Lithuanian tradition of straw garden stringing has been included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
The Lithuanian tradition of straw garden making (stringing) has been included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and it can be considered a kind of discovery of heritage in modern times. During the Soviet era, this kind of folk art was almost forgotten, pushed to the margin, with only a few straw garden makers remaining in Lithuania. During the years of independence, the tradition was revived, education and training sessions were organised, and straw gardens have once again reached, so to speak, their golden age.
‘When I presented the links between tangible and intangible cultural heritage, our unique tradition of straw gardens at this year's annual meeting of the leaders of the institutions responsible for cultural heritage in Seville, the interest was really great. We can clearly see that the significance and value of tangible heritage increase when we can nurture intangible heritage at the same time. Intangible heritage contributes to the actualisation of tangible heritage, and the connection between the two becomes vital in fostering the continuity of traditions. For example, ethnographic homesteads and ethnographic villages can be reborn with the traditions of straw garden stringing’, said Vidmantas Bezaras, Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage.
The folk artist, ethnologist, and advocate of the tradition, Marija Liugienė, founder and leader of the association ‘Gardens of Heaven’ which unites straw garden makers tells of the tradition, symbolism, and the meaning of straw garden stringing. This year, the President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda awarded the Order for Merits to Lithuania to her for fostering ethnic culture.
‘I arranged my first exhibition of straw gardens at the National Museum of Lithuania in 2013. It was then that the phrase 'Straw gardens are worthy of UNESCO protection' escaped my lips’, spoke Marija Liugienė. ‘The media and the public jumped at the statement, and it became my life's goal, my vision. That was how it all started. We all understood that this was a unique, special tradition. In 2017, the Lithuanian National Culture Centre included the tradition of straw garden stringing in the Lithuanian Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory. In 2020, the nomination dossier began to be prepared; it was coordinated by the Lithuanian National Culture Centre, with the collaboration of many experts. And now, three years later, the tradition of straw garden stringing has been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’.
What are these gardens, what did they mean in the past, what meaning do we see today? ‘The ancient man did nothing just for the sake of it, only for beauty, but only when he understood the meaning of that symbol, sign, or action. In my opinion, gardens are the pinnacle of our folk art,’ stated Marija Liugienė. ‘Nobody knows in which century they appeared; they were hung in the most honourable place above the table - above the baptismal font. The straw gardens which turned round under the ceiling were associated with the garden of heaven – the paradise.
According to the folk artist, the shape of the garden seems to reveal the emotional attitude of man, embodying the idea of creating a perfect world. When stringing the garden, you yourself feel like the Lord, creating harmony and order from chaos (a sheaf of straw). It is like meditation,’ Marija Liugienė is convinced. ‘Moreover, in the past, gardens were strung on a special horse-hair of a white horse. To this day, I am amazed at how once a person in a simple village hut thought of creating such a spatial figure, such a unique form. The straw garden is ‘grown’ from triangles and squares. In ancient cultures, the square represented matter and the triangle represented spirit. So, the garden is a harmony of matter and spirit, a constant interplay between them. We should always remember this. Today's man is most often focused solely on matter’. As the ethnologist stated, the material of straw gardens - straw - is special; the oldest items were made from them. And that is not surprising, as grains and food from them are the oldest products on the daily table. Therefore, straw was given special significance.
Information provided by the Department of Cultural Heritage
Marija Liugienė and her stringed gardens. Photo by Jūratė Mičiulienė