Vaitkevicius the Swastika in Lithuania: the Horizon of the 13Th
104 Archaeologia Baltica 27, 2020, 104–119 THE SWASTIKA IN LITHUANIA: THE HORIZON OF THE 13TH AND 14TH CENTURIES VYKINTAS VAITKEVIČIUS* Klaipėda University, 84 Herkaus Manto St, LT-92294, Klaipėda, Lithuania Keywords Abstract Baltic mythology, The paper focuses on the swastika, artefacts of antler, wood, metal and clay marked with the cross of fire, swastika, swastika, and swastika-shaped items from the 13th and 14th centuries in the Grand Duchy of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lithuania. An answer is sought to the question what the swastika, a universal sign and symbol, Vilnius castles, Kernavė represented in ancient Lithuanian culture and religion, and what kinds of shapes and accompany- archaeological site, ing mythological meanings it possessed. Bajorai cemetery It is concluded that in the 13th and 14th centuries, the swastika did not have a canon of repre- sentation, and its perpendiculars on one-sided items faced in one or the other rotary direction (clockwise or anti-clockwise), while on two-sided ones they faced in both directions simultane- ously. Two Lithuanian gods, Perkūnas (Thunder) and Kalvelis (Blacksmith), emerged in the ex- plored contexts of items marked with a swastika. This confirms the genetic connection between the swastika and an equilateral cross, the sign of fire or Thunder, characteristic of the Baltic and ancient Lithuanian religious tradition. To date, there is no reason to believe that the perpendicu- lars could change the symbolic meaning. Introduction the sign was characteristic of the Roman Empire, and was used by the early Christians (Bliujienė 2000, pp. 16–17). Professor William Balchin was right when he wrote in Dec- In the contemporary world, the swastika has survived ember 1944 that the swastika, an old and special symbol of in Buddhist monasteries in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and mankind, was to soon disappear from the public and aca- other countries, where it adorns their exteriors and inte- demic discourse (1944, p.
[Show full text]