Baltic mythology
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 12:35 am
I decided to open a topic which is probably a less familiar when compared for example to Norse or Finnish mythology, but very interesting nevertheless. I'll concetrate on Lithuanian mythology but of course there is Latvian too. Lithuanian is the closest relative to Sanskrit of the existing and spoken Indo-European languages. There are some information about this here and here. And as many of you might know languages such as Sanskrit, Latin or Hebrew are considered the most "occult" of all languages. Theosophist were especially interested about Sanskrit. Now here's some comparison between Lithuanian and Sanskrit:
The word:
for Son: Sanskrit sunus – Lithuanian sunus
for Sheep: Sanskrit avis – Lithuanian avis
for Sole: Sanskrit padas – Lithuanian padas
for Man: Sanskrit viras – Lithuanian vyras
for Smoke: Sanskrit dhumas – Lithuanian dumas
Old Lithuanian folk songs and poetry are called Dainas and this is of the same root as "dhyana" in Sanskrit.
I think this is really interesting. The distance between Lithuania and India is so big after all. There must be some ancient connection buried in the dusk of history. Also, Lithuania was the last nation in Europe to be christianized. There myths about pagan priestesses who guarded the sacred fire as more familiar Virgins of Vesta did in ancient Rome. One such priestess was Birute, according to a legend. There are also striking similarities between Lithuanian and Vedic gods and mythological figures. For example: Lithuanian Ašvieniai and Vedic Ashvins. I'm Finnish and in Finnish too there are many Baltic loan words. Perhaps the most familiar one is Finnish "Perkele" which comes directly from the Lithuanian thunder god "Perkunas". Here is a list of Lithuanian mythological figures. There are also all seven planetary archetypes we are using in Star of Azazel: Saule (the Sun), Mėnuo (the Moon), Indraja (Jupiter), Sėlija (Saturn), Žiezdrė (Mars), and Vaivora (Mercury) and Aušrinė (Venus). Aušrinė is the Morning star and the evening Venus is called Vakarinė or Vakarė.
One interesting figure is Laima. She is the goddes of fate. In Latvian mythology she has two sisters Kārta and Dēkla. This trinity could perhaps be compared to Norse Norns Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld. There were still birth rituals in the end of 19th century which included offerings to Laima. Only women could take part of these rituals and they were performed in saunas. (How Finnish is that) In Latvian folk songs there is a myth where the thunder god Perkons tears the Great Oak of the Day down and the Day weeps after the oak three years while picking up the pieces of that tree. This story reminds me of the story of the Great Oak in Finnish Kalevala. Trees were important in Baltic religion. Especially important were Oak and Linden. Oak was the holy tree of men and it was placed a few eggs under it regularly. Linden was the holy tree of women and they sacrificed butter, milk and cheese for it.
Here was some information, but feel free to continue. I am really excited about this topic! I tried to find some books from local library about Baltic mythology, but it was really hard to find much information. Does anyone know any good books about Baltic mythology?
The word:
for Son: Sanskrit sunus – Lithuanian sunus
for Sheep: Sanskrit avis – Lithuanian avis
for Sole: Sanskrit padas – Lithuanian padas
for Man: Sanskrit viras – Lithuanian vyras
for Smoke: Sanskrit dhumas – Lithuanian dumas
Old Lithuanian folk songs and poetry are called Dainas and this is of the same root as "dhyana" in Sanskrit.
I think this is really interesting. The distance between Lithuania and India is so big after all. There must be some ancient connection buried in the dusk of history. Also, Lithuania was the last nation in Europe to be christianized. There myths about pagan priestesses who guarded the sacred fire as more familiar Virgins of Vesta did in ancient Rome. One such priestess was Birute, according to a legend. There are also striking similarities between Lithuanian and Vedic gods and mythological figures. For example: Lithuanian Ašvieniai and Vedic Ashvins. I'm Finnish and in Finnish too there are many Baltic loan words. Perhaps the most familiar one is Finnish "Perkele" which comes directly from the Lithuanian thunder god "Perkunas". Here is a list of Lithuanian mythological figures. There are also all seven planetary archetypes we are using in Star of Azazel: Saule (the Sun), Mėnuo (the Moon), Indraja (Jupiter), Sėlija (Saturn), Žiezdrė (Mars), and Vaivora (Mercury) and Aušrinė (Venus). Aušrinė is the Morning star and the evening Venus is called Vakarinė or Vakarė.
One interesting figure is Laima. She is the goddes of fate. In Latvian mythology she has two sisters Kārta and Dēkla. This trinity could perhaps be compared to Norse Norns Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld. There were still birth rituals in the end of 19th century which included offerings to Laima. Only women could take part of these rituals and they were performed in saunas. (How Finnish is that) In Latvian folk songs there is a myth where the thunder god Perkons tears the Great Oak of the Day down and the Day weeps after the oak three years while picking up the pieces of that tree. This story reminds me of the story of the Great Oak in Finnish Kalevala. Trees were important in Baltic religion. Especially important were Oak and Linden. Oak was the holy tree of men and it was placed a few eggs under it regularly. Linden was the holy tree of women and they sacrificed butter, milk and cheese for it.
Here was some information, but feel free to continue. I am really excited about this topic! I tried to find some books from local library about Baltic mythology, but it was really hard to find much information. Does anyone know any good books about Baltic mythology?