Romuva
 

Hello!

I've been reading a lot lately about the neopagan movements of the Baltic states, particularly Romuva in Lithuania. I feel particularly drawn to this spirituality because my grandmother was Lithuanian, and since Lithuania was able to retain its pagan faith for longer than most other European nations, the revival is based on a lot of historically-accurate rites and rituals as opposed to a lot of guess-work that has to be done with some other pagan faiths. Has anyone else read about Romuva, or is actually practicing? Does anyone have any recommendations for sites or books in English?

Hi,

Mirror mirror on the wall – who is the most Indigenous European of us all?
Answer …… drum roll …..

Lithuanians!

…. as Eastern Baltic areas became a refuge for the ancient Western and the Eastern European hunter-fisher-gatherers.

After Soviet suppression – is it any wonder Lithuanians want to revive and renew their identity and culture!
I’m sure once you start digging, Lithuanian folklore will prove to be a real ‘gold mine’.

“Ancient Symbolism in Lithuanian Folk Art” by Marija Gimbutas might be a good read.

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Exactly, that doesn't surprise me at all! And it already has, I love that I'm learning about a genetic aspect of myself while learning about the beautiful myths and pagan traditions of Lithuania.

Thank you for the recommendation!

Ashanna,
Thank you for the introduction to Romuva.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0pXMOVLC6A

‘We’ have got some stories of the Oak too and had/have our Sacred Groves as well; - which to the utter horror of the people - the missionaries came to cut down: https://sites.google.com/site/ebaver...maydell600.jpg

So people went silent about those Sacred Trees you would come to sit under - to be healed, to connect to your Ancestors, to pray and to give offerings, to ‘meditate’ (for the lack of a better word) in order to realign yourself with the Life-Universe-and-Everything in a Sacred Manner.

And of course it wasn’t just the Holy Trees, it was the Sacred Springs and Rocks as well - which they came to destroy.

This tradition teaches you to ‘listen’ to the land, feel and listen to the trees, hear the ‘singing’ of the them and the rock formations.
Plus it was not only the horror people felt, but utter bewilderment as well - how could these invaders not sense the Sacredness of those Sites, when they came to them?!!!!
This was utterly incomprehensible!!!
To the invaders - the World was just concepts and beliefs – not direct 'experience', direct-inner-knowing – how come they did not know anything!!???
Instead - they called these Sacred Sites "hell" and evil places of the "devil-worship" etc.
Unthinkable!!!!

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Fire as Sacred – yes, 'we' have got that too.


At the end of the video – one can see the effects of agriculture i.e. how it came to Lithuania early.

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Don’t know if you are interested, but here are a lot of archaeological links about Baltic areas:
http://briai.ku.lt/en/publications/a.../volumes/13-2/

I have only glanced through the pictures of the “Anthropomorphic and Zoomorphic Stone Age Art in Lithuania, and its Archaeological Cultural Context“; - link, because those are the same hunter-gatherer artifacts we collectively share.

But of course – as you travel further North East – now the Sacred Rocks ('cognitive map') of 'my people' reflected our Siberian/Euro dual ancestry:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9-rStAmYO.../s400/shaa.jpg

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Ashanna, if you have some questions, themes you would like to bring up, I’d be happy to try and explore our shared Euro–hunter-gatherer heritage with you, though I am not 'knowledgeable'.

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Sentient, thank you again for your input and recommendations! And I am definitely interested in the archaeology of the Baltic area, as these finds provide a lot of clues to the way our people lived their lives and practiced their faith.

Do you mind if I add you to my buddy list? That way I can share with you any more information that I find on this quest of mine. :)

Just write your themes here.

Those Moose/Elk headed staffs - I trust - were used to connect to the (feminine) Guardian Deity of the Moose to ask for a luck in hunting.
When the men who used them passed away – the staff was buried with them.
(Though some have associated the staffs with the Totemic Elk Clans).

https://eurooppalaisuus.files.wordpr...ransparent.png

A Snake staff – I trust - was used to materialize things, as the energy between the unmanifest and the manifested reality was seen as a “Snake”.

When people became agricultural – now it was the Fertility Deity and the Guardian Spirits (protectors of) plants - people connected to.
But there was still that same kind of reverence.

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Lithuanian myth about the Snake:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDaltys

http://www.blackdrago.com/species/zaltys.htm

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