Lithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology

Dear Visitors of our Museum!

Lithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology is the first and the only museum of such character in the world. The term ‘ethnocomology’ was born here, on Kaldinės hills and it still cannot be found in any encyclopaedia of any country of the world. But I am sure that in the nearest future the establishment of such museums will be started in other countries as well.
I am sure, because the civilization of the Earth (that historically fell into the billow of accelerating progress where constantly increasing speed of life locks a single man as well as the whole mankind in a conveyor of pragmatic activity) in the panorama of its culture cannot notice a very important aspect – relationship between a man and mankind, relations with the Cosmic World. They are emotional-visual, ethnic, spiritual, cognitive, pragmatic, futurological, SETI (search for unearthly mind) and ontological relations with our broader natural world – cosmic world of the Universe. This world, which looks strange and distant for many people, in reality is a world covering the meaning of existence of a man and mankind, its cosmic purpose and maximum possibilities of the future of planetary civilizations.
If the mankind is already mature to care for its future measured by millennial scale (what is rather doubtful, unfortunately), then the conception of the relationship of the mankind with the Cosmic World and deep interest in that world is really necessary.

The establishment of Lithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology was the first small step towards the embodiment of existence of the Cosmic World and relationship with it in human consciousness opening absolutely new, still indistinct, interdisciplinary and exceptional manifestation of culture – ethnocosmology.

Constantly increasing stream of visitors (already over 25 thousand per year) independent of the change of seasons and flowing to the Museum day and night testifies that the content of such museum is meaningful and needful, and the Museum of Ethnocosmology has definite future prospects.
Gunaras Kakaras, Director of Museum

Lithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology, 2008

Address:
Kulioniys village., Molėtai region, Lithuania

Postal address:
p./d. Nr.24 LT - 33001 Molėtai

Tel./fax:
+370-383- 45-424

e.mail:
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ETHNOCOSMOLOGY

It is a reflection of the relations of a man and mankind with the Cosmic World and their manifestation in culture: traditions of life of the nation, its rites, material and verbal heritage, science, technology, literature, art, philosophy, religions, futurology and science fiction. In its research, analysis, estimations and generalizations ethnocosmology uses the methods and terminology characteristic to that field of activities, from which one or another link with the Cosmic World is singled out.

Classification of our relations with the Cosmic World:

- Emotional and visual relationship – from the first “oh, how beautiful it is!“ to art, science, philosophy, religion, ethics, moral philosophy and other problems.
- Spiritual relationship – this relationship is reflected in all the religions of the world;
- Ethnic relationship – it is our verbal, ritual and material heritage expressing the vertical relations of the nation with the Cosmic World.
- Cognitive relationship – is a road of scientific cognition to the Cosmic World by the methods of astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology and physics.
- Pragmatic relationship – it is cosmonautics, aeronautics - physical passage to the Cosmic World with the aim to employ, apply it and to make a profit on it as well.
- Prognostic relationship – efforts to envisage the future of the mankind in cosmic scales of time – from scientific prognoses to science fiction.
- Ontological relationship – never-ending search for the purport of human life in this Universe.
- Relationship in the unknown – it is a necessary sign of respect to the Unknown. It would be naïve to expect that this classification exhausts all our links with the Cosmic World.

Ethnocosmological information

Everything what reflects or includes the information on human relationship, links with the Cosmic World is called ethnocosmological information.
Ethnocosmological information may be the following: ethnographic material therein texts, songs, rites, symbols; scientific works and science achievements, heritage of science history; audio, video or photo material; heavenly sight through the telescope; artworks; philosophical and religious texts, etc.

The Museum of Ethnocosmology selects, accumulates, systematizes, preserves, researches ethnocosmological information and provides it to the visitors.

Presentation of ethnocosmological information to the public

Ethnocosmological information is intended to a very broad circle of visitors – from a casual rubberneck, schoolchild, student to a specialist working in one or another field of science or art. At the Museum of Ethnocosmology information is presented in the following forms:

- Museum exposition and interpretation of guides. All the exposition – from material pieces to photo and video pieces – are presented to the visitors by highly qualified guides by disclosing emotional, informative and philosophical essence of the exhibits, and sometimes even personal attitudes of the guides.

- Information bank that consists of: collections of exhibits, archive of ethnological material of folk astronomy, collections of video material and library. All that is the basic property of the Museum of Ethnocosmology and its source of development.

- Observation of sky bodies by the means of telescope – it is an immediate opportunity for each visitor to see, grope and feel visually, emotionally and informatively the infinite of the Universe and the plenty of its bodies. The telescope of the Museum of Ethocosmology is available to all the residents of Lithuanian as well as to foreign guests and tourists.

- Ethnocosmological open-air exposition is an exposition in natural environment: roadside poles with statuettes of saints carved of wood, calendar observation posts, marked stones, sundials, mythological symbols, mythological sculptures and sculptures of contemporary artists expressing our links with the Cosmic World.

- Special programmes of the Museum: a) annual practice periods of the students of Vilnius University of Pedagogy, the aim of which is to familiarize young people with the ethnocosmological idea and practical aspects of museum work; b) during archaeological research organized by the Museum specialized educational programme “Archaeology and Study of History” is performed since 1998. This programme is intended for gymnasium pupils of the increased motivation who are interested in the past. The essence of the programme is a study of the past through the history of science and the old technology.

- Website of the Museum in Internet. It is a concise and modern method of presentation of the selected ethnocosmological information, the most important aims of which are to familiarize the people with the idea of ethnocosmology and to stimulate them for further interest in the relationship of a man and a mankind with the Cosmic World.

Fragments from the history of the Museum of Ethnocosmology

In the seventh decade of the 20th century it was sought for a place for the new Lithuanian observatory of astronomy because the old one – Observatory of Vilnius University at Čiurlionio St. in Vilnius – was already covered by urban lights, dust and smoke. Many hills far off the urban lights were visited and in 1969 it was decided to choose the hills of Kulionys Village situated in Molėtai region and surrounded by the horseshoe Lake Želva. The location seemed to be suitable for the observatory and its construction was started in the same year.

Here, on Kaldinės hills, the idea of Ethnocosmology was born. Its main authors were the then Staff Manager of the Observatory of Astronomy Dr. Gunaras Kakaras and Chief Fellow of the Institute of Semiconductor Physics Dr. Libertas Klimka – great enthusiast of ethnic culture. Little by little the sky of G.Kakaras and the ethnology of L.Klimka found common contact points – links of Lithuanian nation with the Sky, Sun, Moon, stars. That was the beginning of ethnocosmology – the beginning of the term itself as well as the beginning of the future museum. But at that time, after 1970, the term of ethnocosmology was still not pronounced for a long time.

At that time the construction of Molėtai Observatory of Astronomy was in progress. Two first telescopes of the Observatory were put into operation. Short paragraphs without any advertising appeared in the press. But it was obviously enough – excursions, groups, single visitors started visiting the Observatory. Most of them were interested in what the Observatory of Astronomy is, what the astronomers can watch and see by the means of their telescopes. But there also were some other kinds of visitors who wondered why I, such a small terrestrial being, who needs so little on an astronomical scale – food, roof, warmth, clothing, do exist in such an incredibly large Universe? What is the meaning of such myriad Universe and what is the meaning of my existence in it?

Exactly these questions anticipated the idea that in the Observatory of Astronomy there should be some space and possibilities for the people to contact the world above them, to see the scenery of this world through the telescope, to hear the answers to the questions they are interested in and to mature inwardly the new questions linking them with the Cosmic World. Such ideas were also supported by Juozas Algimantas Krikštopaitis, who has got physicist’s education but later on moved to philosophy and maintained a thesis for a degree of habilitated doctor of philosophy.

In 1978 the old Observatory of Astronomy of Vilnius University turned 125. On the initiative of L.Klimka the public museum was opened on one floor of the telescope tower of Molėtai Observatory of Astronomy where there were the first ethnographic exhibits reflecting in one or another aspect the relationship of the nation with the world of the Sky showed in addition to the basic exhibits and telescopes of the old Vilnius Observatory.

But for the actual embodiment of the idea of ethnocosmology other spaces, premises and buildings of an individual purpose were necessary. As soon as the construction of the observatory settlement was completed, a so-called ‘special purpose astronomical pavilion’ – the museum – arose according to the project of the architect Vytautas Lisauskas. The place for it was chosen on the hill located at some distance from the Observatory, near Kulionys Castle-Hill. In the architecture of the building the image of the Cosmic, World Tree is reflected. In the roots of this Tree – underground gallery going up to the hill - the exposition is arranged, and on the top of the hill we can climb up the trunk of the tree – tower - to the Sky, i.e. to the telescope equipped high atop. Together with the buildings and conception of the Museum the name ‘ethnocosmology’ was born, which is the model of the world above us matured by Lithuanian nation, provisions of communication with it an respect for it as the main baseline and point of further development in the panorama of human relations with the Cosmic World.

More info: http://www.cosmos.lt/ethnocosmology.html

Director G.Kakaras