#hludana

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Hludana

Hludana is a Germanic Goddess which has been named in a few inscriptions like the Hludana-steen found in Beetgum, Frisia in the Netherlands. 4 inscriptions have also been found in Germany. These inscriptions were made between 197-235AD.

We do not know a lot about this Goddess, there are a few theories going around who she exactly was. Some suggest she is the same person as the Norse Goddess Hlóðyn and others think she is connected to the Goddess of the underworld Vrouwe Holle, Frau Holle in German. There is also a theory that she is actually much older than the Asir Gods and was part of the proto-Germanic/proto-indo European pantheon.

Today is the first Sunday of September, which since a few years has been dubbed ‘International Goddess Day’ by some pagans. I like this idea – the pagan religion is one of a few world wide religions in which female deities get as much if not more attention as their male counterparts (if there are female deities at all). So yeah, everyday is goddess day if you ask goddess worshippers, but let’s just spread the word that there are many goddesses, large and small, some worshipped by millions, others long forgotten (but slowly waking up again).

For me it’s a nice opportunity to shine some light on the goddesses that were once worshipped in the Netherlands  by the peoples who lived here thousands of years ago. In fact, some of them are being enthousiastically rediscovered – Nehalennia even has her own modern temple. For this website, I’m trying to stick to the facts. It’s quite astounding how many deities – male and female – were once worshipped in and around this little area that is now known as the Netherlands. Here are seven goddesses (click on the names); but seek and you shall find many more!

Arcuana

Baduhenna

Hludana

Hurstrga

Nehalennia

Sandraudiga

What we know.

The first four stones found, in Germany and Holdeurn (modern Nijmegen), give us nothing more than a name. This caused a lot of speculation as to who this Goddess was. The name sounds similar to known Goddesses like the Germanic Holda and the Norse Hlodyn, which caused Jacob Grimm to think that the earth Goddess Hlodyn and Hludana were the same Goddess. And for a while this was the general concensus: that Hludana was the Germanic name of the Hlodyn, or perhaps a variation of Holda. The discovery of a new votive stone in Friesland in the year 1888 shed some new light on this Goddess.

In the Frisian village Beetgum a discovery was made while excavating a terp. They found a votive stone where the lower part of a woman can still be seen, together with an inscription dedicated to the Goddess Hludana. This was the first stone to give us more information than just the name. The stone reads:

DEAE HLVDANAE CONDVCTORES PISCATVS MANCIPI Q VALERIO SECV NDO VSLM

Meaning: “To the goddess Hludana, the fishing contractors, when Quintus Valerius Secundus acted as tenant, fulfilled their vow willingly and deservedly.”

This tells us that Hludana was probably a Goddess of fishing. Since Beetgum at the time this stone was made was connected to the sea, as was Holdeurn, this would fit. The stones in Germany were all found along the river Rhine, so perhaps this Goddess was connected to this river as well.

What I think.

There is still some discussion going about the connection between Hludana, Hlodyn and Hulda. I think the stone found in Beetgum gives us the information we need to see that Hludana was a Goddess Herself and not an identification or different name for Hlodyn or Hulda.

Hludana by Froukje Torensma

I see her as the Dutch Goddess of fishing, commerce and the river Rhine. Us Dutchies have always had deep connections to water, so a Goddess dedicated to fishing is something we would definitely have. Commerce is something that my own mind interjects with fishing: you do it so you can sell the fish and feed your family, hence the gold and coins in the aesthetic above.

Correspondences:

Rituals: fishing, water, anything work related. Colours: blues and soft greens {water colours}, golds. Symbols: fish, nets, winding rivers. Stones: aquamarine, pearl, blue calcite, hagstones, simple river rocks. Metals: gold, silver and copper {coin metals}.

Sources:

Book – Over de beoefening der Nederlandse mythologie, naar aanleiding der jongste tot dat onderwerp betrekkelijke geschriften – Johan van der Wal Book – Nederlandsche volksoverleveringen en Godenleer – L. Ph. C. van den Bergh Book – Teutonic Mythologie vol.1 – Jacob Grimm Website: Livius.org Website: Forgotten Gods – Reginheim Website: Good Ol’ Wikipedia