Žibėčiai village, Molėtai district

55.394271, 25.38559

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Žibėčiai village is mentioned in the list of villages of the manor of Alanta in 1598. It belonged to Alanta Parish in the 16th-20th centuries. According to the people of Alanta, the name of the village comes from one freak, who once lived in a dugout shelter near the village mound and was always lighting a candle at night. When he was walking along the old public road from Alanta to Utena, the people saw that the light was on. And from that glittering, flashing, the name Žibėčiau came up. The ascending Teofilius was very attracted to Daddy’s motherland – Žibėčiai, where Marcijonas and Ieva Matulioniai lived. The stories of the grandparents about the old Matulionis family living in Žibėčiai for a hundred years, the memories of the cosy atmosphere lingering in the old homestead and the warmth of heart rose up the thoughts of the sensual young boy. The word-of-mouth legends aroused to the growing Teofiliusa thirst for knowledge. There was no Lithuanian school or teachers close by, so Juozas Barisa from the neighbouring village of Žadavainiai taught him to read by adding one Polish letter to the other although he did not know the Polish well.

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