Tracing the Influence of the Folklore Revival on Lithuania’s National Independence Movement

The article explores the connections between the Lithuanian folklore revival movement, which emerged in the 1960s, and the Lithuanian national independence movement of the late 1980s.Using resource mobilization theory, it seeks to identify tangible links and resources that connected these two movements, rather than focusing on psychological or abstract symbolic ties.Based on over 100 oral history interviews conducted by the author and colleagues, the article reconstructs the history of the folklore revival in Lithuania and identifies specific empirical mechanisms through which it influenced the national independence movement.First, it highlights the role of folklore in the rise of environmental and heritage protection movements.Second, it underscores the importance of the folklore festival Skamba skamba kankliai in the establishment of the Lithuanian Reform Movement Sjdis in June 1988.Third, it examines the involvement of leaders from the ethnocultural movement in Sjdis.Lastly, it discusses the role of folklore ensembles in mass rallies from 1988 to 1991. Kopsavilkums

Folklore · Government (linguistics · Independence (probability theory · Movement (music · Tracing · European Linguistics and Anthropology · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices