Maavalla Koda (literally ''House of the Native Land'', short for Taarausuliste ja Maausuliste Maavalla Koda, ''Estonian House for Taaraist and Native Religion Followers'') is a religious organisation uniting adherents of the two kinds of Estonian native religion or Estonian Neopaganism: Taaraism and Maausk.Ahto Kaasik. Old Estonian Religion ''. Maavalla Koda.
Maavalla Koda was registered as a union of religious associations (''koguduste liit'') in
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
in 1995. The initial constituent members of the union were three local registered religious associations, Emujärve Koda (representing adherents from the south of Estonia), Härjapea Koda (with members from the north of the country), and Tartu Supilinna Koda (formed in the university town of
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...
). Later, Tartu
Supilinn
Supilinn (Estonian for ''"Soup Town"'') is a neighbourhood of Tartu, Estonia. It is located just north of the city centre, on the right bank of Emajõgi River. Supilinn has a population of 1,863 (as of 31 December 2013). With an area of it is ...
a Koda has been renamed Emajõe Koda (after the river
Emajõgi
Emajõgi (; meaning ''"Mother River"'') is a river in Estonia which flows from Lake Võrtsjärv through Tartu County into Lake Peipsi, crossing the city of Tartu for 10 km. It has a length of 100 km.
The Emajõgi is sometimes called t ...
), and the newer association of Maausk adherents of the island
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island i ...
dog tag (identifier)
Dog tag is an informal but common term for a specific type of identification tag worn by military personnel. The tags' primary use is for the identification of casualties; they have information about the individual written on them, including i ...
, adherents of Taarausk and Maausk are identified with the abbreviation EST. A
runic calendar
A Runic calendar (also Rune staff or Runic Almanac) is a perpetual calendar, variants of which were used in Northern Europe until the 19th century. A typical runic calendar consisted of several horizontal lines of symbols, one above the ot ...
noting festivals of the Estonian traditional religion is published annually by Maavalla Koda. The current focus of activity of Maavalla Koda is on traditional natural sacred sites in Estonia, with the aim of mapping and doing folkloristic research in order to preserve and perpetuate the local traditions relating to these. Along with the
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
, Maavalla Koda co-operates in a government programme initiated to ensure the documentation and protection of natural sacred sites in Estonia.
Management
Maavalla Koda is run by a board of three members – an Elder (''vanem''), a Warden (''vardja''), and a Secretary (''kirjutaja''). The board is elected by the Assembly of Maavalla Koda comprising representatives of local associations.
Elders of Maavalla Koda
*
Addold Mossin
Addold Mossin (born 12 December 1919) is an Estonian neopaganist and political activist. He is one of the founders of Maavalla Koda.
In 2003, he was awarded with Order of the White Star, V class. He turned 100
100 or one hundred ( Roman numer ...
Andres Heinapuu
Andres Heinapuu (born 16 March 1954 Tallinn) is an Estonian bibliographer and politician. He was a member of VII Riigikogu. He is active in the Estonian neopagan organisation Maavalla Koda
Maavalla Koda (literally ''House of the Native Land'', ...
In 2001, Maavalla Koda was one of the founders of an umbrella organisation, the Uralic Communion, founded in order to facilitate co-operation among adherents of
Uralic
The Uralic languages (; sometimes called Uralian languages ) form a language family of 38 languages spoken by approximately 25million people, predominantly in Northern Eurasia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian (w ...
native religions.
Other founders of the Uralic Communion included
* the
Mari native religion
The Mari religion ( Mari: Чимарий йӱла, ''Čimarii jüla''), also known as Mari paganism, is the ethnic religion of the Mari people, a Volga Finnic ethnic group based in the republic of Mari El, in Russia. The religion has undergone ch ...
Mari native religion
The Mari religion ( Mari: Чимарий йӱла, ''Čimarii jüla''), also known as Mari paganism, is the ethnic religion of the Mari people, a Volga Finnic ethnic group based in the republic of Mari El, in Russia. The religion has undergone ch ...