Wrestling as a type of unarmed combat has long been known in Lithuania. More commonly referred to as crossroads, they are widely mentioned in oral Lithuanian folklore – in fairy tales, mythological tales and legends, as well as in the memories of some speakers of oral folklore. There are many different words in the rich Lithuanian language to describe wrestling – imtynės, imtys, ristynės, galitynės, mintynės, veltynės, pakištynės – which shows that Lithuanians have long had an unfamiliar tradition of unarmed struggle, and these different words are not just simple synonyms. According to the semantic meaning of their roots, they refer to certain aspects of the struggle – for example, the struggle while standing and trying to overthrow the opponent – or the struggle on the ground where the opponent is to be laid “on the shoulders” – the “roll”. Lithuania has never had a unified and systematized tradition of folk wrestling, different agreements and customs were in force in different ethnographic regions. Wrestling reached its peak of popularity in Lithuania in the second half of the 19th century. During this period, the conditions were particularly favorable – more advanced farming led to a fundamental change in public relations – a wealthy middle class of rural farmers was formed, surrounded by young people who worked on farms and devised various activities after work. At the time, shepherds had a tradition of picking elders when grazing on common pastures, and adult men used to get together just to try their hand at holidays or fairs, and there is evidence that even women loved wrestling. However, in the later twists and turns of history, the tradition of folk wrestling, which had existed for many years in Lithuania, began to disappear until it was finally forgotten after the Soviet occupation.
