SAMBORIAI

Translated from the Lithuanian by Audrius Dundzila, Ph.D. from "Ramuva/Vilnius".

First published in"romuva/usa", Issue #6, 1992.

The 16th century Book of Suduva mentions the Lithuanian tradition of Sambariai which names the ritual meal at the conclusion of sowing, or Paruges, which means the day by the rye. Households (families, assistants, hired hands, shepherds, herders, and the night watch) gathered on their fields with food and drink, where an open-air ritual meal was held. Households held the ritual separately, it was not a community rite. The ritual included ancient sacred songs called dainos and ancient ritual rounds or sutartines that blessed the grains. Families would prepare for Sambariai by stocking up on food, especially meats, and by brewing a special beer (traditional ritual drink and libation beverage). If the ritual was held at home, the house would be decorated with fresh-cut birch branches. Historian M. Strijkovski indicates the ritual was dedicated to the God Zemepatis, the guardian of the homestead.

In the libation blessing, Lithuanian country dwellers would drink a ritual beaker or beer, wishing everyone a good harvest. Before everyone drank from the beaker, the head of the household poured some beer on the ground with the words: "Zvaigzdikis (Star God), please shine on the grain, fields, flowers, and animals gracefully and brightly."

Sambariai includes processions with song around the fields. Though the Sambariai dainos are already long, they are sung in call-and-response fashion. One group leads by singing one stanza at a time, and the other group responds by repeating the stanza. Hindu hymns are also sung in a similar manner. The long songs are made longer because fields are huge and paths around them are long. The songs bless the fields, stimulate growth, and protect the forthcoming harvest.

In Stalupenai (Prussia), thousands of Lithuanians used to gather for a communal Sambariai ritual at the river front. The focal point was the flattop sacred boulder on the shore. A statue of a Lithuanian God was placed on the rock for the ritual. In 1730, this celebration had several thousand people in attendance.

The ritual of Sambariai occurs at the end of May, after the planting of rye and other grains is finished and the seed has grown. This tradition survived undisturbed until the beginning of the 20th century in parts of Lithuania. Sambariai also once marked the start of the swimming season.