It's a bit of a taboo subject but I'd like to introduce an important Baltic Lithuanian deity named "Velnias" or "Velinas" who is the Lithuanian Devil but not to be confused with the the Christian Devil or Satan.
Lithuanians and other earth centred/Indigenous cultures of the world have been long accused by the Christian church as "Devil worshippers" and this assumption is partly correct.
The Lithuanian Devil was never worshipped. I don't believe that any Lithuanian Deity was traditionally worshipped" in the Christian sense of the word but veneration through sacrifice, honour in celebrations and respect was a general attitude towards the deities amongst Lithuanian peoples of the past. It is true though that the Devil God does feature in Lithuanian mythology and worldview as he does with other Earth centred/Indigenous cultures of the world so the Christian belief of the Devil does exist in the Indigenous cultures of the world but is not perceived as in the Christian mythology.
So let me introduce you to the Lithuanian Velnias (Devil)!
As VELnias name suggests, he is believed to be the caretaker and guardian of the "Vėlės"(Souls of the dead). Velnias is believed to protect the living from the dead.
Velnias is depicted in Lithuanian folklore aš
*A co creator of the world alongside Dievas the Sky God.
*a shapeshifter (could appear as a bird, animal or even a man)
*Clever but not too bright. Easily fooled.
* Adversary of Perkūnas the thunder God. Easy to escape him by saying, "look! There's Perkūnas!" and run away when he's not looking!
*Velnias is a Cthonic (earthly) Deity but loves swamps and bogs.
*Velnias is depicted as appearing as a horned giant with a tale and cloven feet which is the same image of the Devil character in the Christian mythology but not the same.
*Can be a helper or a hindrance to people.
*Sexually promiscuous and loves fornicating with women
*Loves music and loves to dance.
So you see the character of the Lithuanian Devil God is very different from the image portrayed by the Christian church and made even scarier by Holywood. Velnias is a God who is very important in the Lithuanian Pantheon and todays post only gives a brief glimpse into his character.
There is so much more to explore about Velnias and his connection with the necrocult in Lithuania!
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