Religious Rituals and Customs of Lithuanian Exiles in Siberia (1945–1960)

Abstract

The analysis is based on ethnographic fieldwork material. It is marked that the religion and religious rituals occupied multidimensional place during different periods of exile in Siberia and form of these rituals and customs often depended on the specificity of life in exile. At the moment of deportation and initial settlement in exile, individual and collective prayers were of utmost importance. Besides, the graveyards established in the places of exile also used the place for performance of religious ceremonies. The most significant collective ritual among the Siberian exiles were the May worship in barracks or a residential house. Field research data show that the collective rituals integrated the exiles on the basis of religion and became the means of preserving religious and national identity. The analysis is based on ethnographic fieldwork material. Keywords: religion, exiles, Siberia, religious customs and rituals, prayers, hymns, May worship