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Baltic Paganism is the revival and practice of the traditions native to the Baltic peoples. The Balts were the last Indo-European pagans in Europe, with the final polytheistic nation in Europe, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, remaining an officially Pagan state until the ascention of the Polish king Władysław Jagiełło in 1387.
Various Polytheistic traditions exist centering around different Baltic ethnicities.
The best known of these is Romuva, a movement centered around Lithuanian paganism, however other traditions do exist.
Dievturība is a movement based on the revival of Latvian polytheism, and Druwi, a pagan religion based on Baltic Prussian traditions.
All Baltic religions believe in a singular creator diety, named Dievas or Dievs, who is also the sustainer and destroyer of our universe. Beneath Dievas are lesser Gods, who embody the various aspects of nature.
Another belief is that of the tripartite man, in which humans are believed to be tripartite, containing the elements of a physical body and astral body, which are mortal and will eventually fade away, and a soul, which is eternal. This threeway division is common among all Indo-Europeans.
Worship of the god is conducted on an aukuras or "fire altar". This is a pile of stones in which a fire is ritually lit. Participants wash their hands and face before approaching the aukuras, and then they sing dainas or ritual hymns as the fire is lit. Food, drink, grasses and flowers are offered to the flame as the group sings the dainas. After the primary offering, participants offer their own verbal or silent prayers which are carried to the Gods with the smoke and sparks of the flame.
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