Dzukija as an ethnographic region of Lithuania: construction, stereotypes, identity markers

Abstract

The article examines Lithuania’s ethnographic region of Dzūkija, which is geographically, historically, linguistically and culturally closest to the neighboring Slavic territories, and whose conceptualization and recognition occurred only quite recently. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the interpretation of an ethnographic region primarily as a symbolic construct designed to connect and unite people using linguistic and cultural markers of their regional identity. As a result of the study, the key principles of identifying the ethnographic region of Dzūkija, based on both external (“objective”) and internal (“subjective”) distinctive features, have been characterized. The decisive role in the construction of the identity of the Dzūkian was played by the characteristic feature of their dialect —“dzūkavimas”, which is the basis of their nomination and stereotyping. The declared markers of the distinctiveness of the Dzūkian also include the “archaic” elements of traditional culture ascribed to them, which in our time chiefly manifest themselves in discourse rather than real life.