Narrative folklore

Lithuanian mythological tales

Read Lithuanian sakmes in English: concise belief and origin stories about supernatural encounters, creation, taboos, signs, and consequences.

Sakme guides

Belief tales, origin tales, and mythological stories with source context and interpretation.

Likimo sakmė

A person looks at the starry Lithuanian night sky where one star shines more brightly
Fate sakmeA Person’s Star

A short mythological sakme about the belief that when a person is born, their star lights in the sky, and recognizing one’s own star can be mortally dangerous.

Charred sticks hidden under linen clothes in an old chest beside a dim bathhouse fire
Fate sakmeThe Charred Sticks

A sakme about a newborn’s life being destined to last until extinguished charred sticks burn out, and about opening a secret chest that fulfills the fate.

Three voices of fate are heard in darkness near a cradle while lightning flashes far outside the window
Fate sakmeThe Laimės’ Foretelling

A sakme about voices that allot a newborn wealth, early death, and death by Perkūnas, while the father’s efforts and the child’s hiding place change the expected ending.

Mitologinė sakmė

Sheep shears lie beside a dying old man while a white figure of Giltinė approaches in the dark
Mythological sakmeGiltinė’s Tongue

A sakme about an old man who, before dying, asks for shears to be placed by his body so that when Giltinė comes close he can cut off her poisonous tongue.

During a thunderstorm a man with a pipe notices a crouching Velnias under the eaves of an old house
Mythological sakmeHe Will Strike Me, but Kill You

A short sakme about a man who finds Velnias hiding under an eave during a storm, and a strike from Perkūnas kills the man rather than the one who was hiding.

A hunter in a stormy forest meets powerful Perkūnas beneath lightning while holding an old gun
Mythological sakmePerkūnas’ Gift

A sakme about a hunter who helps Perkūnas shoot Velnias and receives a magically loaded gun whose power disappears when he boasts.

By the Nemunas fishermen hold a net with a beautiful water being with yellow hair and a fish tail
Mythological sakmeThe Captured Undine

A sakme about an undine caught by fishermen in the Nemunas near Ploksciai: she sings in an incomprehensible language, weeps before people, and is finally released back into the river.

Young men pasturing horses at night watch a black fiery Aitvaras descend above alder trees
Mythological sakmeThe Caught Aitvaras

A sakme about an Aitvaras seen during night horse pasturing, like a black flying firebrand with shining edges, and an attempt to force it down with a knife.

A young man in an old bathhouse hides a glowing egg from which an Aitvaras begins to hatch
Mythological sakmeThe Hatched Aitvaras

A sakme about a young man who secretly hatches an Aitvaras from an egg under his arm, after which wealth begins flowing into the household.

A young woman by old millstones sees a red rooster-shaped Aitvaras above a grain trough
Mythological sakmeThe Killed Aitvaras

A sakme about a daughter-in-law tormented by endless grinding until she sees Aitvaras in the form of a red rooster and kills it.

A bundle of straw lies beside a cradle in a dark Lithuanian cottage while Laumės’ shadows appear beyond the window
Mythological sakmeThe Laumės’ Changeling

A sakme about a baby stolen by Laumės and a bundle of straw left in its place, which would have turned into a little Laumė-being if the trick had not been noticed in time.

A poor woman in a hollow finds white Laumės’ cloths spread across dewy grass
Mythological sakmeThe Laumės’ Cloth

A sakme about a poor woman who finds a Laumės’ cloth that would never have run out if she had not wanted to see its end.

Towels are left beside steaming water in an old Lithuanian bathhouse while Laumės’ textiles shine in morning light
Mythological sakmeThe Laumės’ Gifts

A sakme about a woman who left hot water and bath whisks for Laumės in the bathhouse, and was repaid with fine woven goods.

Three wooden washing paddles lie on a lake footbridge in moonlight while Laumės’ silhouettes vanish in the distance
Mythological sakmeThe Laumės’ Washing Paddles

A sakme about Laumės who wash by a lake footbridge on Thursday evenings, and brave Jakamas who takes away their washing paddles.

A raven by its nest in a forest tree holds a small glowing stone while a human shadow stands below
Mythological sakmeThe Magic Invisibility Stone

A sakme about a small stone that makes a person invisible, and the grim way to obtain it from the beak of a young raven.

During a storm an old couple in a cottage hold a bottle with a rowan stopper while Perkūnas strikes outside the window
Mythological sakmeThe Rescued Velnias

A sakme about Velnias arriving at an old couple’s home during a thunderstorm, asking to be hidden in a bottle with a rowan stopper, and rewarding the people who helped him.

On Joninės night a witch falls from the roof of an old homestead in a stormy wind while a moved broom stands by the door
Mythological sakmeThe Tricked Witch

A mythological sakme about a witch who steals cow's milk through a dishcloth, then on Joninės night misses the chimney when her broom is set the wrong way.

Four currents of wind above a Lithuanian field and old homestead, shown as misty elemental figures
Mythological sakmeThe Wind and His Children

A sakme about winds as living beings with different temperaments, directions, and powers, which people tried to understand through the image of a family.

A farmer by a barn follows drops of blood into a forest, where an old wounded wind lies in a cottage
Mythological sakmeThe Wounded Wind

A sakme about a man who grew angry at the wind, threw a knife, wounded the wind in the form of an old man, and later blew away his own home.

During a storm in a plowed field a strip of turf is turned back, and beneath it hides a dark shadow of Velnias
Mythological sakmeVelnias Under the Turf

A sakme about Velnias asking Perkūnas where he might hide, and finally finding the one place under a strip of turf turned back on itself.

Pasaulio kūrimo sakmė

Dievas and a dark rower in a small boat by the first island of earth above the primeval waters
World-creation sakmeHow the Earth Came to Be

An etiological sakme about Dievas, the speck of mud Velnias brings from the bottom, and a small island that expands into the earth while Velnias drags the sleeping Dievas.

Etiologinė sakmė

Dievas beside an old bathhouse water bowl as the first human forms from a shining drop
Etiological sakmeThe Creation of Human Beings

A sakme about the first human arising from a drop of water as Dievas washed, and about the creation of woman so that the human would not be alone.

In an old Lithuanian cottage a dog and cat stare at each other by the threshold with an old rolled document between them
Etiological sakmeWhy Dogs and Cats Quarrel

An etiological sakme explaining why dogs and cats have long been enemies through the motif of a lost or hidden agreement.

Colorful mushrooms grow on the forest floor under pines, spruces, birches, and oaks while a fly is caught in a web above them
Etiological sakmeWhy Mushrooms Have Colors

A sakme about a time when mushrooms were all alike and harmless, until a fly dressed them for a colorful feast and a spider caught the fly before it could undress them.

A hare jumps out before sheep near a stone in a meadow and laughs while an old shepherd woman sits in the distance
Etiological sakmeWhy the Hare Has a Split Lip

A short sakme about a sad hare whom no one feared, and how laughing at his own trick split his lip.

At the edge of night an owl receives large shining eyes from the hands of Dievas after other animals have already left
Etiological sakmeWhy the Owl Has Night Eyes

A sakme about the time when birds and animals had no eyes, and the late-arriving owl received large eyes so it could see at night.

Dangaus kūnų kilmės sakmė

A mythical Lithuanian smith in a forge lifts the newly forged shining Sun toward the dark sky
Heavenly-body origin sakmeThe Forged Sun

An etiological sakme about a smith who, in the age of darkness, forges the Sun from shining iron over six years and throws it into the sky.