Lithuanian mythology is an example of pagan mythology containing archaic elements, developed by Lithuanians throughout the centuries. Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller rustic" is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" Lithuanians are the Baltic Ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number a little over 3 million

Contents 1 History of scholarship 2 Reconstructions of the mythology 3 Relations with other mythological systems 4 The periods of Lithuanian mythology 5 The elements of Lithuanian mythology 5.1 God and nature 5.2 Inner heroism 5.3 The god of morality 6 See also 7 References

History of scholarship

The information about Baltic paganism in general is very sketchy and incomplete. Romuva or Romowe (known as Rickoyoto in writings of Simon Grunau) This early account was further enhanced by Simon Grunau in the 16th century Prussia is a historical region in Central Europe extending from the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea to the Masurian Lake District. Lithuanians hadn't developed a literature before Christian times, so all the myths, stories, and customs had to be relayed to future generations verbally. Oral history can be defined as the recording preservation and interpretation of historical information, based on the personal experiences and opinions of the speaker Most of the early written accounts are very brief and made by foreigners, usually Christians, who disapproved of Pagan traditions. Some academics regard some texts as inaccurate misunderstandings or even fabrications. In addition many sources list many different names and different spellings, thus sometimes it is not clear if they are referring to the same thing.

Lithuania became Christianized between the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century, but pagan religion survived for another two centuries, gradually losing its cultural influence and coherence. The Christianization of Lithuania (Lietuvos krikštas was the event that took place in 1387 initiated by the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland The Evangelical Religion, established in Prussia by Albert of Brandenburg Prussia promised to preach to people in their own language, rather than the Latin. The Prussian Union (Evangelical Christian Church ( Unionsurkunde) was the merger of the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church in Prussia, by Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state Albert of Prussia or Albert of Hohenzollern (in German Albrecht von Hohenzollern) may refer to Albert of Mainz (1490–1545 also known Duke Albert established the Albertina University in Königsberg, where languages of the neighboring countries were taught and the first books in those languages were printed. The University of Königsberg (Albertus-Universität Königsberg was the University of Königsberg, East Prussia. Königsberg (Karaliaučius Low German: Königsbarg; Królewiec see also other names) was until 1946 the name of Kaliningrad. The last conceptions of the old religion survived approximately until the beginning of the 19th century. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar However, as it was the tradition, they were never documented by followers of the religion themselves, and all known facts are from documents left by outsiders.

Although the pre-Christian religion in Lithuania died out much later than in any other European country, actual information on Lithuanian mythology is scattered and late. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Interest in it has increased since the beginning of the 19th century, when the narrative material began to be collected. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar However, at this time the majority of Lithuanians had already ceased to live according to the beliefs and doctrines of their earlier religion, and story-tellers could not explain their meaning more adequately and precisely. Without these explanations, the folk tales and songs collected by scholars seemed to some mythologists and historians to be more the raw material out of which a mythology or a heroic epos might be composed than the mythology itself. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation The relics of the old religion were interwoven with other stories of folkloric mythology, and were subsequently documented quite well, including many testimonies written by storytellers themselves. However, the more syncretic character of this mythology raised some uncertainties and, subsequently, hypotheses and discussions, as to what the pagan Lithuanian religion actually was.

Because of this view, many scholars preferred to write their own reconstructions of Lithuanian mythology, based also on historical, archaeological, and ethnographic data. The first such reconstruction was written by the Polish-speaking Lithuanian historian Theodor Narbutt at the beginning of the 19th century. Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Teodor Narbutt (1784 – 1864 was a Polish-Lithuanian writer Romanticist Historian and military engineer Two well-known attempts at reconstruction have been attempted more recently by Marija Gimbutas and Algirdas Julien Greimas. Marija Gimbutas ( Marija Gimbutienė) ( Vilnius, January 23, 1921 – Los Angeles, United States February 2 Algirdas Julius Greimas ( March 9 1917 in Tula – 1992 in Paris) was a Lithuanian linguist who contributed to the theory This method of reconstruction is thorny, and none of the attempts has been satisfactory.

The two biggest difficulties in this process are, first, the fact that Lithuanian mythology was not static, but constantly developed, so that it did not remain in the same form over the longer periods usually treated by mythologists. Secondly, Slavic mythology, which in general concepts seems very different from its Lithuanian and Latvian counterparts, had a certain influence on people's thought, which affected the ethnographic data, and thus the judgments of scholars who made use of such data. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region.

Thus, the first reconstructions and descriptions of Lithuanian mythology offer a far from true description of their subject, being little more than a patchwork of arbitrarily selected details from Lithuanian and Belarusian mythologies. Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east The account offered by Narbutt, and ideas raised by Adam Mickiewicz (for example, in his play Dziady) are among these, but mythologists since the second half of the 19th century have become more accurate, as a result of their knowledge of contemporary linguistic research which shows the structural differences between Lithuanian and Slavic languages. Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (pronounced ] in Belarusian, Адам Міцкевіч; in Lithuanian, Adomas Bernardas Mickevičius; December This article is about an ancient festival See Dziady (poem for the poem by Adam Mickiewicz.

The most modern academics exploring Lithuanian mythology in second half of 20^th century were Norbertas Vėlius and Gintaras Beresnevičius. Norbertas Vėlius (born January 1 1938 in Gulbės near Šilalė — died June 23 1996 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian folklorist specializing in Baltic Gintaras Beresnevičius ( July 8, 1961, Kaunas — August 6, 2006, Vilnius) was a Lithuanian historian of religions Their works are considered as the most objective. They are very critical and careful about mythological sources.

Reconstructions of the mythology

According to Marija Gimbutas, the initial structure of Lithuanian mythology was based on a matriarchal system of goddesses representing various pieces of the natural world, e. Marija Gimbutas ( Marija Gimbutienė) ( Vilnius, January 23, 1921 – Los Angeles, United States February 2 Matriarchy is a term which is applied to gynocentric form of Society, in which the leading role is by the Female and especially by the Mothers A goddess is a Female Deity. Many Cultures have goddesses Often deities are part of a polytheistic system that includes several deities g. , earth, sky, moon, water, air, etc. Later developments took on a patriarchal format, many of the female goddesses losing their power and significance. Patriarchy is the structuring of Society on the basis of Family units where fathers have primary responsibility for the welfare of hence authority over

Relations with other mythological systems

Lithuanian mythology is perhaps closest to Latvian mythology, and according to the prevalent point of view, Lithuanians shared the same myths and basic features of their religion with the Old Prussians. "Prussians" redirects here "Prussians" may also refer to citizens of the former German state of Prussia. On the other hand, individual elements have much in common with other mythological systems, and especially with those of neighbouring cultures.

The periods of Lithuanian mythology

Pre-Christian mythology is known mainly through speculation and reconstruction, although the existence of some mythological elements, known from later sources, has been confirmed by archaeological findings. It is reflected in folk tales, such as Jūratė and Kastytis and Eglė the Queen of Serpents. Jūratė and Kastytis is one of the most famous and popular Lithuanian legends and tales Eglė the Queen of Serpents, alternatively Eglė the Queen of Grass Snakes (Eglė žalčių karalienė is a Lithuanian Folk tale.

The next period of Lithuanian mythology started in the 15th century, and lasted till approximately the middle of the 17th century. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar The myths of this period are mostly heroic, concerning the founding of the state of Lithuania. Perhaps two the best known stories are those of the dream of the Grand Duke Gediminas and the founding of Vilnius^[1], the capital of Lithuania, and of Šventaragis, which also concerns the history of Vilnius. Gediminas (ca 1275 – winter 1341 was the Monarch of medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the title lt didysis kunigaikštis (вялікі князь Many stories of this kind reflect actual historical events. In general, these myths are coloured by patriotism. Already by the 16th century, there existed a non-unified pantheon; data from different sources did not correspond one with another, and local spirits, especially those of the economic field, became mixed up with more general gods and ascended to the level of gods. ^[2]

The third period began with the growing influence of Christianity and the activity of the Jesuits, roughly since the end of the 16th century. The earlier confrontational approach to the pre-Christian Lithuanian heritage among common people was abandoned, and attempts were made to use popular beliefs in missionary activities. This also led to the inclusion of Christian elements in mythic stories.

The last period of Lithuanian mythology began in the 19th century, when the importance of the old cultural heritage was admitted, not only by the upper classes, but by the nation more widely. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The mythical stories of this period are mostly reflections of the earlier myths, considered not as being true, but as the encoded experiences of the past. They concentrated on moral problems, and on an heroic vision of the past, rather than on individual heroes, who very often even lacked proper names, being referred to as "a duke", "the ruler of the castle", etc.

The elements of Lithuanian mythology

God and nature

Stories, songs, and legends of this kind describe laws of nature and such natural processes as the change of seasons of the year, their connections with each other and with the existence of human beings. Nature is often described in terms of the human family; in one central example (found in many songs and stories), the sun is called the mother, the moon the father, and stars the sisters of human beings.

Inner heroism

Lithuanian myths often reveal the inner heroism of a human being, symbolising this inner being in terms of various feats in the mystic lands on the opposite side of the Earth, or in the sky of the South polar regions, commonly describing these places as "The Land over All the Seas" and "The Cosmic Underwater Kingdom", respectively.

The god of morality

Myths that talk about problems of morality are the simplest, and are close to popular fables common to all European nations. The main idea in these stories is that god often visits people to guide them in moral questions, but people aren't able to recognise him. According to these stories, a human should listen to his inner voice of harmony and justice, in order to act morally in the presence of god, for people don't know when and under what circumstances they are under his gaze. Some scholars stress the mixed Christian and pre-Christian character of these stories.

See also

• List of Lithuanian gods
• Reconstructed Lithuanian pantheon
• Latvian mythology
• Romuva (church)
• Tree of the world

References

---

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic