TadasBlinda

TADAS BLINDA

Lithuania’s Robin Hood -- or an Ordinary Outlaw?

By Gloria O’Brien

The famous Žemaitijos (Samogitian) “ALKA” Museum has in its collection a painted carved- wood sculpture of a standing figure, a blue-eyed man with brown hair and a bristling mustache, wearing boots, a peaked cap, and a long, double-breasted, fur-collared jacket. A pouch-bag is slung over his left shoulder, and he holds a whip in his right hand. The sculpture was made by a talented folk wood-carver of the late nineteenth century, Kazys Mockus, who called it “Tadas Blinda”. According to the entertainment media, England had Robin Hood, Spanish California had Zorro, and Lithuania had Tadas Blinda.

Tadas Blinda, however, was not just the product of someone’s imagination, but a real person. Documentary evidence tells us that he was born near the end of 1846 in Kinčiulių kaimą, Žemaitija. He was the younger of two sons, and his brother for some reason ran afoul of the Czar’s government and was exiled to Siberia, never to return. His mother did her best to spoil her only remaining son, signing most of her property over to him when he reached the age of twenty. Though he married and fathered three daughters, he had little interest in the land, and, renting his farm to others, Blinda set off with some companions on a career of robbery throughout the countryside of Žemaitija.

The outlaw class of nineteenth-century Lithuania arose as one result of prevailing social conditions. The Czar’s army recruited by force, for a tour of duty that usually lasted at least 25 years, and so many men fled to avoid conscription, while others deserted. Unable to return to their homes for fear of reprisals against their families, they hid in Lithuania’s dense forests, and many turned to thievery. One school of thought views the outlaws of Žemaitija as protesters and fighters against injustice, rather than mere robbers, and some believe that Blinda may have intended such a protest when he first embarked upon a life of crime. It was said that he robbed the rich and the Czar’s officials as vengeance for the humiliations and privations visited by the Czar’s harsh government on Lithuania’s common folk. Rumor repeated stories of a few purportedly unselfish acts of charity, but these, if true, did not balance out his crimes. Even if his actions were at first a struggle against injustice, that did not prevent him from robbing priests and ordinary people as well as the rich and well-connected. He did not discriminate, but robbed anyone, regardless of their status. Whereas England’s legendary Robin Hood “stole from the rich and gave to the poor”, the real Blinda obviously had no such philanthropic motives for his activities.

Blinda and his group, from 1865 through 1877, ravaged a large section of the country, around Telšiai, Šiauliai, Raseiniai, and the surroundings. He became well-known in the area, and though his own deeds were sufficiently daring and numerous, it seems probable that the criminal acts of several other outlaws were also ascribed to him by a credulous, almost admiring populace.

The outlaw met his end in a tavern, having been set upon and severely beaten by a group of village men, dragged out to the road and stoned, then left for dead. His remains were buried in unconsecrated ground, in an area usually reserved for suicides. A small monument was later erected, and for a few short years, the grave was apparently tended, but with the passage of time, the little mound itself was eventually obliterated.

Tales about his fantastic exploits grew, and became the stuff of legend. Later, folklorists collected and wrote down the stories and reminiscences of seniors who related those tales with pleasure, gusto and, probably, a good bit of embroidery. Like a snowball, the legend grew larger and larger, and by the time Lithuania’s talented writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries began to write stories and ballads about him, Tadas Blinda had acquired almost mythic status.

That status was all but confirmed with the appearance, in 1909, of the play “Blinda, svieto lygintojas” (“Blinda, the world’s equalizer”), written by Gabrielius Landsbergis. A leading dramatist and actor of the time, writing under the pseudonym “Žemkalnis”, Gabrielius Landsbergis was the grandfather of today’s well-known Vytautas Landsbergis, staunch freedom-fighter, first President of the Republic’s Seimas (Parliament), current Member of Parliament, and musical scholar and authority. The play was very well received and frequently produced, and had the effect of transforming a legendary outlaw into a folk hero.

Later, a very popular Lithuanian movie, produced in 1972 as a TV serial, extolled the life and derring-do of a nineteenth-century outlaw who stole from the rich and was “the world’s equalizer”. That serial, titled “Tadas Blinda”, became such a favorite that it has been re-broadcast many times since then, and the characters’ oft-repeated, amusing phrases and bits of colorful dialogue entered the vocabulary of the general populace.

Now, the legend of “the world’s equalizer” has been told again, this time as a modern musical spectacular, performed in Vilnius’ Vingis Park, on September 1, 2004, starring Lithuania’s most popular singer, Andrius Mamontovas, in the leading role. Besides the six other well-known featured players, the production included the chorus “Brevis”, along with a large complement of musicians, dancers, and experienced stuntmen. A group of mounted policemen with their steeds also participated in this lavish presentation.The producers and directors had decided that their play would be a totally new, modern-day production, with modern-day dress and language. It went off smoothly, before a pleased and very happy audience, and received very good reviews.

It has been said that each generation cherishes its own view of “Lithuania’s Robin Hood”, Tadas Blinda. The original play by Žemkalnis caused a good deal of consternation and some anger amongst that part of the public that was informed and aware of Blinda’s true story. They were full of indignation, that a person who had been a common criminal should be raised upon a pedestal and exalted as a gallant individual. Eventually, it was explained that there were two Tadas Blinda’s……. one, the ordinary outlaw, and another, a legendary being who had been created from fragments of tales and people’s desire for a hero. The fine literature written about “Tadas Blinda” , and the TV motion picture, were not meant to praise an outlaw, but to depict the struggle of ordinary people against their oppressors, to defend people’s inborn right to freedom, and to honor courage, love and the beauty of nature.

This, then, is the Tadas Blinda that survives in literature, theater and film, and which we prefer – and why not? Let the first one sleep in his lost grave…. and we can continue to admire that champion of justice: Lithuania’s fictional Robin Hood, the “World’s Equalizer”.

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