God
Supreme god, euphemism for the sky god, warrior protection, magic
well attested
Andajus
Who is Andajus?
Andajas, also called Andojas or Andajus, is an ancient Lithuanian god mentioned in the 1261 insertion in the Slavic translation of John Malalas' Chronicle together with Perkūnas and Žvorūna. In the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle, when the gods invoked by Lithuanian warriors are discussed, Andajus is also named first.
Because of his position in these sources, Andajus is treated not as a minor figure but as one of the highest Lithuanian deities. His image is inseparable from Nunadievis: the two are often regarded as names of the same supreme god.
Andajus and Nunadievis: one god with two names
Researchers have noted that in the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle, when the gods worshipped by King Mindaugas are listed, Nunadievis is named first, while when the gods invoked by warriors are described, Andajus is named first. It may therefore be the same supreme god worshipped under more than one name.
According to Norbertas Vėlius, the two names reflect the duality of ruler-gods: Nunadievis is the supreme god, while Andajus performs a magical function. This fits the fact that warriors invoke Andajus before battle, asking for power and success.
A euphemism for the supreme god
Gintaras Beresnevičius argued that Andajus, or Nunadievis, should be considered the supreme god, and that both names are euphemisms for one Sky God. In folklore the corresponding figure is Dievas, Dievas senelis: distant, but the highest ruler of the sky.
The abundance of euphemisms suggests that the name of the most important god may have been taboo. He was not named directly but called by descriptive or substitute names. Andajus is therefore less a separate deity than one form or name of the supreme sky god.
Why not a water god?
Andajus should be clearly separated from river or spring deities. In the sources he appears not as a water god but as a supreme god invoked by warriors and mentioned beside Perkūnas and Žvorūna. His functions are connected with sky, authority, and magical power, not with water or health.
The local water-deity side of Lithuanian mythology is represented by Upinis Dievas, while Andajus belongs to a higher level of sky gods. This distinction matters because it prevents confusion between a supreme god and guardians of natural features.
Andajus today
Andajus is important as one of the earliest-attested Lithuanian gods and as a key to the problem of the supreme god. He reminds us that thirteenth-century chronicles recorded a living religion of rulers and warriors, even if very briefly.
The name is best read together with Nunadievis, Perkūnas, and the folklore Dievas. Together they reveal an image of the supreme sky god reconstructed by researchers from a few laconic but very important notices.
