The reason for this study is because I find that the English language is very poor for explaining the true meaning of the word so I find that going back to the original language helps me to better understand the nuances of the word. I have found this to be useful when studying old texts that may have been translated from Greek to English, Chaldea to English or even Lithuanian to English. There is so much more meaning and clarification to be found by going back to the original language that it was written in. For example, when texts translated from Greek say that one must love their neighbour, there is no stipulation as to how one should love their neighbour because the word, "love", in English is open to interpretation but when you go back to the original language in which it was written being Greek, you discover that there are 7 types of love as differentiated by the Greek language.
- *Eros: romantic, passionate love
- *Philia: intimate, authentic friendship
- *Erotoropia or ludus: playful, flirtatious love
- *Storge: unconditional, familial love
- *Philautia: compassionate self-love
- *Pragma: committed, companion love
- *Agápe: empathetic, universal love.
The text uses the word "Agape" when referring to the appropriate type of relationship with the neighbour which clarifies the intention of the writer of this text. This is just one example of how returning to the original language can be clarifying and lead to a greater understanding. There are many instances that I could show but it really would need a whole post devoted to it. However, today I'd like to explore is the Lithuanian word, "darną" which loosely translates as "Harmony". One of the main tenets of Romuva is to constantly strive for darną . But what is darną really? In this post I hope to elaborate on what the word, "darną"(Harmony) is by exploring the etymology of the word and providing a deeper understanding of what it actually means to be in harmony.
Firstly, the word,"darną", is related to the Indian word,"dharma" and shares some similarities in meaning. Dharma is defined by the Oxford English dictionary as, "the eternal and inherent nature of reality, regarded in Hinduism as a cosmic law underlying right behaviour and social order.". Dharma is a major concept in the Indian worldview, as displayed in their culture and religion. I can easily draw a conclusion that the Lithuanian darną and Indian Dharma are similar in meaning and essence. Jonas Trinkūnas believes that the concept of Dharma was learned from the old Indo European tribes.
Every race in the world had their own way of achieving harmony with their environment in their own traditional worldview. The traditional Lithuanians were no different. It is sad to see much of the modern world seems to be moving away from traditional practices and losing their unique ways of achieving harmony with their environment. The idea of how harmony was expressed by Lithuanians is demonstrated by a word which is derived from "darną" is "Darnus". "Darnus" is translated by the LZK (Lithuanian dictionary) as "sustainability" which eludes to an aspect of traditional Lithuanian peoples co existing with nature. Living sustainably is a common trait of Indigenous peoples across the world and a whole study could be devoted to documenting the myriad of ways that ancient people achieved this. There are also many observations that traditional Lithuanians lived in their environments in the same way which leads me to an aspect of darną where Lithuanians and Romuvai are also called upon to be in harmony with nature.
In most cases, it is believed that a person can restore darną(Harmony) in their life. However, there is an understanding that Blogis(evil) is said to exist when darną (Harmony) cannot be restored as can be seen in deforestation and destruction of ecosystems. Blogis(evil) should never be confused with the fantastic productions of Hollywood or the grim mythology of Christianity and is not even a part of the narrative of Romuva and other earth centred faiths.
One of the most important understandings of traditional Lithuanians was the understanding of the impermanence of darną(harmony). The static nature of darną(harmony) requires us to be in a state of constant striving and re adjusting. We all know what it's like when life is running smoothly and just the way we like and then something happens. The proverbial hits the fan. It might be a natural disaster or some other unplanned change in circumstances and then we must find our darną(harmony) again.
In the traditional Lithuanian worldview, there was an understanding that there are no inherently good or bad Deities and that darną (Harmony) can only be achieved through the interaction of opposing, but not hostile forces. Light and darkness, fire and water, etc. One example of this beautiful balance can be seen in a Lithuanian creation myth where Dievas(the Sky God) and Velnias(God of the underworld) create the landscape of the earth by competing with each other. Mountains,plains and valleys were created and perfect balance was formed from the interaction of those opposing forces. Another example of opposing forces creating perfect harmony is that of light and darkness. All of nature, plant and animal, benefit from the eternal balance of light and darkness. All life thrives and grows with this balance. On a side note, that is only my personal belief but seems also to be a popular one in the secular and non secular communities of the world that states that if we are to obtain personal balance/harmony, we must accept that our own dark side balances our light side, our feminine side balances our masculine side and, in reality, understanding this leads to personal wholeness, balance and peace of mind.
I am thankful to *Jonas Trinkūnas for all his research and dedication in reviving the traditional Lithuanian customs and faith. Jonas Trinkūnas did many studies and one particular study was on the word "darna" and determined that the word "Darbas"(Work), had the same root and the part of the words starting in "dar" had similarities. The aspect of darną (harmony) as Darbas(work) represents a mirroring of the deities. People and the deities needed to work to maintain our survival and harmony of all life. Saulė(the Sun Goddess) rises tirelessly and reliably every day to grow all of nature including our crops to feed and nourish us. Perkunas(the Thunder God) has his job as punisher of wrong doers but also sends his rains to help grow our crops. There is also Dievas(The sky God) who works on his homestead in Dausos(Paradise). This is perhaps an example of,"As above, so below", because people also need to work to maintain harmony. It is perhaps for this reason that work, among other tasks, in Lithuania, is usually accompanied with a light heart and song knowing that Derlius(harvest) which is a not only a related the word Darbas(work) but also a reward for hard work. There are many songs about working, whether it be in the fields or weaving, spinning and other jobs inside the homestead. There seems to be a joy in working with so many songs sung while working and other songs that are about working itself. That brings me to another form of darną(harmony) that is unique to Lithuania which is called musical harmony or musical coherence.
Lithuanians sing for everything and they have a song and dance festival every 4 years. Some years there can be over 40 000 participants. It really is stirring to see so many people coming together to sing the same songs. They say that on a quiet night, the songs can even be heard in Moscow! These festivals have even and has been inscribed on the *UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Lithuanians have many traditional styles of singing including songs called"Sutartines" which are polyphonic harmonies usually sung by women but men also perform instrumental versions of Sutartines using pan pipes, long wood trumpets, fipple flutes, plucked zithers and horns. The word,"Sutartines" is linked with the Lithuanian verb, "sutarti" which means "to agree". All the singers must be in agreeance to create such beautiful songs and is no surprise that this form of song has also been added to the list of the intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. The harmony needed for singing in large choirs and small groups represents another word related to Darna(Harmony) which is the Lithuanian word, "dermė" which is defined as musical harmony and coherence.
Through the studies of Jonas Trinkūnas , it was determined that from the word, "Darbas", that it is related to the verb, "derėti" which according to the Lithuanian dictionary(LZK) it is defined as, "to negotiate. Connotations are also to be suitable or a good fit and to bargain, bet and agree upon which, I believe, are all aspects of darną(harmony). It is by by studying this verb that Jonas Trinkunas made a list of related words that include dermė (musical harmony,coherence), Derlius(Harvest) and interestingly, derėjimas(consistency). It could refer to the need to be consistent in your striving to maintain darną (harmony) or even a bi product of living in darną (harmony), you could expect more consistency in your life until the next change happens because everything changes all the time. change just a characteristic of life and the nature of the universe.
According to the studies of Jonas Trinkūnas , "the last phase of matchmaking was called "dorai" and the term "su doroti" was used to describe, "the most important ritual and result of the wedding." but has now come to mean "morality". The continuation of the family was considered to be the reward for living in darną whereas Dora(morality) has a much broader meaning. As morality, it is believed that Dora is the result of darną and as Jonas Trinkūnas stated that, "Dora is the brother of darną." I think that his statement eludes to the fact that when we are always striving to be in harmony that Dora(morality) comes naturally. No doctrine, dogma or scripture are needed to tell people how to live because living and striving to Darna(Harmony) will always lead to a good way to live. This results is an upright life that respects all life and is considered to be moral.
So, in this post, we have discovered more about the philosophy of darną (harmony). I welcome any comments or questions on this subject.
References
*UNESCO=United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
*Jonas Trinkūnas-founder and democratically Krivis(High Priest) of Romuva in Lithuania. Sadly he is now deceased but his wife, Inija Trinkuniene was elected as Krive(High Priestess) after his passing. Jonas Trinkunas did much in his life and it would take a whole article to explain everything that he did.
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