About Dievsēta:

Dievsēta is a property in rural Wisconsin where members of the Dievturi community in North America gather to celebrate traditional Latvian, pre-Christian seasonal holidays and other events in the life of members of the community.

Dievturi are followers of Dievturība (click here to read more about Dievturība). The Dievturība movement was established in the 1920s in Latvia by those interested in a revitalization of the native traditions of Latvia—which had never completely died out—and through this of Latvian culture and society in general. A few post-WWII émigrés from Latvia brought the idea of Dievturība with them to the United States , where eventually small fellowships of Dievturi were founded. Construction of Dievsēta was begun in 1977 near Tomah, Wisconsin on land that was donated by the Grencions family. The first building to be erected was the meeting and banquet hall “Skandava,” while two other buildings were added later. Dievsēta today has indoor lodging for approximately 25 people, a kitchen, indoor toilets and a small but growing library. Participants in Dievsēta events also frequently choose to camp in tents.

Dievsēta is the first known, and currently is the only, property in the world devoted specifically to the practice of Dievturība.

The traditional Latvian seasonal holidays (click here to read more about each specific holiday and how we celebrate them at Dievsēta) observed by Dievturi are based on the solar calendar, and most of the holidays celebrated at Dievsēta have been observed in one way or another since pre-Christian times. As is common in northern cultures, the sun is very important to traditional Latvian culture because it brings warmth, growth, and life. The traditional calendar was based on the movement of the sun, the changing of the seasons, and various agricultural events, such as planting time and harvest. Festivals fell at significant points in the year—the summer and winter solstices, fall and spring equinoxes, and midpoints between them—and many traditions behind these festivals have survived to this day. The traditions and rituals associated with the various festivals were done to ensure success in daily life, work, the harvests, and also fertility. Just as it did for our Latvian ancestors, the yearly festivals as observed and practiced by Dievturi today fill the need in people to align with the natural world and to celebrate its rhythms and cycles.

Even though nowadays most of us no longer live an agrarian life, we can still adopt the old traditions and adapt them to fit our own lives.

Dievturi also gather at Dievsēta to mark important points in their members’ lives—such as name-giving ceremonies and commemorative events—all according to the old Latvian traditions. Everybody participates in our events—we do not do “stage performances,” and we do not have a priesthood or hierarchy. Each person is encouraged to play an equal part in our “congregation” and in the course of our celebrations.

Singing plays a central role in the way that Dievturi in general and participants at Dievsēta in particular celebrate the seasonal holidays (click here for information about a disk of seaonal songs recorded at Dievseta). Much of what we know about our traditions is derived from the singing of dainas or folk verses that have been sung and passed on in Latvian families for generations (for more info about dainas or Latvia folk verses click here and here; former link is available in Latvian only). Each festival and tradition has specific dainas or songs associated with it, and these songs should not be sung at other times of the year. In this way, the dainas form the basis of much of what we do and singing plays a central role in the preservation of our traditional culture.

Importantly, however, we do not spend all of our time celebrating at Dievsēta, for there always is much practical work to be done: there is grass to mow, weeds to pull, dead trees to cut, leaky roofs to fix, old windows to replace, food to prepare, cleaning-up to be finished, etc. For us, working together is a spiritual act that binds the community together as much as singing, praying and dancing—and one can sing while working, too, as we often do! Also, it’s nice to just sit back and enjoy the warm, quiet breeze, or the starry sky, or the crispness of a cold winter day in the beautiful nature that surrounds Dievsēta.

We encourage anyone who is seriously interested in Latvian traditions to visit and join us at Dievsēta. Together we can continue to learn about, preserve and pass on our rich heritage.