Estonian neopaganism, or theEstonian native faith, spans variouscontemporary revivals of theindigenous religion of theEstonian people, adapted from theirlocal myths and culture.[1]
Major branches includeTaaraism (Estonian:taarausk literally "Taara faith"), amonistic faith based on the godTharapita founded as a national religion in 1928; andMaausk (Estonian:maausk, literally "land faith"), a much broader umbrella of "Native Faith", encompassinggrassroots movements devoted to the worship of local gods,nature worship, andearth religion.[2][1] Both movements are associated with theMaavalla Koda.[3]
A 2002 survey suggested 11% of the population ofEstonia claimed having "the warmest feelings towards Taaraism and Maausk" among all religions.[4][dubious –discuss]
A 2021 survey found 3,860 self-declared adherents of Maausk and 1,770 adherents of Taarausk living in Estonia.[5]
Taaraism was founded in 1928 by members of the intelligentsia,[6] including soldierKustas Utuste [et] and writerMarta Lepp, with the aim of reaffirming traditional Estonian culture and identity. Viewing Christianity as a foreign religion brought by theGermans, they turned to indigenous religion with its manydeities.[4]
Taaraists hold amonistic ormonotheistic worldview in which all the gods are aspects of one onlypantheistic reality, which they identify with the godTharapita or Taara (a deity connected toIndo-European deities such as theGermanicThor or Thunor, theGallicTaranis and theHittiteTarhunt).[4]
They re-established thehiis, sacred groves, and coined the termhiislar to denote their clergy. The firsthiis was founded in 1933, it wasTallinna Hiis (Sacred Grove ofTallinn).[4] There were several thousand members by 1940, but later the movement was banned under the leadership of theSoviet Union, and many members were killed.[4] Nowadays the foremost center of the Taaraists is in the city ofTartu.[7]
Maausk ("Native Religion") is an activist movement ofnature worship, the worship of local gods andhiis unrelated to the Taaraist movement. It stresses the claimedly non-Christian and non-European roots and tradition of Estonian culture. The Maausk movement emerged in the 1980s. It's mostly apolytheistic-pantheistic faith identifying the divine with nature itself.[1] In their annual cyclic calendar the most important holy days are theJõulud (winter solstice festival) and theJõulukuu (new year festival) on 25 December, thesummer solstice (Jaanipäev), theMunadepühad, the Leedopäev, and theKasupäev.[8]
Their shrines arehiis or other natural sites, preferably traditional sacrificial, healing and other sacred sites of the Estonian folk religion. A shrine is a location which may have ancient trees, glacial boulders, bodies of water or unique plants. There may be a swing, fireplace, sauna and a log storage shed at the shrine. People go to various shrines during important festivals or other important occasions, to establish harmony with nature, experience peace and gather strength. Before going to the shrine, body and mind must be purified.[9] Their ethics emphasisesmõnu ormõnus, "enjoyment" or more accurately "harmonious life" or "balance".[10]
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