Hags and a Child

Greed and Deception

Norbertas Vėlius
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Submission
VDA Vilnius
Language
Lithuanian
Source
Academic Publishing
Format
Other
Era
Ancient: 3000BCE—500CE
Sphere
Cultural
Submission
VDA Vilnius
Language
Lithuanian
Source
Academic Publishing
Format
Other
Era
Ancient: 3000BCE—500CE
Sphere
Cultural

This Lithuanian sakmė about two mothers and their contrasting encounters with hags exemplifies how traditional narratives articulated moral principles through supernatural frameworks. The tale's structure—showing parallel situations with dramatically different outcomes based on intention—creates powerful didactic framework that reinforces social values while acknowledging the mysterious forces believed to shape human experience.

The contrasting fates of the two children—one found carefully swaddled in silk, the other beheaded—establishes clear moral distinction between genuine accident and deliberate negligence. The hags' different lullabies about the "forgotten one" versus the "purposely forgotten one" demonstrate sophisticated moral reasoning that distinguishes between similar actions based on underlying intention. This nuance reflects how traditional moral frameworks often recognised the importance of internal motivation rather than merely external action.

The supernatural beings in this tale function simultaneously as moral arbiters and representations of cosmic justice. Their ability to discern the mothers' true intentions demonstrates belief in forces beyond human perception that nonetheless respond to human moral quality. This integration of supernatural agency with moral consequence creates powerful framework for reinforcing social values by suggesting that unseen forces monitor and respond to human behaviour.

Compiled from Norbertas Vėlius's collection of Lithuanian etiological legends, this tale exemplifies how traditional narratives addressed complex ethical questions through accessible story formats. By portraying extreme consequences for calculated deception, the narrative reinforces community values of genuine care and responsibility while warning against manipulation of social systems. The tale's preservation transforms what was once living oral tradition into documented cultural heritage, changing its function while ensuring its survival beyond the communities that originally created it.

𝌇 READ: "Baltu Religijos ir Mitologijos Šaltiniai", 1996. Comprehensive source collection of Baltic religious and mythological sources from earliest times to end of 15th century; Editor: Norbertas Vėlius. Published by Mokslo ir Enciklopedijų Leidykla, Vilnius. Volume I. Source: Mokslo ir Enciklopedijų Leidykla, Vilnius.

↑ ▢ "The Prophetic Hag", Folkloric image; Lithuanian sakmė of the two mothers and the hags' judgment, interpretation of Norbertas Vėlius' How the Earth Came to Be; Source: Public Domain.