Lithuanian mythology

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Neo-pagan sacrificial stone and altar on the Rambynas

The Lithuanian mythology , like the language affinity, is combined into a Baltic mythology due to many similarities with the Latvian and Old Prussian mythology . There are also great similarities with the varieties of Slavic mythology .

Research history

Sources

Lithuania was officially baptized in 1387 and Lower Lithuania only in 1413. Complaints about traces of pagan actions and pagan beliefs can be found up to the 18th century. Relics of Lithuanian mythology have been preserved in customs, songs and narrative forms to this day. Concrete sources on Lithuanian mythology are, however, only scattered and from a later period. These include the Chronicon Livoniae Heinrichs des Letten (1225–1227), the Livonian rhyming chronicle (1290–1296), the travelogues of Wiegand von Marburg and the chronicle of Peter von Dusburg (1326). Later, the chronicle of Simon Grunau (1519–1529), church ordinances and reports by the Jesuits provide more detailed information. With the folklore collecting activity that began in the 19th century , interest in narrated Lithuanian mythology also grew. Meanwhile, the majority of Lithuanian speakers had already given up their old religion, and the singers of the popular dainos as well as the storytellers were often hardly or only insufficiently aware of the meaning of the story. The folk tales and songs without explanations compiled by researchers were regarded as raw material for attempts to reconstruct mythology. An important source is the religious lexicon, proper names of deities and mythical beings using etymological, historically comparative linguistics.

research

In their reception, later sources are already partially to be regarded as attempts at reconstruction, in that the Lithuanian peculiarities are understood according to the model of antiquity and corresponding names are given - for example in Jan Lasicki De diis Samagitarum ... 1582 Century the Polish- speaking Lithuanian historian Theodor Narbutt . Two modern approaches by Marija Gimbutas and Algirdas Julien Greimas have become known in the West, while the works of Norbertas Vėlius , Gintaras Beresnevičius and Wladimir Toporow achieved little awareness. However, the method of reconstruction is problematic and no attempt has so far achieved complete recognition.

Many scholars therefore prefer to reconstruct their own Lithuanian mythology using historical, archaeological and ethnographic data - increasing specialization is often counterproductive here.

The problem with this approach is that Lithuanian mythology was never static, but in constant evolution, so that it never maintained the same shape over long periods of time, on which the ethnologists concentrated. Furthermore, the researchers were often influenced by ideas from Slavic mythology or ancient mythology.

Narbutt's approach and the ideas that it brought about found artistic shape, for example, in Adam Mickiewicz 's play Dziady .

Reconstruction of mythology

According to Marija Gimbutas , the initial structure of Lithuanian mythology was based on a matriarchal system of goddesses who represented various aspects of nature, for example heaven, earth, moon, water, air, etc. Later developments ran in a patriarchal direction, so that numerous female goddesses lost their power and importance. The dualities for day and night sky were: Dievas (deity of light) resp. Vėlinės (head of the realm of the dead)
(see also polytheism ).

References to other mythologies

Lithuanian mythology has common roots with Latvian mythology as well as with the mythology of the Old Prussians . On the other hand, individual elements have a lot in common with other mythologies, especially with those of neighboring cultures.

Periods of Lithuanian Mythology

Pre-Christian mythology is mainly known through speculations and reconstructions, but some known mythological elements have been confirmed by more recent sources as well as by archaeological discoveries.

The next period of Lithuanian mythology began in the 15th century and lasted until the middle of the 17th century . The myths of this period report mostly as heroic myths about the foundation of the Lithuanian state. The most famous stories are those of the dream of Grand Duke Gediminas and the founding of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius , as well as of Šventaragis , which also thematizes the history of Vilnius. Numerous narratives of this kind refer to specific historical events. In general, these myths shape the lifestyle of Lithuanian patriotism.

The third period began with the growing influence of Christianity and the activity of the Jesuits and Protestant missions from around the end of the sixteenth century . The former iconoclastic rapprochement with the pre-Christian Lithuanian legacy among the people no longer turned out to be sensible ( Jerome of Prague had once caused the emigration of the Lithuanians by cutting down the sacred trees) and attempts were made to instrumentalize popular belief for missionary activities. This also led to the inclusion of Christian elements in the mythological sagas and stories.

The last period of Lithuanian mythology began in the 19th century , when cultural heritage was given national value not only by the elites, but also in general. The legends and stories of this period mostly turned out to be reflections of earlier myths, not real, but rather encoded experiences of the past. They concentrated on moral problems and on a heroic view of the past, individual heroes very often did not even have a proper name, but were called "Führer" or "Schlossherr".

Elements of Lithuanian mythology

God and nature

The mythological stories, songs and legends deal with natural laws and processes such as the change of the seasons, relationships with one another and the existence of people. The system of nature is often represented in terms of human relationships; An important example (in numerous songs and stories) is the sun ( Saule ) as mother, the moon ( Menuo ) as father but also as a messenger of luck, and the stars as human sisters.

Lithuanian theonyms further illustrate this closeness to nature:

The world of gods

In Baltic mythology, the terrifying Patollo ranks at the top , the flame-crowned Perkunas acts as the lightning-throwing god of fire, and Potrimpo is a young man crowned with spines.

The Laima (literally "luck", here meaning goddesses of fate) also play an important role in Lithuanian mythology.

The gods were worshiped through sacrifices , including human sacrifices in the form of prisoners who were dedicated to the god of war. In addition to the public cults, local Dimstipatis (= local spirits) were worshiped.

The highest religious festival was the time of the Northern Lights around Easter and especially the solstice celebration, which was only forbidden in the course of the Counter-Reformation .

An independent branch of Lithuanian mythology is the doctrine of the hereafter, which has incorporated Indo-European elements of heaven and hell ( veles or spirits of the dead ).

Inner heroism

The Lithuanian myths often reveal the inner heroism of a person and symbolize this inner being in various scenes in mythological countries at the other end of the earth or in the sky of the South Pole; these places are commonly referred to as "the land above all seas" and "cosmic underwater kingdom".

God and Morality

Myths about moral issues are very common and approach the folk fables known in all European nations. The basic idea of ​​these stories is often that God visits people to ask them questions of morality, but people do not recognize him. According to these narratives, a person should listen to his inner voice of harmony and justice to act morally in the presence of God no matter when and under what circumstances he sees him. Some scholars emphasize the syncretistic and pre-Christian character of these narratives.

See also

literature

  • Norbertas Vėlius (Ed.): Baltų religijos ir mitologijos šaltiniai. 4 volumes. Vilnius 1996-2005.
  • Norbertas Vėlius (Ed.): Lietuvių mitologija. 3 volumes. Vilnius 1993-2004. (Anthology on the history of research)
  • Gintaras Beresnevičius : Trumpas lietuvių ir prūsų religijos žodynas . Vilnius 2001.
  • Aleksander Brückner : Starożytna Litwa . Warsaw 1904.
  • Wilhelm Mannhardt : Letto-Prussian doctrine of gods . Riga 1936.
  • Ph. Jouet: Religion et Mythologie des Baltes. 1989.

Web links

Commons : Lithuanian Mythology  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
  • Gintaras Beresnevičius short review of Lithuanian mythology. [1]
  • Gintaras Beresnevičius on periodization and the gods in Lithuanian mythology. [2]
  • Algirdas Julien Greimas: Of Gods and Men: Studies in Lithuanian Mythologie. Indiana Univ. Press, November 1992.