BALTIC RELIGION

the religious beliefs and practices of the Balts, ancient inhabitants of the Baltic region of eastern Europe. The study of Baltic religion has developed as an offshoot of the study of Baltic languages, the oldest Indo-European language group. Just as these languagesOld Prussian, Latvian, and Lithuaniancorrelate closely with the ancient Indian language Sanskrit, so does Baltic religion exhibit many features that conform to Vedic (ancient Indian) and Iranian ideas. Thus Baltic religious concepts help in understanding the formation and structure of the oldest phases of Indo-European religion. Although archaeology has revealed much about burial practices and modes of worship in the Baltic area, historical documents and even linguistic source material remain problematic because of the region's long domination by the Germans. Folklore contains the greatest wealth of ancient forms and ideas, since the Germans emphasized economic exploitation over religious conversion. Three main characteristics are discernible in Baltic religion. The first is the predominance of the sky godsDievs (the personified sky), Perkons (the thunderer), Saule (the sun ), and Meness (the moon ). The second trait is the important role of destiny, luck, or fate, personified as the goddess Laima, who is regarded not as plotting the details of every life but as prescribing the limits within which each individual exercises choice and will. The third characteristic is the assignment of the realms of nature and the underworld to female divinities known as mothers. The principal among these, the Earth Mother, personifies the earth itself and oversees human welfare in general. The association of divinities with particular aspects of the natural world (e.g., Mother of the Fields, Mother of Snow) represents a later differentiation of roles. The primary themes of Baltic mythology as it survives in folklore are the structure of the world and the enmity between Saule and Meness. The four-line folk songs called dainas, which resemble Vedic verses, portray the world in dualistic terms. The sky mountain and the sun tree, or world tree, are central mythic concepts. Excavations have revealed temples made of wood, and another important ritual site was the bathhouse, in which birth ceremonies and funerals were performed. Various places in the home were considered to be abodes of spirits, and each work site had its guardian spirit, to whom sacrifices were offered. Little is known about the performers of these and other rites. Important festivals marked the summer solstice and the harvest, and marriage and funeral ceremonies, which corresponded closely to their Old Indian counterparts, lasted for several days. The funeral rite, in fact, drew much upon the wedding, thus illustrating the Baltic concept that the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead is illusory. The Baltic religion did not recognize contemplation or mysticism but rather prescribed the ritual observance of the cosmic order as the means of experiencing the divine. religious beliefs and practices of the Balts, ancient inhabitants of the Baltic region of eastern Europe who spoke languages belonging to the Baltic family of languages. Additional reading Marija Gimbutas, The Balts (1963), pp. 179204, gives a concise summary. Hans Bertuleit, Das Religionswesen der alten Preussen mit litauischlettischen Parallelen, Prussia, vol. 25 (1924), is still the only complete review of the Old Prussian religion. A critical examination of sources and research may be found in Haralds Biezais, Die Religionsquellen der baltischen Vlker und die Ergebnisse der bisherigen Forschungen (1954). For a comprehensive collection of historic records of the Prussian, Lithuanian, and Lettish religion, see Wilhelm Mannhardt, Letto-preussische Gtterlehre (1936, reissued 1971). Haralds Biezais, Die Hauptgttinnen der alten Letten (1955), Die Gottesgestalt der lettischen Volksreligion (1961), Die himmlische Gtterfamilie der alten Letten (1972), Lichtgott der alten Letten (1976), and Die baltische Ikonographie (1985), are devoted to central problems of Baltic religion, with exhaustive bibliographies. Haralds Biezais