NAMING PRACTICES AND CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS OF SWASTIKA ORNAMENTS IN LATVIA AND LITHUANIA

Abstract

A symbol’s name, being an important part of the symbol itself, can be crucial in establishing the context. The swastika is a globally recognised yet ambivalent symbol appearing in various cultural contexts. In Latvian, the symbol is commonly known as ugunskrusts (“Firecross”), which helps to distance it from associations with Nazi ideology. Alongside ugunskrusts, numerous other names such as Pērkona krusts (“Thunder Cross”), Laimas krusts (“Laima’s Cross”), Laimes krusts (“Cross of Luck”), and others, reinforce the perception of the swastika as a locally significant and benevolent cultural ornament. However, in Lithuania the ornament is mostly called svastika and is generally viewed more negatively, despite its frequent presence in archaeological and ethnographic contexts. This study through descriptive, comparative, semiotic, corpus analysis methods, and questionnaires examines the differences in naming conventions between Latvia and Lithuania. Additionally, the research addresses the significance of the researcher’s positionality, arguing for the necessity of an emic approach when studying culturally meaningful symbols within one’s own cultural framework, despite the inherent subjectivity this perspective can introduce.