Taarausk

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As Taarausk (German Taara-faith ) called himself an active mainly from 1925 to 1940 neo-pagan movement in Estonia . It wants to tie in with a further developed popular belief of the pagan Estonians , but is modern and monotheistic . The focus is on the Estonian god Taara .

Emergence

The Taarausk as a neo-pagan religion found followers in Estonia between the two world wars . Above all, the proclamation of an independent Estonian nation-state in 1918 gave rise to the idea of ​​an “own”, national, non-German and non-Christian religion. Similar movements were the Dievturi grouping in Latvia and the Romuva church in Lithuania .

The Taarausk was particularly popularized by the psychiatrist Juhan Luiga (1873-1927), who was interested in the Estonian folk beliefs and the mythology of the Finno-Ugric peoples , since the mid-1920s. Major Kustas Utuste (until 1927: Gustav Kirschbaum , 1884–1941?) And his wife Marta Lepp-Utuste were the main representatives of Taarausk . In 1930 the first edition of the magazine Hiis (dt. Holy grove) appeared, which formed the basis of the neo-pagan belief. In 1931 the statutes of the community of the same name were adopted. Major Jaan Org was elected first chairman at the official founding congress.

In the 1934 Estonian census , 171 people named Taarausk as their religion. In the following years the following grew to about 600-700. The best known were the composer Adolf Vedro and the poet Enn Uibo . The writers Hugo Raudsepp , Henrik Visnapuu , Juhan Jaik and Aino Kallas as well as the composer Juhan Aavik were close to the Taarausk . Before the Second World War , there were three registered Taarausk denominations in Estonia: Tallinna Hiis in Tallinn since 1931 , Pühajõe Hiis in Võru County since 1936 and, shortly afterwards, Kose Hiis in Harju County .

ideology

The Taarausk sees itself as an intellectual advancement or new creation of the Estonian folk belief under modern auspices. With it a pagan faith should be created, which was largely free of "foreign" influences. A national Estonian faith should see itself as an alternative to “supranational” Christianity, which in the 13th century had violently destroyed Estonian independence. The dogmatism of Christianity is rejected by the Taarausk. Rather, this should grow “out of the people”. A return to the old, pre-Christian paganism of the 13th century could not and should not exist. The Taarausk had to be reconciled with the modern scientific worldview.

The followers of Taarausk, the taaralased or taarausulised , wore amulets around their necks, in which the earth of places that were considered sacred in Taarausk was. The amulets were called tõlet , an Estonian neologism made up of tõde (truth), elu (life) and tee (way). New words like asko (from the word askus - magic spell) and hiislar (from the word hiis - holy grove) were used to designate the spiritual leaders of the Taarausk. There were special rituals for getting married and saying goodbye to the deceased. Songs, playing on the Kannel and a special calendar were special features of the Taarausk.

Various holidays were celebrated by the followers of Taarausk. The memory of the uprising on St. George's Night , in which the local Estonians violently defended themselves against Christian rule in the 14th century, played a special role .

End of movement

At the end of the 1930s, the Taarausk movement ebbed. Marta Lepp-Utuste died in 1940. With the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940, the Taarausk was banned and the free practice of religion made impossible. The followers of Taarausk were systematically persecuted, deported or executed. Kustas Kirschbaum-Utuste was arrested by the Soviet authorities, his fate is still unclear today.

With the regaining of Estonian independence, attempts to revive the Taarausk have been made since the early 1990s. They take place in a largely secularized environment. In the 2000 Estonian census, 1058 people said they were followers of Taarausk or Maausk . The Taarausk today is more of a New Age sect. Two municipalities are currently registered in Estonia: Päikese Hiis and Tarbatu Hiis . The original monotheism of Taarausk between the wars was abandoned in favor of a heaven of gods . The Taarausk is disappearing more and more in favor of the Maausk, who represents an independent Estonian approach to pantheism . The transitions are fluid.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ahto Kaasiku loeng Toronto's taiendatud. Estonian World Review, October 20, 2007.
  2. ↑ Vanad eesti usundid. estinst.ee ( Memento from July 30, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ).
  3. ↑ Traditsiooni Tarkus. Klassikaraadio.ee, October 12, 2002 ( memento from September 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ).