Gifts to Children and the Ritual Year in Eastern Lithuania and Western Belarus in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries

Abstract

In this paper, I chose to analyse the gifts given to children in Lithuanian villages in eastern Lithuania and western Belarus in the late 19^th and first half of the 20^th centuries on the occasion of various calendar celebrations. I tried to reveal what types of gift were given to children from different social groups: one’s own children, one’s godchildren, children who worked as hired hands (herders), and neighbours’ children. I also analyse the dominant ways that gifts were given to individual children or groups of children at these times. After conducting this analysis of the gifts and gift-giving traditions, we can conclude that during the research period gifts were given only within limited periods, usually from Easter to Pentecost. In most cases, the gift was an egg or another edible product. When analysing occasions for giving gifts, little difference was found in the types of gift given to one’s own children, godchildren, herders, the neighbours’ children or even those from other villages. However, the way these gifts were given did differ. When giving a gift to one’s own child a mediator would usually be called for, while gifts to godchildren, herders and village children generally were given directly. In all cases, a gift to a child carried a sacred value. However, of all the gifts it was those received from one’s godparents that were cherished the most by children. These children held a number of social statuses: that of child, godchild, herder, neighbour’s child, and in different situations they would receive gifts from their parents, neighbours or masters. In most cases (except one’s own child), gifts served the function of balancing or ensuring an equal exchange, which is typical in a community.