bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Not Yet Fully Solved Riddle of the Birth of the Divine Colt (Moon)
Authors: Sinkevičius Rokas
Published: November 2022

The riddle describing birth of the divine colt (the answer being moon), which was used by Algirdas Julius Greimas in his reconstruction of the ancient festival of midwinter – Krikštai, was afterwards repeatedly employed by authors popularizing the old Lithuanian customs. Yet it is still unclear, what the names of the weekdays, listed in the riddle (Wednesday, Saturday, and sometimes Friday) are supposed to mean. This article aims at revisiting the riddle taking into account the differences in its variants and the traditional meanings of the weekdays.Although among eleven available variants of the riddle only one describes the colt as belonging to God, its mythopoetic image corresponds to the God’s horses depicted by the Latvian mythological songs, these being related to the heavenly sphere and sometimes – to the nocturnal orb, the moon.One possible way of interpreting the meaning of the weekdays mentioned in the riddle rests on the assumption that rather than actualizing the individual separate points or periods of time they simply present a poetical means of expression aimed at introducing an exceptional object, related to the change in time.Nevertheless, if the vernacular semantics of the weekdays, amply presented by the folklore data, is taken into consideration, another possibility offers itself: namely, that all the days listed in the variants of the riddle are characterized by the same peculiarity. These are the days of fasting, which, according to the vernacular beliefs, can cause undesired, unlucky future developments (this is especially true of the Wednesday and Friday). Possible correlation between the waning moon and the effect of fasting days on humans, animals and plants may be discerned. The moon is perhaps related to these days due to its inability to preserve its round shape and its rapid waning.A third possibility, discussed in the article in some detail, relates the Wednesday (sereda) mentioned by the riddle to a particular date of the annual calendar, namely, the Ash Wednesday (Pelenų sereda). According to the comparative analysis of folklore of the Slavic and other peoples, this was the time when appearance of the new moon in the sky was anticipated. Yet another valid possibility of interpretation opens up in the context of the biblical story of creation. According to the Book of Genesis, the celestial bodies were created on the fourth day of creation, which, if paralleled to the usual structure of the week, would precisely correspond to Wednesday.
Our Folklore Overseas
Authors: Balys Jonas , Stundžienė Bronė
Published: November 2022

-
Unforgettable Zofija Puteikienė
Authors: Ramoškaitė Živilė
Published: November 2022

-
Donatas Sauka (1929.X.13 – 2015.V.16)
Authors: Sadauskienė Jurga
Published: November 2022

-
The Last One among the 20th Century Priests – Folklore Collectors
Authors: Kadžytė Gražina
Published: November 2022

Rich collections of the Lithuanian Folklore Archives, now amassing over 2 million pieces, are the result of ceaseless efforts not only by the researchers, but also by numerous volunteer assistants, among which there were quite a number of enlightened Lithuanian priests. Priest Antanas Valantinas (1916–2004), an active collector of folklore from the second half of the 20th century, also belonged to this group. His 100th anniversary was celebrated this year. In 1958–1989, responding to the invitation of his contemporary folklorists to join in the work of folklore collecting, this priest recorded and handed over to the Archives 115 folklore collections, comprising in total 13 148 folklore pieces. Valantinas collected folklore both in his native places and in the parishes where he worked as a priest. Valantinas was also a literary man: he composed poems and personally published over 20 books and brochures containing poetry, essays, sermons, as well as several small folklore collections. Although the Archives still receives folklore recorded by the priests working in the second half of the previous century, Valantinas stands out among them as the most prolific collector and the last priest – folklore collector of such scope. This essay discusses the events organized to commemorate the merits of this deserving worker in the field of the Lithuanian folklore.
Maironis the Bard: Reading Poetry from the Indo-European Perspective
Authors: Valentas Skirmantas
Published: November 2022

-
Chronicle
Authors: Nakienė Austė , Racėnaitė Radvilė , Ivanauskaitė-Šeibutienė Vita , Ambrazevičius Rytis , Būgienė Lina , Kadžytė Gražina , Visackienė Rima , Žilienė Irena , Jakubynienė Andželika
Published: November 2022

-
Foreword
Authors: Sadauskienė Jurga
Published: November 2022

-
Two’s Company... Academy Professor Leonardas Sauka and Konstantas Aleksynas, PhD, Interviewed by Jurga Sadauskienė
Authors: Sadauskienė Jurga
Published: November 2022

-
Shifting Perception of Riddles: from Reflection in Traditional Riddles to Metaphorical Washing-out of the Term in Mass Media.
Authors: Kensminienė Aelita
Published: November 2022

The article focuses on perception of riddles – both as a term and as a folklore genre – and its development. The article consists of two parts. The first one deals with traditional usage, starting with reflection of riddles in the riddles themselves, with words related to riddles or the process of riddling, and going on to the explanations of riddle nature and purpose encountered in folk legends and folktales describing various situations of riddling. The second part mostly dwells on materials collected by the author in the course of approximately three years from daily environment, social media (Facebook), and internet publications, focusing on the modern usage of riddles or phenomena akin to them.Traditionally, the word riddle (mįslė in Lithuanian) tends to be used in its direct sense, i.e. as denomination of the genre. Whenever riddles discuss riddling, they mainly emphasize the intellectual nature of this genre, describing riddling as an intense and solemn occupation, aimed at demonstrating one’s knowledge, sense and creativity, and earning reward or punishment as a result. In terms of language, particularly dialects, the spheres of riddling and thinking, remembering, guessing, and speculation are not strictly separate. The situations of riddling in folk narratives are loaded with various intimidations, taboos and myths. It is reasonable to assume that this process was perceived as dangerous and threatening, while riddles as a genre must have been attributed to the chthonic sphere. Interestingly enough, in the Lithuanian variants of the tale AT 812, it is typically a small child or a baby who guesses the answer to the devil’s riddle. The traditional worldview relates the baby with the chthonic sphere, since allegedly it has recently emerged from there.Although classical riddles are rare in contemporary usage, most of their functions and topics survive in transformed shape. Various intellectual quizzes organized at bars and cafes, by radio and TV shows, and internet competitions fulfill the function of demonstrating knowledge and resourcefulness. Cases of riddling that most resemble traditional usage take place virtually – on Facebook. Modern journalists seeking to capture the readers’ interest are especially prone to using the term riddle in the titles of their articles, although mainly indirectly – implying that subject in question is obscure, unclear, and requires investigation. Admittedly, although such titles most frequently have negative connotations and besides, certain metaphorical “washing-out” of the term is obvious, in most cases they do not wander far away from the spheres that traditionally fell into their “range of interest”. Such cases of usage go back to their roots even in terms of form, since the earliest recorded riddles used to adopt the dialogical shape of questions and answers.
German and Polish Reviews of the Collection of Lithuanian Folksongs Dainos (1825) Edited by Rėza
Authors: Citavičiūtė Liucija
Published: November 2022

The first collection of Lithuanian folksongs Dainos, oder litthauische Volkslieder with translation into German, an introductory article and commentaries was edited and published in 1825 by the professor of Königsberg University Martynas Liudvikas Rėza (Martin Ludwig Rhesa, 1776–1840). In 1825–1827, this songbook received several reviews in German and Polish press. Among nine currently available reviews, only three – by Jakob Grimm, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and an anonymous author – have seen publication in Lithuania (by Albinas Jovaišas in 1969 and Domas Kaunas in 1993). The author of this article has discovered in the German libraries as many as five reviews hitherto unknown in Lithuania, printed in prestigious journals of science and art, and three announcements, out of which one was here published by Goethe. These sources have been translated into Lithuanian and are published here for the first time. The author of the article focuses on the insights by the reviewers, describes publications in which these reviews were included, and identifies the anonymous authors.
Unknown Reviews and Annotations of the Folksong Collection Dainos oder Littauische Volkslieder by Rėza
Authors: Citavičiūtė Liucija
Published: November 2022

-
Regarding Traditional Aspects of the Lithuanian Hemp: Interdisciplinary Analysis.
Authors: Petkevičius Rolandas
Published: November 2022

The journal publishes an article by Rolandas Petkevičius (1976-2016) edited on the grounds of his manuscript legacy. Petkevičius was a researcher of Lithuanian ethnopsychiatry and ethnomedicine, a doctoral student at the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore working on a PhD thesis “Conception of Mental Health in the Traditional Lithuanian Culture”. He has also published several articles on the subject. Along with ethnomedicine, he was interested in ethnobotany, particularly in plants used in the traditional culture to cure mental disorders or / and to induce altered mental states, such as Datura stramonium L., Scopolia carniolica Jacq., Melilotus officinalis L., etc. This list also includes hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), cultivation and usage of which in Lithuania has so far escaped detailed scholarly attention. In this article, Petkevičius used archeological, linguistic and ethnographical data to elucidate possible origins of hemp in Lithuania. According to him, the wild hemp (Cannabis ruderalis) could have grown naturally on the Lithuanian territory some 5500 years ago, only subsequently becoming a cultivated plant. However, the author recognized the necessity of biological investigation of the Lithuanian hemp in order to provide a certain answer to this question. Such exhaustive investigation has not taken place so far, in spite of the first steps in that direction initiated by the experimental researchers at the Upytė station and enthusiasts of the cultivation of the Lithuanian hemp.The second part of the article deals with usage of hemp in Lithuania. According to the historical and ethnographic data, hemp mostly served as material for making ropes, as food, as cure and as a natural repellent against garden pests.The research results not only prove intense usage of hemp in the 20th century, but also indicate its important cultural function in the 21st century.
Unpublished Review by Greimas on the Lithuanian Folklore Collection by Jonas Balys
Authors: Levina Jūratė
Published: November 2022

-
A Little Kingdom. Local Exposures of the Interwar Lithuania (a Case Study)
Authors: Matulytė Margarita
Published: November 2022

Based on a case study, the article deals with a question of factors that affect reading of photography and the image it creates, and how different interpretative approaches can alter it. The investigation focuses on a Marcišauskai family picture taken in 1938 in Gudaičiai village (Šiauliai district) during fieldwork session organized by the Šiauliai Society of Regional Studies. Historical context included in the discussion of the photo (from intentions of the photographer to social and cultural circumstances shaping the identity) expands the limits of confiding in the image and highlights the problem of cognizability of the visual text. Purposefully chosen contextual material supplies information regarding the authentic village culture. The quest for interpretative approaches to the perception of the portrait of Lithuanian family involves discussing an associative analogue – an iconic German photograph from 1914 by August Sander, entitled “The Young Farmers”, which, aside from its key purpose clearly articulated by the photographer, can raise entirely different questions and generate new meanings. Some knowledge of the authentic surroundings and the family history of the photographed people shapes our attitude to the image that refers to just a momentary state of being, and broadens our scope of perception. True, the context does not prove the existence of the ethic categories and meanings noted in the photograph, but it deepens and enriches our view. The visible image, the contextual experience, and implicit attitudes of the heroes, the photographer’s tactics, style, aims, and the connecting link, i. e. the connotations, cultural readiness and attitude of the reader – all these affect the reading of the image. Often, photograph stands out as a reliable source of cognition, as an unquestionable documentary evidence of real events; however, the circumstances of its creation, determining adequacy of the information and reality, usually skip our attention. On the other hand, photographs also function as esthetic phenomena, liable to applying artistic, phenomenological and even psychoanalytic interpretations to the perception of their cultural meanings. An indiscriminative attitude to the visual text may result in getting lost between layers of meaning. Describing the image and giving sense to it require posing problematic questions regarding to who creates the photo texts, in what way and why; as well as to who influences the interpretations of the visual meanings and in what way.
“Everything Is Easy for Me…” Ethnological Research of Consciousness
Authors: Šmitienė Giedrė
Published: November 2022

Veronika’s practical ways of dissociating from troubles merit special attention. The author interprets her byword baika (‘trifle’) as used to remind of the emptiness of everything that takes place. Her characteristic abstaining from judging other people’s actions is defined as an unjudging amiability. This typical abstaining also involves disinclination to create systems or subordinate all phenomena to the requirements of a single one. Abstaining from judgement rests on her feeling that “there is more” to things than could be gained from a single situation.Although the above-mentioned qualities may seem as pertaining to an indifferent or passive consciousness, this is disproved by Veronika’s obvious capacity of making decisions. Describing the way of her decision making the author discloses that decisions are seen in the situation. Here, the concept of tacit and secret decisions by Maurice Merleau-Ponty comes particularly handy. It is easier to perceive such seen decisions after having acknowledged that consideration, decision, and selection is possible even for implicit self.All these qualities are permeated by the expression of being content. Being content rests on an easy sense of being appropriate. The sense of easiness is achieved by allowing the life to be the way it is.
Tradition or (and) Creative Freedom: “Genealogy” of Food Recipes in Lithuania
Authors: Laužikas Rimvydas
Published: November 2022

The subject of the article is implication of concepts of tradition and creative freedom in gastronomical culture of the 17th–19th century Lithuania. The study follows two methodological paths: theoretical definition of the above-mentioned concepts, adapting them to investigate gastronomical culture, and empirical research – namely, analysis of the borscht recipes published in the books on gastronomy of the 17th–19th century Lithuania.When seeking theoretical definition of the relationship between tradition and creative freedom in gastronomical culture, it is possible to use the theory of semiosphere coined by Yuri Lotman, according to which opposition between tradition and creative freedom is perceived as systemic and mutual interaction of two factors belonging to the same semiosphere rather than two mutually excluding factors. In the context of semiosphere, the source of this research (a manuscript or published recipe) is perceived as a descriptive structure turning a dynamic object (continuous gastronomical tradition) into a static pattern – a kind of momentous photograph. When this fixation takes place, knowledge characteristic to the gastronomical culture of certain time and space is recoded and turns from even reality into a discreet one (a recipe is a discreet text). Simultaneously, a transition takes place from more liberal and less structured level of knowledge towards more strictly structured level of data and information.When interpreting the relationship between tradition and creative freedom in the Lithuanian gastronomical culture (as a case study of the borscht recipe development), it is possible to distinguish two different self-regulative mechanisms in the structure of this semiosphere. The first of them can be interpreted using the concept of gusteme formulated by Claude LéviStrauss and making the basis for the self-regulative mechanism that enforces and supports the gastronomical tradition, blocking the creative freedom in the kitchen. However, analysis of the gastronomical culture reveals it as an evolving system, open to innovations. Such development in gustemes can be explained by the second self-regulative mechanism of the gastronomical culture as a structure of semiosphere, based on the system theory developed by Ilya Prigogine and maintaining that gastronomical culture is an open evolving system experiencing periods of even development and mutations. The main “mutagenic” factors encouraging changes in the gastronomical culture include activities of creative individuals and cultural context. In the long-term historical development, interaction of both selfregulative mechanisms of the gastronomical culture as structure of semiosphere ensures effective interaction of tradition and creative freedom. Creative freedom is impossible in the gastronomical culture without good knowledge of tradition, while immutable tradition that does not integrate products of creative freedom eventually becomes dead.
The Book on the Customs and Beliefs in the Old Lithuanian and Latvian Countryside
Authors: Burba Domininkas
Published: November 2022

-
Verification of Mythological Material on Celebrations as Recorded by Matthaeus Praetorius: the Celebration of Midsummer Herb Fest and Driving the Cattle out to Pasture
Authors: Vičinskas Žydrūnas
Published: November 2022

Authenticity of the mythological information by Matthaeus Praetorius (Matthäus Prätorius) regarding the sowing festival was already discussed in our previous publication. That was the first work in the intended series of articles seeking to verify the reliability of data on celebrations described by Praetorius (sowing, midsummer herb fest, driving the cattle out to pasture, rye-harvesting, grain harvesting Samborios / Sąbarios, driving the cattle back to stable, Gabjaugis, and taking manure out to fields). The introduction to this article presents general insights (characterizations) regarding various agricultural celebrations that Praetorius recorded, potentially reflecting or having preserved the relics of the ancient Baltic religious behavior. For this reason, it would be useful for the reader who wants to go deeper into the topic in question to get familiar with the aforementioned material. The main objective of this publication is verifying the reliability of the mythological information on celebrating midsummer herb fest and driving the cattle out to pasture recorded by Matthaeus Praetorius in his work “Deliciae Prussicae oder Preussische Schaubühne” (Deliciae Prussicae or Prussian Theater). We also review and assess the explications by the 20th–21st century scholars who analyzed the aforementioned data provided by Praetorius.An overview and analysis of the mythological information on celebrating midsummer herb fest and driving the cattle out to pasture as recorded by Matthaeus Praetorius shows that the 20th–21st century scholars split in two parts according to their use and assessment of his material. The first part did not discuss the authenticity of Praetorius’ mythological data on celebrating midsummer herb fest and / or driving the cattle out to pasture, considering the information to be quite reliable, and used it in their works (Pranė Dundulienė, Daiva Vaitkevičienė, Nijolė Laurinkienė, and Rimantas Balsys). The second part grasped the problem of the authenticity of the mythological information provided by Praetorius, but hesitated to engage in its verification (Jonas Balys, Kristina Blockytė). In summary, verification of the “Prussian Theater” revealed that the mythological material provided by Praetorius on celebrations of midsummer herb fest and driving the cattle out to pasture is rather authentic and reliable, since Matthaeus Praetorius’ mythological data in question in many cases mirrors much later ethnographic information.
Chronicle
Authors: Šlekonytė Jūratė , Skujytė-Razmienė Asta , Kadžytė Gražina , Nakienė Austė , Džekčioriūtė-Medeišienė Vita
Published: November 2022

-
Lithuanian Folklore Published in Wisła: Bibliographic Inventory (1888–1899)
Authors: Adamaitytė Agata , Rutkovska Kristina
Published: November 2022

The journal Wisła published in Poland in 1887–1905 played an important role both in the development of European folklore research and in collecting of factographic materials. Wisła also published some Lithuanian folklore and its research. The majority of publications related to the traditional Lithuanian culture was included into the volumes published in 1888–1899, when the renowned Polish ethnographer, dialectologist, lexicographer and comparative linguist Jan Karłowicz was the editor of the journal. He had earlier personally organized folklore collection in Lithuania, acquired contributors there and compiled a special guide for collecting “mythology” in Lithuania. The journal received articles and data collections from brothers Antanas and Jonas Juška, Juozas Kybartas, Jonas Vitartas, Antanas Miežinskis, Tadas Daugirdas, Bruno Korotyński and Ludwik Korotyński, Rafał Lubicz, Alfred Römer, Mečislovas Davainis-Silvestraitis, etc. The journal published in total about 200 articles and miscellaneous information based on the data from Lithuania.Here we present the bibliographic inventory of various articles and information, bibliographic references and other items important for the Lithuanian folklore research and published in Wisła from 1888 to 1899. Compilation of the inventory follows the structure of the journal, which corresponded to the pattern adopted also by other ethnographic European journals of the time. The journal comprised three chapters. The first was entitled “Articles” (Artykuły) and contained works based on scholarly analysis. The second chapter was called “Bibliographic information” (Bibljograficzno-informacyjny) and reviewed and evaluated publications of Polish and foreign folklore. From 1888 onwards, every book of some scholarly merit received its review in the journal; thus, information on research conducted in other countries could rapidly reach the scholars. The third chapter was entitled “Search” (Poszukiwania) and published materials for scholarly research.
Lifetime Devotion to Ethnology
Authors: Paukštytė-Šaknienė Rasa
Published: November 2022

The 100th anniversary of a renowned Lithuanian ethnologist – professor Angelė Vyšniauskaitė (1919–2006) was widely celebrated by the Lithuanian academic community. Professor has dedicated all her life to promoting the Lithuanian ethnology: she worked at the Lithuanian Institute of History (in its Department of Ethnology) for more than four decades (1948–1993), writing books, editing collections, supervising dissertations and generously sharing her professional advice with colleagues and students. Her main research interests included Lithuanian family customs, community and calendar traditions, as well as regional and local culture, and Lithuanian historiography. She also published on agricultural traditions, particularly those related to flax growing, and traditional architecture. She was actively engaged in pedagogic activities (entire generation of contemporary ethnologists and folklorists are proud to be able to call her their teacher and advisor), and various social initiatives related to fostering traditional ethnic culture. In 1998, Professor Angelė Vyšniauskaitė was awarded the prestigious national Jonas Basanavičius’ Prize.
Harvest of the Decade: The Long-Awaited Third Volume of Proverbs
Authors: Anglickienė Laima
Published: November 2022

-
It’ll Take a Good Scholar, or the New Collection of Lithuanian Riddles
Authors: Macijauskaitė-Bonda Jurgita
Published: November 2022

-
Called by Folksongs: A Book on a Folklore Ensemble
Authors: Stundžienė Bronė
Published: November 2022

-
My Small Apple Has Rolled Away: Poetic Peculiarities of Funeral Laments for Children in Ukrainian and South Slavic Folklore Traditions
Authors: Mykytenko Oksana
Published: November 2022

Traditional notions about death at a young age shape the special character of funeral rituals for children and are reflected in associated funeral lamentations. These funerals are generally subject to the most mournful sympathy and sincere grieving owing to the emotional basis of the texts. At the same time, it was not common to mourn after the death of a baby or the first child. It is evident that there is a tendency to enhance the social status and the age of the dead child through ritual, e.g. by using specific vestments. The motif of the death-wedding seems to be the most relevant in this cycle. We also examine the traditional opposition of male / female children (especially evident in the South Slavic folklore tradition), reflected on the lexical level. The poetic style of the text is based mainly on two artistic “codes” – vegetal symbolism (metaphors of withering etc.) and zoological symbolism. The stylistics and composition found in these mourning rituals are characteristic of improvised folklore texts.
Singing the Other: Singing in Two Languages and Code-Switching / Stitching
Authors: Golež Kaučič Marjetka
Published: November 2022

This article discusses the switching of language codes and the influence of such switching on the community. The first part deals with the question of how the use of macaronic songs and switching between languages relates to the Other. By creating hybridity within the songs, macaronic songs can establish either a dialogue between two different cultures or aspirational domination of one over the other. The latter is typical of environments where the majority dominates the minority. We can say that this is a manipulation of two languages and words i.e. “code-switching” or “code-stitching”. This process can be a sign of multiculturalism, or colonization. The second part of the article addresses the question of whether the use of particular language code (e.g. a dialect or a supra-dialect) in songs and speech actually governs identification with the community. The choice of a language code always depends on the social setting in which the bearers themselves live. The collective consciousness of a local community stems from their identification with the local level through dialect (conversation, memories), whereas group consciousness on the national scale stems from identification with that level through supra-dialect: singing songs. I emphasize that both questions reveal communication with the Other or Others, with singers, researchers, and cultures.
The Perception of Bilingual Songs in Slovenia and the Cultural Dimensions of Language Selection
Authors: Klobčar Marija
Published: November 2022

This article identifies the circumstances in which bilingual songs in Slovenia existed and follows the changes in the songs’ social role from the first half of the 19th century to the period after the end of the Second World War. It follows these changes as they occurred within the framework of folkloristics and in the practices that folklore scholars tried to shape and those that continued without intervention.In order to discern the circumstances in which bilingual songs were created, the author focuses on two songs that were documented by one of the first collectors and researchers of Slovenian folk songs, Stanko Vraz. These are the German-Slovenian toast song “Seid fröhlich, ihr Brüder”, which only rarely appears in later records, and a Slovenian song “Kam bova vandrala vandrovček moj” (‘Whither Shall we Wander, my Little Wanderer?’), which transcribers encountered in different dialects or supradialects. This song appears in the records as a bilingual, Slovenian-German song only later, in the 20th century. The author explores which social groups were characterized by bilingual songs and whether the negative attitude of folkloristics to these songs directed and changed only a selection of folk songs made by collectors, or the repertoire of singers as well.
Keyholder to the Folksong Chests
Authors: Kadžytė Gražina
Published: November 2022

In the beginning of this year, the 100th anniversary of the folklore researcher Bronė Kazlauskienė (1920–2001) was celebrated at the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore. In the festive meeting organized for the occasion, folklorists of the Institute and Kazlauskienė’s family members shared their memories and discussed her scholarly works. Her professional activities were almost entirely devoted to research and publication of the Lithuanian folksongs. Having started her work in 1946 at the Folklore Department of the former Institute of Lithuanian History, she was among the first researchers attempting to define the structure of the Lithuanian folksong catalogue. From 1955, she continued this work at the Institute of Lithuanian Language and Literature, where she worked until 1994. Kazlauskienė presented her research results related to the creation of the folksong classification system in her theoretical and applied scientific works – research studies, articles, and folklore source publications. She edited for publication three books of the “Lithuanian Folksong Catalogue” and four volumes of the “Collection of Lithuanian Folksongs”. In 1994, along with other editors of this multivolume academic publication, she was awarded the Lithuanian National Science Award. However, her activities and publications dedicated to commemoration of prominent figures of Lithuanian culture and literature testify to still broader scholarly interests.
August Schleicher as the First Publisher of Lithuanian Folktales
Authors: Šlekonytė Jūratė
Published: November 2022

The article focuses on the Lithuanian cultural activities of the famous German linguist August Schleicher (1821–1868). These activities included not only accumulation of linguistic data and writing of a Lithuanian grammar, but also recording and publication of the Lithuanian folklore. Schleicher edited the particularly valuable reader of the Lithuanian language and vocabulary (Handbuch der litauischen Sprache, Bd. 2: Lesebuch und Glossar, 1857), which included the first publication of Lithuanian folktales, among other kinds of folklore.The author of the article aims at elucidating the objectives and circumstances of Schleicher’s recordings of the Lithuanian folktales, establishing of their genres and defining the typical narrative qualities. Besides, the importance of the tales that Schleicher recorded in terms of the Lithuanian folklore research is highlighted.The letters that Schleicher wrote in the course of his research trip to the Eastern Prussia in 1852 reveal the kind of difficulties that he encountered during this journey, his ways of communication and his experiences while collecting the Lithuanian folktales. The folk narratives published in his Lithuanian reader and vocabulary include fifteen tales of magic, seven joke tales, four novella tales, three animal tales, three tales of lying, two tales of the stupid ogre, one religious tale, four folk-belief legends and one local legend. The scholar was the first to record numerous examples of various Lithuanian tale types, which mostly belonged to the popular Lithuanian oral tradition.The linguist himself highly valued his work among the Lithuanian inhabitants of the Lithuania Minor, being well aware that it served to the preservation of the declining culture at least in the scientific purposes. He hoped that folklore recorded and published by himself and his assistants could support the Lithuanians resisting the intense assimilation processes. The results of his research trip in the Lithuania Minor testified to the vitality of the folk narrative tradition among the local Lithuanians in the middle of the 19th century.By researching the Lithuanian language and recording the Lithuanian folklore, Schleicher established the importance of this culture to the Indo-European studies in general and attracted numerous followers that carried on with his scholarly activities. His activities prompted Lithuanians themselves to collect their oral folk heritage as well. Thanks to Schleicher, the first Lithuanian folktales were translated into German, published and attracted notice of the foreign scholars. Their subsequent publications reached even broader social layers. Therefore, Schleicher may be regarded as the promoter of the Lithuanian folktales across other countries. Nowadays the Lithuanian folktales published by Schleicher have been included into various folklore collections as anonymous folklore pieces and have acquired literary interpretations.
Folk Couplets against the Background of Historical Memory
Authors: Stundžienė Bronė
Published: November 2022

The article deals with a narrative emerging from the numerous corpus of the Lithuanian folk couplets, in order to highlight its connections with a certain background in the cultural memory, probably related to ancient mythical past, or a recent one associated to the so-called communication memory, which includes sharing recollections among people of the same or a couple of adjacent generations. The folk couplets are short rhymed folksongs, depicting comically or critically various phenomena, situations and human vices, and predominantly characterized by their acrimonious or obscene content. In their form and partly also in their content, these entertaining folksongs are rather close to the ritual folksongs performed at the weddings, or calendar festivals and other occasions. These kinds of folksongs are related in terms of the same artistic means – parody, humor, and irony, as well as of the content communicated by these means. They are also connected by their common denominations – lotinės dainos (‘barking songs’) or just lojimai (‘barking’), which associate singing with a dog’s bark. The mythical image of the dog and its bark is touched upon in the article too, tracing it back to pre-Christian beliefs. Wedding folksongs, or “barking”, have ritual meaning: namely, ensuring the new family’s fertility and thus – thriving of the entire community. The entertaining couplets have a much simpler function to perform: they are intended as merry-making at the parties and other communal gatherings, particularly among the young people, and are usually accompanied by music. Although, as proven by the folksong narrative emerging from these couplets that treat certain marginal social groups, such as beggars and the elderly, critically and even aggressively, the entertaining “barking songs” might serve as an important and publicly available instrument of “control over the social morality”. For instance, there are couplets mocking the so-called “fake beggars” that used to exist in virtually every Lithuanian parish of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. These people would pretend to be lame and poor, gather at the churches and market squares during various religious festivities and scrounge for money and food. As often as not, the folk couplets aimed their typically aggressive mockery at the aged people (for instance, hundred-year-olds) and blamed them for living too long. Such cases may allude to the mythical notion of the old age: the hundred-year-olds allegedly use the vital energy of people who died too young.

According to folklore researchers, humorous and playful folk couplets may only at first sight seem as mere entertainment. A special historical background turns them into an expression of social critique instead. This study draws on the printed and manuscript archived sources from the end of the 19th to the first half of the 20th century.
How to See the Snake’s Feet?
Authors: Davidavičius Mantas Antanas
Published: November 2022

Jurga Jonutytė, Giedrė Šmitienė, Gyvatės kojos: negalios samprata gyvenimo pasakojimuose. Vilnius: Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas, 2021, 360 p.
A new airborne broadband radiometer system and an efficient method to correct thermal offsets
Authors: Ehrlich André , Zöger Martin , Giez Andreas , Nenakhov Vladyslav , Mallaun Christian , Maser Rolf , Röschenthaler Timo , Luebke Anna E. , Wolf Kevin , Stevens Bjorn , Wendisch Manfred
Published: November 2022

Abstract. The instrumentation of the High Altitude and Long Range (HALO) research aircraft is extended by the new Broadband AirCrAft RaDiometer Instrumentation (BACARDI) to quantify the radiative energy budget. Two sets of pyranometers and pyrgeometers are mounted to measure upward and downward solar (0.3–3 μm) and thermal-infrared (3–100 μm) irradiances. The radiometers are installed in a passively ventilated fairing to reduce the effects of the dynamic environment, e.g., fast changes of altitude and temperature. The remaining thermal effects range up to 20 W m-2 for the pyranometers and 10 W m-2 for the pyrgeometers; they are corrected using an new efficient method that is introduced in this paper. Using data collected by BACARDI during a night flight, the thermal offsets are parameterized by the rate of change of the radiometer sensor temperatures. Applying the sensor temperatures instead of ambient air temperature for the parameterization provides a linear correction function (200–600 W m-2 K-1 s), that depends on the mounting position of the radiometer on HALO. Furthermore, BACARDI measurements from the EUREC4A (Elucidating the role of clouds-circulation coupling in climate) field campaign are analyzed to characterize the performance of the radiometers and to evaluate all corrections applied in the data processing. Vertical profiles of irradiance measurements up to 10 km altitude show that the thermal offset correction limits the bias due to temperature changes to values below 10 W m-2. Measurements with BACARDI during horizontal, circular flight patterns in cloud-free conditions demonstrate that the common geometric attitude correction of the solar downward irradiance provides reliable measurements in this typical flight sections of EUREC4A, even without active stabilization of the radiometer.
A novel spectroscopic approach and sampling method for ambient hydrogen chloride detection: HCl-TILDAS
Authors: Halfacre John W. , Stewart Jordan , Herndon Scott C. , Roscioli Joseph R. , Dyroff Christoph , Yacovitch Tara I. , Flynn Michael , Andrews Stephen J. , Brown Steven S. , Veres Patrick R. , Edwards Pete M.
Published: November 2022

Abstract. The largest inorganic, gas phase reservoir of chlorine atoms in the atmosphere is hydrogen chloride (HCl), but the challenges in quantitative sampling of this compound cause difficulties for obtaining high-quality, high-frequency measurements. In this work, tunable infrared laser direct absorption spectroscopy (TILDAS) was demonstrated to be a superior optical method for sensitive, in situ detection of HCl at the 2925.89645 cm-1 absorption line using a 3 𝜇m interband cascade laser. The instrument has an effective path length of 204 m, 1 Hz precision of 7–8 pptv, and 3𝜎 limit of detection ranging from 21–24 pptv. For longer averaging times, the highest precision obtained was 0.5 pptv and 3𝜎 limit of detection of 1.6 pptv at 2.4 minutes. HCl TILDAS was also shown to have high accuracy when compared with a certified gas cylinder, yielding a linear slope within the expected 5 % tolerance of the reported cylinder concentration (slope = 0.964 ± 0.008). The use of heated inlet lines and active chemical passivation greatly improve the instrument response times to changes in HCl mixing ratios, with minimum 90 % response times ranging from 1.2–4.4 s, depending on inlet flow rate. However, these response times lengthened at relative humidities > 50 %, conditions under which HCl concentration standards were found to elicit a significantly lower response (-5.8 %). The addition of high concentrations of gas phase nitric acid (> 4.0 ppbv) were found to increase HCl signal (< 10 %), likely due to acid displacement with HCl or particulate chloride adsorbed to inlet surfaces. The equilibrium model ISORROPIA suggested a potential of particulate chloride partitioning into HCl gas within the heated inlet system if allowed to thermally equilibrate, but field results did not demonstrate a clear relationship between particulate chloride and HCl signal obtained with a denuder installed on the inlet.
CLGAN: A GAN-based video prediction model for precipitation nowcasting
Authors: Ji Yan , Gong Bing , Langguth Michael , Mozaffari Amirpasha , Zhi Xiefei
Published: November 2022

Abstract. The prediction of precipitation patterns at high spatio-temporal resolution up to two hours ahead, also known as precipitation nowcasting, is of great relevance in weather-dependant decision-making and early warning systems. In this study, we are aiming to provide an efficient and easy-to-understand model - CLGAN, to improve the nowcasting skills of heavy precipitation events with deep neural networks for video prediction. The model constitutes a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) architecture whose generator is built upon an u-shaped encoder-decoder network (U-Net) equipped with recurrent LSTM cells to capture spatio-temporal features. A comprehensive comparison among CLGAN, and baseline models optical flow model DenseRotation as well as the advanced video prediction model PredRNN-v2 is performed. We show that CLGAN outperforms in terms of scores for dichotomous events and object-based diagnostics. The ablation study indicates that the GAN-based architecture helps to capture heavy precipitation events. The results encourage future work based on the proposed CLGAN architecture to improve the precipitation nowcasting and early-warning systems.
Technical note: Isolating methane emissions from animal feeding operations in an interfering location
Authors: McCabe Megan E. , Pollack Ilana B. , Fischer Emily V. , Caulton Dana R.
Published: November 2022

Abstract. Agriculture emissions, including those from cattle and dairy concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), make up a large portion of the United States’ total greenhouse gas emissions. However, many CAFOs reside in areas where methane (CH4) from oil and natural gas complicates the quantification of CAFO emissions. Traditional approaches to quantify emissions in such regions often relied on inventory subtraction of other known sources. We compare the results of two approaches to attribute a CAFO CH4 emission rate from an aircraft mass-balance derived CH4 emission rate. These methods make use of the CH4, ethane (C2H6) and ammonia (NH3) mixing ratio data collected simultaneously in-flight downwind of CAFOs in northeastern Colorado. The first approach, subtraction method, is similar to inventory subtraction except the amount to be removed is derived from the observed C2H6 to CH4 ratio rather than an inventory estimate. The results from this approach showed high uncertainty, primarily due to how error propagates through subtraction. Alternatively, multivariate regression (MVR) can be used to estimate CAFO CH4 emissions using the NH3 emission rate and an NH3 to CH4 ratio. These results showed significantly less uncertainty. We identified criteria to determine the best attribution method; these criteria can support attribution in other regions. The final emissions estimates for the CAFO presented here were 23 (±5) g CH4 head-1 hr-1 and 22 (±4) g NH3 head-1 hr-1. These estimates are significantly higher than the US EPA inventory and previous studies highlighting the need for more measurements of CH4 and NH3 emission rates.
Rockfall trajectory reconstruction: a flexible method utilizing video footage and high-resolution terrain models
Authors: Noël François , Jaboyedoff Michel , Caviezel Andrin , Hibert Clément , Bourrier Franck , Malet Jean-Philippe
Published: November 2022

Abstract. Many examples of rockfall simulation software provide great
flexibility to the user at the expense of a hardly achievable parameter
unification. With sensitive site-dependent parameters that are hardly
generalizable from the literature and case studies, the user must properly
calibrate simulations for the desired site by performing back-calculation
analyses. Thus, rockfall trajectory reconstruction methods are needed. For
that purpose, a computer-assisted videogrammetric 3D trajectory
reconstruction method (CAVR) built on earlier approaches is proposed.
Rockfall impacts are visually identified and timed from video footage and
are manually transposed on detailed high-resolution 3D terrain models that
act as the spatial reference. This shift in reference removes the dependency
on steady and precisely positioned cameras, ensuring that the CAVR method
can be used for reconstructing trajectories from witnessed previous records
with nonoptimal video footage. For validation, the method is applied to
reconstruct some trajectories from a rockfall experiment performed by the
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF. The results are compared
to previous ones from the SLF and share many similarities. Indeed, the
translational energies, bounce heights, rotational energies, and impact
positions against a flexible barrier compare well with those from the SLF.
The comparison shows that the presented cost-effective and flexible CAVR
method can reproduce proper 3D rockfall trajectories from experiments or
real rockfall events.
Automated riverbed material analysis using Deep Learning on underwater images
Authors: Ermilov Alexander Anatol , Benkő Gergely , Baranya Sándor
Published: November 2022

Abstract. The sediment of alluvial riverbeds plays a significant role in river systems both in engineering and natural processes. However, the sediment composition can show great spatial and temporal heterogeneity, even on river reach scale, making it difficult to representatively sample and assess. Indeed, conventional sampling methods in such cases cannot describe well the variability of the bed surface texture due to the amount of energy and time they would require. In this paper, an attempt is made to overcome this issue introducing a novel image-based, Deep Learning algorithm and related field measurement methodology with potential for becoming a complementary technique for bed material samplings and significantly reducing the necessary resources. The algorithm was trained to recognise main sediment classes in videos that were taken underwater in a large river with mixed bed sediments, along cross-sections, using semantic segmentation. The method is fast, i.e., the videos of 300–400 meter long sections can be analysed within minutes, with very dense spatial sampling distribution. The goodness of the trained algorithm is evaluated mathematically and via intercomparison with other direct and indirect methods. Suggestions for performing proper field measurements are also given, furthermore, possibilities for combining the algorithm with other techniques are highlighted, briefly showcasing the multi-purpose of underwater videos for hydromorphological adaptation. The paper is to show the potential of underwater videography and Deep Learning through a case study.