Latvian folklore

Latvian folklore

Latvian culture is among the oldest surviving Indo-European cultures. Much of its symbolism is ancient. Its seasons, festivals, and numerous deities reflect the essential agrarian nature of Latvian tribal life. These seasons and festivals are still noted, if not also celebrated.

Latvian folklore Latvian folklore was

recorded mostly after the 19th century, therefore it sometimes can be quite Christianized. Still, the traditions are layered rather than merged. These records sometimes also contain the opinions of the mythographers, giving their ideas about how the folklore might have been transformed over time.

Latvian folk songs Latvian folk songs, named

Dainas by Krishyanis Barons, presumably could be the best sources due to the need to keep rhythm, and therefore are learned word by word, thus even in one song the first verse can speak of the same subject in singular while others refer to the subject in plural, indicating that there has been innovation.

Tales Most tales contain folklorised reality –

information of ancient events or archaeological sites, and mythological tales concerning good and evil. Despite that, they give slight outline to ancient mythology – it is quite clear that "devil" is used to describe anything pagan, thus describing ancient cult places, and in a few cases they give a better idea about the original beliefs than the folk songs do; i.e. the folk songs do not directly point to Mēness adultery as the tales do.

Baron and Shepherd