Mahte
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 Haralds Biezais mentioned there were at least 70 characters in Baltic religion identified with the title of "māte".
Overview
Latvian ethnographer Pēteris Šmits noted that the Mahtes seem to be a phenomenon exclusive to Latvian mythology, with no equivalent either in its Baltic neighbours, nor in other Indo-European mythologies.Scholars note that these deities were invoked with the epithet "māte" and individually oversaw several aspects of nature, including features of the environment, animals, as well as cultural aspects, such as death and interrement, or milk and cattle.
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.
List of ''Mahte''
Following are some of the māte characters:- Bangu māte - Mother of Waves
- Ceļa māte - Mother of Roads
- Dārza māte - Mother of Gardens
- Dēkla māte
- Gausu māte
- Jūras māte - considered a goddess of the sea
- Kapu māte - 'Mother of Graves'
- Kārta māte
- Krūmu māte - Mother of Bushes
- Lapu māte - Mother of Leaves
- Lauka māte or Lauku māte - Mother of Fields
- Lazdu māte - Mother of the Hazelbush
- Lietus māte - Mother Rain
- Linu māte - Mother Flax
- Lopu māte - Mother of Livestock
- Mieža māte - Mother of Barley
- Meža māte - Mother of the Forest
- Miglas māte - Mother of Fog
- Pirts māte - Mother of the Bathhouse
- Rijas māte - Mother of the Threshing Place
- Sēņu māte - Mother of Mushrooms
- Smilšu māte - Mother of Sands
- Sniega māte - Mother of Snow
- Tirgus māte - Mother of Markets
- Ūdens māte - Mother of Waters
- Uguns mate - Mother of Fire
- Upes māte - Mother of Rivers
- Vēja māte - 'Mother of Winds'
- Veļu māte or Vélių motę - mother of the souls/spirits
- Zemes māte - Earth Mother
- Ziedu māte - Mother of Flowers
Role of the Mothers
Latvian mother deities are those of the dead, the sea, the forest, and the wind".
Death and the afterlife
For instance, goddess Zemes māte was associated with receiving the dead and acting as their ruler and guardian. In Latvian dainas, Zemes māte is associated with fellow Mahte ''Veļu māte and Kapu māte. According to researcher Elza Kokare, Zemes māte and Kapu māte act as the resting places of the dead, guarding its body and holding the key to their graves. As an individual character, Zemes māte is invoked as a person's final resting place.A second personage is named Veļu māte or Vélių motę, etymologically connected to Lithuanian veles 'shades of the dead', velionis 'dead person' and Latvian Vels 'god of the underworld' and, by extension, with some relation to Slavic Veles, deity of the underworld. She is considered to be a chthonic goddess and "queen of the dead", who welcomes them at the cemetery.
Another figure named Nāves māte was presumed by scholar Nikolai Mikhailov to be connected to Slovenian word navje, an etymon related to the Nav of Slavic folklore, a designation for the dead. He also cited the possibility that Nāves māte is another name for Latvian Veļu māte and Lithuanian Veliona. The word nāve also means 'death' in Latvian.
Other deities connected with the worship of the dead were Kapu māte and Smilšu māte''.
The natural world
Another set of Mahte figures relate to the natural world, such as Vēju māte ; Meža māte, protectress of wild life; Miglas māte and Lietus māte. Vēju māte is said to be the goddess of winds and ruler of the weather.Bodies of water
Another group is composed of several water divinities: Jūras māte, a goddess of waters; Ūdens māte ; Upes māte, Bangu māte. Jūras māte is said to rule the seas as a goddess.Deity Bangu māte is considered to be a recent and more poetical appellation of the Mother of the Water and Mother of the Sea.