| Lithuania Minor Samogitia Aukštaitija | Suvalkija Dzūkija |
Dzūkija (pronounced /dzuːkɪˈjʌ/ in English, simplified Lithuanian transcription [dzūkija]) or Dainava is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Lithuania Minor (Mažoji Lietuva Kleinlitauen Litwa Mniejsza Máлая Литвá or Prussian Lithuania (Prūsų Lietuva Preußisch-Litauen Litwa Pruska is a historical Samogitia ( Samogitian: Žemaitėjė, Žemaitija literally lowlands) is one of the five Ethnographic Regions of Lithuania. Aukštaitija (literary Highlands; oʊkʃteɪtɪˈjʌ is the name of one of five ethnographic Regions of Lithuania. This article discusses the Lithuanian part of the region For the Polish one see Suwałki Region. Ethnography ( Greek ethnos = people and graphein = writing is a genre of writing that uses Fieldwork to provide a descriptive Lithuania can be divided into historical and cultural regions (called Ethnographic regions
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Geography
Dzūkija is situated in the south of Lithuania and consists of Varėna district municipality, Alytus district municipality, Alytus city, Šalčininkai district municipality, Trakai district municipality, Vilnius district municipality, Lazdijai district municipality, south of Švenčionys district municipality, as well as Elektrėnai municipality. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Varėna district municipality is a Municipality in southern Lithuania, Alytus County. The Alytus district municipality is a municipality in Lithuania, located in the Dzūkija ethnographic region Alytus ( Latvian: Alīte, Olita Yiddish: Olita or Alite, Алитус is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania Šalčininkai district municipality (Šalčininkų rajonas is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. The Trakai district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. Vilnius district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. Lazdijai district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. Švenčionys district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. Elektrėnai municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. A part of the region belongs to northeastern Poland (Podlasie Voivodship) and another one to western Belarus. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Vilnius, Lyda and Alytus are the major cities of Dzūkija, the latter considered a historical capital of the region, although it never was a political entity. Lida (Лі́да Ли́да Lyda Lida is a city in western Belarus in Hrodna Voblast, situated 160 km west of Minsk. Alytus ( Latvian: Alīte, Olita Yiddish: Olita or Alite, Алитус is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status The article is about the geographic sense of the term For other uses including Regions and Regional, see Region (disambiguation. Lithuania is divided into 5 ethnographic regions, corresponding to the rural lifestyle, songs and traditions, and somewhat corresponding to the dialects of language. To the north of Dzūkija there is Aukštaitija region, and Suvalkija (Sūduva or Suvalkija in Lithuanian) is to the west. Aukštaitija (literary Highlands; oʊkʃteɪtɪˈjʌ is the name of one of five ethnographic Regions of Lithuania. This article discusses the Lithuanian part of the region For the Polish one see Suwałki Region. Large parts of Dzūkija are covered with forests and in the most scarcely populated areas of the region the population density is lower than 4 persons per square kilometer. The biggest swamp in Lithuania, Čepkelių marsh is also situated in the region. A swamp is a Wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water Čepkeliai marsh (Čepkelių raistas is the biggest Swamp in Lithuania, in the territory of Dzūkija National Park, south of Marcinkonys village
Two of the total 5 national parks in Lithuania are to be found in Dzūkija: Dzūkija National Park east of Varėna established there in 1991 and Trakai National Historic Park near Trakai set up in 1992. Dzūkija National Park - a National park in Dzūkija, Lithuania, was established in 1991 in order to preserve the Pine forests Varėna is a city in Dzūkija, Lithuania. The town was founded in 1862 near the railway Warsaw – Saint Petersburg, south of Sena Varėna Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Trakai Historical National Park is a National park in Lithuania. Trakai is a historic city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies 28 km west of Vilnius, capital of Lithuania Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar)
Demographics
People in Dzūkija traditionally speak Dzūkian dialect, which is also known as South Aukštaitian. Dzūkian dialect, known in academic works as Southern Aukštaitian dialect, is one of the three main sub-dialects of the Aukštaitian dialect of Lithuanian language A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of Dzūkian dialect, known in academic works as Southern Aukštaitian dialect, is one of the three main sub-dialects of the Aukštaitian dialect of Lithuanian language Same as elsewhere in Lithuania, dialects are dying out however and people more and more speak standard Lithuanian, except for elders. Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. East part of Dzūkija (the part in Belarus, also Šalčininkai district and Vilnius district) was greatly influenced by slavicization, and has now Polish and Belarusian majorities. Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east The Polish people, or Poles, (Polacy) are a Western Slavic Ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east
Traditions
Because of its remoteness, lots of forests and swamps, the region has quite much of wild berries and mushrooms; picking of both has been centuries old tradition of Dzūkian people, and now it is continued. In summer and autumn there are lots of Dzūkian people selling berries and mushrooms in markets or beside major roads, although now a centralised companies buying out what people gathered are also popular. People from other parts of Lithuania come to forage in Dzūkija too, although Dzūkians try to hide the places most rich of "forest treasures"; as well, some people who don't know mushrooms well sometimes accidentally pick poisonous ones. Because of this tradition, there is a saying in Lithuanian language "Jei ne grybai ir ne uogos, dzūkų mergos būtų nuogos" ("If not for mushrooms and berries, Dzūkian girls would all be naked").
History
The very first Lithuanian handwritten texts from the early 16th century show traits of the Dzūkijan (South Aukštaitijan) dialect. This dialect was once spoken by indigenous people around the capital city of Vilnius and was a basis of first Lithuanian literary traditions.
Politics
Dzūkija, unlike Samogitia for example (another ethnographic region of Lithuania), has never been defined as a political or administrative unit. Samogitia ( Samogitian: Žemaitėjė, Žemaitija literally lowlands) is one of the five Ethnographic Regions of Lithuania. Traditionally, city of Alytus is regarded as the capital of the region, although it is not the largest one. Alytus ( Latvian: Alīte, Olita Yiddish: Olita or Alite, Алитус is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania The idea of Lithuanian lands however, which was very supported by former president Rolandas Paksas, proposed that Lithuania instead of apskritys should be divided into ethnographic regions, called lands. Rolandas Paksas ( (born 10 June 1956 in Telšiai, Samogitia, Lithuania, then USSR) is a well known politician in Wikipedia_talkFeatured_lists#Proposed_change_to_all_featured_lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->The territory of Lithuania It would make Dzūkija a separate land. Although now it is unclear whether this idea would be done and when, Dzūkian flag and coat of arms were created and adopted few years ago.
Symbolics
Coat of arms of Dzūkija pictures a white warrior with shield standing on white ground, with a blue sky behind. The grand coat of arms is the same, except that it is supported from sides by two creatures, and at the bottom there is Latin inscription Ex gente bellicosissima populus laboriosus, meaning "Out of most warring tribe - industrious people". Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. These words, meant to become motto of Dzūkija, weren't used in past, but they, as well as the warrior shown in the coat of arms, represent the fact that Yatvingians lived in southern Lithuania (including where now is Dzūkija) formerly, which were considered to be one of the most warring Baltic tribes and according to few remaining stories were great warriors. A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group Yotvingians or Sudovians (also called Suduvians, Jatvians, or Jatvingians in English (Jotvingiai Sūduviai Jatvingi Jaćwingowie Яцьвягі The Balts or Baltic peoples (People who live by the Baltic Sea) defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European Flag is based on this coat of arms. Symbolics were created by expert of South Lithuanian heraldry Arvydas Každalis few years ago, to be used in case Dzūkija would become an administrative unit. Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms.