Estonia · Baltic
Earth mother and epic mother of Estonian folk song.
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goddess · Estonian
Earth Mother
Maaema means ‘Earth Mother’ in Estonian and belongs to a wider Baltic-Finnic understanding of the living ground as a maternal power. Folklore records respect shown before ploughing or disturbing the soil, while portions of first bread, beer or other harvest foods could be returned to the earth in gratitude. The evidence comes chiefly from later folk custom rather than an ancient written mythology.
History, symbols & guidance
goddess · Estonian
Mother of Kalevipoeg
Linda is the mother of the hero Kalevipoeg in the Estonian national epic compiled by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald from older songs and published in the nineteenth century. She is an epic and folkloric mother rather than a securely attested goddess of worship. Her landscape stories connect her grief with prominent places around Tallinn.
History, symbols & guidance