Hanging Birds

In Lithuanian folklore the bird has always played a very important role. By soaring in the heavens, it was seen as a mediator between the gods and man. By laying eggs, it was seen as the giver of life. Its ability to migrate and then return made the peasants view it as an intelligent creature not bound by earthly territorial boundaries and, in more recent time, it naturally came to symbolize freedom. All of this, and more, imbued the bird with a mythical significance which then found form in many aspects of Lithuanian folk art. One such expression is the hanging bird whose body is a decorated egg. R. P.