Making sense of the traditional Lithuanian pantheon

Lithuanians, traditionally, were polytheistic and, collectively, had a very large and diverse pantheon but not everyone had the same pantheon. This makes it impossible to ascertain one single pan Lithuanian pantheon. There were large differences in pantheons of families, individual people and communities as a result of geography, region, dialect, caste or because they related to their own profession. One thing is certain is that the Thunder God, Perkunas, appears to have been recognised by all people in Lithuania as is evident by the large number of sayings, proverbs and curses, still in use to this day, and throughot Lithuania, there are many place names that relate to Perkunas, His myths or His qualities. All this indicates how important this deity was in the minds of pre Christian Lithuanians. Today, I will just focus on the Pantheon of the Lithuanians without trying to determine any supposed hierarchy. Lastly, in this post, I want to convey the thoughts of the late Krivis Trinkunas which seems to simplify the complexity of the traditional Lithuanian pantheon.

Geography played a part in choosing which deities were included in the pantheon of a community. For example, the deities in the pantheon of people who lived by the sea might have been different to that of a persons pantheon who lived by a lake, forest or river, etc.

Many of the deities who were honoured by Lithuanians of the past were related to their own profession. For example,

*Goddess Austeja and the God Bubilas were known of well by Beekeepers.

*The God Teliavelis/Kalvelis were known by Blacksmiths mainly.

*The legends of the Mermaid Goddess, Jurate, and the storm God, Bangputys, were mainly known by fishermen and seamen.

*The pantheon of house, family and farmstead deities can be different in each household.

*The belief and sacrifice to the Goddess Medeina was mostly held by hunters and perhaps forest foragers.

*Deities related to all aspects of agriculture were known to most farmers.

*People involved in animal husbandry and the care of animals had their own pantheon of important Deities.

There are many examples of how the pantheons of Lithuanians of the past were different according to their own profession. There really are too many examples of different deities to name. Just about everything was deified. This gave rise to outsiders,(who didn't truly understand) having the erroneous belief that Lithuanians were pantheists. The mythologies of the Deities were varied in the different regions of Lithuania, the people of different regions of Lithuania may have known variations of the same tales, but some deities may not even been known at all. Certain deities and their mythologies were perhaps only known to those people in that specific profession, their families and some people in the community.

Caste or social standing also played a big part in determining which deities would be included in their own. pantheon. Lithuanians, traditionally had 4 castes or classes. There was, 

*the peasant class,

*the priest class, 

*the warrior class,

*the nobility class.

Although the deities in the pantheons of people from all these classes or castes were varied, the Thunder God, Perkunas, appeared to be common to all, although attention was drawn to different qualities of the God in the different classes. For example, People in the peasant class looked to Perkunas for agricultural concerns while the warrior class and nobility classes looked to Perkunas for His strength, might, justice and His qualities for war. The priest class always seemed to recognise Perkunas in their rites which were performed for the different classes. The Thunder God, Perkunas, is attested to be the greatest and mightiest God of Lithuania. A whole post needs to be dedicated to just to Him but I can say that the Thunder God is quite an international figure in the pantheons of many cultures.

I can't determine if celestial bodies of the Mother Sun and Brother Moon were included in everyones pantheon, in Lithuania, but I do know that there were many folktales about the Morning Star throughout the country. In the Folk Art of Lithuania, people used many symbols, patterns or designs that were used to depict the Sun, Moon and Stars. The symbols would be woven, stitched, sewn or embroidered into fabric, carved into the wooden items, including household items and even often used in the art of metal workers. I believe that, because of the prolific use of these representations of the celestial bodies,(and snakes), in Folk Art, that these deities played an important role in the minds of many Lithuanians and  probably were included in the pantheons with which they lived.

Although there are many differences in the pantheons of the Lithuanians of the past, all pantheons can be divided by deities of light and Deities of Darkness. The late Krivis Trinkunas, founder of Romuva, states in one of his books, that the world is considered to be eternal and is constantly being created and destroyed by these deities of light and dark. Deities of light can be grouped as the creative deities and mostly atmospheric deities, although some atmospheric deities, such as Bangputys,(God of storms), can be seen as a destructive deity. Deities of Darkness can be grouped as deities of the Chthonic world, the Underworld, of death and destruction.

I believe that this post may help to make more sense of the Lithuanian pantheon and I hope this post might answer some questions about it. Although the Lithuanian pantheon might be impossible to define, it is possible to glean some understanding of how, the Lithuanians of the past, may have had with such a diverse pantheon. This post has led me to re evaluate my own personal pantheon and how the Lithuanian deities in it relate to me personally.   

The traditional Lithuanian view of "Blogas" (Eng: Bad / evil)

The Lithuanian word "Blogas" means bad and has the connotation of evil but what is considered to be "bad" to Lithuanians and Baltic peoples?

The concept of what is considered to be bad, rude or evil differs in different cultures and is often reflected in religious philosophies of that culture. What is considered to be ethically right and polite can be seen as unethical and impolite in another. There are many examples of this as seen in the differences in business practices across the international stage. There are many, many social expectations that may exist in some cultures that aren't in others and this may cause grievances if this is not met with some degree of understanding. For example,:

*Hiring a House Keeper or Grounds Person in a poor country may be seen as expected and a way of supporting the community whereas other cultures may see this simply being lazy and spending cash unwisely. 

*In Australia, during the 2000 Olympics, guides, staff and volunteers were instructed to show directions with an open hand instead of pointing. Many cultures see pointing as a sign of rudeness so the Australia government made these directives to make international visitors and everyone to feel welcome.

Lithuanians are very superstitious by nature and as a result, have led to many social expectations which if not observed can lead to being labelled a rude person. For example,"

*Shaking hands over the threshold in a Lithuanian house is believed to invite calamity.

*When visiting or invited to a Lithuanian persons home, it is rude to come empty handed. 

*Refusing hospitality in a Lithuanian home is not only arrogant and insulting but is seen as rude and ungrateful.

The list of what is considered to be bad or rude in the modern Lithuanian mindset is quite endless and I could imagine that traditional Lithuanians had their own set of social "No-no's". I believe that the peoples of most cultures, like the Lithuanians, avoid what is bad or rude and act accordingly to the code of conduct in their own culture leading to what we now know as "social norms".

Every culture has it's own views on what is truly evil and I can tell you now that Lithuanians have their own unique view on this subject. Krivis Jonas Trinkunas, founder of Romuva in Lithuania, expounded in one of the many books that he authored that is that true evil occurs when,

 there is an absence of Darna(Harmony) and that Harmony cannot be restored. 

Some clear examples of this can be observed when,:

*there is environmental destruction where the harmony of ecosystems have ceased, leading to the ,threat of extinction, or the final extinction, of many plants and animals.

*a person suffers the lack of harmony within themselves which may manifest itself as poor mental health, lack of emotional well being or poor physical health. Medication and professional help may be needed to restore harmony.

*strife, injury or even death can eventuate when there is a lack of harmony in a community.

There are many examples of how the lack of harmony can lead to a Blogas situation. This Lithuanian idea of "right and wrong", not only directed the way people passed their life but was also affected their views on the afterlife. Like many other cultures, Lithuanians always had the view of posthumuos retribution which basically says that everyone gets their just rewards after death. 

A description can be found, in certain Lithuanian folk tales of how mean and unjust landlords, after death, are transformed into work horses that are ridden tirelessly by Velniai in the Underworld. There are other images of the deceased being transformed into sheep who are being cared for by a shepherd known as Velnias. The image is of some well fed and fat Sheep grazing happily on stony ground while other skinny and malnourished Sheep are grazing in lush green pastures but are never satiated. The belief concerning this image was that the fat, well fed Sheep grazing on stony ground are people, who, in life, were content with less while the skinny sheep grazing on lush meadows were once selfish people who were never satisfied in life.

Lithuanians of the past, not only held the belief that there are post mortem consequences for their actions in life but that there are also consequences that occur during a persons life as shown in many of customs that relate to the well being of that person. For example, 

*Lithuanian hunters would be known to make an offering of the best meat of their first kill to the Goddess Medeina to ensure future hunting success.

*Bread,salt and water were offered to hearth Goddess, Gabija, to ensure protection for the house and for all those who live in it.

*There are too many traditional Lithuanian customs to name which ensure a good harvest.

*There are many traditional Lithuanian folk customs for protection against being struck by lightning and herbal folk remedies to heal the body.

There are many "actions" that Lithuanians, past and present, performed in an attempt to influence their own present and future. These "actions" of the Lithuanians can easily be connected with the idea and meaning of the Sanskrit word "Karma". This word, "Karma" was mentioned often in the Rig Veda and literally means "action". Originally the word referred to the action of the Universe and offering to it but it now has the connotation of "cause and effect" or divine retribution/reward depending on a persons actions in this lifetime and previous lifetimes to determine their future life. These similar ideologies may point to a further connection between Lithuanians and South Asian Indians. Further research is required but it would appear that the founders of Romuva are right,

there is a clear connection with the native faith of the Lithuanians and the inherited Faith of the South Asian Indian peoples.

Concluding Thoughts

The concept of "good and Bad/evil", "right and wrong" are culturally defined and can be reflected in religious beliefs. These concepts dictate appropriate behavior and clearly demonstrate that there is no real need for a sacred text to dictate proper behavior. Lithuanians never had a sacred book but I believe that their moral behavior was of high standing because of this understanding of the need to maintain, foster and grow Darna (Harmony) in their lives.

Lithuanian peoples and many other cultures,not only believed in posthumous retribution but also in the positive or negative effects from their own actions during life. I speculate that understanding of this was what most probably guided Lithuanian peoples to be upright. Most Lithuanians of old had an understanding of the potential consequences if they chose to break the rules. I'm sure there were always bad people, as in every culture, but I think they'd be the exception and not the rule. At least I'd hope anyway.

 There appears to be a connection between the worldview of the Lithuanian peoples and the South Asian Indian peoples regarding the actions and offerings needed to maintain a happy and peaceful life. These actions performed by ,Lithuanians of the past, clearly demonstrated the same philosophy that can be referred to by the Sanskrit word, "Karma".

Without making the subject of this post more complicated, I will just say that, according to the late Krivis Trinkunas, the Lithuanians of old believed that,  

evil(blogas) was the result of the lack of Harmony(Darna)

Gruesome Hollywood style movies depicting evil, can be fun to watch but are far removed from the worldview of an adherent of Romuva and Baltic Faith.