Lithuanian laments is an archaic genre of Lithuanian folk songs. There are two major categories of Lithuanian

laments A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about someth ...

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

lament (laidotuvių rauda) and wedding lament (vestuvių rauda).Rimantas Sliužinskas
Lithuanian Traditional Laments: Simple Folklore Genre or the Bridge from the “Life World” to the “Death World”?
In: In: Дара Жол. Материалы международной научной конференции, посвященной 90-летию Ф.Ж. Балгаевой (11 февраля 2016 г.). Vol. 1. Astana, 2016, pp. 141–149, } Other kinds of laments are associated with various crucial, often misfortunate moments of life: illness, domestic misfortune (e.g., fire), soldier recruiting, etc.
lietuvių liaudies raudos

Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of ...

'' A considerable number of motifs in laments are of international occurrence, confirming the ancient nature of laments, whose tradition originated before the forming of the nations. Laments are traditionally performed without musical instruments.

Funeral laments

There were no particular lamenting songs, and when lamenting women would improvise. Usually lamenters were close relatives, however sometimes lamenters were hired. Themes of laments include the whole process of the funeral, from washing of the deceased to burial, as well as moments of the former life, world of the dead, and suffering of these who had lost a loved person. Funeral laments are often based on rhetorical questions, such as "Why did you leave us for so long trip?", "In what flowers will you blossom?", etc.

Wedding laments

Wedding laments (also called ''verkavimai'' ("weepings", "sobbings") done by crying, chanting, or talking) are usually performed by the bride on various occasions, such as invitation to the wedding, saying goodbye to the parents, leaving the house, thanking to the gifts, etc. In

Dzūkija Dzūkija () or Dainava is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Dzūkija is a cultural region defined by traditional lifestyles and dialects of the local Lithuanian population (mostly rural farmers) and has never been defined as a poli ...

a wedding starts with the lament of the first bridesmaid. A lament of bride's mother, sister, or bridesmaid at the wedding is called ''priverkimas'' (" hingthat makes you cry").

Life of the tradition

Lithuania Minor Lithuania Minor (; ; ) or Prussian Lithuania (; ; ) is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is a historical region of Prussia, where Prussian Lithuanians (or Lietuvininkai) lived, now located in Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Obla ...

laments diappeared from the tradition in 19th century and known only from written sources. In

Žemaitija Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divi ...

laments disappeared in 20th century, some recordings were done in 1960s and 1980s. Funeral laments survived in the areas of

Suvalkija Suvalkija or Sudovia ( or ''Sūduva'') is the smallest of the five cultural regions of Lithuania. Its unofficial capital is Marijampolė. People from Suvalkija (Suvalkijans) are called (plural) or (singular) in Lithuanian. It is located sout ...

Veliuona Veliuona (, , ) is a small town on the Nemunas River in the Jurbarkas district municipality in Lithuania. History Veliuona (also known as Junigeda) was first mentioned in 1291 in the chronicle of Peter of Duisburg. The town is primarily known ...

Seredžius Seredžius is a town in Lithuania on the right bank of the Nemunas River near its confluence with the Dubysa River. According to the 2011 census, it had a population of 590. Names The Yiddish name for the city was סרעדניק (''Srednik''), ...

and in Lithuanian villages in Belarus in the areas of Voranava and

Astravyets Astravyets or Ostrovets is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Astravyets District. As of 2025, it has a population of 15,265. History Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Astravyets was part of Vilnius V ...

Lithuanian folklore collections that include laments

Antanas Juška Antanas Juška (; 16 June 1819 – 1 November 1880) was a Lithuanians, Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest known for his lifelong study of Lithuanian folk traditions. For about three decades, he observed the Lithuanian people, their traditions, and ...

, ''Lietuviškos dainos'', Vilnius, 1955 *''Lietuvių tautosakos rinktinė'', Vilnius, 1955 *''Lietuvių tautosaka'', vol. II, Dainos, raudos, Vilnius, '' Mintis'', 1964 * Algirdas Patackas, Aleksandras Žarskus, ''Mirties virsmas: mirtis ir lydėtuvės'', Vilnius, 1990 *Algirdas Patackas, Aleksandras Žarskus, ''Virsmų knyga: vestuvių virsmas, gimties virsmas, mirties virsmas'', Kaunas, 2002, *The fifteen volume edition of the

Jonas Basanavičius Jonas Basanavičius (, ; 23 November 1851 – 16 February 1927) was an activist and proponent of the Lithuanian National Revival. He participated in every major event leading to the independent Lithuanian state and is often given the informal hon ...

Folklore Library (1993-2004) includes, among others, 180, laments.

References

{{reflist

Funeral laments

Wedding laments

Life of the tradition

Lithuanian folklore collections that include laments

References

Further reading