Baltic Paganism in Lithuanian Neoshamanic Communities

Abstract

In this paper, I aim to provide an analysis of various Lithuanian Neoshamanic groups’ relationships to a local Pagan tradition and to show the impact of socio-political context on the popularity of shamanic interpretations of Indo-European religious traditions and various possibilities of expressions of interest in local Indo-European customs. Building on 2009–2015 fieldwork data and analysis of published scholarly and Neoshamanic texts, I present the Lithuanian Neoshamanic milieu, discuss scholarly interpretations of shamanic elements in the Baltic religious tradition, examine interpretations of the local Pagan tradition relevant to Lithuanian Neoshamanic communities, consider Lithuanian Neopagan attitudes to shamanic interpretations of the Baltic tradition, and analyze the impact of Lithuanian socio-political context.