithuanian
Publication date 2022