Kalendorinės Šventės: Kūčios, Kalėdos, Kupolės (Lithuanian Christmas Tra...

The place between land and water-The shore

The shore is a magical place,it is a transitional space between the worlds. The world of myth, the realm of the dead, the living and the life giving. Most people can relate to the sense of calm and peace sitting on the shore on a fine sunny day. Then there are times when I see Bangputis, the God of the Sea, angry creating a storm where massive crashing waves pound the hard rock of the shoreline, I am often filled with awe at the sight and experience a sense of clarity where all my concerns somehow seem to become clear.

The sea is a source of life for all beings on earth. The massive colonies of algae in the oceans of the world produce oxygen and the bounty of the oceans give us fish and crustaceans to eat. The never ending gift from the oceans to humankind is the air that we breathe and food in our bellies. Humankind would not even exist without the ocean and so since the dawn of time, from the deep,darkness of the ocean, humankind has created many stories and myths. These stories and myths live on today in various cultures and one such, is the Lithuanian culture where the shoreline features in several well known folk stories.

 Paraphrasing ancient folk tales can be tricky but I will attempt with some accuracy. The first tale is that of a handsome young fisherman name Kestytis. Fishing was so poor that ,against the protest of his dear wife, he went fishing at night. While Kestytis was fishing, he caught the attention of Jurate, the mermaid Goddess of the ocean. Jurate lived in a beautiful amber palace at the bottom of the sea and went to investigate who was disturbing her kingdom at night. Jurate watched Kestyis from a distance and fell in love with him. Jurate enticed Kestytis to join her in her amber palace and had some happy times together. Meanwhile Kestytis' wife waited on the shore for his return. Day after day, she waited and waited on that shore and cried many tears. The immense grief of Kestytis' wife caught the attention of the Sky God, Dievas and he felt sorry for her. Dievas was angry and in sensed that an immortal Goddess could possibly be with a mortal married man!! Dievas sent Perkunas, the Thunderer, to punish the wrong doing. Perkunas struck Jurates' amber palace with his lightning and shattered it into a million pieces. Jurate was chained to the ruins of her palace and Kestytis was killed and lay before Jurrate. Jurate cries tears of amber and her cries can be heard on the wind in storms. Even today,  pieces of Jurates' palace and her tears still wash up on the beaches today!!

The second tale is more complex and takes place on the shore of a lake. The tale of Egle(Fir) is one of the most well known folk tale in Lithuania which I will again paraphrase in an effort to relay it in this short article. Egle, (Fir) was the youngest of three sisters and 12 brothers and one day, after swimming in the lake, the three sisters returned to where their clothes lay. There was a snake curled up on the blouse of the youngest daughter. The snake spoke to her and said that he wouldn't move until the girl promised to marry him. All attempts to move the snake and it didn't move until the girl promised to marry him. Three days later, hundreds of snakes filled their yard and the match maker snakes came into the house to speak to Egles' parents but they couldn't believe that their youngest, most beautiful and beloved daughter could marry a snake so three times they tried to trick the matchmaker snakes into taking a white goose,then a white sheep and then a white cow. Each time, on returning to the lake, the matchmaker snakes were told that they'd been trick by a Cuckoo. After three times, the matchmaker snakes were quite angry and demanded that Egle be handed to them lest they'd burn their homestead down. Egles' parents conceded and with a heavy heart, let the matchmaker snakes take Egle to be wed. The snakes took Egle to the lake and was greeted by a handsome young man emerging from the waters. The young man said that he was the serpent king and was the same snake that Egle had promised to wed. Under the dark waters and deep into the earth, Egle was taken to the serpent kings' palace which was full of amber and all sorts of treasures. Egle and the serpent king were married and had a happy life together. They had 3 sons and one daughter named Oak,Ash,Birch and Poplar respectively. After many years Egle asks her husband if she can take their kids to visit her family. Egle missed them all so much but her husband, the serpent king didn't want her to go and set three impossible tasks before he would give his permission but with the help of an old wise woman, Egle managed to complete them and was finally given permission to visit for 9 days only and instructed how to call him when they returned. Egle returned and friends, family and neighbors came from near and far to see Egle. During her visit, Egles' brothers took out Oak, Ash and Birch. They didn't want Egle to leave them again and interrogated and even threatened the three brothers, Oak, Ash and Birch, to find out how to call the serpent king so they could kill him but they kept the secret safe. Egles' brothers went out with Poplar and once again interrogated and threatened her to find out the secret. Poplar was scared and told her uncles how to call the serpent king. The brothers then went to the lake and called the serpent king. When the serpent king emerged from the lake, the brothers fell upon him with their scythes and killed him. Egle went to the lake shore and realised that her husband had been killed because young Poplar divulged the secret. Oak, Ash and Birch were changed into strong trees because they were strong enough to keep the secret. Poplar was changed into the trembling Poplar tree that shakes and shimmers at the lightest breeze. Egle became a Fir tree but in Lithuania, Oak, Ash and Birch are the strongest trees.

I hope I have done justice to these archaic folk tales. My main aim is to reveal to the reader the importance the shore in the past through Lithuanian folktales and how it has helped to shape the worldview of Baltic peoples and I encourage all people today to also find harmony and balance on the shore through meditation, rite or just contemplation. The energy of the shore is a special place that we all can tap into if we allow it.