Screening and Presentation of the Documentary Feature “Padudenam!”

Dieveniškės is the easternmost region of Lithuania. Padudenam! is a mystical journey into this picturesque and mysterious land, where people still speak several languages and dialects, and the ancient tradition of healing incantations remains alive.

Located in the Šalčininkai district on the border with Belarus, the region is a unique crossroads of languages and cultures. Nine out of ten residents identify as Polish, while only about one tenth are Lithuanian. Yet within this area lies a unique island of the Lithuanian language – the Dieveniškės region.

“This isolation had a positive effect – it somewhat separated the area from the rest of Lithuania. The people here feel isolated, preserving an archaic way of life,” says Dr. Nijolė Tuomienė of the Institute of the Lithuanian Language.

Incantations are among the oldest folklore traditions, dating back to Antiquity. In Lithuania, they have been practiced for centuries.

“One day a woman came to me and said she wanted to be healed from a snake bite. I told her, ‘Goodness, Stefka is the one who does that.’ She said she’d already been to Stefka, and Stefka told her I had inherited the knowledge. So that’s how I became the healer,” smiles Jadvyga, an incantation healer from the village of Jurgelionys.

The incantation tradition of Dieveniškės is exceptional.

“Throughout Lithuania, it is generally believed that once you pass on an incantation or reveal its words, you lose the ability to heal. In Dieveniškės, however, many incantations have been recorded because they were not considered secret. This is partly connected to Belarusian traditions,” explains Dr. Daiva Vaitkevičienė of the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore.

“I have always been fascinated by people living in border regions and by their identities – the way different cultures and languages have interacted, competed, and influenced one another. Dieveniškės, located just a few dozen kilometres from the capital, and southeastern Lithuania as a whole, is a remarkable multicultural blend. Although scholars have studied this region for years, the wider public knows very little about it,” says the project’s author, Antoni Radczenko.

Creative Team

Consultants:

• Danguolė Mikulėnienė
• Dr. Nijolė Tuomienė
• Dr. Daiva Vaitkevičienė
• Kristina Rutkovska
• Violeta Švaikovskaja

Screenwriter and Director: Antoni Radczenko
Cinematographers: Raimundas Razvadauskas, Mykolas Alekna
Editor: Eva Stankevičienė
Producers: Božena Mieżonis, Teresa Rožanovska

© Ketvirta versija, 2025