Journal:Archaeologia Baltica
Volume 15 (2011): Archaeology, Religion and Folklore in the Baltic Sea Region, pp. 144–157
Abstract
Mythological space is a scholarly construct, related to various disciplines and representing different research agendas, theoretical standpoints and institutional affiliations. As such, it is illustrated in this article by three case studies relating to reconstructions of the Latvian mythological space. The work of Ludvigs Adamovičs represents the conceptualisation and description of the mythological space in interwar period studies of ancient religion. His views are contested and elaborated by Haralds Biezais in the postwar period within the émigré academic environment. Finally, studies of mythological space by Janīna Kursīte represent the most recent scholarly production in this direction.
Journal:Archaeologia Baltica
Volume 15 (2011): Archaeology, Religion and Folklore in the Baltic Sea Region, pp. 128–143
Abstract
Known the world over, laments are one of the oldest genres of oral ritual poetry. They are usually performed by women during rituals: funerals, weddings or leaving to join the army. Laments are works of a special kind of improvisation; they were created during the process of performance, drawing upon traditional language and motifs. The objective of this article is to open a discussion of relationships between Karelian and Lithuanian lament traditions, as representative examples of Finnic and Baltic traditions, respectively. I focus on representations of ‘belief systems’ as these are reflected through the poetic features, images and motifs of both Karelian and Lithuanian funeral laments.
Journal:Archaeologia Baltica
Volume 15 (2011): Archaeology, Religion and Folklore in the Baltic Sea Region, pp. 120–127
Abstract
The article introduces to readers the activities of healers among the Finnish Orthodox people of Border Karelia (located on the northern shores of Lake Ladoga). The period discussed here focuses on the two decades between the First and the Second World War. The activities of healers consisted of finding and explaining a problem (usually the cause of an illness), and finding a solution. In Border Karelia, the most common explanations for an illness were that it had come from water, a forest or a graveyard. It was believed that all three were controlled by spirits, which the ill person had somehow offended, or, occasionally, which had been set on the ill person by somebody malicious. In both cases, the ill person’s share of limited good had diminished, and had to be enhanced. In the first case, the spirit(s) had to be conciliated. In the latter case, a counter-charm was needed.
Journal:Archaeologia Baltica
Volume 15 (2011): Archaeology, Religion and Folklore in the Baltic Sea Region, pp. 105–119
Abstract
It is mentioned in 15th to 18th-century written sources that in Lithuania, Prussia and Latvia pagan rituals, during which a certain amount of drink would be poured out for the gods and the dead, were practised. Lithuanian and Latvian ethnographic material from the 19th and 20th centuries supports the continuity of this tradition at community and family feasts. In sources on Baltic religion it is usually emphasised that the drink would be poured out on to the ground. This can be interpreted as a triple offering: to the goddess of the Earth, to the domestic deities, and to the souls of the dead. However, the Balts not only practised pouring drink on the ground, but other libation practices too. In terms of the place on to which the drink would be poured, the following practices can be singled out: pouring on the ground, into fire, into water, and into the air (sprinkling the drink upwards). Pouring on to stones and trees, which is related to elements of sacred places, also deserves special attention.
Journal:Archaeologia Baltica
Volume 15 (2011): Archaeology, Religion and Folklore in the Baltic Sea Region, pp. 99–104
Abstract
The article deals with a popular image in traditional peasant culture, that of a supernatural being that is believed to be stealing milk and dairy products, and bringing them to its (usually female) owner, thus enhancing her wealth. In Lithuania, this milk stealer figure is called aitvaras/kaukas, in Latvia pūkis, in Finland para, and in Sweden bjära. despite the different names and some other discrepancies in origin and nature, all these images are shown to be essentially similar. The author considers all of them to be rooted in the traditional peasant culture and mentality, which can be characterised to a considerable degree by the concept of ‘limited good’ (Foster 1965).
Journal:Archaeologia Baltica
Volume 15 (2011): Archaeology, Religion and Folklore in the Baltic Sea Region, pp. 78–98
Abstract
The myth of the Theft of the Thunder-Instrument (ATU 1148b) is found almost exclusively in the Circum-Baltic area. It is found among both Indo-European and Finno-Ugric cultures. This implies that it was adapted from one into the other, unless both assimilated it from a common cultural stratum. This paper surveys this mythological narrative tradition that is found in Baltic, Finnic, Germanic and Sámic cultures. It proposes that the tradition’s persistence in a Circum-Baltic isogloss is a consequence of historical contact and interaction between these cultures, and that its evolution has been dependent on that history of contact and exchange.
Journal:Archaeologia Baltica
Volume 15 (2011): Archaeology, Religion and Folklore in the Baltic Sea Region, pp. 72–77
Abstract
In order to understand the narrative about Sovijus (1261), the author proposes a comparative analysis with similar myths in other Indo-European cultures: Hindu mythology (Indra), Irish mythology (Finn), and Scandinavian mythology (Sigurd). These myths emphasise the role of a sacred animal (Indra’s tricephalous monster, Finn’s salmon, Sigurd’s dragon, Sovijus’ boar with nine spleens). The animal allows the hero access to secret knowledge (divination in the case of Finn and Sigurd, revelation about cremation for Sovijus). Rituals or narratives of other folklore genres, such as tales, could be additional sources for a comparative analysis.