A hiis is a term in Estonian used to denote a sacred natural site, often a tree covered hilltop.
A hiis is a term in Estonian used to denote a sacred natural site, often a tree covered hilltop.
The written use of the term hiis is first recorded in 1694 in a Christian catechism against the breaking of the First Commandment. [1] In 18th century Christian writings the term was used generally to refer to pagan cult buildings, as well as any supposed creatures inhabiting such a place. [2]
The term hiis regained importance during the emergence of Estonian identity and nationalism during the late 18th and 19th C. (see also Estonian nationalism). Estonian language scholars began to take an interest in their own culture -early etymological attributions of the word included a connection to the Egyptian Isis (Christfried Ganander, 1789), or to the Estonian Hiid [giant] (Kristjan Jaak Peterson, 1822) - both used the term to refer to a creature or deity, not a place. The term was also used as a prefix to refer to supernatural creatures. [3]
In the early 20th century the term began to be used for places, such as groves, thought to be the sites of pagan worship -these descriptions of hiis sites could be colorful and idealised, heavily influenced by Estonian nation-identity building. This reintroduction caused a self-reinforcing stereotype to develop in the body of the Estonian people. [4]
More serious attempts at scientific study of hiis sites began in the late 19th century and continued in the 20th century. Jaan Jung claimed, on the basis of his collection of folklore, that hiis were hilltop sacrificial sites, which drew people from distance for the rituals done there. Jung also collected data on pre-historic sites in Estonia he identified as hiis. [5] In the early 20th C. a hiis was taken by scholars to be a forested hilltop site generally, but could also refer to bogs, or even flat ground. [6]
Towards the mid 20th century, researchers such as Oskar Loorits, began to view hiis sites as having some connection to the dead, supported by parallels in Uralic folklore. This view matched a pattern in other contemporary scholarship that placed importance on death or cults of the dead as being of great importance in development of religious activities. However poor datability of folklore stories led to all such sites being lumped under "pre-historic religion" with not further insights. [7]
In the second half of the 20th C. the primary method of research was linguistic analysis and etymology - though the word hiis is not known to have any parallel in other terms relating to trees, the usage has been analysed to refer to forests, thickets, single notable tree, or supernatural creatures. Linguistic connections to the Sami terms sii'da or siei'de [sanctuary or altar] were explored but could not be supported; connection to the Germanic hiiði or hiiÞi ['side' or 'part', can also mean 'nest'] were also considered. [8]
Excavative archaeology of hiis sites has been done. Generally the sites show no evidence of habitation, with finds being generally rare also. [9]
( Jonuks 2011 ) notes three types of sites attributed to be hiis:
Jonuks considers that the hilltop sites were abandoned as religious practices changed. [13]
Some Christian churches in Estonia are suspected to have been built on formerly sacred sites - this includes two churches on Saaremaa Island (Valjala Church and Pöide Church). The subject is (as of 2011) poorly researched; however churches established in the 13th C. are known to be built in association with cemeteries that date to pre-historic period (late Iron Age). [14]
Paganism is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. In the time of the Roman Empire, individuals fell into the pagan class either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the Christian population, or because they were not milites Christi. Alternative terms used in Christian texts were hellene, gentile, and heathen. Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient Greco-Roman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry".
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures, a form of spirit, often with metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural qualities.
A boggart is a supernatural being from English folklore. The dialectologist Elizabeth Wright described the boggart as 'a generic name for an apparition'; folklorist Simon Young defines it as 'any ambivalent or evil solitary supernatural spirit'. Halifax folklorist Kai Roberts states that boggart ‘might have been used to refer to anything from a hilltop hobgoblin to a household faerie, from a headless apparition to a proto-typical poltergeist’. As these wide definitions suggest boggarts are to be found both in and out of doors, as a household spirit, or a malevolent spirit defined by local geography, a genius loci inhabiting topographical features. The 1867 book Lancashire Folklore by Harland and Wilkinson, makes a distinction between "House boggarts" and other types. Typical descriptions show boggarts to be malevolent. It is said that the boggart crawls into people's beds at night and puts a clammy hand on their faces. Sometimes he strips the bedsheets off them. The household boggart may follow a family wherever they flee. One Lancashire source reports the belief that a boggart should never be named: if the boggart was given a name, it could neither be reasoned with nor persuaded, but would become uncontrollable and destructive.
Lughnasadh, Lughnasa or Lúnasa is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Traditionally, it is held on 1 August, or about halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. In recent centuries, some celebrations have shifted to Sundays near this date. Lughnasadh is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Samhain, Imbolc and Beltane. It corresponds to the Welsh Gŵyl Awst and the English Lammas.
Finnish mythology commonly refers of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many shared features with Estonian and other Finnic mythologies, but also with neighbouring Baltic, Slavic and, to a lesser extent, Norse mythologies.
The Hill of Tara is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in Irish mythology. Tara consists of numerous monuments and earthworks—dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age—including a passage tomb, burial mounds, round enclosures, a standing stone, and a ceremonial avenue. There is also a church and graveyard on the hill. Tara forms part of a larger ancient landscape and Tara itself is a protected national monument under the care of the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Irish Government.
Hiisi is a term in Finnic mythologies, originally denoting sacred localities and later on various types of mythological entities.
Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germany, the Netherlands, and at times other parts of Europe, the beliefs and practices of Germanic paganism varied. Scholars typically assume some degree of continuity between Roman-era beliefs and those found in Norse paganism, as well as between Germanic religion and reconstructed Indo-European religion and post-conversion folklore, though the precise degree and details of this continuity are subjects of debate. Germanic religion was influenced by neighboring cultures, including that of the Celts, the Romans, and, later, by the Christian religion. Very few sources exist that were written by pagan adherents themselves; instead, most were written by outsiders and can thus present problems for reconstructing authentic Germanic beliefs and practices.
Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees that have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world.
Earth mysteries are a wide range of spiritual, religious ideas focusing on cultural and religious beliefs about the Earth, generally with a regard for specific geographic locations of historic importance. Similar to modern druidry, prehistoric monuments are of particular spiritual importance to believers in Earth mysteries who consider certain locations to be sacred and/or containing active spiritual energies. The term "alternative archaeology" has also been used to describe the study of Earth mystery beliefs.
Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging to the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology. Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in ecclesiastical registers. Systematic recordings of Estonian folklore started in the 19th century. Pre-Christian Estonian deities may have included a god known as Jumal or Taevataat in Estonian, corresponding to Jumala in Finnish, and Jumo in Mari.
Ancient Celtic religion, commonly known as Celtic paganism, was the religion of the ancient Celtic peoples of Europe. Because there are no extant native records of their beliefs, evidence about their religion is gleaned from archaeology, Greco-Roman accounts, and literature from the early Christian period. Celtic paganism was one of a larger group of polytheistic Indo-European religions of Iron Age Europe.
Anglo-Saxon paganism, sometimes termed Anglo-Saxon heathenism, Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion, Anglo-Saxon traditional religion, or Anglo-Saxon polytheism refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Anglo-Saxons between the 5th and 8th centuries AD, during the initial period of Early Medieval England. A variant of Germanic paganism found across much of north-western Europe, it encompassed a heterogeneous variety of beliefs and cultic practices, with much regional variation.
Croghan Hill is a hill with a height of 234 metres (768 ft) in County Offaly, Ireland. The remains of an extinct volcano, it rises from the Bog of Allen and dominates the surrounding plains. Historically known as Brí Éile, it is mentioned in Irish mythology and is traditionally seen as a sacred hill. On the summit is an ancient pagan burial mound with panoramic views, which reputedly became the inauguration site of the kings of Uí Failghe. On the eastern slope is an old graveyard and the remains of a medieval church, while at the western foot of the hill is the remains of a medieval settlement, church and castle. An ancient bog body, Old Croghan Man, was found nearby. The village of Croghan is at the southern foot of the hill.
A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guardian spirit or Christian saint. They often have local legends associated with them; for example in Christian legends, the water is often said to have been made to flow by the action of a saint. Holy wells are often also places of ritual and pilgrimage, where people pray and leave votive offerings. In Celtic regions, strips of cloth are often tied to trees at holy wells, known as clootie wells.
A heathen hof or Germanic pagan temple is a temple building of Germanic religion. The term hof is taken from Old Norse.
Archaeomythology refers to the study of archaeology through the discipline of mythology. It is an approach developed by Marija Gimbutas and mainly applied to Eastern European countries. Commenting in The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion, Tõnno Jonuks wrote "Despite stressing the importance of archaeology and using its sources to a greater extent than any other school in the Baltic countries, studies of archaeomythology are still based upon folklore and archaeology has only been used selectively. The greater part of archaeological material which could not be reconciled with folklore has been left out and many phenomena of past religions have thus not been discussed as they "cannot be compared with folklore."
Druidry, sometimes termed Druidism, is a modern spiritual or religious movement that promotes the cultivation of honorable relationships with the physical landscapes, flora, fauna, and diverse peoples of the world, as well as with nature deities, and spirits of nature and place. Theological beliefs among modern Druids are diverse; however, all modern Druids venerate the divine essence of nature.
Uralic neopaganism encompasses contemporary movements which have been reviving or revitalising the ethnic religions of the various peoples who speak Uralic languages. The movement has taken place since the 1980s and 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and alongside the ethnonational and cultural reawakening of the Finnic peoples of Russia, the Estonians and the Finns. In fact, Neopagan movements in Finland and Estonia have much older roots, dating from the early 20th century.
Alka or alkas is the name of a sacred place or a place for burning sacrifices in Baltic religion. In Latvia and Lithuania alka(-s) and elks is the most widespread component in the toponyms for sacred sites. 120 hills, 70 fields and 50 water bodies with such word in their name have been registered.