Mātes

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Mates ( lett . Mate "mother") are in the Latvian mythology personalized maternal forces of nature that represent a particular aspect of nature. These mothers are mentioned in Dainas and in Latvian folklore and their number is about 70. These mothers appear singular and, with a few exceptions, rarely play a role in mythology. They are often only mentioned once without being described in detail. Some of them are likely to be spontaneous poetic formations.

Choice of mothers

  • Nature: Dabas māte "Mother Nature"; Meža māte "forest mother"; Āru māte "field mother"; Lauku māte "field mother"; Dārzu māte "garden mother"
  • Plants: Ceru māte » herbaceous mother «; Krūma māte "bush mother"; Lazdu māte "hazel mother"; Mieža māte "barley mother "; Linu māte "linen mother"; Ogu māte "berry mother"; Rožu māte "mother of roses"; Sēņu māte "mushroom mother"; Ziedu māte "flower mother "; Lapu māte » mother of leaves«
  • Animals: Bišu māte " mother bee"; Briežu māte »deer mother«; Govu māte "cow mother"; Lopu māte "cattle mother"; Zirgu māmulīte " little horse mother "
  • Weather: Laika māte "weather mother "; Vēja māte " wind mother " Miglas māte "  mist mother"; Lietus māte "rain mother"; Sniega māte »snow mother«
  • Water: Ūdens māte »water mother «; Upes māte "river mother"; Jūras māte "sea mother"; Bangu māte »shaft nut«
  • Food: Piena māte ; Sviesta māte "mother of butter"; Rauga māte " yeast nut "
  • Night & Death: Nakts māte »Night Mother«; Pieguļas māte "mother of night protection"; Miega māte "sleep mother "; Mēra māte "plague mother"; Veļu māte "mother of the dead"; Nāves māte " mother of death"; Kapu māte "cemetery mother "; Smilšu māte "mother of sand"; Kara māte "war mother "; Skauģa māte "envy mother"
  • Geographical locations: Rīgas māte "Mother Rīga "; Daugavas māte "mother Daugava "; Gaujas māte "Mother Gauja "
  • Household: Rīšu māte "spinning mother "; Dzīpariņa māmuliņa »mother of yarn«; Žagaru māte "brush mother"; Abras māte »baking trough mother«; Tabaciņa māte "tobacco horn mother"; Naudas māte "mother of money"; Pirts māte "bathhouse mother "; Rūšu māte »pit mother«
  • Others: Uguns māte »Fire Mother«; Mūža māte "mother of life"; Gausa māte "mother of prosperity"; Mēslu māte »fertilizer mother«; Ceļa māte "way mother"; Tirgus māte "market mother"; Sāta māte "mother of temperance"; Jāņu māte "St. John's mother "; Ziemeļa māte "North Mother"

Some of these mothers are obviously identical, such as the baking trough mother and the yeast mother, the two field mothers or the life mother and Laima . Other mothers, such as the mother of money, mother of roses or tobacco horn mother, are modern creations.

Since the Latvian mythology does not have any established family trees of the family of gods, certain gods and mythological beings are also assigned a māte : Debess māte "Heavenly Mother " and Dieva māte "Mother of God, mother of the sky god Dievs "; Pērkona māte "mother of Pērkons "; Jumja māte "mother of Jumis "; Velna māte "mother of Velns , mother of the devil"; Joda māte " mother of the devil"; Laumas māte »Mother of Laumes , fairy mother«

In contrast, the main goddesses can receive the addition mother: Saules māte "sun mother"; Zemes māte "earth mother"; Laimas māte "lucky mother"; Māras māte

Compare with other maternal cults

The Latvian religion with its large number of individual nature mothers is solitary, only the neighboring Estonians know a similar form of the mother cult. The Teutons and Celts have a matron cult , but these always appear in the triple and usually form local local mothers or clan mothers. Parallels are often drawn between the Latvian matriarchal cult and other prehistoric matriarchal religions; Haralds Biezais, however, denies this assumption with the argument that the other Balts do not know a similar maternal cult.

In Lithuanian mythology , instead of the Latvian mothers, male deities (Lat. Patis "lord") are sometimes opposed, such as Žemepatis ("earth lord"), Laukpatis "general", Vėjopatis "wind lord" or Dimstipatis "household lord ",

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Haralds Biezais: Baltic religion. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1975, ISBN 3-17-001157-X .