segunda-feira, 24 de abril de 2017

LITHUANIAN MYTHOLOGY

As I recall, one of the first interests I have had in my life, it was the study and the reading agout myths of humanity. In childhood, being influenced by the work of Monteiro Lobato, who was a Brazilian writer, and the stories of gods, demigods and heroes of Ancient Greece. When I was 14, I started to learn Classical Greek, due to the fact of wanting to know about the language of that people that had created so many fascinating stories. In the same year, I started to read about the mythology of Germanic peoples or as it is more popularly known, as Norse mythology. Much of this thanks to comic book reading and to the fact of listening and enjoying the musical work of Richard Wagner, who would become my favorite composer and so he is to this day. Later, I read some works which helped me to know more deeply these myths, such as: the Prose Edda, by Snorri Sturluson and the Song of the Nibelungs. Few people know, but at age 19 I lectured on Norse mythology. Years have passed and I have read a lot about mythologies of the world, which in my opinion has helped to broaden not only my knowledge, but how it helped me to understand more clearly how some people on Earth think. I say this, because if we know the myths of a people, we can understand more deeply as they think, beacuse the myths reflect the acts and behaviors of a place. Over the years, I have read such important works as Homer's Odyssey, Beowulf, Epic of Gilgamesh, and Popol Vuh. The latter being my favorite.

Many people know about Greek, Egyptian and Germanic mythologies, but if I ask you what you know about Lithuanian mythology or rather, if you have heard of a Lithuanian mythology, possibly the answer will be "NO". Lithuania was the last European country to be converted to Christianity and still retains characterisctics and celebrations of the times that was still "heathen". With a very close relation to nature, Lithuanian mythology presents no only names of deities but a tangle of creatures and magical spirits. I will introduce some names of deities and some of their main features. From what I have seen so far, they have a scope of at least 60 names of deities and nature spirits. Below is a basic list:

Male Deities:

Praamžius - the high one, he determines the fate of the people, the world and other gods.
Ukapirmas - previous time, his feast is celebrated on December 25th.
Viršaitis - protector of homes and domestic animals.
Perkunas - god of thunder.
Kovas - god of war.
Ragutis - god of beer, vodka and mead.
Santvaras - god of daylight, of poets and doctors.
Atrimpas - god of sea and water.
Gardantis - god of the wind, storm and protector of the ships.
Poklius - god of death and the underworld.
Krukis - god of smiths.
Žiemininkas - god of the land, the harvest and the darkness.
Patelas - winged god of air.
Šneibratas - god of birds and hunting.
Kibirai - a trinity.

Female Deities:

Praurimė - goddess of sacred fire.
Lada - the great goddess.
Budtė - goddess of wisdom.
Laima - goddess of destiny.
Pelenų Gabija - goddess of the fireplaces.
Moterų Gabija - goddess of bread and bakeries.
Perkūnaitėlė - wife of Perkūnas.
Pilvytė - goddess of money, wealth and luck.
Lietuva - goddess of freedom, pleasure and joy.
Veliuona - goddess of eternity and after life.
Pergrubė - goddess of spring, flowers and gardens.
Milda - goddess of love and courtship.
Krūminė - goddess of grain and agriculture.
Nijolė - mistress of the underworld. Wife of Poklius.
Alabatis - goddess of flax.
Aušra - morning goddess.
Bezelea - evening goddess.
Brėkšta - goddess of darkness and dreams.
Kruonis - goddess of time.
Užsparinė - goddess of borders.
Verpėja - weaver of the thread of life.
Gondu - goddess of marriage.
Upinė - goddess of rivers and springs.
Ratainyčia - protective goddess of horses.
Valginė - protective goddess of domestic animals.
Luobo gelda - goddess of knowledge and rumors.
Mėšlų boba - goddess of garbage.
Budintoja - spirit that awakens people who are sleeping.
Austėja - goddess of bees.
Ragutiene Pati - wife of Ragutis.
Žemės Motina - goddess of the underworld, responsible for lost items.
Gaila - spirit that tortures people and animals.
Neris - river nymph.
Ragana - goddess of trees..
Lazdona - goddess of hazelnut.
Medziojna - goddess of forests.

Names of deities extracted from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Lithuanian_mythological_figures

I hope this list of deities can help you get an overview of what Lithuanian mythology is all about. In the future, I will come back to this subject more deeply.

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