Politics and Culture

by Zemyna Vilkaite of Vilinius/Romuva

First published in "romuva", issue #10, 1992.

(excerpted)

Romuva in Lithuania reflects the diversity of its members' political and social opinion. On social issues, some romuviai (the Lithuanian word for members of Romuva) support strong patriarchal families, while others live in extended communal families (and there are some communes, too). Some believe in traditional marriages, while others have created innovative family models. There are also disparate views on sexual matters, on nationality, on the role of the sexes.

The adherence to ancestral values does not mean that Romuva champions Indo-Europeanism or its ideological counterpart, Aryan racism. In fact, it does not. Romuva is the modern practice of millennia-old Lithuanian religion. Like Native Americans, Japanese, Eskimos, Inuit, Lapps, Jews, Indians, and many other nations, Lithuanians wish to practice their ancestral religion, and Romuva helps facilitate this. Romuva feels a kinship with peoples who remain true to their religious heritage, but by no means disrespects or dishonors the nations that have lost or abandoned their traditions.

Alien pressures--especially Christianity and urban industrialization--have cause many societal changes, some good and some bad. Lithuania stands at a cross road between traditional religion and Christianity, between folk culture and urban society, and Romuva --I believe--has opted for preserving ancient steadfast sacred values in a changing, modern world.