Suvalkija

:"This article discusses the Lithuanian part of the region. For the Polish one, see Suwałki Region."

Suvalkija or Sudovia (]

In recent years there has been a public debate as to which name, Suvalkija or Sudovia, is preferable. Historians have argued that "Sudovia" is an anachronism that refers to the land in the 13th and 14th centuries. One commentator labeled the effort to rename the region as "neotribalism" – an artificial attempt to find connections with the long-extinct tribe. []

Along a gradient from north (Zanavykai) to south (Kapsai and Dzūkija) the stressed first component of mixed diphthongs "ul", "um", "un", "ur", "il", "im", "in", and "ir", changes from short to semi-long to long (from "kúlt" to "kùlt" to "kūlc" – to thresh, from "pírmas" to "pìrmas" to "pyrmas" – first, from "pínti" to "pìnti" to "pync" – to braid). Kapsai tend to modify word beginnings. If a word starts in "ei" or "e", they often replace it with "ai" or "a" ("aik" instead of "eik" – go, "ažeras" instead of "ežeras" – lake). Zanavykai also modify vowels, but in the other direction ("ekmuo" replaces "akmuo" – stone, "ešis" istead of "ašis" – axis). Kapsai often add a "v" to words that, in standard Lithuanian, start with "uo", "u", or "o" ("vuoga" instead of "uoga" – berry, "voras" instead of "oras" – air) and "j" to words that start with "i", "y", or "ie" ("jilgas" instead of "ilgas" – long, "jieva" instead of "ieva" – bird cherry). Zanavykai tend to shorten words. They often drop "n" from verbs ("gyvek" instead of "gyvenk" – live!) and truncate the past tense form of verbs ("žino" instead of "žinojo" – he knew, "galė" instead of "galėjo" – he could, "ė" instead of "ėjo" – he walked). Zanavykai also preserved some archaic forms and rules of declension, especially in pronominal pronouns, and of conjugation, especially in dual verbs.

Clothing

Traditional peasant clothing in Suvalkija, while consisting of the same basic items, can be clearly differentiated from clothing in other parts of Lithuania. Because the region was relatively wealthier, the clothes were richer in color, decoration, and ornament. They were also made of better and more expensive materials, including brocade, silk, wool, and damask. Regional differences existed even within Suvalkija. Kapsai women wore long, wide dress garments with large designs of stars and tulips, semidark in colour and partially striped. The Zanavykai costume is one of the most decorative in design, colour and style. [cite encyclopedia | editor=Simas Sužiedėlis | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Lituanica | title=National Costumes | year=1970–1978 | publisher=Juozas Kapočius | volume=IV | location=Boston, Massachusetts | id=LCC | 74-114275 | pages=30]

Suvalkija women wore wide, gathered skirts of one main color (dark and rich, such as dark red, blue, violet, or green) with narrow multi-colored stripes woven into the fabric. Women's blouses in Suvalkija are distinguishable from those of other regions by their wider sleeves and by more extensive decorations.cite web| url=http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/eka/costume/cost_suvalkija.html |title=The Clothing of Suvalkija |publisher=Lithuanian Folk Culture Centre |accessdate=2008-05-01 |first=Teresė |last=Jurkuvienė |work=Anthology of Lithuanian Ethnoculture ] Their aprons were especially richly decorated and colorful,cite book| url= http://books.google.com/books?id=35oIbNIIn-8C&pg=RA2-PA214&lpg=RA2-PA214&source=web&ots=7lX-dD3Zmx&sig=sPbdP5CVrTupa8_b0X3EQPIQ75Y&hl=en#PRA2-PA214,M1 |first=Linda |last=Welters |title=Folk Dress in Europe and Anatolia: Beliefs about Protection and Fertility |publisher=Berg Publishers |year=1999 |pages=214–215 |isbn=1859732879] with Kapsai laying stripes and other ornaments horizontally, while the Zanavykai preferred vertical compositions. Women also wore richly decorated sashes around their waists. These sashes used more complex ornaments than in other regions, where more archaic but simpler geometric forms prevailed. Because of their relative complexity, folk art collectors placed a higher value on these sashes. A few examples were presented in the first Lithuanian art exhibition in 1907. Bodices at first were identical to those in Dzūkija, but diverged by the mid-19th century. Bodices in Zanavykai had short laps, while bodices of Kapsai were long and flared. Young girls and married women could be told apart by their headdresses. Young girls in Kapsai wore tall golden gallons, while maidens in Zanavykai wore narrow galloons, sometimes replacing them with beads. Married women wore bonnets similar to those in Dzūkija.

Men's wear was simpler and only occasionally decorated with a modest amount of embroidery. Men wore caftans pleated at the back. These caftans, usually sewn from light gray or white woolen cloth, were later replaced by coats. Shirts, resembling a tunic, were sewn from white linen cloth and were not usually decorated. The most ormamental detail of men's garments were the decorative patterned sashes they wore around their waists. Men also wore high boots and hats with straight brims that were decorated with feathers and flowers.

As elsewhere, clothing styles began to rapidly change at the beginning of the 20th century as city and town culture increasingly influenced the traditional peasant life. Clothes became simpler, less colorful and decorated. Women started wearing a variety of jackets, usually of one dark color, and covered their heads with simple scarves tied under their chins. Skirts became less and less gathered and colored stripes disappeared. The celebrated aprons and sashes were completely lost.

The first concepts and models of the national costume were formed in Lithuania Minor (East Prussia), where Lithuanian cultural activities were legal and not suppressed by the Lithuanian press ban. After the ban was lifted in 1904, clothing from Lithuania Minor was promoted as the best candidate for the national dress until the 1920s, when attention shifted to clothing from Suvalkija.lt icon cite journal | url=http://images.katalogas.lt/maleidykla/men2/M-77.pdf | title=Suvalkijos tautinis kostiumas pirmaisiais XX a. dešimtmečiais |first=Teresė |last=Jurkuvienė |journal=Menotyra |year=2001 |volume=2 |issue=23 |pages=77–79 |issn=1392-1002] The shift can be attributed to the relative abundance of original clothing from the region, which was rich in decoration and could compete with the costumes of other European nations. A number of prominent activists, including President of Lithuania Kazys Grinius and his wife Joana Griuniuvienė, collected and promoted the clothing of Suvalkija, especially aprons and sashes. At the time regional differences were not emphasized and cultural activists were attempting to arrive at a single model of a "Lithuanian" national dress, based on samples from Suvalkija. The concept of a single representative Lithuanian national dress was dropped in the 1930s in favor of regional costumes, unique to each of the ethnographic regions.

Music

The musical traditions of Suvalkija are distinctive. The kanklės, possibly the most archaic Lithuanian instrument, took on distinguishable characteristics in the region; more heavily ornamented than elsewhere, its end is narrow, spreading out into a rounded shape. [cite web| | first=Arūnas |last=Lunys |work=Anthology of Lithuanian Ethnoculture |publisher=Lithuanian Folk Culture Centre |title=Instrumental Music – String Instruments (Chordophones)|url=http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/eka/instrum/chordoph.html | accessdate=2008-05-13] Recordings made in the 1930s, and reissued in the 21st century by the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, contain waltzes, marches, schottisches, and krakowiaks. Popular polkas performed on the fiddle were a significant part of the local musicians' repertoire. The recordings from this era are monodic; there is usually one singer, and the music relies on variable modal structures, changes of tempo, and subtle ornamentationof the melody for interest. [cite web|title=Songs and Music from Suvalkija| url=http://www.llti.lt/en/suvalkija.htm|publisher=Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore| accessdate=2008-05-13]

The composition of the musical ensembles in the region changed during the middle 1800s. Earlier versions featured between one and three kanklės, a fiddle, and a būgnas (drum). Later ensembles often included one or two fiddles, a German or Viennese harmonica, a būgnas, and at times a cymbal, a clarinet, a coronet, or a besetle (a stringed bass). Ensembles featuring the fiddle and the būgnas were also popular. [cite web| first=Arūnas |last=Lunys |work=Anthology of Lithuanian Ethnoculture |publisher=Lithuanian Folk Culture Centre |title=Instrumental Music – Instrumental Ensembles| url=http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/eka/instrum/iensembl.html| accessdate=2008-05-13]

References

Further reading

* cite book |title=Sūduvos Suvalkijos istorija |first=Jonas |last=Totoraitis | origyear=1938 | year=2003 | location=Marijampolė |publisher=Piko valanda | isbn= 9986875870
* cite book| title=Zanavykų šnektos žodynas | publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas |year=2003–2006 | location=Vilnius | isbn=5-420-01504-8 / ISBN 5-420-01550-1 / ISBN 5-420-01590-0