Mara

by Aldis Putelis

 
In certain ethnographic regions (Western Latvia) Mara has the same functions as Laima in most of Latvia. In a derived form of her name (Marsava), a protective deity of cattle. Stribingius mentions a “cow deity” by the name Moschel which appears to be just a corrupted form of Marsava. In the dievturiba she is made the highest female deity – a ruler of the material world, a feminine counterpart of Dievs as the highest concept; one of the heavenly trinity (Dievs, Mara, Laima), with all the ‘Mothers’ being just her synonyms. Still, it is believed (as expressed by several scholars) that this deity is to a great extent a result of Christian syncretism, as proven by older dictionaries giving Mara as a translation for Maria.

Dievs

by Aldis Putelis

 
Dievs (“god”) is the supreme deity of the Latvians, with the same position Zeus has in Greek religion. The word was later also used to denote the highest Christian deity and the main question is that of Christian influences included in Dievs’ image. The Finno-Ugric (Finnish and Estonian) loan words derived from the Baltic mean “sky” or “heaven” (compare: Finnish and Estonian taivas, taevas and Old Prussian deiwas). For the first time as a Latvian (i.e. non-Christian) deity Dievs is mentioned in Stenders’ Lexicon (1783). It is likely that the previous authors simply overlooked this deity not willing to contaminate the Christian notion.

Dewing

by Aldis Putelis

 
A name added to the proper names of different deities mentioned in writings of the Jesuit Joannis Stribingius alias Jochann Stribing in 1606. The word itself appears to be derived from Latvian diminutive from “dievs” – ‘god’, namely dievini, “dievins”, so it can be understood as meaning a minor deity.