The Origin of the Baltic and Vedic Languages
Baltic Mythology
by
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Note to the Reader This monograph, to my knowledge, represents the first attempt ever to carry out a comparative analysis of the Latvian mytho-poetic verses called `Dainas’ with the Vedic hymns of Rg-veda and Atharva-veda. The genesis of the Dainas remains unknown, and historians and linguists are not in agreement regarding their origin. For these reasons I researched scientific publications in various disciplines to determine the probable time and location of the origin of the Dainas. This research effort began at Concordia University in Montreal some 20 years ago, and formed the core of my Master’s studies at the Université de Montréal. The research resulted in a comparative analysis of Latvian Dainas with Vedic hymns, and was published as a monograph Latvju Dainas un Vedu Himnas in the Latvian language in Riga, Latvia in 2004. (ISBN 9984-743-24-1) Chapter 2 of the monograph is expanded to introduce the reader to Latvian nation, history, language, and mytho-poetics. This knowledge is essential to understanding the Latvian mytho-poetic Dainas, as the conclusion to this monograph postulates that the Baltic (Latvian and Lithuanian) languages are older than the Vedic Sanscrit language.
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About the Book
The following commentaries regard the edition of Latvian Dainas and Vedic Hymns, published in Latvian. This monograph presents a broadened scope and discussion of Baltic and Vedic languages
About the Author
J. Palieps' first career was as a professional engineer, but upon retirement his interests turned to the humanities and, in particular, to the question of the origin of Latvian folk poetry, the ‘Dainas’. He received a BA in Cultural Anthropology from Concordia University followed byan MSc in Ethnolinguistics from the Université de Montréal. As a result of his studies, he published a monograph ‘The Latvian Dainas and the Vedic Hymns’ in the Latvian language in 2004. It contained a comparative analysis of these two mytho-poetic corpuses, the Indo-European penetration into ‘Old Europe’, and the determination of the origin of the Latvian language and the mytho-poetic Dainas. The monograph has received positive comments by the members of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, and Dr. habil philol. V. Hausmanis notes: ``Palieps has accomplished an important work by studying the Latvian Dainas in context with the Vedas and I.E. culture. The research covers a wide range of problems, and J. Palieps overall knowledge is remarkable``. With the publication of this book, he hopes to familiarize foreign scientists with the mytho-poetic Dainas, as well as facilitate further research in Baltic and Vedic linguistic and cultural developments in general.