Mečislovas Davainis-Silvestraitis (; 20 April 1849 – 31 May 1919) was a Lithuanian journalist, poet, publicist, folklorist, and book smuggler during the Lithuanian National Revival, best known for his collection of Lithuanian folklore.
Born to a family of petty Lithuanian nobles in Samogitia, Davainis-Silvestraitis was proud of his heritage. However, he showed little interest in working the inherited manor and accumulated debts. Having completed only three years of secondary education, he was interested in Lithuanian history, culture, and folklore. He collected about 700 folk tales, 250 folk songs, 500 short folklore sayings, 600 spells, 1,000 descriptions of folk medicine and medicinal herbs – most of which was collected in 1883–1890 in the area around Raseiniai. With the help of Jonas Basanavičius, he published a booklet with ten tales and five songs in 1889 and a collection of 159 folk remedies in 1898. With the help of , he published two volumes of Lithuanian folk tales translated into Polish in 1894. His work helped to prove that Lithuanian folk tales published by Edmund Veckenstedt in 1883 were falsified. Davainis-Silvestraitis also contributed articles to Polish, Russian, and English journals on ethnographic topics.
Debts forced him to give up the manor in 1891 and start a nomadic life in search of means of living. He struggled financially and took assorted jobs. In 1904, he settled in Vilnius and joined the Lithuanian cultural life becoming a members of various Lithuanian societies. He was one of the organizers of the Great Seimas of Vilnius but started drifting away from the Lithuanian public life due to anti-nobility attitudes. He edited and published the Polish-language newspapers Litwa (1908–1914) and Lud (1912–1913) that were aimed at Polish-speaking nobles and peasants in hopes that they could be convinced to "return" to their Lithuanian roots. However, the newspapers offered no new ideas and did not become popular.
During his life, Davainis-Silvestraitis contributed texts to numerous Lithuanian periodicals, including Aušra (82 texts in 1883–1886), Vienybė lietuvninkų (a paid correspondent in 1891–1896), Lietuvių laikraštis (briefly worked as an editorial staff in 1904–1905). He also wrote romantic poetry and published two booklets with his poems in 1884 and 1904.
Biography Early life and folklore studies
Davainis-Silvestraitis was born on into a family of petty Lithuanian nobles near Kalnujai. His father Józefat Dowojna-Sylwestrowicz used the Szeliga coat of arms while his mother Eufroyzna de domo Jaruda, used the Pomian coat of arms. His parents owned four voloks of land and a manor. The family mostly spoke Polish though they also knew Lithuanian. His close relative, the son of his father's brother, was the publicist Aleksander Dowojna-Sylwestrowicz.
The family was not wealthy and Davainis-Silvestraitis completed only two years at the Kaunas Gymnasium and one year at the . His further education was interrupted by the Uprising of 1863. His uncle was killed during the Uprising of 1831 and his mother was afraid that Davainis-Silvestraitis might join the rebels. After the uprising, the Kėdainiai Gymnasium was closed by the Tsarist authorities.
He inherited the manor after his father's death in 1869, but showed no great interest in agricultural matters. In 1874–1876, he took metalworking courses in Warsaw which he considered below his station and a desperate measure to improve his financial situation. He spent considerable effort collecting samples of Lithuanian folklore (especially folk tales) and attempting to publish them. While studying in Warsaw, he contributed articles and poetry in Polish to and Tygodnik Illustrowany. In 1882, he published a note in the Polish magazine Wędrowiec that he was collecting folklore and searching for collaborators. He received responses from Antanas Baranauskas and Kazimieras Jaunius who introduced him to Jonas Basanavičius. In 1884, Davainis-Silvestraitis sent to Basanavičius a collection of 159 descriptions of illnesses and their folk remedies which were published in 1898. He also helped smuggle and distribute Lithuanian books that were illegal due to the Lithuanian press ban. When Aušra was published in 1883, Davainis-Silvestraitis contributed 82 texts to the publication and helped its distribution in Lithuania. His contributions ranged from polemic about nobility's role in the Lithuanian National Revival to short notes on prices of grain at different markets to romantic poetry. He also collected information about Simonas Daukantas, author of the first history of Lithuania in Lithuanian, and published data for his biography in 1898 in the United States. The manor was turned into an arenda (leased property) in 1885 but the manor still had 2,010 rubles of debts in 1890. The following year, Davainis-Silvestraitis transferred his share of the manor to his brother and moved to Jelgava in search for means of living. He initially chose Jelgava as it was home of the linguist Jonas Jablonskis which was visited by other Lithuanian activists, including Pranas Mašiotas, Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, Gabrielius Landsbergis-Žemkalnis.
Financial struggles Living away from Lithuania, he could no longer collect samples of folklore. However, he continued to write for many Lithuanian periodicals, including Vienybė lietuvninkų (he was a paid correspondent in 1891–1896), Šviesa, Varpas, Ūkininkas, Žemaičių ir Lietuvos apžvalga, Tėvynės sargas, Nemuno sargas. Chasing profit, he led a nomadic life frequently moving to different cities in Russia. He briefly lived, among other places, in Alatyr and Sasovo. He attempted to become a broker for manor sales, later worked at an auction company and the office of the railroad engineer Petras Vileišis. He was also interested in various schemes, including purchasing land in Siberia and gold rush. In 1897, he moved to Saint Petersburg where together with Lithuanian businessman Antanas Smilga (future publisher of Lietuvių laikraštis) planned a Lithuanian periodical on agricultural and trade matters, but their permit applications were rejected due to the Lithuanian press ban.
In 1885, he married Julė Malinauskaitė, sister of Liudmila Malinauskaitė-Šliūpienė and sister-in-law of Jonas Šliūpas. Initially, Malinauskaitė joined her husband's Lithuanian activities, but perhaps due to continuing financial difficulties she became bitter and scornful that Davainis-Silvestraitis spent his time and energy on Lithuanian matters and not on earning a decent living. Their three children were raised in a similar spirit. Therefore, Davainis-Silvestraitis was not appreciated by his family. While Davainis-Silvestraitis relocated from one place to another, his family stayed in Jelgava. After relocating to Vilnius, Davainis-Silvestraitis hoped to reconcile with his wife and that the family could again live together but his efforts were rebuffed.
Cultural life in Vilnius
When the Lithuanian press ban was lifted in 1904, Davainis-Silvestraitis moved to Vilnius in August 1904 and worked at the bookstore established by Petras Vileišis. He was considered for editors of Vilniaus žinios but was rejected due to his lack of education. Not finding a steady income in Vilnius, he moved to Saint Petersburg in December 1904 to work at the editorial office of Lietuvių laikraštis. There he was a witness to the Bloody Sunday that sparked the Russian Revolution of 1905. Davainis-Silvestraitis was dissatisfied with working conditions at Lietuvių laikraštis and returned to Vilnius in March 1905. He joined various Lithuanian societies active in the city and contributed articles to Viltis and Šaltinis. He was one of the organizers of the Great Seimas of Vilnius in December 1905. He was one of the four people to sign the controversial memorandum to Sergei Witte, Prime Minister of the Russian Empire. However, he refused to join the () organized right after the Seimas by Jonas Basanavičius because of its anti-nobility platform and demands that land should be distributed to peasants. His position was misunderstood by other Lithuanian activists and he began distancing himself from the Lithuanian public life.
With the help of Jonas Basanavičius, Davainis-Silvestraitis established and edited the Polish-language newspaper Litwa in July 1908 and ethnographic magazine Lud in 1912. These periodicals targeted Polish-Lithuanians (specifically, members of the Lithuanian nobility who spoke Polish but considered themselves to be Lithuanian) in hopes that they could be "returned" to their Lithuanian roots and would join the Lithuanian National Revival. However, the publications were not popular and Litwa was discontinued due to financial difficulties in May 1914. Davainis-Silvestraitis was increasingly rejected by the younger generation of Lithuanian activists. Davainis-Silvestraitis also served a three-month prison sentence for publishing an article urging to protect Lithuania from nihilistic influence from the East (i.e. Russia).
During World War I, Davainis-Silvestraitis evacuated to Tambov. There he worked for the Lithuanian Society for the Relief of War Sufferers. He returned to Vilnius in August 1918. He received some financial assistance from the Council of Lithuania and briefly worked at the Central Library (predecessor of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania) in the short-lived Lithuanian SSR. Poland captured the city in April 1919 and Davainis-Silvestraitis died on 31 May 1919 at the hospital of the Lithuanian Sanitary Aid Society. He was buried in the Rasos Cemetery. His grave was neglected during the Soviet period. In 1987, a new traditional wood carving of Davainis-Silvestraitis holding a torch and an open issue of Aušra was unveiled at his gravesite. The sculpture was added to the Cultural Heritage Registry in 2000.
Studies of Lithuanian folklore Davainis-Silvestraitis was proud of his noble birth and was interested in his family's genealogy even claiming that they reached the legendary Palemonid dynasty. His interest in the history of Lithuania brought him to studies of the Lithuanian language, pagan mythology, traditions, and folklore. Unlike many other nobles of the period, Davainis-Silvestraitis was proud of his Lithuanian heritage and rejected Polish culture which was seen as more prestigious at the time. His first notes are known from 1867 when he was eighteen. He read Polish works of Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Adam Mickiewicz, Władysław Syrokomla, Teodor Narbutt. Likely, he was inspired by Lithuanian activities of Dionizas Poška and later by Antanas Juška. His interests were eclectic and he collected archaeological artifacts, old musical instruments, old tales from locals, etc. He started organizing and attempting to publish the collected materials only in early 1880s. Davainis-Silvestraitis was interested not only in Lithuanian traditions. For example, published two articles the customs of the Romani people in Lithuania in 1889–1890. He also wrote an overview of other nations' histories and traditions in 1881 which he published in his newspaper Litwa only in 1912.
Collection of folklore