EN
The author of the article makes an attempt to reconstruct genology of raudos pagan funeral songs, which occur within Lithuanian folklore. Raudos as lamentations belong to the oral culture. Known since pagan times, for centuries have been handed down from generation to generation. Pagan raudos were never written and knowledge about them is drawn on the basis of the few mentions in historical chronicles and documents. A few records, that are often inconsistent sources of information, became the starting point for hypothetical reflection on Lithuanian lamentations. In this text it is tried to determine the specific qualities of raudos, and also the development and evolution of internally diverse genre.