In Lithuania, like in every other country, people of other nations and
religions have lived since the old times. Not always have Lithuanians
and other ethnic-religious groups lived together only in a friendly fashion.
The binary system of world classification is old just like mankind.
Opposite “own/my” vs. “strange” is one of the most popular contra-positions.
Living nearby one nation, one notices all differences of other ethnic
groups, i.e. their other religion, different customs, other occupation
(social strata), language, distinctive appearance and temperament (Anglickiene
2002b: 82–85). This article analyses the only religious aspect:
the image of people of other religions in Lithuanian folklore. The aims
of the article are to introduce the most popular narratives and specify
reasons, due to which they came into folklore. Folk motives are gathered
from the Lithuanian folklore manuscripts that are in the Institute
of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, from the published collections of
folklore, and are written by the author herself during the expeditions.
The examples of modern anecdotes, about these strangers, are taken
from the Internet (mostly from www.delfi.lt).