Laima

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Laima ( lett . Laima, Laima mate , lit . LAlMe ) is in the Baltic mythology the personification of fate and luck and misfortune. It is mentioned frequently in the Dainas , but often took on the traits of St. Mary under the influence of Christianity .

Essence

As the goddess of luck, Laima often appears in documents from the 17th century. Pastor Paul Einhorn described it in detail for the first time:

"Particularly, however, the female gender is honored and called upon by the pregnant women and the child-begging women and called Laima, that is, the fortune or goddess of happiness, because she helped those giving birth in child-needs ..."

- Paul Einhorn : Historia Lettica, 17f.

Laima determines the fate of people from birth and is also particularly effective in marriage and death. At birth she sets the curriculum vitae, looks for the right spouse and discusses with Dievs , the god of heaven , who should die, but she always has a different view than Dievs. As the determiner of the hour of death, she can also be called the "butcher of men". In the event of a great misfortune, Laima is accused, yes cursed:

“I saw my Laima halfway in the water. If only she had drowned completely because of my tears! "

- Daina 9189

But nobody can escape the Laima and sometimes Laima cries herself over the harsh fate of the people. Prayers addressed to Laima ask for help in difficult times, for assistance in case of injustice and for protection from accidents. The calamity is sometimes referred to as nelaime:

“Laima is sitting on the mountain, Nelaime in the valley. Throw, Laima, the Nelaime a stone in the back! "

- Daina 1220

In addition, Laima especially watches over the honor and morals of the young women, to whom she assigns suitable suitors. Laima also promotes the fertility of women and cows, but also of fields.

Laima, Kārta and Dēkla

In Baltic folklore, the Laima are sometimes attributed to two sisters: Kārta and Dēkla. Earlier research erroneously saw this as the Baltic variant of the Indo-European three women of fate, comparable to the Nordic Norns , the Roman Parzen or the Greek Moiren . But behind Dēkla is the Christian saint St. Thekla . According to Haralds Biezais , Kārta is a relatively young hypostasis of the Laima, in the function of the one who “imposes” life.

In the neo-pagan Dievturi these three goddesses are worshiped as the three Laimas to indicate that they are the same goddess in three different forms.

literature