Dievturība (neo-Paganism)

Dievturība is the a Latvian faith that claims to have reconstructed a pre-Christian pagan faith of Latvia. It is the largest non-Christian faith of Latvia with some ~700 followers who are known as Dievturis (~0,035% of total).

Like other pagans Dievturis rely on tradition rather than scriptures As Latvian paganism was replaced by Christianity in 12th-13th centuries there remained no direct continuation of tradition, meaning that much of what exists now has been reconstructed.

Dievturība was established in 1925 as the newly independent Latvian nation sought to (re)discover its Latvian cultural roots to replace the ones imposed by the centuries of foreign rule. As Christianity was imposed by German conquerors this meant that it had to go as well. However, only a small minority of patriotic Latvians interested in history actually converted to Dievturība and the process never had a state support. Still, the faith continues to grow after independence.

Dievturis believe in a multitude of gods and goddesses, each of them associated with various natural forces and aspects of life. The top trinity are Dievs (primary god after whom the faith itself is named), Māra (“Mother Earth”, female counterpart of Dievs) and Laima (goddess of fertility).

9 thoughts on “Dievturība (neo-Paganism)”

    1. I am Mr. Imants Gotfrids Ozolins. I am a Canadian Citizen of Latvian parents. DIEVTURIBA is my favorite Religion! I was born on Feb. 03, 1945 – in Berlin, Germany. I have inherited the megalomaniac mentality of Adolf Hitler. My TWITTER is Imants Ozolins @ImantsOzolins – IT functions for me just like the “Mein Kamph” book did for Adolf Hitler!

      1. FEBRUARY 11, 2024 AT 7:48 PM
        I am Mr. Imants Gotfrids Ozolins. I am a Canadian Citizen of Latvian parents. DIEVTURIBA is my favorite Religion! I was born on Feb. 03, 1945 – in Berlin, Germany. I have inherited the megalomaniac mentality of Adolf Hitler. My TWITTER is Imants Ozolins @ImantsOzolins – IT functions for me just like the “Mein Kamph” book did for Adolf
        Name *
        Imants Ozolins
        Email *
        [email protected]

        1. FEBRUARY 11, 2024 AT 7:48 PM
          I am Mr. Imants Gotfrids Ozolins. I am a Canadian Citizen of Latvian parents. DIEVTURIBA is my favorite Religion! I was born on Feb. 03, 1945 – in Berlin, Germany. I have inherited the megalomaniac mentality of Adolf Hitler. My TWITTER is Imants Ozolins @ImantsOzolins – IT functions for me just like the “Mein Kamph” book did for Adolf
          Name *
          Imants Ozolins
          Email *
          [email protected]

  1. While a version of Dievturība was indeed founded in 1925, it was heavily contaminated by other religions and cultural influence. The reference by the author to a “trinity” would be a prime example. Fundamentally, the traditional beliefs of the ancient Latvians had no trinities nor any hierarchies. The “gods and goddesses” (classification assigned by Catholic missionaries) were known only as metaphors and symbols of virtues and values of the people.

    Another issue with the 1920s and 1930s efforts towards codifying the traditional Latvian beliefs is an unfortunate influence of the “White Latvia” movement. Perhaps a good example is the commenter above–Imants Ozolins–who seems to be a fan of Adolf Hitler.

    The true beliefs of the ancient Latvians were centered around living productive lives, living in harmony with nature, and valuing one’s family and friends. (Yes, this is a dramatic oversimplification, but I’m not writing a doctoral thesis here).

    In modern Latvia, one says “Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus” which is officially translated as “Merry Christmas”– yet the phrase was used for thousands of years prior to the alleged birth of Jesus. It actually means “Happy Winter Solstice Festival!” and was celebrated long before Catholics sought to suppress and destroy the traditional beliefs.

    1. The issue with the original Latvian faith (and Baltic faiths in general) is that they were lost.

      Unlike in the case of e.g. Hindu, Korean, or Japanese traditional religions, there was no “living continuity” for centuries.

      Unlike in the case of Ancient Greek or Roman religions, there were no written materials about them that could now be consulted. And whatever materials exist are typically written by people who were hostile to the faith and themselves grew up within a very different faith and culture (e.g. Crusading Christian Knights).

      As such, it is impossible to answer every question about what the faith was. It is often not known with certainty, giving raise to various theories which people tend to choose based on their pre-conversion worldview.

      Besides, it is likely based on archeological evidence that the faith “progressed” and changed over the time. Some peculiarities may also have been different in different regions, as is the case with many surviving ethnic faiths. But likely we will never know.

      The same situation is in Lithuania and also various other European countries where there are attempts to “rediscover” (“recreate?”) the historic faith.

      1. You are largely correct. However, since serious study of the “Knot Script” used by ancient Latvians has begun, more insight will be available in the coming years. I have wrestled with the fact that while the Dainas are likely the Latvian equivalent of the Hindu Vedas–yet there seems no way to authenticate which Dainas are actually from the pre-Christian era in our history.

        Despite the fact that most of our traditional beliefs are likely lost to the sands of time, I still see worth in working to figure out the most likely framework, given what we DO know.

        For example, the pre-Christian/pre-Roman calendar that was based on observable astronomical cycles and what is known of the nature of the ancient Balts, we can easily accept that the 45-day “months” which followed various events like the solstices “make sense.”

        Unlike Christianity, we have no need to find a specific “book” to figure out what the Balts believed. I think sufficient clues will be found through archeology and anthropology. For now, I find it perfectly reasonable to look to the vast collection of Latvian folk songs and the Dainas to point us in the right direction. It is fairly easy for anyone familiar with other pagan/pre-Christian European cultures to identify “Christian influence” and at least attempt to “undo the influence.”

        At the end of the day… in the absence of a time machine, the vast majority of all world history is lost to the sands of time. This search is not as much about identifying every particular of an ancient culture, it is about learning from the past so as to guide us to a better future.

        Some of our “ancient values” have persisted despite foreign domination for most of our modern history. Latvians believe in productivity, honesty, integrity, and taking pride in their accomplishments. Surely, we can all agree that those are some excellent values that are often found lacking in modern society?

    2. Hitler was the personification of the God’s trying to remove Christianity from Aryan tribe lands. He did not fly the hakenkreuz by mistake. Had he not been stopped the Christians would have been next. Given our association with Hinduism and the closest living languages to sanskrit being in the baltic states, Hitler is what the dravidians call karma. Cause and effect. It was and still is over due. Had the God’s sent a woman to restore the balance, we would be having a very different conversation.

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