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Saites Introduction
Definitions
Overview of Latvian Folkore
The Structure of Latvian Folklore
It is not a story that is a chronological account of a specific person’s experience. It is a network of gleznas explaining our psyche (esmu). It is from this point of view that Latvian folklore is easiest to understand. Dainas are grouped in sižetes [small components]. This is how the brain works naturally. Our working memory is small – 5 plus/minus 2 units – and therefore we can understand only a small sižeta at a time. The saites created within the daina [glezna] themselves are retrieval cues to the next sižeta. These connections are not meant to be read chronologically. They can move in any direction – up down back forth – and on any stage from dievība to what we percieve physically with our bodies. The dainas describe natural laws. It is believed that the laws are the same macro to micro. Like fractal images, the large image is composed of identical smaller images, which in turn are composed of even smaller similar images, and so on. We can zoom in and out of the image, and exactly the same mathematical formula is used to define the root. For example, „ozolīt zemzarīt” can mean literally, an oak tree with low branches, or it can mean a man with bad posture, or it can mean a well-developed personality that has suffered defeat, etc. The root idea remains the same, and it is up to the reader to give it its finite significance. Writter Anna Brigadera’s somewhat autobiographical account of childhood is played by character Annele. Annele is amazed at how she can imagine dolls in her mind, without actually having them. Children call this „pretend”. But grown-ups „pretend” all the time as well. We can imagine anything we want just because we want to. Similarly, we can choose to ignore what we perceive around us, just because we want to. Summary - Reading dainas are great for people with short attention spans:
We jump from sižeta to sižeta in our brains. So do the dainas. We „pretend” in our brains. So do the dainas. If you are standing in front of a library of dainas, you can pick out a volume, look at the general theme of the volume, and then flip to any page in the volume and understand the dainas. Close that volume, pick out another, and do the same. This is because the dainas are not „this happens and then that happens” stories. No antecedents, character development, climax, and conclusions. It is a real-time experience in the esma – our psyches. So the story of the sun is not a myth from the past. Just the opposite: it is your psyche in the present. It could be that the story of the sun just doesn’t work for you. Perhaps you better relate to other structures and processes described in the dainas. Most find parallels to nature the easiest. Most Latvian folklore parallels nature, and most contemporary ideas in Latvian art parallel nature.
To remember these connections among the gleznas better, our brains automatically categorize things. Whatever the structures and processes, the sižeta format is always present.The Values within Latvian Folklore
As a whole, Latvian folklore holds values and life principles of people living along the Baltic sea. It is told though a network of dainas. Dainas are small 4-line versus with unique structure, enabling them to link together with ease. These wisdoms are held and passed on by regular people who live and work the land. It is an oral tradition, that is communicated best when sung. Women are naturally best at communicating and nurturing, so instinctively pass on these versus, while men give support by providing the technology and safe environment to do so. As a result, collectively, the folklore database contains a woman's perspective of life. Why is Latvian folklore still alive today? Perhaps begging the question, but since this oral tradition has been passed on by regular working people, and women specifically, it is not touched by the dictators in the Baltic lands, because, quite frankly, they don’t care about these people. The principle of ownership, is a male motive, based on a hierarchical legal structure. To take ownership of another land and its people, is to take ownership of the top rung of the hierarchy. This would be government, aristrocrats, and large organized religions. Seeing peasant females of the land dancing and singing songs with nature metafors has never been a threat to dictators’ ideals.
Latvian folklore as a philosophical entity, supported in the female structure of thought, can never be touched by men. Females themselves are not a self-destructive group (albeit, they argue alot...) They have no motive to own and control. For example, they will nurture the traits of men they find useful, and hope for the best. They realize that „the best” never happens, and so have a natural proactive networking ability among themselves. Interestingly, these are the principles behind the ancient story of the sun. If the above is true, why has the ancient story of the sun lost much content, and is full of gaps in other ancient cultures, like old north Hindu? Wouldn’t strength in numbers apply? There are more women of Indie origin than Baltic origin, yet men rule these ancient Indie wisdoms. The priorities change, and hence the gaps. My answer is that Baltic men have always played the the „David” role in „David and Goliath” story – little guy against the giant. The fact that they have never had strength in numbers, has encouraged them to use strength in wisdom. Indeed, when Latvian folklore describes problems, outsmarting the opponent is a popular choice. Redirecting the man-force from physical to mental, has provided positive support for women, and hence the culture. Today, Latvia is an independent country, yet we see pockets of growth and destruction in Latvian communities within its borders and abroad. When communities decide to dictate the Latvian culture to its members, it starts dying; yet when it simply continues with lainība [compassion] it effortlessly grows. So historically, growth within the Latvian culture has depended on the compassion among its people, more than the environment it has lived in, just as suggested in the dainas. Taking responsibility: Similarily, growth within ourselves, starts with ourselves taking responsibility for ourselves. Latvian folklore is filled with solutions to problems, and healing methods. Saites, as explained earlier, are connections. Along these connections you can move, and hence make positive change. The rest of the booklet explains these paths. When you read an explanation, start improvising. See how this idea can fit into your own world. And don’t forget your sense of humour!
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