Mythological sakme
folkloric
stolen baby, changeling child, bundle of straw, little Laumė-being, night exchange
The sakme
In old times it was told that Laumės sometimes came into homes not to give gifts, but to steal children. In the place of the stolen baby they would leave a bundle of straw that slowly began turning into a little Laumė-being.
One night a farmhand was lying in the cottage and saw Laumės. They had brought the household’s baby, and in its place began tying straw. Each sent the other to carry the bundle to the cradle, but both were afraid to go alone.
When both Laumės went out for a moment, the farmhand hid the real child under the bedding. When the Laumės returned, they did not find it and left empty-handed. In the morning the farmhand showed the household what would have ended up in the cradle.
The bundle of straw had already begun to come alive. When it was cut, blood appeared from the straw. People understood that with just a little delay, what would have grown in the house was not their baby but a Laumės’ changeling.
Interpretation: what does the Laumės’ changeling mean?
The sakme speaks about an infant’s vulnerability and the guarding of the household boundary. Laumės come when everyone sleeps, so the danger is not battle but an unnoticed substitution.
The bundle of straw is an imitation of life. It looks lifeless, yet in the sakme it begins acquiring a body. It is a disturbing image of false, foreign life admitted into the home.
The farmhand’s vigilance saves the child. The story values not heroic strength but attentiveness, courage, and the ability to understand that something extraordinary is happening at night.
History, variants, and recording
The changeling motif is known in many European traditions. In Lithuanian sakmes it is often connected with Laumės, who may steal babies, leave their own child, or leave a dead substitute.
Such sakmes also explained social anxiety: infant illness, strange behavior, disability, or sudden misfortune. Folklore translated these experiences into mythological language.
This is a mythological sakme told as a real event. The substituted infant motif is international, known across Europe as the Wechselbalg and in Christiansen’s migratory legend type ML 5085, “Pakeistinukas.” In Lithuanian tradition it is tied to Laumės. Norbertas Vėlius studied Laumės as beings who steal or exchange children (Mitinės lietuvių sakmių būtybės, 1977), and Lithuanian mythological sakmes are classified in Bronislava Kerbelytė’s catalogue (vol. 3, 2002).
Child, cradle, and household protection
The cradle is the most important household center in the sakme. One’s own child must lie there; when a foreign creature enters it, the whole family order is violated.
For that reason the sakme stands close to old prohibitions against leaving a baby unattended and to the guarding of thresholds, windows, bathhouses, and evening hours.
