Sandis Laime

Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia · Archives of Latvian Folklore

The first volume of the Latvian Legend Type and Motif Index series provides an overview of folklore sources about witches preserved at the Archives of Latvian Folklore. The introductory chapters offer insight into the history of the collection, publication, and indexing of Latvian legends, as well as a historical typology of Latvian witch tradition...

Climate change is occurring worldwide, affecting everyday life and cultural traditions cherished for centuries. Intangible cultural heritage is vulnerable to climate change, as it depends on local resources and on the skills and knowledge of living in a certain environment. By studying the example of the lamprey fishing tradition in the village of...

Caves Lībiešu Upuralas – The Livonian Sacrifice Caves, one of the dominant cultural landscapes on the banks of the River Svētupe is a good example how one and the same place can gain different meanings depending on various groups of the society and various conditions, whereas the interrelation of these meanings and changes throughout time can estab...

In Baltic languages, the word laume/lauma initially referred to a certain supernatural being (Lithuanian laumė, Latvian lauma/laume, Prussian *laume). The analysis of written sources and folklore related to this supernatural being allows for the conclusion that Lithuania is both the core and the relic area of the laumė tradition, where the original...

The aim of the article is to analyse the sources of North Latvian spīgana ('a witch') tradition to answer the following questions: 1) Which are the typical traits of this tradition and what is the tradition area? 2) Are there any substantial differences between the tradition of spīgana on the one hand and the traditions of other Latvian witches rag...

Bruiningk’s publication “Der Werwolf in Livland” in 1924 attracted peculiar scholarly attention to Livonian werewolves and particularly to the trial of Old Thies in 1691 and 1692. The accused testified that he and the werewolves like him were the Hounds of God and their actions were directed against the devil, witches and wizards. Up to this day, n...

The article introduces and employs place valence approach in folk narrative research. The aim of this approach is finding the reasons why specific motifs and types of narratives are attached to specific landscape objects. The answer to this question often allows extra contextual information to be gained in order to understand the functions of speci...

One of the most outstanding examples of sacred caves in Latvia is the Lībiešu Upurala (Offering Cave of the Livs). This is the only cave in Latvia, having its historical sacredness evidenced by nearly all types of sources that are available regarding caves. The archaeological material acquired in studies in 1973 and 2013, as well as the magic signs...

Article presents insight into the perception of Latvian folklore and how it has been studied over four centuries starting with the first records made by foreigners or locally resident Baltic German clergymen. Until the 19th century, manifestations of the spiritual life of Latvians were considered in terms of their usefulness in strengthening the po...

This collection of articles provides rich and diverse insights into the historical dynamics of folkloristic thought with its shifting geographies, shared spaces, centres and borderlands. By focusing on intellectual collaboration and sharing, the volume also reveals the limitations, barriers and boundaries inherent in scholarship and scholarly commu...

Latvian Folkloristics in the Interwar Period is a contribution by Latvian scholars to the current reflexive trend of folklore studies toward an intense focus on the discipline’s past. It also joins the recent efforts to broaden the geographical scope of folklore history by concentrating on internationally less represented research traditions. The i...

The article provides an overview into Latvian research of witch persecution, conducted by various Baltic-German and Latvian intellectuals, historians, linguists and folklorists between 1807 and 1941. Interest into the history of witch persecution in Latvia began in the very beginning of the 19th century, which later turned into a multidisciplinary...

Lībiešu Upurala is an outstanding Medieval and Early Modern sacred place of Livs, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group inhabiting Northern part of Latvia. In 1973 archaeological excavations were carried out here which provided a vast range of finds hitherto unprecedented – offerings of coins and other artefacts. This is the only cave in Latvia that has been...

The current article focuses on the place-related narratives collected in Timofeyevka village (Novosibirsk Oblast, Russian Federation), which was established in 1895 by emigrants from eastern Latvia (Latgale). The aim of the article is to discuss the reasons for the creation and functions of these narratives, at the same time attempting to grasp the...

Poetics and mythology of Latvian folk songs (till 1994), history of Latvian folkloristics, Latvian traditional and contemporary legends, folk tales and children’s folklore, folklore in the Soviet period and on the Internet, folklore movement, contemporary storytelling and storytellers, etc.

The current article deals with the reflection of the holy groves of the so-called Curonian ķoniņi (kuršu ķoniņi) in historical sources and contemporary folklore. The Curonian ķoniņi constituted a special estate of freemen who enjoyed the same status as other vassals of the Livonian Order in Courland. On the one hand, there is quite a rich collectio...

The monograph addresses the question of the role of caves as features of the geographical and mental landscape in Latvia, looking mainly through the prism of folklore. Introductory chapters of the book analyze the history of cave research in Latvia and evaluate sources for the research of sacred caves (toponyms, folklore, written sources, archaeolo...