Lithuanian tribe traces Rajput roots

JAIPUR: Rajputs were the ancestors of a tribe that once ruled European country, Lithuania, for many years and some of their ancient practices as per the Vedic culture continue till date. The tribe called Romuva has played a major role in the independence of Lithuania.
Jonas Triinkunas, the chief priest of Romuva tribe, claims that members of the tribe are descendents of the Rajputs from India.This new insight into the history of the Romuva tribe was provided by Triinkunas during an interaction with retired Army officer S N Mathur.
“We have ancestral links with Rajasthan and even ruled Lithuania for many years. Ancient culture is inherent in the blood of Lithuanians and Baltic people,” said Triinkunas.
“India is like temple for us. Your culture is still alive but our culture was brutally destroyed,” he said referring to the Soviet occupation of the country in 1940.
The claims are strengthened when one compares some of their cultural similarities with Rajasthan. Similar to the ‘posh bada’ ceremony here, the tribe celebrates a ‘posh jimo’ ceremony in Lithuania.
Names of some gods and goddesses are common in both cultures. The tribe worships Lord Kalki, and the images of the god inscribed on their coins bear similarity to the Indian iconography.
“During my interaction with Jonas during his Jaipur visit, I noticed several similarities between our gods and goddesses . The images which they worship look similar to our idols and there is wide use of Swastika in many of their symbols. Some names also sound similar , for instance they use ‘jami mate’ to refer to mother Earth,” said Mathur.
“They have collection of nearly 50,000 songs which they sing but don’t understand their exact meaning. Interestingly , these songs trace their origin to Rajasthan and are a matter of study. They even used these songs to unite the country against the Soviet rule,” added Mathur.
Triinkunas performs marriages as a priest to revive his ancient culture. Marriages in the tribe are performed in the same manner as a Hindu Vedic wedding with all mantras and chants and the couple taking vows after doing rounds of the fire.
After finding the ancient links with India, he co-founded the organization ‘The Friends of India Society’ at the University of Vilnius. Triinkunas was later awarded the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas for his exemplary services.