Sodai bei Bitutės - Orchards and Honeybees

The trees on a homestead, besides adding beauty to the surroundings, were a protection against winds, and in winter, against big snowdrifts. Tall trees protected the houses in thunderstorms, and provided a shady retreat in the heat of summer. Songbirds made their nests in those trees, and enriched the air with their melodious voices.

Trees most frequently seen were ažuolai, uosiai, klevai, beržai, liepos, gluosniai, šermukšniai - (oak, ash, maple, birch, linden, willow, and rowan). In the orchards grew obuoliai, kriaušės, slyvai, vyšnios (apple trees, pears, plums, cherries.)

In general, the Lithuanian šeimininkas lived all his life respecting the trees surrounding him. It was believed that trees, like people, felt pain, but weren‘t able to complain. A tree‘s creaking, crackling or groaning, was a soul suffering purgatory; hearing this, one should promptly say an „ąmžiną ątilsį“ (eternal rest). In eastern Lithuania,

people firmly believed that one must not cut down a tree planted by one‘s father or grandfather. If such a tree needed to be cut, it was best to hire a neighbor to do the job. And once having cut such a tree, one was obliged to have Mass said for the ancestor‘s soul, and to host a commemorative meal at home.

We can confidently say that our old culture was one of trees and wood.

Not only were trees, especially orchards, an adornment for the

Lithuanian’s homesteads: their very buildings, their interior fixtures, housekeeping implements and work tools were mostly made of wood.

From birth unto death the Lithuanian lived in company with wood, and in death there was no separation. He lay down for his eternal rest in a wooden coffin crafted for him by his neighbors, and over his grave, the trees and the songbirds filled the air with tranquility.

When the linden tree blossoms, the sodyba’s air fills with the fragrance

of honey, as rare is the establishment without bitučiu (honeybees). Beehives, of which a farmer could (should) have several, might be made from a hollowed tree stump; boxes crudely nailed together with a straw ‘hat” attached; a dome woven from a heavy wicker basket; or high up in trees in forested land. The beekeeper reaches this kind of

hive by way of sturdy climbing ropes. Beekeeping is an ancient, honored occupation in Lithuania, also referred to as “bičiulystė”, the Lithuanian word “bičių” denoting friends.

© English Translation - Gloria O’Brien 2011

This article was printed in Bridges, 2011