Švč. Mergelei Marijai skirtos maldos ir giesmės šermenų apeigose Žemaitijoje: tradicija ir dabartis
THE PRAYERS AND CHANTS IN HONOUR OF HOLY VIRGIN MARY DURING SAMOGITIAN FUNERAL CEREMONIES: TRADITIONS AND THE PRESENT

Summary/Abstract: Lithuania is the land of honorable history. It has four ethnographical regions: the eastern part called Aukštaitija (High Land), the southwestern part Suvalkija, the western part Žemaitija (Low Land or Samogitia) and the region of Klaipėda. Samogitia is one of the largest ethnographical regions of Lithuania with its own unique verbal and canticle heritage. Christianity came to Samogitia 600 years ago and left its deep imprint in folk culture and into traditions of faith and daily life. The living forms of Catholic folk piety in our country testifies that Christianity not only brought its own culture and traditions, but also has adapted itself to the local conditions and indoctrinated Catholic dogmatism, feasts, rituals and music. The chant and its performance are very important when talking about musical culture in funerals. During funeral ceremonies we find different chants that speak about death, the trial of God, penance, the Divine of God, purgatory and heaven and the intercession of Jesus, the Holy Virgin Mary and the saints. During all funeral ceremonies we find lots of different prayers and chants in all ethnographical regions of Lithuania: for example, “The Way of The Cross” (that consists of fourteen stations), the “Samogitian Calvary way”, “The Rosary of The name of Jesus”, and the Officium defunctorum (psalms for the dead). In Dzūkija (the southern part of Lithuania) aside from lamentations people used to chant the Offcium defunctorum (psalms for the dead); in Suvalkija (southwestern part of Lithuania); in Aukštaitija (the eastern part of Lithuania) is chanted “the Way of the Cross” (with fourteen stations) and in Samogitia (the western part of Lithuania) are chanted twenty stations of Calvary, called the Samogitian Calvary way. In areas that border on regions with Protestant or Orthodox traditions, the Ofcium defunctorum is performed quite often. And all the regions of Lithuania are unified by the ceremonies of funeral and funeral chant. The object of research: Prayers and chants that are dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary during Samogitian funeral ceremonies. The goals of study: to discuss prayers and chants those are dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary. The aim of study: firstly, to introduce traditional prayers and chants that are dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary during Samogitian funeral ceremonies; secondly, to analyze their genesis; and thirdly, referring to data that was collected during some summer expeditions, to introduce new chants that are dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary and supplemented traditional Samogitian funeral ceremonies. Hypothesis of research: prayers and chants dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary in Samogitian funeral ceremonies change in time. Methods of research: analytical, comparative and descriptive. Relevance of topic: for the first time in Lithuanian Catholic Church history we try to introduce development of prayers and chants dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary in Samogitian funeral ceremonies. The resear

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