Mythologies of the Samogitian Tribe

Samogitians are the inhabitants of Samogitia, an ethnographic region of Lithuania. Many speak the Samogitian language, which in Lithuania is mostly considered a dialect of the Lithuanian language together with the Aukštaitian dialect. The Samogitian language differs the most from the standard Lithuanian language. Whether Samogitians are considered to be a distinct ethnic group or merely a subset of Lithuanians varies. However, 2,169 people declared their ethnicity as Samogitian during the Lithuanian census of 2011, of whom 53.9% live in Telšiai County. The political recognition and cultural understanding of the Samogitian ethnicity has, however, changed drastically throughout the last few centuries as 448,022 people declared themselves Samogitians, not Lithuanians, in the 1897 Russian Empire census. On 13 July 1260, the Samogitians decisively defeated the joint forces of the Teutonic Knights from Prussia and Livonian Order from Livonia in the Battle of Durbe. Some 150 knights were killed, including Livonian Master Burchard von Hornhausen and Prussian Land Marshal Henrik Botel. Samogitians lived in western Lithuania and were closely related to Semigallians and Curonians. In 1413, they became the last group of Europeans to convert to Christianity. Samogitians lived in the Duchy of Samogitia within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1857, there were 418,824 people of Samogitian roots and 444,921 persons declared the Samogitian language as their mother tongue in 1897 in Kovno Governorate. Currently Lithuania does not allow for declaration of Samogitian nationality in passports as it is not a recognized ethnicity. In list of ethnic groups of Russia there is one person who declared himself with "Zhemaijty".

The Samogitians were Lithuanian lowlanders who lived in what is now the centre and west of the modern state of Lithuania. They are otherwise known as Zhemaits or, more correctly, Žemaits with an accented 'z', and possibly not the same as the Sambians (Zembs). This is the Baltic form of their name, although the international spelling of Samogitians is better known. They were neighboured by the equally tough Semigallians, both lying between the Lithuanians and the Lats in what is now southern Latvia and western Lithuania. The Couronians lay to the immediate west, occupying the coastal area. The territory of the Samogitians became a duchy called Samogitia (or Žemaitija) and retained a high level of autonomy until the Union of Poland-Lithuania, Ruthenia, Livonia, and Samogitia was effected in 1569. Samogitia is now a region in north-western Lithuania. (Additional information by Leitgiris Living History Club, and from External Links: The Balts, Marija Gimbutas (1963, previously available online thanks to Gabriella at Vaidilute.

Samogitians (Samogitian: žemaitē; Lithuanian: žemaičiai) are a Baltic ethnographic subgroup of Lithuanians primarily inhabiting the Samogitia (Žemaitija) region in northwestern Lithuania, recognized for their distinct dialect and historical autonomy within the broader Lithuanian ethnos.[1][2] As descendants of ancient Baltic tribes who settled the area by the 2nd millennium BCE and coalesced into identifiable groups by the 9th century CE, they share ancestral ties with modern Lithuanians while maintaining regional particularities in customs and speech. The Samogitian dialect, a western variety of Lithuanian spoken by approximately 500,000 people in counties such as Tauragė, Telšiai, and Klaipėda, features archaic traits and influences from neighboring extinct languages like Curonian, though it remains mutually intelligible with standard Lithuanian and lacks separate official status.[2] Historically, Samogitians formed the semi-independent Duchy of Samogitia, a core territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that served as a buffer against incursions from the Teutonic Knights and Livonian Order. Notable for their fierce resistance to Northern Crusades, Samogitians inflicted significant defeats on the crusaders, including the Battle of Durbe in 1260 where they routed joint Teutonic and Livonian forces, killing 150 knights, and subsequent uprisings in 1401 and 1409 that reclaimed control from temporary Teutonic occupations.[4][1] They were among the last European pagans, formally accepting Christianity only in 1413 following the Union of Horodło, after which the region integrated more fully into Lithuanian structures by 1422. Today, while preserving a robust regional identity through dialect, folklore, and local governance traditions like the Samogitian Parliament (a consultative body), Samogitians exhibit no substantive separatist movements, viewing themselves as integral to the Lithuanian nation rather than a distinct polity.

Samogitian is an Eastern Baltic language spoken by 500,000 people in Tauragė, Telšiai and Klaipėda counties in the Samogitia (Žemaitija / Žemaitėjė) region in the west of Lithuania. It was considered a dialect of Lithuanian, however increasing numbers of people, including linguists, now consider it a separate language. Samogitian is also known as Lowland Lithuanian, Zhemaitish, Žemaičiai, Žemaičių, Žemaitiškai or Žemaitis. Native speakers call it žemaitiu kalba, žemaitiu rokunda, žemaitiu šnekta or žemaitiu ruoda. It is thought that the ancestors of the Samogitian people migrated to what is now Lithuania in the 5th century AD. At that time, the area was home to people who spoke Curonian, a Baltic language that went extinct in the 16th century. The peoples and languages mixed, and echoes of Curonian remain in Samogitian, especially in its pronunciation. Samogitian first appeared in writing in the early 19th century in the Latin alphabet. One of the first literary works was a translation of the New Testament by Józef Arnulf Giedroyć, the Bishop of Samogitia, which was published in 1814. There is a standard way to write Samogitian, however it is not widely used. Instead, writers tend to spell words according to their own pronunciation.