Latgalistikys kongresu materiali, III. 2011. - Latvijas Universitāte

savus mūža beidzamos gadus. Vai daudz būs tādu mācītāju māju, kur līgo
līdz ar ļaudīm latviskajos Jāņos?
Impulsus un ierosinājumus savai darbībai latviešu tautas gara mantu
krāšanas laukā mācītājs Celmiņš (..) jau mantojis ģimnāzista laikos, ko norādīja
jau pieminētie viņa tautas dziesmu krājumi. Vēlāk šos centienus atbalstījuši
latviešu studentu pulcēšanās Latvijas korporācijās.
Nepretendēdams uz šī sava raksta beidzamā vārda teicēja autora tiesībām
par Celmiņu Mārtiņa nopelniem latviešu tautas dziesmu krāšanā, ceru
tomēr, ka būšu pievērsis literatūras vēsturnieku vērību uz to lielo darbu, ko
veicis nelaiķis savā garajā un ražena darba un arī darba svētības pilnajā
dzīvē.
Arvīds Aizsils’ Collection of Latgalian Folklore
Arvīds Aizsils (1904/1905–1940) was one of the most significant collectors of
folklore of the first half of the twentieth century. He worked as a teacher at several
schools in Latgale. The final years of his teaching career Aizsils spent in the Daugavpils
Teacher Training College where he was a teacher of Latvian. As a teacher he
was particularly interested in issues relating to Latvian language culture and he paid
great attention to the handwriting of his pupils and their proficiency in the standard
written language.
As a researcher, Aizsils was characterized by his scrupulous and enthusiastic
compilation of folklore and his deep respect for Latvian folk traditions. A significant
part of Aizsils’ unpublished materials is accessible for researchers in the Latvian
Folklore Archives (LFK 935, 1–38608). Collection 935 is one of the most extensive
in the whole archives. It consists of two parts: Aizsils’ first collection from the
Lubāna State Gymnasium (1–1962) and his second collection from the Daugavpils
Teacher Training College (11963–8608). His research interests focused on Latvian
wedding traditions, based on research in the regions os Lubāna and Daugavpils. Another
focus of his research were Latvian folk beliefs, particularly materials of Latvian
folk dreams. Aizsils’ major publications are Latviešu tautas sapņu iztulkošana (1939)
(The interpretation of Latvian folk dreams) and Senās kāzas Daugavpils apriņķī
(1941) (Ancient wedding rituals in the region of Daugavpils), Pasaku un teiku izlase I
(1926) (Selected fairy-tales and legends I, a compilation for schools) and the manuscript
of his short essay on Mārtiņš Celmiņš, a famous priest and collector of folklore
in Lubāna. Aizsils’ contribution on the whole has not lost its significance up to the
present day. His compilations remain important sources for the investigation of both
wedding traditions and folk beliefs, and they are very often are even the only documents
available.
This paper presents Aizsils’ unpublished essay on Mārtiņš Celmiņš (1863–
1936), the first and up to the present only major study of Celmiņš’ activities in collecting
folklore. In the first part of his article, Aizsils provides biographical information
on Celmiņš, emphasizing the beginning of his activities, his stable interests
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