In Part Two of Children of the Sun episode, I travel to the forests of Dzūkija region with ethnomusicologist Eglė Česnakavičiūtė to meet the elder and traditional singer Elena Česnulytė, and talk folksong politics. I finally wind up at Šatrijos Ugnis, a perpetual flame tended at a hill in a national park in Samogitia, where I decide maybe paganism is not about belonging after all, but rather, more powerfully, about connection.

Music

Intro theme: “Forest March” by Sylvia Woods

00:45 “LIV Kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

3:35 Elena Česnulytė, Žiūrai village, Dzūkija

5:17 “Lyliumoj” by Elena Česnulytė, Žiūrai village, Dzūkija

7:40 “Aš Kelaliu Keliavau” by Žiūrų kaimo folkloro ansamblis / Žurai village folklore ensemble (Dzūkija)

17:00 “Aš Pasėjau Balandėlį” by Obelija

19:55 “Ant Tėvulio Dzidzio Dvaro / In the Father’s Great Manor” by Obelija

22:55 Eglė Česnakavičiūtė

25:45 “LIV Kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

38:30 “III Kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

40:45 “Rimo Rimo, Tūto” by Birutė Račkaitienė, Vaidotas Digaitis, and Kęstutis Račkaitis

41:50 “XII Kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

43:45 “Rimo Rimo, Tūtoj” by Jievaras

47:30 “XII Kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

Šatrijos Ugnis: https://www.facebook.com/SatrijosUgnis/

Obelija’s music can be purchased on bandcamp, or streamed on Spotify. https://obelijaband.bandcamp.com/releases

You can find the amazing Žemyna Trinkūnaitė’s music on Spotify, the itunes store, and streaming at pakartot.lt. You can also email her at [email protected] to order a CD by post.

Thank you so much to all the people who helped me in various ways in producing this podcast; your assistance was essential to my understanding. Any factual or pronunciation errors are my own.

Special thanks to Matas Tamsusis Bodrijė for translating endlessly both song lyrics and social norms, and teaching me to dance, all while almost never cracking a smile.