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Photographer’s Note

This is the cemetery of the village of Juodaičiai (Joudātē), Žemaitija (Žemaitėjė, Samogitia), in Catholic Lithuania (Lietuva).
Like the Norwegian cemetery (Fauske), this one is also an open space, with natural flowers, almost like a garden. Like the Portuguese cemeteries (e.g. in Evoramonte or in Amora), this one in Lithuania presents also elaborate tombstones, but less expensive.
I think that the Lithuanian cemetery features are somewhere between its Nordic and Southern counterparts.
However we see here a typically Lithuanian wooden sculpture. It displays a figure that is often regarded as a pensive Christ. This figure is ubiquitous in Lithuanian handcrafts and it's called Rūpintojėlis (see workshop). I guess it is often confused or regarded as Jesus Christ, but its origin may be older than Christianity in Lithuania. This Baltic nation was the last to be Christianized in Europe; the pagan or heathen beliefs endured for centuries even after the official Christianization of the country (15th century). I think that the Rūpintojėlis, disguised as Jesus, is a survivor of that ancient Lithuanian past.
This is the first photo of Juodaičiai at TE.
Scanned from a 1995 print.
See other Lithuanian wood sculptures in my post Kryžių kalnas - Hill of Crosses.

linask, lucasgalodoido, Docarmo, plimrn, stego, paura, maloutim, riclopes has marked this note useful

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Additional Photos by Francisco Santos (xuaxo) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4080 W: 278 N: 4092] (5635)
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