Kujutelm taevast ja päikese loomise motiivid balti mütoloogias
The Image of Heaven and the Motifs of Creation of the Sun in Baltic Mythology

Summary/Abstract: The present paper is devoted to the study of the creation of the Sun and to the aspects of setting it free, its `birth' or `rebirth'. These motifs are presented in the framework of the conception of heaven. An attempt is made to offer some ideas, which might serve as a stimulus in defining the perspective of the solution of some mythological problems. Baltic traditions are compared with those of the Finno-Ugrian mythology. Though the Finno-Ugrians are not genetically related to the Balts, and their languages belong to different families, their cultures nevertheless share analogies, which could be accounted for by affinities of typological character or as a result of prolonged contacts between these two ethnic groups. The study of mythological archaisms in a wider area of dissemination has resulted in more accurate conclusions about the chronology, nature and semantics of the phenomena discussed. The Baltic idea of heaven, which has to do with God the Father - the male deity of the highest status -, is believed to date back to the Indo-European culture. However, such a mythologeme (`Heaven as God') can be treated as rather universal and widespread not only in Indo-European culture, but among other archaic cultures as well. Traces of this viewpoint are present also in the Finno-Ugrian tradition. In general, contacts between the Baltic culture and the Finno-Ugrian mythological traditions have not been subjected to any closer research yet, although the analysis of ages-long neighbourly relations would produce interesting results.

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