Mahte

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In Latvian mythology, the term Māte stands for "mother", sometimes written in English as Mahte. It was an epithet applied to some sixty-seventy goddesses. They were clearly distinct goddesses in most or all cases, so the term definitely referred to the mother-goddess of specific phenomena. According to professor Lotte Motz, scholar Haralds Biezais mentioned there were at least 70 characters in Baltic religion identified with the title of Mate.[1]

Overview

Latvian ethnographer Pēteris Šmits noted that the Mahtes seem to be a phenomenon exclusive to Latvian mythology, with no equivalent either in its Baltic neighbours (Prussian and Lithuanian), nor in other Indo-European mythologies.[2]

Scholars (e.g., Miriam Robbins Dexter, Lotte Motz, David Adams Leeming, Martin Litchfield West) note that these deities were invoked with the epithet "mate" 'mother' and individually oversaw several aspects of nature, including features of the environment (forests, fields, mushrooms, sea, the wind, etc.), animals (for instance, elks), as well as cultural aspects, such as death and interrement, or milk and cattle.[3][4][5][6]

According to scholar Elza Kokare, the authenticity of some Mahte deities is dubious, but some are firmly established due to a great number of mentions in the dainas (Latvian folksongs).[7]

List of Mahte

Following are some of the Mate characters:[8]

  1. Bangu māte - Mother of Waves
  2. Ceļa māte - Mother of Roads
  3. Dārza māte - Mother of Gardens

Vizgsd guises Mykdnx māte

  1. Gausu māte
  2. Jūras māte - considered a goddess of the sea (from Jura 'sea')[9]
  3. Kapu māte - 'Mother of Graves'
  4. Kārta māte
  5. Krūmu māte - Mother of Bushes
  6. Lapu māte - Mother of Leaves
  7. Lauka māte or Lauku māte - Mother of Fields
  8. Lazdu māte - Mother of the Hazelbush
  9. Lietus māte - Mother Rain
  10. Linu māte - Mother Flax
  11. Lopu māte - Mother of Livestock (Cattle)
  12. Mieža māte - Mother of Barley
  13. Meža māte - Mother of the Forest
  14. Miglas māte - Mother of Fog
  15. Pirts māte - Mother of the Bathhouse
  16. Rijas māte - Mother of the Threshing Place
  17. Sēņu māte - Mother of Mushrooms
  18. Smilšu māte - Mother of SandsTemplate:EfnTemplate:Efn
  19. Sniega māte - Mother of Snow
  20. Tirgus māte - Mother of Markets
  21. Ūdens māte - Mother of Waters
  22. Uguns mate - Mother of Fire
  23. Upes māte - Mother of Rivers
  24. Vēja māte - 'Mother of Winds'
  25. Veļu māte or Vélių motę - mother of the souls/spirits[10]
  26. Zemes māte - Earth Mother (Māra)
  27. Ziedu māte - Mother of Flowers

Role of the Mothers

Scholarship on Baltic and Latvian folklore remarks that some of the Mahte characters comprise a complex of deities related to that phenomenon.[11] It is also remarked that, out of this mother cult, "the main Latvian mother deities are those of the dead, the sea, the forest, and the wind".[12]

Death and the afterlife

For instance, goddess Zemes Mate ('earth mother') was associated with receiving the dead and acting as their ruler and guardian.[13] In Latvian dainas, Zemes Mate is associated with fellow Mahte ("Mothers") Velu Mate ('Mother of Dead Souls') and Kapu Mate ('Mother of Graves'). According to researcher Elza Kokare, Zemes Mate and Kapu Mate act as the resting places of the dead, guarding its body and holding the key to their graves.[14] As an individual character, Zemes mate is invoked as a person's final resting place.Template:EfnTemplate:EfnTemplate:Efn

A second personage is named Veļu māte or Vélių motę (Mother of the souls/spirits of the deceased),[15] etymologically connected to Lithuanian veles 'shades of the dead', velionis 'dead person'[16] and Latvian Vels 'god of the underworld' (as mentioned by scholar Marija Gimbutas) and, by extension, with some relation to Slavic Veles, deity of the underworld.[17] She is considered to be a chthonic goddess and "queen of the dead", who welcomes them at the cemetery.[18][19]

Another figure named Nāves māte ("Mother Death")[20] was presumed by scholar Nikolai Mikhailov to be connected to Slovenian word navje, an etymon related to the Nav of Slavic folklore, a designation for the dead.[21] He also cited the possibility that Naves mate is another name for Latvian Velu mate and Lithuanian Veliona.[22] The word nāve also means 'death' in Latvian.[23]

Other deities connected with the worship of the dead were Kapu māte ('Mother of Graves', 'Mother of the Grave' or 'Graveyard-Mother')[24] and Smilšu māte ('Mother of Sand' or 'Mother of the Sand Hillock').[25]

The natural world

Another set of Mahte figures relate to the natural world, such as Veju Mate ("The Mother of Winds");[26] Meža mate ("Mother of the Forest"; counterpart to Lithuanian Medeina), protectress of wild life;[27] Miglas mate ("Mother of the Fog") and Lietus mate ("Mother of Rain").[28] Veju Mate (or Veja mate) is said to be the goddess of winds and ruler of the weather.[29]

Bodies of water

Another group is composed of several water divinities: Juras Mate ("Mother Ocean",[30] "Mother of the Seas"[31] or "Sea-Mother"), a goddess of waters;[32] Udens Mate ("Mother of Waters"); Upes Mahte ("Mother of Rivers"), Bangu Mate ("Mother of Waves"; counterpart to Lithuanian Bangputys).[33] Juras Mate is said to rule the seas as a goddess.[34][35]

Deity Bangu mate is considered to be a recent and more poetical appellation of the Mother of the Water and Mother of the Sea.[36]

Household and home

Lithuanian scholar Marija Gimbutas pointed out that Latvian traditions contain a Uguns mate ('Mother of the Fire') as a counterpart to Lithuanian Gabija, a deity of the hearth and protectress of house and family.[37] Other deities associated with the household and domestic affairs are Mãjas gars ("Spirits of the House") and Pirts mate ("Mother of the Bathhouse").[38]

Agriculture

Mahte deities related to fields and agriculture include Lauka mate ("Mother of the Plough-Land"),[39] a deity said to be worshipped at ploughing time.[40]

Footnotes

Template:Notelist

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

  • Beldavs, Aija Veldre. "GODDESSES IN A MAN'S WORLD: LATVIAN MATRICENTRICITY IN CULTURE AND SPHERES OF INFLUENCE IN SOCIETY". In: Journal of Baltic Studies 8, no. 2 (1977): 105–29. Accessed April 21, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43210827.

de:Mātes

  1. ↑ Mottz, Lotte. The Faces of the Goddess. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1997. pp. 221-222 (footnote nr. 27). Template:ISBN
  2. ↑ Šmitas, Pėteris. Latvių mitologija. Iš latvių kalbos vertė Dainius Razauskas. Vilnius: Aidai, 2004. p. 129.
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Kokare, Elza. "A survey of the basic structures in Latvian mythology. In: Journal of the Baltic Institute of Folklore (Tallinn), 1996, Nr.1, pp. 65-91.
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Lurker, Manfred. The Routledge Dictionary Of Gods Goddesses Devils And Demons. Routledge. 2004. p. 96. Template:ISBN
  10. ↑ Laurinkienė, Nijolė. "Požemio ir mirusiųjų karalystės deivė" [Goddesses of the Kingdom of the Dead and the Underworld]. In: Metai n. 1 2010. p. 121.
  11. ↑ Mottz, Lotte. The Faces of the Goddess. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1997. p. 78. Template:ISBN
  12. ↑ Antanaitis, Indre R. "Interpreting the Meaning of East Baltic Neolithic Symbols". In: Cambridge Archaeological Journal 8, no. 1 (1998): 64. Script error: No such module "doi"..
  13. ↑ Laurinkienė, Nijolė. "Požemio ir mirusiųjų karalystės deivė" [Goddesses of the Kingdom of the Dead and the Underworld]. In: Metai n. 1 2010. pp. 116-127.
  14. ↑ Kokare, Elza. "A survey of the basic structures in Latvian mythology. In: Journal of the Baltic Institute of Folklore (Tallinn), 1996, Nr.1, pp. 65-91.
  15. ↑ Laurinkienė, Nijolė. "Požemio ir mirusiųjų karalystės deivė" [Goddesses of the Kingdom of the Dead and the Underworld]. In: Metai n. 1 2010. p. 121.
  16. ↑ Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. Routledge. p. 197. Template:ISBN.
  17. ↑ Gimbutas, Marija. "ANCIENT SLAVIC RELIGION: A SYNOPSIS". In: To honor Roman Jakobson: essays on the occasion of his 70. birthday, 11. October 1966. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 2018. p. 746. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111604763-064
  18. ↑ Jordan, Michael. Dictionary of gods and goddesses. 2nd Edition. New York: Facts On File. 2004. pp. 339. Template:ISBN.
  19. ↑ Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. Routledge. p. 197. Template:ISBN.
  20. ↑ Mottz, Lotte. The Faces of the Goddess. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1997. pp. 221-222 (footnote nr. 27). Template:ISBN
  21. ↑ Konickaja, Jelena. "Николай Михайлов: славист, словенист, балтист (11.06.1967–25.05.2010)". In: SLAVISTICA VILNENSIS 2010 Kalbotyra 55 (2). p. 174.
  22. ↑ Mikhailov N. "Baltico-slovenica. Alcuni paralleli mitologici". In: Res Balticae Nr. 02, 1996. pp. 166-167.
  23. ↑ Valentsova, Marina. "К ИССЛЕДОВАНИЮ БАЛТО-СЛАВЯНСКОЙ ДЕМОНОЛОГИИ". In: RES HUMANITARIAE XX, 2016. p. 71. Template:Catalog lookup linkScript error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".
  24. ↑ Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. Routledge. p. 197. Template:ISBN.
  25. ↑ Gimbutas, Marija. "The Earth Fertility of old Europe". In: Dialogues d'histoire ancienne, vol. 13, 1987. pp. 22. Script error: No such module "doi".; www.persee.fr/doc/dha_0755-7256_1987_num_13_1_1750
  26. ↑ Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. Routledge. p. 197. Template:ISBN.
  27. ↑ Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. Routledge. p. 124. Template:ISBN.
  28. ↑ Doniger, Wendy. Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. 1999. p. 109. Template:ISBN
  29. ↑ Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. Routledge. p. 197. Template:ISBN.
  30. ↑ Mottz, Lotte. The Faces of the Goddess. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1997. p. 78. Template:ISBN
  31. ↑ Dixon-Kennedy, Mike (1998). Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic Myth and Legend. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 141. Template:ISBN.
  32. ↑ Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. Routledge. p. 96. Template:ISBN.
  33. ↑ Doniger, Wendy. Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. 1999. p. 109. Template:ISBN
  34. ↑ Jones, Prudence; Pennick, Nigel (1995). A History of Pagan Europe. Routledge. p. 174. Template:ISBN.
  35. ↑ Dixon-Kennedy, Mike (1998). Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic Myth and Legend. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 141. Template:ISBN.
  36. ↑ Běťáková, Marta Eva; Blažek, Václav. Encyklopedie baltské mytologie. Praha: Libri. 2012. p. 39. Template:ISBN.
  37. ↑ Gimbutas, Marija; Miriam Robbins Dexter (1999). The Living Goddesses. University of California Press. p. 203. Template:ISBN.
  38. ↑ Doniger, Wendy. Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. 1999. pp. 108-109. Template:ISBN
  39. ↑ Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. Routledge. p. 110. Template:ISBN.
  40. ↑ Jordan, Michael. Dictionary of gods and goddesses. 2nd Edition. New York: Facts On File. 2004. p. 172. Template:ISBN.
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