Baltic Pagan Resources and Online Communities?
February 15, 2020 9:40 AM Subscribe
Can anyone point me in the direction of resources or communities for those interested in Baltic (especially Estonian) paganism and neo-paganism?
No luck with google or reddit so far.
My spouse and I live in Canada, she's reconnecting with her Estonian pagan roots, but it's a bit of a drive to reach Toronto's Estonian community. If anyone has referrals for online communities or resources for Baltic paganism it would be really appreciated. We will be back in Estonia every few years. Me räägime natuke eesti keelt.
My spouse and I live in Canada, she's reconnecting with her Estonian pagan roots, but it's a bit of a drive to reach Toronto's Estonian community. If anyone has referrals for online communities or resources for Baltic paganism it would be really appreciated. We will be back in Estonia every few years. Me räägime natuke eesti keelt.
Tere, eesti sõbrad!
So. I was going to link you to a festival in Raplamaa that I came across online a while ago, because to my memory it was a pagan festival. But now I’ve tracked down the website, I see it’s a ‘Tantra’ festival rather than a pagan festival, and looks like it might be quite high on the ‘let’s all get intimate’ scale. FWIW, the event description begins with: “Estonia is a unique place in Europe where a real connection with nature is still possible. The air and water here are clean and can still be drunk from the source. The forests are mystical, and people have retained the skill to naturally communicate with and call upon fairies and spirits of the woods. Living in harmony with nature has given balance to the people here.” which does sound like it has a somewhat pagan tilt (for my understanding of pagan, apologies if I’m wide of the mark). So even if you’re not up for being in rooms full of people hugging (and whatever else they might get up to in the woods), you might find it useful to keep an eye on the Teachers page and once it’s populated, some of the names might be interesting to pursue online.
That aside, a little online digging would suggest that Maavalla Koda is worth a look - that fb page has recent posts; their website hasn’t been updated for a long time but has an email address on it you could contact.
I found that via this article - you probably know this already but looks like Maausk and Taara will be the most useful search terms for present-day pagan movements in Estonian (essentially neo-pagan movements that started in the late 20th/early 21st centuries, but after 50 years of Soviet rule any actual organisations or communities are going to be neo-pagan by definition, I guess). This article notes that: "For historical reasons, Estonian native religion (maausk) has developed largely into a familial, personal and secret belief" and that might persist, which might explain the lack of community you're finding online? Just a guess though.
(I lived in Tartu for a while and studied Estonian, but a long time ago, so am kind of rusty. Edu!)
posted by penguin pie at 12:55 PM on February 15, 2020
So. I was going to link you to a festival in Raplamaa that I came across online a while ago, because to my memory it was a pagan festival. But now I’ve tracked down the website, I see it’s a ‘Tantra’ festival rather than a pagan festival, and looks like it might be quite high on the ‘let’s all get intimate’ scale. FWIW, the event description begins with: “Estonia is a unique place in Europe where a real connection with nature is still possible. The air and water here are clean and can still be drunk from the source. The forests are mystical, and people have retained the skill to naturally communicate with and call upon fairies and spirits of the woods. Living in harmony with nature has given balance to the people here.” which does sound like it has a somewhat pagan tilt (for my understanding of pagan, apologies if I’m wide of the mark). So even if you’re not up for being in rooms full of people hugging (and whatever else they might get up to in the woods), you might find it useful to keep an eye on the Teachers page and once it’s populated, some of the names might be interesting to pursue online.
That aside, a little online digging would suggest that Maavalla Koda is worth a look - that fb page has recent posts; their website hasn’t been updated for a long time but has an email address on it you could contact.
I found that via this article - you probably know this already but looks like Maausk and Taara will be the most useful search terms for present-day pagan movements in Estonian (essentially neo-pagan movements that started in the late 20th/early 21st centuries, but after 50 years of Soviet rule any actual organisations or communities are going to be neo-pagan by definition, I guess). This article notes that: "For historical reasons, Estonian native religion (maausk) has developed largely into a familial, personal and secret belief" and that might persist, which might explain the lack of community you're finding online? Just a guess though.
(I lived in Tartu for a while and studied Estonian, but a long time ago, so am kind of rusty. Edu!)
posted by penguin pie at 12:55 PM on February 15, 2020
(Correction: I think maybe maausk is the general term for the historic pagan belief system, though Maavalla Koda and related organisations are fairly recently-established. Taara looks to date from the 1920s/30s as a revival of older maausk beliefs.)
posted by penguin pie at 1:12 PM on February 15, 2020
posted by penguin pie at 1:12 PM on February 15, 2020
Pagan Faith, Accelerated Technology: A Walk on Estonia's Muhu Island by Steve Taylor of Deep Baltic may help point you to some useful resources and terms to search on. The author writes a bit about the challenges he encountered while researching Maausk.
I'm a polytheist and animist (born and raised in the U.S.) who is trying to reconnect with my Swedish and German roots and ancestral motherlands, so this quest makes a lot of sense to me. I wish you luck!
posted by velvet winter at 1:54 PM on February 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm a polytheist and animist (born and raised in the U.S.) who is trying to reconnect with my Swedish and German roots and ancestral motherlands, so this quest makes a lot of sense to me. I wish you luck!
posted by velvet winter at 1:54 PM on February 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
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BBC: Spirituality in Estonia - the world's 'least religious' country
The Guardian: Is Estonia really the least religious country in the world?
Estonian World: Estonians - the nation of neo-Pagans?
Also, here is a Romuva USA/Canada site (more Lithuanian focus?); I'm not sure if Romuva is what you're looking for, but there seem to be more resources and community, including in Canada, under that name.
posted by heatherlogan at 10:21 AM on February 15, 2020