Latvia
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The traditional Jāņi [Līgo, Midsummer night festivities] drink must be beer. What can you say about beer?
Then, when some festivity is at hand, especially the Summer solstice, then we always ask Dad to make beer. He then says – well, I don’t know, if you help me to carry the water, …
Researcher: Dr. philol. Valentīns Lukaševičs, Daugavpils Universitāte
Categories: Dagnija Bramane
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About the cheese preparation
You’ve said that you make cheese yourself – both Jāņi cheese and other types of cheese. Could you briefly tell me how you do that?
Yes, cheese is of various kinds. There is the so- …
Researcher: Dr. philol. Valentīns Lukaševičs, Daugavpils Universitāte
Categories: Dagnija Bramane
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About The collecting and desiccation of herbs
Are there any regularities of collecting and desiccation? You named those herbs. Maybe you could tell me, if the moon phase is important, what the rules are, how herbs are desiccated, how …
Researcher: Dr. philol. Valentīns Lukaševičs, Daugavpils Universitāte
Categories: Dagnija Bramane
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I suppose, in Latgale almost in every farmhouse people collect plants and medical plants, which are desiccated and used to make tea?
Yes, also at my home my ancestors were walking the fields and looking for herbs, and also my grandmother told me a lot, that my grandmother’s mom also collected various herbs. Me too, reading a …
Researcher: Dr. philol. Valentīns Lukaševičs, Daugavpils Universitāte
Categories: Dagnija Bramane
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In former days, this tradition was very popular, very common. It is said that now it has been lost. This tradition is joint work.
You are right; one man cannot do as much as all together. Traditionally, in our area this tradition of joint work has been preserved. It usually manifests itself more like the so-called potato joint …
Researcher: Dr. philol. Valentīns Lukaševičs, Daugavpils Universitāte
Categories: Dagnija Bramane
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What can you tell about celebrating Līgo [Midsummer night festivities]?
I think that there is a difference between how midsummer celebration happens today and what it was in the past, in more olden days. But the main features are preserved, such as brewing. It is when …
Researcher: Dr. philol. Valentīns Lukaševičs, Daugavpils Universitāte
Categories: Dagnija Bramane
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Was such a thing as anecdotes popular in Latgale in the past?
I remember that only from my childhood, the anecdotes were mostly political. If it was Khrushchev’s time, then people told anecdotes about Khrushchev, if Brezhnev’s – then about …
Researcher: Dr. philol. Valentīns Lukaševičs, Daugavpils Universitāte
Categories: Arvid Ratnieks
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How did children play, what games did they play when being small?
I don’t know what small kids were doing, but at the time, since I remember myself, well, what were we doing? There was such an interesting small gadget, I don’t know, it must have been …
Researcher: Dr. philol. Valentīns Lukaševičs, Daugavpils Universitāte
Categories: Arvid Ratnieks
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What were the entertainments in a rural family and leisure evenings?
I remember my childhood in the countryside, when there was no electricity yet. We had to buy kerosene. Kerosene was not very expensive in the soviet times, but we still did not use it too often. And …
Researcher: Dr. philol. Valentīns Lukaševičs, Daugavpils Universitāte
Categories: Arvid Ratnieks
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Have you ever happened to participate in Christmas mummery?
Oh, I have happened a lot – since I was a child. Usually, it was not organized. Usually is happened like this – either in some house, or at some neighbour’s, or mainly, if we were …
Researcher: Dr. philol. Valentīns Lukaševičs, Daugavpils Universitāte
Categories: Arvid Ratnieks
