Baubis- Baltic GodDeity"Protector of Cattle"
Also known as: Baubylis
Titles & Epithets
Domains
Symbols
Description
Lithuanian god of cattle, invoked by farmers when herds were driven to spring pasture and when disease threatened the stables. A thriving herd was the surest sign of his favor, a sickening one a cause for desperate prayer.
Mythology & Lore
The Cattle God
Lasickis named Baubis among the gods of Samogitia in 1615: a god of cattle. For Lithuanian farmers, a family's herd was its fortune. Milk and labor for plowing depended on animals that could sicken overnight and die by morning. Baubis was the god who stood between a farmer and that loss.
When herds were first driven to pasture in spring after months of winter confinement, farmers prayed to Baubis for protection from wolves and disease. The first milking of the season went to the gods. Calves born strong were a sign of his favor.
Plague and Prayer
When cattle sickness appeared, Baubis was petitioned with desperate urgency. The plagues that swept through herds could kill half a village's animals in days. Farmers prayed for healing and for protection from contagion spreading to their stables.
Even in healthy seasons, a farmer worked the stable knowing his animals' soundness was Baubis's to grant or withhold.