Lietuvių ir prūsų religinė elgsena: aukojimai, draudimai, teofanijos

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Prūsija; Religija; Religinė elgsena; Lithuania; Prissia; Religion; Religious Behaviour.

ENA work dedicated to the characteristics of the temples, holy sites, sacrificial sites and the priests who performed the rites of the last pagans of Europe - segments of the Lithuanian and Prussian religion - was published in 2015 (see Rimantas Balsys. Lietuvių ir prūsų pagonybė: alkai, žyniai, stabai. Klaipėda: Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla, 2015 / Paganism of Lithuanians and Prusians: Altars, Priests, Idols). This monograph is devoted to other significant elements of Baltic paganism: analysis of the Lithuanian and Prussian sacrificial rites, religious bans and theophanies. Unfortunately, we have almost no information (except for a few examples) about the sacrifices of the Lithuanians and Prussians when the old pagan religion was still functional, when annual sacrifice rituals were performed at central temples and sacred sites. We can only speculate and imagine how the rite of sacrifice was organized at that time. We have significantly more information about sacrifice rituals recorded in sources from the 16th to 17th century, but this is also fragmentary. Information is recorded by different authors from different locations; it is clearly from the period of on-going destruction of the old religion. This work doesn’t attempt to systematize all descriptions of sacrifice recorded in the written sources. Only the most informative examples from the written monuments of the 13th-17th centuries have been selected in which domesticated animals - goats, bulls, pigs - are sacrificed to the gods or the ancestors. Systematization of this material allows us to distinguish and discuss other significant segments of the sacrifice rituals (to whom it is addresses, the performer of and participants in the ritual, how the offering is made, the goal of the sacrifice and the location/setting in which it is performed) and to see the lack of correlation between these segments.Analysis of the information from the selected written sources from the 13th- 17th centuries shows: 1) goats, bulls and pigs are sacrificed to all different sorts of gods and ancestors; 2) the color of the animal chosen for sacrifice varies; 3) sacrifice rituals in the 16th century are usually conducted by village priests: leader, elder or sooth-sayer, while in the 17th century much more frequently by housewives and heads of household; 4) depending on the point of the ritual, participants could include only men/only women/all family members/residents of several villages; 5) the bull, goat or pig could be sacrificed to the gods or ancestors in different manners: the sacrificial offering (or part of it) could be burned, eaten (in common with the gods), or portions could be placed under the table, in the corners of the house, cast into the sea, buried in the ground and so on; 6) the goal of the sacrifice rituals varied (to bring fish back to the coast, to increase the size of the pig herd, to protect crops and livestock, for the Gods to grant good health, to keep from harm, to fulfill all desires, to make the grain grow higher, in gratitude for mercy and previous grants of goods and services, for successful collection of manure for fertilizer, protection of domestic animals and so on; 7) different times for ritual sacrifices (community sacrifice rituals were performed usually at the beginning and end of the agricultural season, i.e., in spring and fall; those of soldiers were performed after success in battle; in other cases according to the specifics involved: upon falling ill, after healing, after a successful journey, etc.; 8) different bans, self-cleansings, cleaning, prayers and actions were performed in tandem with sacrifice rituals; elements with a specific significance were used in these rituals, participants and performers of the sacrifice ritual and the sacrificial site itself were appropriately prepared (equipped).It’s noteworthy that in the 16th and 17th centuries no correlation remains between the desired results of the sacrifice, the deity addressed, the manner, time and place of the sacrifice and the number and gender of participants in the ritual. This type of sacrificial practice should properly be considered a result of the destruction of the pagan religion (no sanctioned sacred sites remained, annual communal sacrifice rituals were rarer; sacrifice was usually made in a family setting or in closed male or female groups; sacrifices were made to local guardian deities with a narrow set of functions; sacrificial sites were selected or set up on an ad hoc basis for one-time use). The problem of human sacrifices and human self-sacrifice to the gods is addressed separately. Based on information from the authors of chronicles of the 13th and 14th centuries, it can be stated that both Prussian and Lithuanian tribes could have made martial sacrifices. It is highly likely the soldiers themselves performed these sacrifices immediately following the successful conclusion of battle. So far there is no reliable evidence Lithuanians and Prussians sacrificed fellow tribal members (soldiers) to the gods, or human sacrifice during building construction. The Lithuanian and Prussian religious bans mentioned in uth-17th century sources could be categorized chronologically in three groups: a) a religious ban which is functioning without reservations (until the adoption of Christianity and at least two centuries after); b) a decaying religious ban (latter 16th to early 17th century); c) a ban which is disappearing, becoming part of custom, a folk belief or a superstition (18th-20th century). [...]. [From the publication]

• Teologija / Theology
• Istorija / History