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, for the most part, likely stem from Proto-Indo-European practices and the later 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.
The minute details of most, if not all of these myths vary from region to region, and sometimes even from family to family.
History
13th–18th century
There are few accounts of Baltic tribes, the ancestors of modern Latvians, and their mythology prior to their Christianization in the 13th century. Following Christianization, a variety of sources of information concerning indigenous mythology become available, including chronicles, travel reports, visitation records, Jesuit reports and other accounts of pagan practices. These sources are considered secondary by researchers because, since the authors were not Latvian, they did not speak the local languages and were often biased. These materials can be unreliable, containing errors, distortions and even outright fabrications - these stemming from the Christian world-view of their creators. This said, data derived from early accounts can often be substantiated by judicious comparisons made with motifs and themes present in folklore collected in successive centuries.18th – early 20th century
Most folklore materials have been collected since the mid-19th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was assumed that Baltic tribes were originally one nation and thus had the same deities. Early authors tried to reconstruct a Latvian pantheon using data from neighboring regions. This trend was later also adopted by Latvian national romanticists. After the abolition of serfdom, a new national identity was forming and authors sought to prove that Baltic cultural traditions were as deep as those of other nations. It was hoped that a grand epic could be constructed using pieces preserved in folklore. It was also thought that the ancient religion, forgotten during 700 years of oppression, could be reconstructed. However, folklore sources proved insufficient for the task. Some attempted to reconstruct pantheons to be as impressive as that of Greek mythology, which led to some deities being simply invented. Besides the assumption that deities of other Baltic peoples must be Latvian as well but were simply lost over time, many new deities were modeled after Greek and Roman deities. An example of the trend is the epic poem Lāčplēsis by Andrejs Pumpurs, which features a pantheon of Latvian and Prussian gods and some the author has invented himself. Similarly, works of Juris Alunāns and poet Miķelis Krogzemis feature pantheons of invented deities.At the same time, some pagan rites were still practiced. And, as Christianity was seen as alien, attempts were made to recreate the ancient religion. The most successful of the neopagan movements was Dievturi, established in the late 1920s, which claims that ancient Latvians were monotheistic and the various mythological beings are all aspects of one God. While the notion of needing to remove alien influences to reconstruct Latvian traditions was preserved into later times, the attempts to create an Olympus-like pantheon of pseudo-gods eventually stopped as national romanticism was replaced by realism and came to be criticized in the first half of 20th century. It was also suspected that some of the folklore materials might have been falsified. The research of this time is characterised not only by skepticism but also with attempts to seek foreign influences.
1944–1970s
After the Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944, research into mythology and especially religious concepts was banned in Latvia. Similarly, members of neopagan groups were persecuted as paganism was considered chauvinistic. Despite this, research was continued by Latvians in exile, who focused on the mythology of folk songs. The songs were already seen as the best source for mythology research during the interwar period. The reason was that since the need to preserve poetic metre and melody limited possible changes, it was thought that ancient notions were better preserved in them than in other genres of folklore. Accordingly, folk songs were the only source for research for a long time. This approach has been criticized by modern researchers who have proposed that themes mentioned in other genres, such as fairy tales, legends, and records of folk beliefs and magic practices, might complement folk songs as each genre contains different themes and might provide only partial insight into mythology.1970s–present
Although research in Latvia could only restart in the 1980s, the 1970s saw the emergence of a folklore movement with members that could be described as neopagans. These groups were pantheistic, less uniform, less dogmatic, interested in the protection of nature and cultural heritage, and more open to the influence of traditions from neighboring nations. Later, marginal movements have explored spirituality in both local traditions and religious and spiritual practices of the world, such as Eastern religions. For example, was announced to be an ancient sacral site by one of these groups in the late 1990s, and it attracts thousands of visitors each season. Dievturi, which resumed operating in Latvia just before the restoration of independence in 1990, is the only officially recognized pagan religion and had around 600 followers as of 2001. Given the decreasing influence of the movement, its name is sometimes applied in a broader sense to any modern practice related to folklore.Beings and concepts
Celestial deities
There are various reconstructions of Latvian mythical space, but most researchers agree on the meaning of certain features related to the sky. The sky itself is identified as Debeskalns. The sky is also referred to as Oļu kalns, Sudraba kalns or Ledus kalns, with the adjectives, probably referring to stars or snow. It has also been suggested that Dievs is also a symbol of the sky because the etymology of his name seems to be related to the sky. Dievs is considered to be the supreme deity. Another celestial deity is the goddess of the sun, Saule, whose name literally translates to "the sun", she ensured the fertility of the earth and was the guardian of the unlucky, especially for orphans and young shepherds. Her path leads her across the mountain of sky to the sea, which is sometimes interpreted as a symbolic representation of the sky or cosmic ocean. The sea and other bodies of water, including rivers, especially Daugava, seem to mark the boundary between worlds of the living and the dead. In Latvian, the word for "the world" is derived from the word for the Sun and these worlds are referred to as "this sun" and "that sun". Therefore, it seems that Saule is also closely related to the concept of death. She apparently carries the souls of the dead across the sea to the world of the dead. Her daily movement can thus be related to the cycle of human life with her being reborn every day.On the path of the Sun, in or by the water, often on an island or rock in middle of the seas, is the Austras koks thought to represent world tree or axis mundi, it is usually described as a tree, but can also be variety of other plants or even objects. Nobody has ever seen the tree, although folklore purports that many have searched all their lives. Still it has been suggested that its natural counterpart might be the polar star or the Milky Way. It has also been proposed it might be a symbol for the year. The tree is related to celestial wedding mythos in which sun or her daughter is courted by Dieva dēli, Auseklis or Pērkons.
Also, as in Latvian the word for daughter also stands for maiden, it is uncertain who exactly is getting married. However, this does not affect how mythical events transpire. The male deities spy on the solar deity at the world tree, prepare a bath for her, tease her and so on. Eventually, she is abducted and wed. Saule's husband is the moon god Mēness. Pērkons strikes the world tree, has weeping Saule pick up bits for three years and then reassembles them, finishing with the very tip, on the fourth year.
Afterlife
The world of the dead is called Aizsaule or Viņsaule. It is related to various mother deities : Zemes māte, sometimes referred to as "Nāve", literally meaning "death"; Veļu māte, Kapu māte, and Smilšu māte. Zemes mate is portrayed as wearing a long robe in all white and occasionally has a scythe or sickle.Jods, the equivalent to Satan, is a being usually portrayed as being on par with other deities. Unlike velni, Jods is purely evil. He is said to have taken part in the creation of the world and living things. Jods steals people away to take them to his world. In this he is similar to other spirits who kill people, including Veļi who were believed to sometimes come back to claim a life of a person they knew in their lifetime. The dead - called Veļi - were considered to be visiting their old homes during autumn from Miķeļi to Mārtiņi. A Jesuit report from the end of 16th century suggests that historically a funeral procession was led by a person waving the axe to protect the deceased from Veļi coming to him too fast. The deceased was buried with items of trade to be able to secure livelihood in the afterlife. Bread and beer was also given. In autumn the souls were invited back home for a feast. The house would be clean and a table with foods set. At the beginning of the feast, an elder would invite Veļi by calling the names of all the dead who once lived in the house the living could remember. He would then give a speech scolding them for not having protected the house well enough, ask them to do better next year and then invite them to eat. After the meal was done Veļi would be chased out and the house would be carefully cleaned to ensure no one had stayed behind and the dirt would be thrown in water. Veļi could also be invited to chaste themselves in the bathhouse. The food could also be brought to the graveyard or left in the bathhouse, barn or granary. In that case, it would be checked next morning to see if Veļi had touched it, to figure out if they were benevolent to the living. In this case, a candle would be lit so the dead could see the food. In some regions, pails of milk and water along with a clean towel would also be left so Veļi could wash themselves. Those who did not honor Veļi were said to have a poor harvest. In modern Latvia, a form of ancestor worship has been preserved in celebrating the Remembrance day of the dead in late November and in graveyard days. which are held in late summer, and the precise dates of which are decided by whoever owns or manages a particular graveyard. During this day or sometimes days people come to clean up the graves of the deceased of their family.