Lietaus ir sniego šaukimas bei nuvarymas lietuvių vaikų folklore
Calling or Turning Away Rain or Snow in the Lithuanian Children’s Folklore

Summary/Abstract: Control of atmospheric phenomena by means of magic has always been important in the traditional culture. There were many various divinations in order to ensure desirable weather in every people’s folklore. Most of the rituals or magic texts were performed by adults, some of them – both by adults and children, yet others – only by children. In this article, rituals and texts designed for calling or turning away rain or snow and performed by children are analyzed. The article defines the role of children in the meteorological magic. Lithuanian children’s folklore is compared with the Slavic one. Some conclusions: 1. Children’s songs used for calling rain have once had a magic purpose. Gifts-sacrifices mentioned in these songs are similar to those mentioned in the Byelorussian and Ukrainian children’s songs and in the Lithuanian adults’ folklore. Most probably this motif has originally existed in the adults’ folklore and only later moved to the children’s folklore. 2. Two songs for calling snow were found, but these texts do not prove existence of such a tradition. 3. From behavior of shepherds and children, adults guessed the future weather. This demonstrates the importance of children in meteorological magic. 4. In children’s divinations, some animals, like ladybird, frog and toad were used. Frog and toad are present in the adults’ folklore for calling rain as well. 5. In the ceremony of calling winter by leading a goat around a tree, “white cow” and “white milk” used to be mentioned. These details remind of the South Slavic rituals performed in order to turn away hail clouds and sacrifices offered to the “masters of the weather”. 6. In the weather divination folklore performed by children, numerous details were found, which could have belonged to the adults’ folklore in the past. This allows us to suppose either that children could have included into their folklore some archaic elements of the adults’ lore or that the children’s weather divinations were inherited from the adults. This question remains open for further investigations.

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