Kūlgrinda is a

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

group from

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, established in 1989 by Inija and Jonas Trinkūnas. The group is connected to the Lithuanian neopagan movement Romuva and often performs as a part of the movement's ceremonies.

History

The band was founded in 1989 by Jonas Trinkūnas and his wife Inija Trinkūnienė who also were the leaders of the

modern Pagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the Paganism, beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some comm ...

movement Romuva. The band has from the start functioned as the musical expression of this movement. Some of the recorded material has functioned as "musical scriptures" for the Romuva members and the band has regularly participated as an integral part of the movement's events.Michael F. Strmiska. 2012. "Paganism-Inspired Folk Music, Folk Music-Inspired Paganism and New Cultural Fusions in Lithuania and Latvia". Handbook of New Religions and Cultural Production. . pp. 361-364 On the website of Romuva, Kūlgrinda is described as a "ritual folklore group".Apeigų folkloro grupė
Romuva. The band owes its name to ''

kūlgrinda (plural ; from the Samogitian 'stone' and 'pavement', itself from 'to rake, pull together') is a hidden, usually winding, underwater stony road or ford across swamps, swampy areas, lakes, or along rivers, used as a defense in the lands of ...

'' – a secret

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

n underwater

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

. Kūlgrinda's music typically consists of straightforward folk music performances with little studio enhancement and a focus on the vocal performances. It has specialised on ''

sutartinės Lithuanian folk songs (in Lithuanian: ) are often noted for not only their mythological content but also their relating historical events. Lithuanian folk music includes romantic songs, wedding songs, as well as work songs and archaic war s ...

'', a traditional form of polyphonic song-chant where several vocalists perform interlocking melodies that through rhythmic repetition create a pattern of musical expression. The musicologist Daiva Račiūnaitė-Vyčinienė has compared this technique to the weaving of a multicoloured cloth. The band has collaborated with other artists such as the

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

ian Donis, the singer Rasa Serra and the heavy metal band Ugnėlakis. The latter collaboration resulted in the forming of the

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

group Žalvarinis.

Discography

Kulgrinda albums were initially released by Dangus Records. Later the band signed with Aurea Studija. *1996: ''Kūlgrinda'' – cassette *2002: ''Ugnėlakis su Kūlgrinda'' – with Ugnėlakis *2002: ''Ugnies Apeigos'' ("Rite of Fire") *2003: ''Sotvaras'' – with Donis *2003: ''Perkūno Giesmės'' ("Hymns of

Perkūnas Perkūnas (, , Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Sudovian language, Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian language, Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic languages, Baltic List of thunder gods, god of thunder, and the second m ...

") *2005: ''Prūsų Giesmės'' ("

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

Hymns", sung in the extinct

Old Prussian language Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...

) *2007: ''Giesmės Saulei'' ("Hymns of the Sun") *2009: ''Giesmės Valdovui Gediminui'' ("Hymns to King

Gediminas Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341. He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from t ...

") *2013: ''Giesmės Žemynai'' ("Hymns to Žemyna") – with Donis *2014: ''Laimos Giesmės'' ("The Hymns of

Laima Laima is a Baltic goddess of fate. She was associated with childbirth, marriage, and death; she was also the patron of pregnancy, pregnant women. Laima and her functions are similar to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. In Latvia In Latvian mythology, ...

") *2018: ''Giesmės Austėjai'' ("Hymns to Austėja")

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulgrinda Modern paganism in Lithuania Lithuanian folk music groups Modern pagan musical groups Baltic modern paganism Musical groups established in 1989

History

Discography

See also

References

External links