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The Petrašiūnai Cemetery of the Nation’s Enlightened People, which housed the entire group, told the townspeople the stories of the masters of the word a few days before Vėliniai.
The enlightened people of the nation are resting
You will say, shame, but I visited Petrašiūnai cemetery only a few times. Probably the most memorable was the last trip of the anthropologist Marija Gimbutienė and her farewell to the priest, poet and collector Ričardas Mikutavičius. I remember people saying that there were only two such funerals in Lithuania, in 1933. In July 1999 in Kaunas, when they said goodbye to the pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas; March, when people accompanied R. Mikutavičius. The deceased was accompanied by tens of thousands of people on his last tour of the streets, and the convoy stretched for more than a kilometer.
More than 20 years have passed since that day, so even though I am a royal resident of Kaunas, I slightly forgot the path to the Petrašiūnai pantheon.
“Go straight all the time. When you see vendors with flowers and candles, stop. Then go through the main gate on M. Gimbutienės street. You will definitely see them. Then turn left at the first track, through the columbariums. Go straight to the square from which all the alleys forks “, – the direction of the road was indicated in considerable detail by a local resident, apparently a frequent visitor to the city of the dead.
As the weekend of honoring the dead approached, there was already a slight commotion in the cemetery. Loafing to walk a few hundred yards, the cars furiously crawled into the front door. A group of inhabitants broke into the columbarium. Some women scattered around the area dug up the dried grass and collected old candles. The latter were also pulled from the trash by the loudest crows.
I know that this weekend the panorama here will be different, and people, more than once urging the authorities to refrain from traveling, will continue to enter the cemetery. Who to attend to his own, Anapilin left, who to rest here enlightened the enlightened ones. Hundreds of the last pantheon of Petrašiūnai, starting with Juozas Zikaras, Antanas Žmuidzinavičius, Bernardas Brazdžionis, ending with Leonidas Donskis, Algimantas Kančas.
Halloween-themed tours are also organized in the cemetery, but this time souls indifferent to literature walked here. (Photo by Justina Lasauskaitė)
A tour of the word
Excursions to the Petrašiūnai cemetery have been organized more than once. One of them spoke about the pioneers of professional Lithuanian music. This time “Kaunas IN” with a reader, poet and guide Neringa Daniulaitiene in front invited me to remember the most outstanding teachers of the word. After a brief introduction to the idea of organizing this type of tour, the guide stopped at the first grave. A huge headstone with a bust depicting a woman wearing a headscarf whispered that the Lazdynų Owl was buried here.
“Most of you know that two sisters, Sofija Pšibiliauskienė and Marija Ivanauskaitė-Lastauskienė, hid under this nickname,” N. Daniulaitienė clarified that we are all by the latter’s grave. S.Pšibiliauskienė is buried elsewhere.
Marija Ivanauskaitė-Lastauskienė, as the guide said, started creating in Polish at the age of seventeen. Her sister and Povilas Višinskis encouraged her to write for the Lithuanian press. He wrote in Polish and his sister Sofija translated the texts into Lithuanian. These works were published under the common nickname of both sisters. Therefore, after the death of her sister, Mary wrote in Lithuanian and published several books under the same pseudonym.
“The greatest merit of the sisters is that in their world they distracted other women from the Polish language and increased the spread of the Lithuanian word,” the guide bowed to the Lazdynai owl, and a white flower blossomed near her grave.
Another ring fell on Pran Mashiot’s grave. Best known as a children’s book writer, he was also a mathematician who, at the request of Jonas Jablonskis, published a textbook on arithmetic and trigonometry.
“As you can see, he was a versatile creator. Today you will learn more stories about people who had a varied life,” said Mr. Masšiotas’ tour guide in his words “Lakštingala”. And as the day wore on, the night crept in silently and he heard the bird chirping.
A ring of flowers was placed on the grave of each enlightened man. (Photo by Justina Lasauskaitė)
History touched
Reducing his step towards the place of eternal rest of Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė, N.Daniulaitienė was glad that this was one of the few stories that he had to personally touch. After visiting the house of Čiurlioniai’s granddaughter several times, the poet and the reader learned interesting stories there. For example, on Sophia’s hat, which she brought from France, on her attempts to introduce models of the educational system in Lithuania, the successful examples of which she brought from visited foreign countries, or on a nominal medal, made especially for her, from the Union of French writers.
“However, today we will talk about Sofia’s relationship with the word. Did you know that she did not speak Lithuanian until she was twelve years old? Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas took her into Lithuanian and lit up the Lithuanian word.” She criticized the book along with her husband. Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis illustrated it “,
The guide reminded me of the Čiurlioniai house, where literary evenings were held at that time. Salomėja Nėris, Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas and other heralds of the Lithuanian word of the time also participated in them. They not only brought their own creations, but also those they received from abroad. She translated it and searched for new words in Lithuanian to convey the power of work.
Activist and fighter
“We know Sofia as a public figure, head of an organization of women and girl scouts, an active fighter for the abolition of prostitution. His associates went to the stations and observed the girls in the villages. “, – the guide said that S.Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė was not only a big heart, but also passionate about coffee.
At a time when ordinary workers were earning around 60 litas a month, Sofia allowed herself to buy a pack of coffee for 8 litas. Unlike most, they were not mixed with chicory or barley, and when asked why he had one of the tastiest coffees in town, he said he needed to buy a good product and not put it in a cup.
“Oh, here is my weakness. Lifetime success gave me much more energy than obstacles. Harsh demands, reproaches, harsh criticism ruined it. Later in life I had to fight a lot. It is a wonderful feeling to be happy to come back to your own evaluation, and that seems to be the most important thing, “Sofia’s words echoed on Daniulaitienė’s lips.” And criticism, angry criticism somehow dies down, knocks down the work and goes back to what you know Therefore, I never felt that I had learned anything, but I always accepted the kind comments of my friends with an open heart. The first real encounter with an inspirer and a teacher, a better awakening of my creative spirit, was an encounter with my husband. “
He kept a large family
The guide wanted to talk about Kazis Binkis not just the creator. N. Daniulaitienė, observing the sharp lines of his profile on the stone, first remembered him as the father of five children. The deceased first wife left him with two daughters and the second wife brought three more children into the family. Colleagues often emphasized that K. Binkis was one of the few who could support his large family by writing alone. “Perhaps he wrote only the first two books without pressing, and the issues pressed him and pressed with the force of a hydraulic press, but he looked at those things with carelessness and joy,” N. Daniulaitienė quoted Jonas Aistis. As in any cemetery, before saying goodbye, he spoke again about the creator’s work “One Hundred Springs”. It is true that the latter did not remind the majority of K. Binkis, but of one of the many songs of the master Vytautas Kernagis.
“Let’s go on”, the guide a few tens of meters away and stopped again, eyes raised. The several-meter-high monument told the tragic story of the playwright Raimondas Samulevičius. In February 1981, at the apartment of a high-ranking security guard in Vilnius, Gediminas avenue, he was shot with a pistol. The defendant later worshiped that he had held the gun with a lighter, therefore it clicked and accidentally hit R.Samulevičius in the eye.
“I knew how to say between the lines. Not everyone liked it. R.Samulevičius’s work was translated and published in New York, England, Finland. It is said that during the funeral there were men in costume who watched the whole process.” , and the playwright’s resting place was marked by the tour participants with another white flower.
Matches instead of zapalkai
Writing slowly in the tracks, Neringa together with a small group of inhabitants visited the tombs of Antanas Šmulkštis-Paparonis, Juozas Grušas and Vytautas Alantas. Kazimieras Būga, one of the most famous Lithuanian language researchers, who worked in many fields of Lithuanian and Baltic studies, deserved lexicology and lexicography, Lithuanian etymology, name days and textbooks prepared for students, he did not forget either.
Professor at the University of Lithuania in 1924. published the first notebook of the “Dictionary of the Lithuanian language”, had accumulated about 617 thousand. brochure dictionary file. General Lithuanian language, standardized usage and spelling was improved. K.Būga was moved from the ancient Kaunas cemetery to Petrašiūnai in the 20th century. In the late 1960s.
A group of tourists remembered S. Nėris, a Lithuanian lyricist who subtly conveyed the feminine feeling of the world, the joy and pain of life. Once again he bowed to R. Mikutavičius. To many, he was a true spiritual authority, and his word was so strong and captivating that even those who had not previously walked through his door went to church.
Photo by Justina Lasauskaitė
The assembled slowed down toward the grave of Jonas Jablonskis. On the tombstone there is a picture of a linguist. The kind we have seen in various Lithuanian language books or classrooms on the walls. Throughout his life, he has published more than 460 articles, published six grammar textbooks, two parts of Chrestomathy for the School of Trouble, and many translated books. He left many new words.
“Maybe you know at least one of these?” – When his hand was raised, the word “matches” was heard in the crowd, accompanied by an interesting story from the guide.
After going to a store in Klemė, J. Jablonskis asked the seller if he had matches. The lady, who heard the word for the first time, replied that there was none. Then the linguist put his finger in the box and said: “How is it, behold, they are lying on the table?” Thus, J. Jablonskis toured all the stores in Kelmė and explained that there are no cheesecakes or zapalkis. There are only matches.
“Another word that is important specifically for Kaunas is ramuva. The author of this original name, specifically Lithuanian, is the patriarch of the language,” said N. Daniulaitienė. The club is named after the Lithuanian Officials Association.
Photo by Justina Lasauskaitė
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