Suvalkija

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Etnographic regions of Lithuania with Sudovia highlighted in light orange.

Suvalkija or Sudovia (Template:Lang-lt) is the smallest of the five cultural regions of Lithuania with the unofficial capital in Marijampolė. People from Suvalkija are called suvalkiečiai (plural) or suvalkietis (singular). It is located south of the Neman River, in the former territory of Vilkaviškis bishopric. Historically, it is the newest ethnographic region as its most distinct characteristics and separate identity formed in 19th century when the territory was part of the Congress Poland. It was never a separate political entity and even today it has no official status in the administrative division of Lithuania. However, it is an important cultural region for the studies of Lithuanian folk culture in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Most of its cultural differences blended or disappeared during the Soviet times (1944–1990), remaining the longest in southeastern Lithuania. The concept remains popular among Lithuanian people. A 2008 survey of freshmen and sophomores in the Vytautas Magnus University found that 80% of the students continued to identify themselves with one of the regions. Efforts are made to preserve, record, and promote any remaining aspects of the original folk culture.

Naming

In Lithuania the region is known under three different names:

Sudovia (Sūduva) is derived from the ancient Baltic tribe of Sudovians, the original inhabitants of the region. The term Sudovia is ambiguous as it is also used to refer to the ancient Sodovian-inhabited land, which stretched much further south.
Suvalkija is derived from the former Suwałki Governorate (1867–1914) of Congress Poland. The city of Suwałki is now in Poland and the original meaning of the phrase is long lost.
Užnemunė (literally: beyond the Neman River) describes the geographical location of the region, but is not entirely accurate. Southwestern portion of Dzūkija is also on the left bank of the river. The reason for such separation was drastically different economic developments in Suvalkija (northern Užnemunė) and Dzūkija (southeastern Užnemunė).

In recent years there was a public debate which name, Suvalkija or Sudovia, is preferable. Historians argued that Sudovia is an anachronism that refers to the land in 13–14th centuries. One commentator labeled the effort to rename the region as "neotribalism" – an artificial attempt to find connections with the long-extinct tribe. Supporters of Sudovia protested against using a term imposed by occupying forces of the Russian Empire, especially because city of Suwałki is in Poland and the current region has no connection with it. They also argued that the term Suvalkija is a fairly recent and artificial political development and more archaic Sudovia would be a better reflection of region's historical roots. An official petition from the Council for Protection of the Suvalkija Regional Ethnic Culture to the Commission of the Lithuanian Language asking for an official name change from Suvalkija to Sudovia was rejected in 2005. The Commission motivated its decision that Suvalkija prevails in both academic literature and everyday life.

Political history

The initial land of Sudovians/Yotvingians was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 13th century. In 1569 the Grand Duchy joined Kingdom of Poland to form the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth was partitioned in 1795 and Suvalkija, as part of the larger territory on the left bank of the Neman River, was incorporated into the Province of East Prussia. That way Suvalkija became separated from the Lithuania Proper, which was taken by the Russian Empire. In 1807 Suvalkija was briefly included in Duchy of Warsaw, a small Polish state established by Napoleon Bonaparte, before being incorporated into the Congress Poland, a state in personal union with the Russian Empire, in 1815. Administratively Suvalkija was first part of Augustów Governorate, and later of Suwałki Governorate. Russian statistics show that Lithuanians formed a slight majority, mostly concentrated in Suvalkija – northern part of the Governorate, and Poles, concentrated in the Suwałki Region in the southern part, accounted for about 23% of the Governorate's population. After World War I, Suwałki Governorate was split between re-established Lithuania and Poland more or less along the ethnic lines. Since then Suvalkija has been part of Lithuania.

Cultural history

Originally, the region was inhabited by the Baltic tribe of the Sudovians (hence, it is sometimes known as "Sudovia"). Because of continuous raids by the Teutonic Knights in attempts to baptize pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania most of ancient Sudovia became rarely inhabited wilderness. After the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, which ended the crusade against Lithuania, the territory became slowly repopulated by settlers from Samogitia and Aukštaitija. The settlers were attracted by wast fertile lowlands. They brought their culture, mixed with remaining locals, and gradually formed a distinct ethnographic culture which combines elements typical to both Samogitians and Aukštaitians and elements not found anywhere else.

Most significant changes came about in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Suvalkija was separated from the Lithuania Proper. While brief, Napoleon period left major changes in the region. Most important of them was introduction the Napoleonic Code and the Gregorian Calendar. It meant that serfdom in Suvalkija was abolished almost 50 years earlier than the rest of Lithuania. Peasants gained personal freedom and opportunities to acquire wealth. According to the census taken in 1897, the rate of literacy among the peasants of the Suvalkai Province was the highest in the Russian Empire. This led to formation of a new well-educated class, which fueled the Lithuanian National Revival. Among many notable figures from the region were patriarch of Lithuanian independence Jonas Basanavičius, author of the national anthem of Lithuania Vincas Kudirka, and Jonas Jablonskis, a linguist, who worked towards creation of standardized Lithuanian (dialects spoken in Suvalkija became basis for the Lithuanian language became the basis for the standardized modern Lithuanian). gradually the center for the Revival shifted from eastern Samogitia to Suvalkija due to activities of such prominent figures and better economic conditions in the region.

Folk culture

Language

Traditional classification of Lithuanian dialects divided Suvalkija into two regions: inhabited by Zanavykai in the north (centers Šakiai and Veliuona) and by Kapsai in the south (centers in Marijampolė and Vilkaviškis). Revised classification of the dialects, proposed in 1965 by linguists Zigmas Zinkevičius and Aleksas Girdenis, eliminates this distinction and the local dialect is deemed to be a sub-dialect of Western Aukštaitian dialect. Despite the revisions distinction between Zanavykai and Kapsai remain popular. In in 2003–2006 Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute published a three-volume dictionary of Zanavykai sub-dialect. Marijampolė County organizes annual Language Day to encourage preservation of the sub-dialect.

Clothing

Traditional peasant clothing in Suvalkija while consisting of the same clothing items differed greatly from other parts of Lithuania. Because the region was relatively wealthier, the clothes were richer in decorations, color, and ornaments. They were also made of better and more expensive materials, including brocade, silk, wool, and damask. Regional differences existed even withing Suvalkija. Kapsai women had long, wide dress garments with large designs of stars and tulips, semidark in colour and partially striped. The Zanavykai costume is one of the most decorative in design, colour and style.

Suvalkija women wore wide, gathered skirts of one main color (dark and rich like dark red, blue, violet, or green) with narrow multi-colored stripes woven into the fabric. Women's shirts in Suvalkija are distinguishable from those of other regions by their wider sleeves and by more extensive decorations. Especially richly decorated and colorful were aprons, with Kapsai laying stripes and other ornaments horizontally, while the Zanavykai preferred vertical compositions. Women also had richly decorated sashes tied around their waist. These sashes used more complex ornaments than in other regions, where more archaic but simpler geometric forms prevailed. Because of their relative complexity these sashes were valued more by the folk art collectors. Bodices at first were identical to those in Dzūkija but by the mid-19th century differentiated. Bodices of Zanavykai had short laps, while bodices of Kapsai were long and flared. Headdresses of young girls and married women were different. Kapsai young girls wore tall golden gallons, while Zanavykai youth wore narrow galloons, sometimes replacing them with beads. Married women wore bonnets similar to those in Dzūkija.

Men's wear was simpler and only occasionally decorated with modest embroidery. Men wore caftans pleated at the back. Caftans, usually sewn from light gray or white woolen cloth, were later replaced by coats. Shirts, resembling a tunic, were sewn from white linen cloth and usually were not decorated. The most decorative detail of men's garment was decorative patterned sashes around their waists. Men also wore high boots and hats with straight brims that were decorated with feathers and flowers.

As elsewhere, the traditional clothing began to rapidly change in the beginning of the 20th century as city and town culture increasingly influenced the traditional peasant life. Clothes became simpler, less colorful and decorated. Women started wearing variety of jackets, usually of one dark color, and covered their heads with simple scarfs tied under their chin. Skirts became less and less gathered and colored stripes disappeared. Celebrated aprons and sashes were lost completely.

Character

Because serfdom in Suvalkija was abolished 50 years earlier than in the rest of Lithuania and the region is known for its fertile land, inhabitants of Suvalkija managed to acquire more wealth. As such they are traditionally perceived as very rational, smart and extremely frugal, even greedy. Such stereotypical labels gave rise to many anecdotes and practical jokes. Similar labels are also applied to the over regions. People of Suvalkija were also among the first and most numerous emigrants to the United States.

Agriculture

Suvalkija has long been known as an agricultural region. Increasing demand for wood prompted deforestation of the wast area in 16th–17th centuries. Resulting clearings were used to develop farmland. Suvalkija remains the least forested area of Lithuania (in 2005 forests covered 21.6% of Marijampolė County while national average is 32%). The third-largest forest of Lithuania, Kazlų Rūda Forest (58,700 ha), is in Suvalkija but covers sandy soil unfit for farmlands.

Already in the 19th century peasants were able to move out to vienkemiai.

In 1935 a peasant strike due to an economic crisis resulted in several arrests. Even today Suvalkija remains one of the most important regions of agriculture in Lithuania. It it is known for growing sugar beets.

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