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Zemes Māte
In Latvian mythology, the term Māte stands for "mother", sometimes written in English as Mahte. It was an epithet applied to some sixty-seventy goddesses. They were clearly distinct goddesses in most or all cases, so the term definitely referred to the mother-goddess of specific phenomena. According to professor Lotte Motz, scholar mentioned there were at least 70 characters in Baltic religion identified with the title of ''Mate''. List of ''Mahte'' According to Miriam Robbins Dexter, these deities were called upon with the epithet "mate" 'mother' and were "goddesses or spirits responsible for the forests, for the fields, for milk, for the sea, for cattle". Similarly, David Adams Leeming remarked that these goddesses "represent dvarious aspects of nature—fields, mushrooms, elks, and so forth". According to scholar Elza Kokare, the authenticity of some Mahte deities is dubious, but some are firmly established due to a great number of mentions in the '' dainas'' (Latvian folk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latvian Mythology
Latvian mythology is the collection of myths that have emerged throughout the history of Latvia, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives. These myths stem from folk traditions of the Latvian people and pre-Christian Baltic mythology. Latvian mythology is used particularly as a tool for reconstructing and analysing the historical pagan beliefs and national identity of Latvia. It is important to note that the minute details of most, if not all of these myths vary per region and sometimes even family. History 13th–18th century There are few reports of Baltic tribes, the ancestors of modern Latvians, and their mythology until Christianization in the 13th century. Since Christianization, there have been several reports related to local mythology including chronicles, travel reports, visitation records, Jesuit reports and other accounts of pagan practices. These reports are considered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nav (Slavic Folklore)
Nav ( Croatian, Czech, Slovak: ''Nav'', pl, Nawia, russian: Навь, sr, Нав, sl, Navje, uk, Мавка, ''Mavka'' or , ) is a phrase used to denote the souls of the dead in Slavic mythology. The singular form (''Nav'' or ''Nawia'') is also used as a name for an underworld, over which Veles exercises custody—it is often interpreted as another name for the underground variant of the ''Vyraj'' (heaven or paradise). Etymology The words ''nawia'', ''nav'' and its other variants are most likely derived from the Proto-Slavic , meaning "corpse", "deceased". Cognates in other Indo-European languages include Latvian ("death"), Lithuanian (“death”), Old Prussian (“body, flesh”), Old Russian () (“corpse, dead body”) and Gothic (, “dead body, corpse”).Razauskas, Dainius (2011). “Ryba - mifologičeskij Proobraz lodki" he Fish As a Mythological Prototype of the Boat In: ''Studia Mythologica Slavica'' 14 (October). Ljubljana, Slovenija, 296, 303. https://doi. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Household Deity
A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit into two types; firstly, a specific deity typically a goddess often referred to as a hearth goddess or domestic goddess who is associated with the home and hearth, such as the ancient Greek Hestia. The second type of household deities are those that are not one singular deity, but a type, or species of animistic deity, who usually have lesser powers than major deities. This type was common in the religions of antiquity, such as the lares of ancient Roman religion, the gashin of Korean shamanism, and cofgodas of Anglo-Saxon paganism. These survived Christianisation as fairy-like creatures existing in folklore, such as the Anglo-Scottish brownie and Slavic domovoy. Household deities were usually worshipped not in temples but in the home, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gabija
Gabija (also known as Gabieta, Gabeta) is the spirit of the fire in Lithuanian mythology. She is the protector of home and family. Her name is derived from ''gaubti'' (to cover, to protect) or from St. Agatha (russian: Гафия, Gafiya). Gabija is only mentioned in a list of Lithuanian gods by the Christian theologian Jan Łasicki in his treatise on idolatry (published in 1615). She is found in Lithuanian folklore. Gabija could take zoomorphic forms of a cat, stork or rooster, or she could appear as a woman clothed in red. Gabija was greatly respected and cared for like a living creature. People would feed Gabija by offering bread and salt Bread and salt is a welcome greeting ceremony in some Slavic, Nordic, Baltic, Balkan and other European cultures as well as in Middle Eastern cultures. It is also shared with some non-Slavic nations— Lithuanians, Latvians (both Baltic), R .... Fire had to be laid to bed – women would cover the charcoal with ashes every evening so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Václav Blažek
Václav Blažek (born 23 April 1959 in Sokolov, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech historical linguist. He is a professor at Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) ( cs, Masarykova univerzita; la, Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the seco ... (Brno, Czech Republic) and also teaches at the University of West Bohemia (Plzeň, Pilsen, Czech Republic). His major interests include Indo-European languages, Uralic languages, Altaic languages, Afro-Asiatic languages, Afroasiatic (Hamito-Semitic) languages, Nostratic languages, Dené–Caucasian languages, and mathematical linguistics (lexicostatistics and glottochronology). In his book ''Numerals'', Blažek discusses words for Numeral (linguistics), numerals in several language families of Eurasia and Africa (Indo-European, Uralic, Altaic, Kartvelian, Egyptian, Berber, Nubian, and Saharan), wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medeina
Medeina or Medeinė (from lt, medis – "tree" or ''medė'' – "forest"), often treated as synonymous to Žvorūnė or Žvorūna (derived from ''žvėris'' – "beast"), is one of the main deities in the Lithuanian mythology, and is similar to Latvian Meža māte (Forest Mother). She is a ruler of forests, trees and animals. Her sacred animal is a hare. A Slavic transcription of John Malalas' Chronicle (dated 1261) mentioned Žvorūna and three other gods. The Hypatian Codex, describing events of 1252, mentioned pagan gods still worshiped by King Mindaugas. The Codex mentioned Medeina and an unnamed hare goddess. It is unclear whether Medeina is the name of hare goddess mentioned in the Codex or whether the two are independent deities. As part of the official pantheon, Medeina represented military interest of warriors and later was replaced by Žemyna, goddess of earth representing agricultural interest of peasants. In the 15th century, Jan Długosz compared Medeina with Rom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latvian Language
Latvian ( ), also known as Lettish, is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family, spoken in the Baltic region. It is the language of Latvians and the official language of Latvia as well as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 1.3 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and 100,000 abroad. Altogether, 2 million, or 80% of the population of Latvia, speak Latvian. Of those, around 1.16 million or 62% of Latvia's population use it as their primary language at home, however excluding the Latgale Region it is spoken as a native language in villages and towns by over 90% of the population. As a Baltic language, Latvian is most closely related to neighboring Lithuanian (as well as Old Prussian, an extinct Baltic language); however Latvian has followed a more rapid development. In addition, there is some disagreement whether Latgalian and Kursenieki, which are mutually intelligible with Latvian, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slavic Folklore
Slavic folklore encompasses the folklore of the Slavic peoples from their earliest records until today. Folklorists have published a variety of works focused specifically on the topic over the years.See, for example, Kononenko 2007. See also * Vladimir Propp, Russian folklorist who specialized in morphology * Supernatural beings in Slavic religion * Deities of Slavic religion Notes References *Kononenko, Natalie O. 2007. ''Slavic Folklore: A Handbook''. Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr .... Slavic Folk Tales(en) {{Folklore-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slovenian Language
Slovene ( or ), or alternatively Slovenian (; or ), is a South Slavic language, a sub-branch that is part of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is spoken by about 2.5 million speakers worldwide (excluding speakers of Kajkavian), mainly ethnic Slovenes, the majority of whom live in Slovenia, where it is the sole official language. As Slovenia is part of the European Union, Slovene is also one of its 24 official and working languages. Standard Slovene Standard Slovene is the national standard language that was formed in the 18th and 19th century, based on Upper and Lower Carniolan dialect groups, more specifically on language of Ljubljana and its adjacent areas. The Lower Carniolan dialect group was the dialect used in the 16th century by Primož Trubar for his writings, while he also used Slovene as spoken in Ljubljana, since he lived in the city for more than 20 years. It was the speech of Ljubljana that Trubar took as a foundation of what lat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of spinning (textiles), spinning, weaving, beauty, love, sexuality, motherhood, domesticity, creativity, and List of fertility deities, fertility (exemplified by the ancient mother goddess cult). Many major goddesses are also associated with magic (supernatural), magic, war, strategy, hunting, farming, wisdom, fate, earth, sky, power (social and political), power, laws, justice, and more. Some themes, such as Discordianism, discord or disease, which are considered negative within their cultural contexts also are found associated with some goddesses. There are as many differently described and understood goddesses as there are male, shapeshifting, or neuter gods. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Veles (god)
Veles,; Serbo-Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Slovenian: ''Veles''; Ruthenian and Old Church Slavonic: Велесъ; be, Вялес, translit=Vialies also known as Volos, is a major god of earth, waters, livestock, and the underworld in Slavic paganism. His mythology and powers are similar, though not identical, to deities such as Loki and Hermes. According to reconstruction by some researchers, he is the opponent of the supreme thunder god Perun. As such he probably has been imagined as a dragon, which in the belief of the pagan Slavs is a chimeric being, a serpent that devours livestock. His tree is the willow much like Perun's tree is the oak. No direct accounts survive, but reconstructionists speculate that he may directly continue aspects of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon. Sources Veles is one of few Slavic gods for which evidence of offerings can be found in all Slavic nations. The ''Primary Chronicle'', a historical record of the early Kievan Rus, is the earl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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