Zemes mate (redirected from Latvian mythology)

Zemes mate

In Baltic religion, the female aspect of nature and the source of all life. Together with Dievs, she stimulates and protects the power of life. Libations of beer were offered to her at the opening of every festival, and bread, ale, and herbs were buried in the ground, thrown into rivers and lakes, or tied to trees in her honour. Her various functions were eventually assumed by demigoddesses of forests, fields, stones, animals, water, and, in the Christian era, by the Virgin Mary.