A Summary of Peer Review Responses

I used SurveyMonkey to collect data for my peer review and by 10:30 this evening had 5 respondents. The third question of said survey after the "What is your name?" and the "Are you an AP World History student?" questions was the question "Did you have prior knowledge of Baltic Mythology?" 100% of my respondents had no prior knowledge which honestly surprised me. I'm not sure why, but I did sort of expect for someone to have had some previous encounters with the subject.


 1 out of the 5 respondents stated that the posts should possibly longer, but the other 4 made comments about appreciating the conciseness of this blog, which for me was the goal of the format this blog. All of my respondents stated that they thought the blog accurately addressed the driving question, with special focus paid to the post about holidays and festivals.

 The Music post tied with the Holidays post for most effectively answering the driving question. The geography post was stated as the least helpful for length and addressing the driving question which I attempted to revise, though I do still feel that this post is lacking. At the request of 3 reviewer I added extended commentary to some of the posts. Upon the question "What could be done to better answer the driving question a fuller ending summary was requested which I have since posted. Overall I received a positive to response  to my blog.

In Summary

What are the lasting effects of Baltic mythology on Contemporary Baltic Culture?
Back in the first blog Post of this blog, this was the question that lead me on the journey to researching Baltic Mythology. This summary post will mark the end of my assignment part of this blog, but will in no means stop my research on this topic. This post will begin with a summary and open (what I call only for lack of a better word) Conclusion to this section of this blog.

Physical locations are important is physically understanding the past. These physical locations can show us times and cultures we have never lived. Locations can provide us with physical artifacts. Alters and old religious artifacts are concrete articles in remembering the past of a region. The spiritual connection that anyone who has traveled to place of the past that truly resonated with their heart can often lead into a further exploration of the past.  Music plays a large role in the preservation of Baltic mythology and paganism in modern times. Without Dainas and Baltic folk songs, many of the cultures would be completely destroyed without these valuable cultural pathways. Celebrations are still celebrated as important cultural unifier's. Major changes have occurred within in Baltic celebrations, despite these revisions, these festivals are still culturally very relevant in Baltic life. Romuva is the cultural preservation of old Baltic Paganism that so many regions are with out. The modern implications of this historical preservation are nearly boundless and cannot be overstated.

So, here I attempt to answer our driving question:

Baltic Mythology has found it's way into nearly ever part of modern Baltic culture. mores so than i could have imagined. despite my struggles in finding materials on this honestly, fairly obscure topic, I have found that Baltic mythology is very much ingrained in modern Baltic life. More so than I ever expected. Music and poetry from that era are still common in cultural celebrations in the Baltic world. Geographical areas from that  time are venerated and respected and common places for cultural events and school field trips within the Baltic world. Festivals from the early ages of Baltic Mythology still exists and are considered cultural land marks. Romuva provides a modern look into a past more than a thousand years old and has been one the keys in maintaining a culture an d tradition that could have, like so many been wiped clean. The Baltic region is a prime example of the preservation of the past world through  cultural preservation struggles beyond those faced in many other areas. Baltic Mytholgy has literally held a lasting effected in nearly every part of Baltic society even in a modern Christian Baltic region.

Modern Baltic Paganism: Romuva

Unlike many regions, Baltic Paganism has held on longer than many other pagan relgions. The survial of Baltic Paganism through the most trying parts of Baltic history. The early christian crusades, the conversion of Baltic kings, and more recently, the soviet occupation of the Baltic region of destroyed many other elementso fearly Baltic life, yeat all of them have failed to wipe out Baltic Paganism which it's modern form exsists under the name Romuva.

Romuva

A Romuvan High Priest

Romuva is religion that was officially organised in the early 1800's by bringing together all of those who maintained their tradtional practices of Baltic Paganism. Romuva is a polytheistic pagan faith which asserts the sanctity of nature as well as the practice of ancestor veneration. Followers of Romuva believe that the souls of those who die live in the afterlife and stay with their family and  before that are reincarnated, this being a deviation from traditional Baltic paganism where souls simply went to the earth. Practices are based on  Lithuanian pagan practices and pre-Christian folklore.The most accurate description of the Romuva faith is the given by High Romuva priest on the official Romuva website:
"Romuva is the Lithuanian Expression of Baltic Faith. The name is a tribute to the fallen Prussians, who were also Balts – but their language and culture was assimilated by the early 1700s. Romuva is the name of the most important sanctuary of the Prussians, which was destroyed by crusaders in the 13th century. The symbol of Romuva is a stylised sacred oak tree with three pairs of branches, topped by a sacred flame. Underneath, the word romove (a cognate of Romuva, meaning a group of people who would worship at the ancient Baltic sanctuary Romuva) is written in runic letters.

Turning to the basics of the faith, the richest sources we have are the Liaudes Dainos – ancient folksongs.

As you may recall, I have stated that Lithuania was the last Pagan Empire (at one point stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and encompassing much of what is present day Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and so forth). Much of the mythology, folk beliefs and practices have continued to this day. Lithuanians are an unusual amalgam of pagan beliefs and catholic faith. As an example, while visiting my mother’s family in Punsk Poland I had the good fortune to experience Zolines (Day of Žemyna) – which was led by the Parish Priest. The priest, along with the rest of the parish circled around the town, starting in the cemetery. The celebration continued next to a lake, where a huge town festival occurred – to celebrate the fertility of the land."

This quote accurately explains for our purposes the very complex combination of Baltic Paganism and Christianity in the modern world. A Catholic priest, taking part in a traditional Baltic practice. Romuva is no way the faith of the traditional Baltic people, but as with modern Christianity and any religion that has persisted any length of time, an evolution on a basic set of beliefs and ideas. Romuva has also served in cultural way a preservation the past of the Baltic people. Its name was chosen specifically after the Prussian people in attempt to honor a preserve a glimpse of their culture as their language and traditions are now long gone.


Modern Cultural and Historical Implications of Romuva

Romuva has possibly been one of the most key elements in preserving Baltic Mythology and Keeping Baltic culture alive in the more modern era. The Romuvans has cataloged thousands of Dainas, and translated thousands of texts from Old Prussian in an attempt to save the remnants of the long lost culture. The festivals celebrated in Romuva, especially those to honor the changes of the season have become staples within even Cristian Baltic culture and its coalitions with other religious groups has made it accessible in the Baltic World. With in the large Baltic heritage regions of the united states, such as Chicago, Romuva has provided a gateway into the past of a land many generations separated from those alive. Romuva continues to be a key gateway into the past of Baltic Paganism and creates a bridge into a part of a culture lost in many other regions of the world.

 

Baltic Mythology in Music and Poetry

Music and poems common mediums in which to tell a story or share an ideas in times prior to common literacy. The Baltic region was no exception to this tradition.

Dainas

Danias, are tradtional song/poems in the Baltic region. They are often short and preformed with tradtional instruments often made from animal horns. They have droning sound to them. Dainas have a distinct and strict structure to them, much like Japanese haikus. The Troachic metre of these poems requires that stressed syllables must follow unstressed syllables. The content of Dainas is almost always related to Baltic paganism with a special focus to the sun. Saule, goddess of the sun and Meness, god of the sun are the most common focuses Dainas due to there importantance in an agrarian society. Here is an example of a Tradtional Dania

A poplar stood alongside a road. Sounding kankles – from below the roots, buzzing bees – in the middle, falcon’s children – at the top. And a group of brothers comes riding on horseback. Please stop, young brothers: listen to the sounding kankles, listen to the buzzing bees, look at the falcon’s children.

 

A soviet era stamp depicting tradtional Baltic instruments. 

Danias have held a strong impact in preserving Baltic paganism and culture throughout time. Their simple construction and structure has made them easily memorizable which allowed the stories they hold to be preserved. Many families have their own Danias which tell stories intermixing the pagan gods and their own families. 

Modern impact of Dainas

Dainas in contemporary culture have created a medium for the preservation of Baltic mythology even in modern times. Grandparents pass on the family stories to grandchildren and learning the family Dainas is to this day considered an important part of growing up in Baltic cultures. Dainas are one of the primary sources for stories of Baltic mythological god, goddesses, heros and spirits and without this long running oral tradtion many of these stories would have been lost. 

Other music in Baltic Paganism

Beyond the Dainas (Lithuanian: Danios) there is a variety of folk songs that have a specific focus on Paganism and other mythological themes that have existed from a pre-Christian times in the baltic region. Such songs are often folk song epics that convey a message or a tale of caution. These types of songs also often have a heavier focus on the usage of instruments. This variety of song often has a more somber tone than the Daina and is common in celebrations such as weddings and spring festivals. These songs focus more on the telling of tales about gods, goddesses, spirits, heroes or heroines, where as the Daina is and was often used in a way the focuses on worship or veneration. Here is an example of a Tradtiona l Baltic folk song (orginal Lithuanian left, English right):
 

Menuo Sauluže vede Pirma pavasareli Sauluže anksti keles Menužis atsiskyre. Menuo viens vaikštinejo Aušrine pamylejo Perkūns, didžiai supykes, Jį kardu perdalijo -Ko Saulužes atsiskyrei? Aušrine pamylejai? Viens nakti vaikštinejai?

In the first blush of Spring Menulis and Saulė married. Saulė rose early, leaving Menulis’s side. Menulis went out on his own. Menulis made love to Ausrine. Perkūnas, with great anger, Struck Menulis with his sword. “Why did you leave Saulė? Why did you make love to Ausrine? Why did you wander about in the dark?”

In Conclusion: Music in Baltic Paganism and Contemporary Baltic Culture

Music plays a large role in the preservation of Baltic mythology and paganism in modern times. Without Dainas and Baltic folk songs, the vastly oral tradtion of Baltic paganism would be all but lost. When the crusaders and other Christian groups came through Baltic region and destroyed many of the written and artistic records of Baltic mythology and paganism, the musical records remained, providing us with   A continuing gateway into the past.

 

Baltic Holidays and Mythology

Celebrations are often important culturally unifying events. They bring together many elements and parts of society into one place as well as bringing people physically together under the same cause. Baltic Mythology has many celebrations all of which fall under these purposes. As with most nature based practices, Baltic pagan celebrations are based around the seasons and their importance especially in the lives of the early agrarian followers of the religion.

 

 

Užgavėnės

Celebrated in February, Užgavėnės is a festival to celebrate those who have passed on and to worship the spirits of the animals coming in the spring. Totems of animals are carved and kept in hopes of calling spring out with them. An traditionally carved effigy of winter was carved by a high holy man and than burnt in a hope of sending it away and calling spring  forward.





A modern Užgavėnės festival

Jorė

A festival held in April for the often unforgiving god of thunder, Perkūnas. He is also said to be in good graces of the more elusive goddess of nature and fertility as he can awake from her winter slumber. This festival is often includes offerings of saved winter food sources for the awakening of the goddess. This is considered one the most important Baltic holidays.

Žolinė
Celebrated in august, the festival of the grass is celebrated to honor of the grasses, natural world, and coming fall harvest of wheat and other staples of Baltic life. Mother earth, Žemyna, is the goddess of nature and all life giving properties in the Baltic world. Žolinė is also considered a time to remember those who have passed as Žemyna gave life to all, and when they die they go back to her.

 Kūčios
Celebrated in December, Kūčios is the festival of the beginning. It celebrated ta the beginning of the hardest season of the year to honor Praamžius, the god of the start. The placement of this holiday was meant to depict the way that for life to start there must be a struggle.

Modern Importance of Celebrations
Within the modern version of Baltic Paganism (Romuva, which will be covered more indepthly in the next post) All of the above celebrations are still celebrated plus some new celebrations have been added. Užgavėnės is still celebrated commonly throughout the region, especially in Lithuania where school celebrations of the festival are still a common occurrence. Children help build the effigy of winter and the oldest children get to light the creation. Jorė has transitioned into the ash Wednesday celebration of Christians in the Baltic region. Kūčios is now the name of the Christmas eve festivities in Baltic region. Despite these changes, these festivals are still culturally very relevant and front in Baltic life. Užgavėnės is often celebrated with large town wide festivals and is looked forward to by many as it to this day symbolises the survival of the hard Baltic winter.

 

Geographical Landmarks of Baltic Mythology

  

The geographical world around is often key in various mythological studies, as it's physicality is ever present. In nature, things beyond early science required an explanation and this role often fell to the supernatural realm. These stories and ideas often persist around these areas in modern day. The other role geography can play in the study of mythology is that of physical location of the inhabitants of a region. Relics of the past are often left behind that later allow a window into the past. In this post we will cover both of these types of geographical locations in Baltic mythology.

The Curonian Spit

The Curonian Spit is a 98km long spit on the coast of modern day Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian Federation). The Curonian Spit is a UNESCO World Heritage site that dates back to the prehistoric era. It has often been subject to severe natural conditions and has only been able survive due to human attempts to preserve the spit from erosion.

Curonian Spit in Baltic Mythology and History 

In Baltic paganism the Curonian spit, was formed by the giantess-child, Neringa. She was playing on the seashore and pulled the land up into the shape it currently holds to protect the mainland from dangers of the Sea.


Historically this land and the Baltic peoples have been vastly intertwined. Back to the 1st Millennium C.E. The western Baltic tribes seasonally inhabitable the spit for its resources and fishing opportunities, and some speculate for religious purposes. Between 800-1016 C.E., the pagan trading capital of Kaup flourished.

Modern Curonian Spit and Baltic Mythology 

The Curonian spit remains possibly the only un-excavated viking-era settlement. Today, it is a national park in both Lithuania and Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) and vast efforts are being carried out to preserve the spit. Nor archaeological digs have preformed on the site and due to its history as a Pagan trading port, it is expected that many relics from that era persist buried in the spit. A main reason for not excavating the spit is a fear of destroying the vast reforestation projects that have taken place in hopes of stabilizing the spit. Modern believers of Baltic Paganism still use the land for rituals and view the land as a holy location.

Kernavė

Kernavė located in modern day Eastern-Lithuania is the location that is important in Baltic Pagan burials and was location of one of the most significant archaeological digs in the studies of Baltic History and Baltic Paganism. The burial clothes found at Kernavė are significant in understanding the cultural and religious of the last European pagan region into a Christian one. This settlement has no classical mythological stories or tales associated with but is important as a cultural hub of the early Baltic peoples and as a capital of sorts for trade and culture.

The Modern effects of Baltic Paganism and Geogrpahy

Physical location is one of the most concrete pathways in to the past. As we have the ruins of the Greek world, we Kernave and Curonian spit in the Baltic world to provide us a gate way into the past of times we have never lived. locations can provide us with physical artifacts. Alters and old religious artifacts are concrete articles in remembering the past of a region. On another level that papers and research are less likely to share with us, is the spiritual connection that anyone who has traveled to place of the past that truly resonated with their heart. This feeling of connection is something that guide people into more fully exploring the past of the world around them.  

Works Cited

1.) Of Gods and Men, Studies in Lithuanian Mythology, by Algirdas J. Greimas, translated by Milda Newman, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN, 1992.
2) Balts and Aryans in their Indo-European Background, by Suniti Kumar Chatterji, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Calcutta, 1968. 
3) Barons, Krishjanis. Danias: Dainu Skapis. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 June 2013. <http://www.dainuskapis.lv/>.
4) Kernavė Archaeological Site (Cultural Reserve of Kernavė). UNESCO, n.d. Web. 12 June 2013. <http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1137/>
5) .Curonian Spit. UNESCO, n.d. Web. 12 June 2013. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/994.
6) Balsys, Rimantas (2010). Lietuvių ir prūsų dievai, deivės, dvasios: nuo apeigos iki prietaro. Klaipėdos universitetas.
7) Dundzila & Strmiska, "Romuva: Lithuanian Paganism in Lithuania and America" in Strmiska (ed)., Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives
8) Danutė Brazytė, 1989. Lietuvių Papročiai ir Tradicijos Išeivijoje (Lithuanian Customs and Traditions.) Translated by Vita Matusaitis. Chicago: Lithuanian World Community, Inc
9) Biezais, Haralds (2005). "Dainas". In Jones, Lindsay. Encyclopedia of Religion 4 (2nd ed.). Thomson Gale
10)Norbertas Vėlius (sud.), Baltų religijos ir mitologijos šaltiniai I-IV, Vilnius 1996-2005
11)Baltic religion. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Deluxe Edition. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007
12)Beresnevičius, Gintaras, „Lietuvių religija ir mitologija“, Tyto Alba, Vilnius, 2004

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