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Astronomical Dainas
Latvian Astronomy in Verse Form
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THE FIVE VISIBLE PLANETS
The five planets visible to the naked eye in ancient times (from the outside of the solar system inwards to the Sun) were Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury.
THE PLANETS IN THE LATVIAN DAINAS
The following identifications of planets in the Latvian Dainas are our categorization and thus still provisional, awaiting further examination by other scholars.
KARTA or the variant KARTE
Saturn was the Latvian Daughter of the Sun known as Karta
In Latvian karta means "layer" so that Saturn was probably named for its layered rings, in Ancient Greek there is a similar term for Saturn, Kronos, for the rings as a crown. In Babylonian Saturn is KAYA.manu.
LAIMA or the variant LAIME
Jupiter was the Latvian Daughter of the Sun known as Laima
Laime means "luck" in Latvian and Jupiter has retained this identity as the planet of luck down to this day. Ancient Czech Kra-LOMOC for Jupiter shows the same root.
MARA or the variant MARITE
Mars was the Latvian Daughter of the Sun known as Mara
Sumerian SI.mu(r).ud for Mars is close to the Latvian Marite (dimunitve of Mara) in the Dainas.
DEKLA
Venus was the Latvian Daughter of the Sun known as Dekla
This is the same as Sumerian and Babylonian DIL.bat or DELE.bat "Venus" with DEKLA = DELE. In modern Latvian Venus is called Austra, Auseklis or Auseklite, meaning "Morning Star, Rising Star", but it is not found in as such in the ancient Dainas. The later name AUSTRA for "morning star" is surely found in ancient Ishtar and Astarte as terms for Venus.
PASTARITE
Mercury was the Latvian Daughter of the Sun known as Pastarite
Pastarite was regarded to be the "last born" of the planets and an orphan as well.
THE PLANETS AS THE FATES
Three planets were also known in Latvian as the Laiminas, which means "Fates" and this same concept is also found in the Greek and Roman pantheon of gods as the Lamiae Tres, who, just as in the Latvian also show retention of the "Daughters of the Sun" theme, for Lampetia was the Daughter of Helios (the Sun), Lamia was the "Daughter of Poseidon" and Lamos was the "Son of Poseidon".
THE FATES AND THE PLANET VENUS
Daina Number 54834 refers specifically to the Three Fates and reads as follows with respect to their "oracle" (Latvian reproduced here without diacritical markings):
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Tris Laiminas sagajusas,
Mana muza licejinas.
Viena saka: ugun' degti,
Otra: slikti udeni;
Vel tresaji pasacija:
Lai par muzu barenite.
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Three, the Fates, who came together
Bidders of my course of life
One proclaimed: "Go burn in fire!"
Said the other: "Drown in water!"
While the third foretold: "Forever,
Orphan shall you always be."
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The Three Fates in Classical times are
LAMIAE TRES = a group of gods in threes, as the fates
LAMPETIA = daughter of Helios
LAMIA= Daughter of Poseidon
W.H. Roscher, Griechischen und Romischen Mythologie
B.G. Teubner, Leipzig, 1894-1897
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The Daughters of the Sun
and the Sons of God
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DAINA 33759:
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Latvian Daina
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English Translation
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Dieva deli tiltu taisa
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Sons of God, they make a bridge
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Vairak zelta ne sudraba
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More of gold and less of silver
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Saules meita pari gaja
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She, the Daughter of the Sun
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Ka lapina drebedama
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Passed upon it, like a trembling leaf
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DAINA 33625 (Variant 10)
All variants, collected from all over Latvia,
agree in their basics.
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Latvian Daina
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English Translation
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[bracketed notes by Andis Kaulins]
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Mate savas meitas skaita
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Now the mother counts her daughters
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Vai ir visas vakara
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Are they all found in the West ?
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Visas bija vakara
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All were there, but PASTARITE [Mercury]
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Pastarites vien nebij
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Had not come to join the rest.
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Pastarite aizitecejsi
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Run away had Pastarite
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Gar upite dziedadama
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Singing 'long the river side [ecliptic, Milky Way]
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Gar upite dziedadama
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Singing 'long the river side
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Ievu ziedus mekledama
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Searching for the cherry blossoms
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Ievu ziedus meklejot
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Searching for the cherry blossoms
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Sastop tautas celina
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She met TAUTAS in her pathway [Thoth]
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Sastop tautas celina
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She met Tautas in her pathway
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Iegruz vinu upite
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He pushed her into the river
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Tek upite liku loku
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Bent, the river flowed, meandered
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Iznes vinu malina
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Set her out upon the side
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Iznes vinu malina
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Set her out upon the side
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Bralu lauka galina
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At the end of brother's fields
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[there are 9 such fields of the Latvian "Sons of God",
just as on Sumerian "Sons of God" list]
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Tur uzauga kupla liepa
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There a bushy linden grew up
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Deviniem zuburiem
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Being forked in branches nine
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Devita zubura
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At the ninth of these the brother
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Balelins kokles grieza
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Starting harping (sawing) wood in twine
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Sak bralitis kokledams
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Said the brother, harping, playing (sawing)
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Tas koklites skani skan
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Loud that harping (sawing) sure does ring
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Sak mamina raudadama
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But the mother said while crying
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Ta pastares dveselite
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That the sound were just the soul
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Ta pastares dveselite
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Just the soul of PASTARITE
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Kas noslika upite
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Who had drowned in the river.
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Daina 33906 states that:
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Latvian Daina
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English Translation
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Saul are Dievu ienada
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Sun and God were fighting
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Pusdiena, pusnakti
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At noon, at midnite:
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Dievins meta Saulitei
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God threw at the Sun
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Ar sudraba akmentinu
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A silver stone.
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DAINA 34018 states:
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Latvian Daina
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English Translation
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Tris dieninas, tris naksninas
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Three days, three nights
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Saul ar Dievu ienaida
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Sun and God were fighting
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Dieva deli salauzusi
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The Sons of God had broken
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Saules meitas
vainadzinu
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The crown (wreath, corona)
of the Daughter of the Sun
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