SHEARS IN THE FOLKLORE OF LATVIAN CASTLE MOUNDS

Abstract

Shears (Fig. 1) is an instrument for cutting thin materials (cloth, wool etc.) and it consists of two edges opposed to each other. Since the early Iron Age (1–4 century) till the Middle Ages shears have been a frequent item in the sites of Latvian archaeology, especially in castle mounds; however, massive findings have never been discovered. Shears have beenmentioned in the folklore of castle mounds. At present, there are about 2200 folklore texts about 450 Latvian castlemounds at our disposal. Figures about shears aremore modest: 29 folklore texts about shears about six castle mounds (Table 1.). All castle mounds are located on the territory of ancient Semigallians (Fig. 2). The most numerous texts are written about Mount Īles Spārnu (12) and the Zvārdes Striķu castle mound (10). There have been no archaeological excavations in any of these six castle mounds, therefore the dating is set approximately for the last centuries of the I millennium and the first centuries of the II millennium (Table 2). Part of castle mounds are related to the centres of Zemgaļi districts (Table 3, Fig. 3). The plot of legends about shears is rather homogeneous: a woman receives shears from an inhabitant of the castle mound; these shears should be returned back in the same place. In case these conditions are not carried out, next time it is prohibited to lend shears. Shears obtained from the castle mound are especially qualitative (Table 4). In the folklore texts shears are frequently borrowed; and that could be true as they were not an instrument that was used on a daily basis. Folklore texts prove that shears were a symbol of an instrument. Shears were put in the coffin of dead women, as dead persons go to the underground world. In the folklore of castle mounds a woman of this earth borrows shears from a woman of the underground. The castle mound is a place where the connection between this world and the underground world is closer than anywhere else. As it can be concluded from the folklore, the items obtained from the underground have special value. In a way a borderline is crossed and a woman of this world receives an item belonging to the underground, however, it is not for a long time. The initial order of things is regained quickly and the item from the underground world should be returned.