The Baltic Gods & Demons: Lithuanian, Samogitian, Sambian, Latvian, and Prussian Mythology

by vamzzz · 05/04/2026

This article gives a very deep insight in the mythical world of the Baltic and Prussian peoples. It is a litterally translation of KRONIKA POLSKA, LITEWSKA, ŻMÓDZKA I WSZYSTKIEJ RUSI (1582), chapter Bogowie litewscy, żmodzcy, sambijscy, lotewscy i pruscy (Lithuanian, Samogitian, Sambian, Latvian, and Prussian Gods) by the Polish writer and researcher Motiejus Strijkovskis. I only added headlines for readability.

Motiejus Strijkovskis

Motiejus Strijkovskis (also known as Maciej Stryjkowski; ca. 1547–after 1586) was a Polish-Lithuanian chronicler, poet, and historian of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He is widely regarded as the author of the first printed history of Lithuania and Samogitia, a work that played a formative role in the emergence of regional and proto-national historiography in the Baltic world.

Although primarily a historian, Strijkovskis is of particular importance for the study of Baltic mythology. His chronicle preserves extensive descriptions of pre-Christian beliefs, deities, and ritual practices among Lithuanians, Samogitians, Prussians, and related peoples.

He found himself in the unique position that he not only recorded traditions, but was also still a witness to the rituals of the old religion.

His accounts include pantheons of gods, sacrificial rites, seasonal festivals, and interactions with what he interprets as spirits or “pagan” entities.

However, his testimony must be approached critically. Writing from a Christian and humanist perspective, Strijkovskis often interprets indigenous beliefs through analogies with Greco-Roman mythology or frames them polemically as remnants of pagan superstition.

At the same time, his proximity to living traditions—especially in regions where Christianization remained incomplete—grants his descriptions a certain ethnographic immediacy.

From a historiographical standpoint, Strijkovskis occupies an intermediate position between chronicler and observer: he does not merely repeat earlier sources but actively compiles, reshapes, and expands them. His work thus stands as both a literary construction and a valuable, if filtered, record of Baltic religious life in the late 16th century.

For the study of Baltic gods and mythological systems, Strijkovskis remains a crucial—though methodologically complex—source: one that preserves otherwise lost traditions while simultaneously refracting them through the intellectual lens of his time.

An overview of Baltic Gods and Daimons

These were the principal gods worshipped by those peoples:

Okopirnos, god of heaven and earth
Swajtestix, god of light
Auschlavis, god of the weak, the sick, and the healthy
Atrimpos, god of the sea, ponds, pools, and lakes
Protrimpos, god of rivers and all flowing waters
Gardoajtis, god of ships

Only seafarers and fishermen praised Gardoajtis, especially the Courlanders, Sambians, and certain coastal peoples. They believed him to be a great angel standing in the midst of the sea and lakes—a god of the winds. The Greeks likewise believed in such a figure, calling him Aeolus. He restrains the winds, but when angered, he can overturn ships and sink them with a single breath. On his feast day, they ate only fish, without bread or other foods, and drank soup from deep vessels prepared for the occasion, because this god rules over deep waters.

Pergrubius, god of herbs, vegetables, and grass
Pilwitos, a god who granted wealth and filled the barns
Perkunos or Piorunos, god of lightning, thunder, snow, and rain
Poklus, god of the underworld, of clouds, darkness, and wandering spirits or demons

They also venerated Parstuki and Markopole, whom they described as “little people”—what we might call pygmies—who dwell within the earth and, even today, reveal themselves at certain times, especially in Samogitia, Courland, Latvia, and Sambian Prussia, where remnants of the old paganism still persist among the common folk.

These, then, were the gods of the ancient Prussians and Courlanders, whom that rough people still partly invoke and praise.

Distinct Lithuanian and Samogitian Deities

The Lithuanian and Samogitian peoples, however, had the following additional, more particular gods:

Prokorimos, their chief god
To him they killed white roosters by beating them with sticks rather than slaughtering them. One portion they consumed themselves, another was eaten by the officiants, and the third was burned.
Ruguczis, god of sour and fermented foods
To him they offered multicolored chickens.
Ziemiennik, the earth god
They honored him by keeping and feeding snakes with milk, and also sacrificed black chickens to him.
Kruminie Pradziu Warpu, giver of all grain
To him they offered chickens with low, dense combs, cutting their flesh into small pieces so that the grain would grow thick, full of ears, and not too tall.
Lituwanis, sender of rain
To him they offered chickens of various colors—white, black, and speckled, among others.
Chaurirari, a horse god: to him they sacrificed large, strong roosters of various colors so that their horses might likewise multiply. And when they sought peace against their enemies (for they also regarded him as a war god, like the Greek and Roman Mars), they offered him sacrifices and prayers while sitting on saddles behind the oven.
Sotwaros, the god of all livestock: to him they sacrificed various roosters before the oven or fire, corresponding to the different colors of the animals they owned.
Seimi Dewos, who ruled over household servants: to him too they offered chickens and hens of various colors, casting these offerings into the oven fire and not removing them until they were completely burned, while praying that their servants would remain obedient.
Upinis Dewos, who held power over rivers: to him they sacrificed entirely white piglets, so that the waters might flow clear.
Bubilos, the god of honey and bees: he was worshipped while people sat behind the oven, and the priest held a new large pot filled with honey in his hand. After reciting the customary prayers, he smashed it loudly against the oven so that it shattered into pieces, while imploring the god Bubilos to let the bees multiply abundantly.
Dzidzis Lado, meaning the great god: to him they sacrificed entirely white roosters. His festival was celebrated from May 25 to June 25 in taverns, while women and girls danced in meadows and streets, hand in hand, singing mournfully and repeating: “lado, lado, lado Didis musu Dewie!”—that is, “great our god Lado!” This is said to still be practiced in Lithuania, Samogitia, Livonia, and Russia.
Gulbi Dziewos, the god who watches over each individual person—what we would call a personal genius or guardian spirit: men sacrificed white roosters to him, and women hens.
Goniglis Dziewos, a pastoral forest god, whom the Greeks and Romans likened to satyrs and fauns: to him they offered the genitals of horses, cattle, goats, and other animals when these were castrated. The shepherds burned these offerings on a large, specially chosen stone, saying: “As this stone is hard, mute, and unmoving, so too, O our god Goniglis, may wolves and all predators be unable to move, so that they cannot harm our livestock entrusted to your protection.”
Swieczpuńscynis, the god who ruled over chickens, geese, ducks, and all other birds, both domestic and wild: to him they offered no sacrifices, saying that he was a flying god.
Kielu Dziewos, a god of travelers: to him they sacrificed white chickens while holding staffs in their hands, girded and wearing bast shoes, in a manner likened to how the Jews celebrate Passover, praying that he would guide them safely on their journeys from home and back again.
Puschajtis, an earth god who dwells beneath an elder tree: to him they made the most frequent offerings and prayers, in the evening by the elder tree, with great devotion and fear. It is likely that they still do so, for this tree was considered the most sacred. They usually bring bread and beer beneath the elder bush and ask the god Puschajtis to send his Parstuki—his little angels, that is, pygmies—into their barns, so that they may increase and preserve the grain in abundance.

Concerning these Parstuki or pygmies, Saint Augustine also writes in De Civitate Dei that they have often deceived both pagans and simple Christians through their wondrous appearances, and that they still truly exist, especially appearing to simple people in Courland and Samland, in whose company they dwell—particularly among those who know how to please them with offerings and food (for they are fond of eating, especially at night). A physician and natural philosopher once explained remarkable things about them to me, which I omit here.

Olaus Magnus and Cornelius Agrippa on Air Spirits

Also Olaus Magnus and Cornelius Agrippa write in De occulta philosophia that there exist air spirits (air devils), which are sociable and not entirely in their nature as corrupt as the infernal spirits. In Sweden, Norway, and Finland they usually serve simple people: they care for horses and perform other tasks, and to some they tell things of the future and the past, namely to those who know how to please them in their dealings.

Lithuanians worshipping a grass snake, oak and holy fire. From Olaus Magnus’ Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus (History of the Northern People), book 3, 1555.

Personal Observations of the Author
Spread of the Cult of Puschajta and the Parstuki Spirits

I too report what I have heard and seen with my own eyes in Courland, Livonia, and Samland (which one calls Sudawen Samland), in Prussia and in certain regions, especially those situated by the sea, of Samogitia and beyond Mirumsk and Insterburg: that they worship that devil Puschajta, who is believed to dwell in the elder tree, at certain feasts twice a year, and that they honor the Parstuki—earth people, little angels and his servants—and sustain them with food.

At certain times of their feasts they usually set a table in the barn, cover it, and leave four loaves of bread, cooked and roasted meat, cheese, and butter upon the table. They invite them in honor or for a nightly meal according to their customary pagan rites or magical practices. After that they firmly close the doors of the barn and go away themselves. The Parstuki then come at midnight and eat those foods.

The following day the farmers look at how much of which food has been eaten: if more bread has disappeared, they believe that these little gods will increase their grain; if it is the meat, then it signifies prosperity in livestock, and so forth. And of that food which has pleased them most, they place even more at the next feast than before, and ask them to increase the grain.

It is also said that these Parstuki steal grain at night from the barns of other farmers whom they consider ungrateful, and bring it to those who honor them better.

Also in Upper Prussia, around Chojnice, Kamień, Sempelburg near Toruń, and elsewhere, this elder tree is held very sacred to this day, according to an old pagan custom. The inhabitants believe that under the elder tree dwell certain wondrous earth spirits or phantasms, which they call “beautiful people,” and which often show themselves at night, especially in moonlight and particularly to the sick. It is said of their stature that they are no taller than an ell.

The Great Autumn Ritual (Harvest Festival)

The principal feast of these pagans took place—and in some places is still celebrated in Lithuania, Samogitia, Livonia, Courland, and in some Russian regions—at the beginning of the month of October, when all the grain has been harvested and gathered into the barns. Then they hold a communal meal, for which people sometimes come together from three or four villages into one house, with women, children, and servants.

They cover the table with hay or elsewhere with a cloth, upon which they place several loaves and four large barrels of beer at the four corners. Then they bring a calf and a cow, a ram and a ewe, a he-goat and a she-goat, a boar and a sow, a rooster and a hen, a goose and a gander, and other suitable animals and domestic birds, both male and female. All this they sacrifice to their god Ziemiennik.

First their seer or pagan priest, a simple farmer, speaks the customary prayers, after which he begins to strike an animal with a stick. Then all those standing around strike the animal with sticks on the head, the belly, the back, the neck, and the legs, saying: “This we offer to you, O Ziemiennik, our god, and we thank you that you have preserved us in the past year in good health and in abundance of all goods, grain, and possessions, and have protected us from fire, iron, pestilential air, and all our enemies.”

After that they prepare the meat of the sacrificed animals and birds by boiling, baking, and roasting it, and go to the table to eat. But first their seer or sorcerer cuts a piece from each dish and each bird and throws it under the table, onto the oven, under the benches, and into every corner of the house, saying: “This is for you, Ziemiennik, our god; accept our offerings and graciously partake of these foods.”

Then they eat and drink to excess, invoking Ziemiennik with every dish and every drink. Men and women blow on long horns and sing, opening their mouths toward one another. I myself have often been present at these feasts and gatherings in Livonia, Courland, Samogitia, and Lithuania, around places such as Suwałki, Abelen, Sobotniki, Poswol, Bassenburg, beyond Sokołów, Mojsa, and elsewhere, where I have observed these remarkable pagan customs, for in those regions even now one scarcely knows anything of God.

The Pergrubri Festival in Prussia and Courland

In Prussia, in Samland—known in German as Sudauen or Samland—and around Insterburg and Ragnit, as well as in Courland, the rural population, who are all Samogitians and speak the Samogitian language as far as Königsberg, have their own festival, which they call Pergrubri, as I have personally heard and seen.

In the spring, once the snow has disappeared and it is time to plow and the grass begins to emerge, they gather malt from various villages, by the bushel or by the barrel, in order to brew beer. Afterward, they assemble in a large house.

Their Wurschajt—that is, the sacrificer, or rather the sorcerer—takes a pot of beer, raises it, and prays to the god Pergrubius, who grants grass and summer, saying:

“O almighty our god Pergrubius! You drive away the harsh winter and cause herbs, flowers, and grass to grow across the whole earth; we now pray that you will abundantly increase the grain we have sown and are yet to sow, that it may grow richly in ears, and that you yourself will trample down all weeds.”

After this, he sets down a jug or cup, takes it up with his teeth, and drinks the beer. Once he has drunk, he throws the vessel backward over his head without using his hands. Behind him stands the Cziwon, or elder of the community, who catches the vessel and quickly refills it with beer, placing it again before the Wurschajt.

He then takes the cup again and prays to another god, Perkunus or Piorun, asking him to restrain thunder, hail, lightning, rain, storms, and harmful clouds. He drinks a cup of beer in offering, again holding it with his teeth. After him, all the others drink.

For the third time, he prays to the mighty god Swajstix, the god of light, asking him to shine kindly and brightly upon the grain, the meadows, the flowers, and their livestock.

Then he prays to the fourth god, Pilwit, that he may grant that all grain be well harvested and gathered into the barns.

Collective Drinking and Howling like Wolves

In this manner, they drink in honor of all their gods—fifteen in number—each time a cup of beer, without using their hands, holding it only with their teeth. Afterward, they sing a song in their honor, howling like wolves.

Confession and Intercession in Times of Scarcity

If the previous year’s harvest was poor, they confess their faults, acknowledging that they have deserved this through their sins, and they pray to Auschlawis, the god of the sick and the weak, asking him to intercede with the other gods—Pergrubius, Perkunus, Swajstix, and Pilwit—so that these may be more favorable to them in the coming year.

The Annual Bull or Goat Sacrifice

Perkūnas is a pan-Baltic thunder deity, with regional variations of name and cult expression across the entire Baltic-speaking world.

Likewise, the peasants of lower Prussia, called Sudauen or Samland—Samogitians of Lithuanian origin—consecrate a bull or a goat once a year in the following manner.

Four or six villages gather together, collecting money, bread, and other goods as if they were an offering. They sell these, and when sufficient funds have been obtained, they purchase a bull or a goat. They then assemble in one house, where they build a great fire. Their women bring together wheat and buckwheat flour, from which they prepare cakes.

Then the Wurschajt, their priest, according to pagan custom, places a wreath upon his head, lays his hand upon the goat or bull, and prays to all the gods, each individually, previously mentioned, that they may graciously accept this celebration and offering.

They then take the bull or goat by the horns, lead it to the barn, and lift it up together. The priest, the Wurschajt, girded with a cloth, calls again upon all the gods and says:

“This is the praiseworthy offering and the remembrance of our forefathers, that we may appease the wrath of our gods.”

After this, whispering, he walks three times around the bull and slaughters it. They do not allow the blood to flow onto the ground; instead, they collect it in a vessel and scoop it with a ladle or cup. The Wurschajt sprinkles the people with it, and the rest they take in small pots and use in their own homes to sprinkle their livestock, just as is done among us with holy water.

After they have cut the animal into pieces, they cook it in kettles. The men sit around the fire, while the women bring unbaked cakes. Each man takes a cake and throws it through the flames to another, until it is baked. Afterward, they eat and drink throughout the night, singing and playing long horns.

In the morning, they go to a crossroads, carrying a wheat cake and the remaining food there. They place everything in one spot and cover it with earth, taking care that no animal can dig it up. Then they commend themselves to their gods and return home.

Death Ritual

When someone feels that he is dying, he has beer prepared according to his means and invites friends and fellow villagers, from whom he takes leave and asks forgiveness. Afterward, they wash the dead in a bath, dress him in a long white shirt, and place him on a chair. The friends drink to him and say mournfully:

“I drink to you, dear friend—why have you died? You had your wife, children, and possessions…”

Then they again drink a “good night” to him and ask him to convey their greetings to deceased relatives in the afterlife.

They then further dress him; a man is given a knife or an axe, a cloth around his neck with money for provisions, and bread, salt, and beer are placed in the grave. For a woman, a needle and thread are placed in the grave.

At the funeral, the friends proceed in a procession, waving knives and shouting:

“Flee, flee—depart from this body, you devils!”

This custom still exists in some places, where people play trumpets at funerals and sing that the deceased must go to a better world.

The dead are commemorated especially in October, or on feast days, by lamenting at the graves and praising the virtues of the deceased. This custom is also found in Wallachia, Bulgaria, and other lands, where candles are burned, food is set out, and animals are fed for the souls of the dead.

In Courland and Samland, after church people go to an inn to drink in remembrance of the dead; food is thrown under the table and beer is poured out.

In Lithuania and Samogitia, peasants hold large meals in memory of the dead, first burning incense and pronouncing offerings, and then eating and drinking until they can no longer stand, while singing old songs.

Another festival, called Iłgy, begins around All Saints’ Day. Even the poorest must have beer in the house, and people drink for weeks in remembrance of the dead. Originally, this feast was celebrated in honor of Perkun, the thunder god.

NOTE by the translator Benjamin Adamah

From a neo-pagan point of view the Baltic religious practices are unique, due to the very late Christianization. The Baltic region—particularly Lithuania and the Prussian territories—was among the last areas of Europe to be officially Christianized.

While many Western and Southern European regions had already developed a Christian institutional framework between the 4th and 10th centuries, the formal conversion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania did not take place until 1387 (and in Samogitia not definitively until around 1413–1417).

In Prussia, paganism was earlier suppressed through military campaigns by the Teutonic Order in the 13th century, yet even there the old religious traditions persisted stubbornly among the rural population.

What the 16th-century chronicler Motiejus Strijkovskis describes fits into a broader historical reality: Christianization was often a top-down process driven by elites, while rural communities continued their rituals, gods, and cosmological practices, sometimes openly, sometimes blended with Christian forms.

This phenomenon of religious layering—where older and newer systems coexist—is often referred to by historians and anthropologists as “syncretism.” In the Baltic context, this meant that nature cults (trees, rivers, snakes), local deities, and household spirits were still venerated well into the 16th and even 17th centuries, as evidenced by ecclesiastical complaints, visitation reports, and ethnographic observations.

In that sense, the region is distinctive not because paganism “suddenly” disappeared, but precisely because it remained a living practice for so long within and alongside Christianity.

Spirit beings in European folklore – Benjamin Adamah