Etninių simbolių raiška ir reikšmės jaunimo subkultūrinėse grupėse
Ethnic Symbols and Meanings in Youth Subcultural Groups

Summary/Abstract: Researchers of Lithuanian youth culture often notice tendencies for cultural groups’ interest in ethnic culture. This tendency is often expressed with learning history and culture of their ancestors and their lifestyle, not only pagan religion. They are reviving not only religion, but also music, arts, crafts. The growing numbers of reconstruction clubs, rise of popularity of folklore in various groups and emergence of subcultural pagan metal groups show the importance of ancient worldviews to young people. This article, using comparative analysis of symbolic expression of members of metal and skinhead subcultures and pagan and folklore groups, aims to show values and identity features that are usual to members of these groups. When interacting in the same cultural spaces (youth festivals, celebrations etc.), these groups create broader cultural field, which generates common cultural meanings and associates cultural identity with ethnic culture, expressed in modern forms. This cultural field consists of metal and skinhead subcultures, folk musicians, craftsmen, reconstruction clubs, religious pagan communities and others. Despite the differences of groups in this cultural field, they are united by pagan worldviews and usage of the same symbols. Most common of them are brass jewelry, Baltic symbols: grass snakes, spiral, swastika and others. These symbols are a cultural code, which unites various groups and reveals their search for modern ethnocultural identity.

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