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Laura Smidt
Instructor Bradley
ENC 2135
26 January 2016
Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga
Communities exist everywhere, each unique in their own way. By definition, a
community is a group of people that share common goals, dreams, and interests who
come together. Without the sharing of common interests, there would be no communities.
An example of a type of community is the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga which is a
community that brings together the American-Lithuanians that live in the United States.
Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga covers three main communities: the Seserija, Brolija, and
Akademikai.
In short, Seserija is the sisterhood of Lithuanian scouts, Brolija is the brotherhood
of Lithuanian Scouts, and Akademikai is the equivalent to the doctorates of the
Lithuanian Scouts. Each of the three communities are broken down into mini groups:
Paukstyciai/Vilkukiai, Skautes/Skautiai, Prityrisiu Skaciu, and Vyresniujiu
Skautes/Vyciai. The organization started in 1907 when the first camp took place on
Brownsea Island, England. From there on the organization grew and spread through the
nations, bringing together small communities of Lithuanians together.
Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga communicates via Facebook, web-mail, camps, and
worldwide conventions. Each type of communication serves as a genre which is defined
as a compositions kind, category, or sort. (Kleinfield 5). Facebook is an example of the
genre of social media. By using Facebook, members in the community can post articles,

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news, and upcoming events regarding the community as a whole for all other members of
the community who are using Facebook to see. Using social media gives easy access to
materials and information that would otherwise have to be found directly through the
source which in turn could take some time.
Web-mail is another type of genre in the form of letters. An email is a letter sent
via the internet. The heads of Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga are able to use group emails to
plan the camps that bring together the Lithuanian youths together once a year. These
events include but are not limited to Skauciu Stovykla, oki vente (the dance festival),
Jubi which is every 4 years, and Tautin Stovykla which is every 10 years. Each event
targets a different audience within the community.
In order to target an audience, each community hosts events and conventions that
bring together different age groups. In the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga, in order to bring
together everyone under the age of 25, camps are held once a year. These camps are
known by the youth as Skaut Stovykla and the camps take place in Ohio, Chicago,
California, and Massachusetts. The first camp was held by Baden Powel in 1907 and
consisted of 22 campers. Each of the campers as said by history were distraught youths
who felt that they had no purpose. The goal of the camp was to re-educate and influence
young people to become helpful individuals and honest community members based on
each youths personality. The camps originally focused on expanding on a youths
personality to help the youth find their place within the society of the community.
These camps grew and the influence spread over to the countries of Lithuania and
Russia. In 1918 the first ever Lithuanian Skaut Stovykla was held. As said before each
branch of the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga (Seserija, Brolija, and Akademikai) are split into
groups based on age and levels of understanding of the community itself. Seserija begins
at the lowest ranks called the Paukstyciai. This group mainly consists of young girls

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between the ages of 6 and 10. The genres used to communicate with this group is all
visual and audio-based. Since these community members are young and able to learn the
language by hearing and seeing. Visual genre makes use of images of the important
symbols of Lithuania. These images are colored by the girls who while taking part in the
activities are taught the meaning behind each image. This is an effective way of genre
communication.
The second group is the age group of 11-14 year olds known as the Skautes. In
this group the main genre of communication is text-based. Dainoreliais are used to teach
the history of Lithuania through music. Other types of text-based genres used with this
age group are history articles in which the important dates of the conquering of Eastern
Europe through King Gediminas and Mindaugas, occupation by Soviet Russia, the break
away from the soviet union, and current events leading up to the first female president
Dalia Grybauskait are all read and learned by the Skautes. This group goes on to
graduate to the next level in the Seserija: The Prityrisiu Skauciu.
Prityrisiu Skautes range in the 14-16 age group and this is where the girls begin to
learn how to communicate effectively with the community and how to become an integral
part in the growth of the community. The Prits are taught to become teachers to their
younger counterparts through the genre of example. Along with learning how to survive
in a crisis the Prits have to effectively communicate with the Skautes and Paukstyciai by
being an example to follow, which in turn is an effective type of communication.
The last group and the highest rank in the Seserija community are the Vyresniujiu
Skautes. This group has to efficiently run the Seserija through communication. In order to
become a Vyr. Skaute, the candidates must be in the age range of 17-19 and have to show
a mastery of the history of Lithuania, survival skills, old folklore, the songs in the
Dainoreli, and must be an example to the younger generations. The effective forms of

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genre used to communicate within and without this group of the community is through
texts called Kraiciai. A Kraitis is a text-based mode that communicates to the current Vyr
Skautes the knowledge of the candidates. Candidates must make use of picture media,
stories, history, traditions, and so much more or the Lithuanian heritage in order to
graduate and become the generation to teach the younger generations.
As with the Seserija, the Brolija is split into the same groups with the same
responsibilities only with different names of each group within the community. The
hierarchy of the Brolija starting with the lowest tier is the Vilkukiai, Skautiai, Prityrisiu
Skautiai, and the Vyciai. As with the Seserija the genres used to communicate are through
text and the language.
The other events that the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga holds to cause communication
between members are Jubi, Tautine Stovykla, and okiu vente. Jubi and Tautine
Stovykla are two big camps that happen every 4 and 10 years respectively. These camps
encourage communication between the different communities of the Lietuvi Skaut
Sjunga by bringing them together. The genres of communication are through sharing a
common language, stories and music. okiu vente, on the other hand is not a camp.
Every year, a dance festival featuring traditional Lithuanian folk dances and Tautinai
Rubai (the traditional clothing of medieval Lithuania) takes place in Boston,
Massachusetts. This event brings Lithuanians from the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga,
Australia, Eastern Europe, Canada, South America, and all over the world together at one
convention to communicate through dance, singing, and language. In this event both the
dances and the language serve as genres. The convention takes place on Independence
weekend in the United States. After the four days spent together, the communities return

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to their respective homes and regions before they are all brought together through other
events scheduled by the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga.
This community uses the mode of mouth-to-mouth to spread awareness to the
Lithuanian community and became known as the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga. While
holding the ideals of Powels first camp, Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga made the additions of
knowing the history of Lithuania, teaching youths to not only embrace their heritage but
to represent it as best as they can, and to teach the history and language to Lithuanian
families born in different countries that have lost touch with their ancestral mother land.
Rhetorically, the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga community makes use of the
conventions ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is the credibility, authority, and
trustworthiness the writer/composer conveys to the audience (Kleinfield 11). Lietuvi
Skaut Sjunga makes use of ethos by teaching the history, language, and traditions of
the Lithuanian people. Pathos, another rhetorical convention used by this community, is
an appeal towards the emotions of the individual community members. By teaching the
history and heritage to the youths who attend the camps, it is possible to give off a feeling
of oneness between the campers and the Lithuanian community as a whole. Logos, the
last convention used by the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga, connects facts and evidence to any
point being made. Logistically, the more the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga teaches the
Lithuanian language, the more likely that the language and heritage will be passed down
generations upon generations rather than die out.
Mode and Medium are an important way for genres to be used in effectively
communicating within the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga. The mode is visual, audio, and textbased. It is visual because the members of the community are able to see the growth of
each generation through articles, pictures, and memorabilia. Audio serves an important
role as a mode because of the Lithuanian language which is a genre all on its own. The

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spoken language of the Lithuanian community is an integral part to the Lietuvi Skaut
Sjungas community because it is the heritage. It is the living, breathing tradition that
lives on through every person who speaks it. People outside the Lithuanian and Lietuvi
Skaut Sjunga communities are exposed it through the language.
The last form of mode is text-based. A way that the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga uses
text-based mode and media to communicate effectively is by the use of Dainoreliais,
which are song books filled with the old Lithuanian folk songs and hymnals which tell
the story of the community. Each song was written by different Lithuanian artists with the
main focus being on the wars, loss of love, gain of love, and history of the country from
which the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga was formed.
On the flipside of using mode and genre is the media. The Lietuvi Skaut
Sjunga uses media in the form of face-face and through television. Face-to-face is the
everyday interaction between Lithuanians and within the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga the
everyday interactions between the members at events. In order for this form of media to
be effective, each member of the community who is partaking in the interactions must
speak Lithuanian. The other form of media, the television, is used to broadcast news,
Lithuanian television, political campaigns, presidential speeches, Lithuanian Mass, and
so much more. Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga makes use of this form of media to keep the
community up to date with what is happening in the mother country of Lithuania.
Although history and culture of Lithuania is important to the Lietuvi Skaut
Sjunga, it is not all that there is to the community. Within the community bonds are
formed between members bringing them closer together even with hundreds of miles
separating them from the other Lithuanian communities. Genres of language, dance, and
music bring together the three million Lithuanians in the world by causing a never ending
communication even though there are cultural differences.

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Because of this communitys stubborn nature of keeping the heritage alive, the
language itself is the oldest living and spoken language in the world. It is not only a genre
used to communicate, but something for each and every member of the communities of
the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga and Lithuanians are to be proud of. The genre of the
language ties together the people no matter the distance. Lithuania as a country has come
a long way but Lithuanias people who are split into communities have turned forms of
dance, speaking, singing, and traditions into a way to communicate through the ages.
Without the genre of language, the Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga community could not
possibly exist. Without the genre of language, Lithuania would not be unique, nor would
the country itself have broken free from the bonds of the Soviet Union. Mutual pride of a
nation brought around freedom for a country, and freedom of a country made it possible
for communities such as Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga to exist.
Works Cited
Braziller, Amy, and Elizabeth Kleinfeld. The Bedford Book of Genres: A Guide & Reader. Print.
"Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga." Lietuvi Skaut Sjunga. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.