The Place Where

Mythological Stories

Were Told:OLD LITHUANIAN

HOMESTEADVisiting Open Air Ethnographic Museum of

Lithuania

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

When long dark winter evenings came, all Lithuanian families gathered in warm houses. The older family members told lots of stories

to the younger ones…

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

Our story will take you to the place where ancient legends had been told…

In the past people used to live in wooden houses.

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

The whole homestead consisted of a living house, a stackyard, a granary and a cattle-shed. Sometimes, there was also a summer kitchen, a bath

house, a smoke house and a potato bunker.

1.GranaryThis is the place where mythological

creature Kite used to live.

2.Stackyard

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

The house was divided into three parts by two walls. Those parts are called a porch, a living room and

the best end of the house.

THE PORCHTHE LIVING ROOMTHE BEST END

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

A threshold

.Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

It was believed that a little home god lives under the threshold. To enter the house people had to step over the threshold with their head leaned down.

The best end of the house

It’s a special room for hosting the guests and celebration of family feasts.

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

The best end of the house: the main attributes

This dowry chest was used to collect items such as clothing and household linen, by

unmarried young women in anticipation of married life.

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

Straw decoration(a hanging garden)

The upper part (the pyramid) of the decoration symbolizes the vault of heaven, the bottom one symbolizes the underworld. The space between them is the earth.

It was believed that the structure of decoration accumulates the energy of space and gives it back to people sitting beneath the hanging garden.

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

Verba (a palm) is a special bucket of the first spring plants for home protection

from thunder.

Sanctified in a church on Palm Sunday Verba was kept by the ceiling, pointing to the

entrance of the room all the year.

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

Wreaths of rye and flax are the symbols

of the end of the harvest time.

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

Wreaths were hanged on the wall in front of the table where the most honourable member of the family

took a seat.

The living room

Every house had its stove for cooking and heating.

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

The living room

This is an ancient illuminator. The end of the spill gave a faint light when it was burning.

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

The living room

A decorative linen towel always was installed between two windows in a decorated wooden towel-horse.

This towel usually was a present which a housewife had got on her wedding or baptizing day or weaved herself.

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

The living room: working tools

Ironing …

Spinning-wheel

Water buckets

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

Open Air Museum of Lithuania is a unique and one of the largest (195 ha) open-air

ethnographic museums in Europe. It has the biggest quantity of exhibits (140 buildings and

over 88 000 mobile exhibits). The museum presents the mode of life, works, and traditions of peasants and townspeople of all Lithuanian

ethnographic areas: Dzūkija, Aukštaitija, Suvalkija, Žemaitija and Lithuania Minor.

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT

This presentation is prepared by Jonava Raimundas Samulevicius

Progymnasium COMENIUS group of students.

Comenius 2013-2015 13-PM-913-BT-LT