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Lithuanian Ethnoastronomy

2. Worship of the Sun

The Sun as the other heavenly bodies were respected and to point with the finger or spit in the direction of the Sun was forbidden because: ‘‘Dievulis pyksta’‘ (The God will be angry) (Puodžiukienė, Ignalina region, 1992), the Sun and the Moon are the eyes of God ‘‘Dievo akytės’‘ (Stankevičienė, Ignalina region 1992), ‘‘Dievulis mūs’‘ (our dear God) (Rykiškis, Ignalina region, 1992); the finger will decay ‘‘nukirmys’‘ (Jasavičienė, Pakruojas region 1994), will dry or drop or the man will be thunder stricken (Balys 1951, 4). The Sun can get the person into the sky or else the person may be thunder stricken. If it happens to point with the finger to the Sun or to the Moon its best to bite the finger to the blood and then we will be protected. In case of need the Sun can be pointed to only with the whole hand (Balys 1951, 4).

The Sun rituals are seen in the tradition of the rye cutting and the finish of the season. Girls from Rokiškis addressed the Sun in praying for the good harvest and good weather would stand by the rye field holding sickles by the handle on their left shoulder, looking into the Sun and would sing a special song. In the evening at the sunset the girls would put the sheath of rye in front of them thrust all the sickles into the sheath and sit with their faces towards the setting Sun and sing the song thanking for the day, a harmony ‘‘Saulal sadina lylia...’‘ and swaying forward and backward bow to the sun (Slaviūnas 1958, 2427-248). At the beginning of the 20th century in Vydžiai before the rye harvest the eldest member of the family would cut the sheath and place them in one shock in the visible place. At the start of the work they would turn towards the Sun and bow three times to the ground. The other workers were standing and kept silent till the end of the ceremony and only then would start work. In Dzūkija the rye harvesters would bow three times for the setting Sun and sing the song of gratification (Dundulienė 1988,22).

 

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