Maavalla Koda is a religious organisation uniting adherents of two Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

n native religious denomination

Religious denomination

A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...

s, Taaraism

Taaraism

Taaraism is a Neopagan ethnic religion practiced as of 2000 by approximately 1,900 people in Estonia, albeit 11% of the population claims affinity to it. Maausk is a parallel movement considered more Reconstructionist and traditionalist...

 and Maausk.

Maavalla Koda was registered as a union of religious associations (koguduste liit) in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

 in 1995. The initial constituent members of the union were three local registered religious associations, Emujärve Koda (representing adherents from the south of Estonia

South Estonian language

South Estonian emerged in the 17th century as a distinct language in Swedish Livonia aside the North Estonian language spoken in Swedish Estonia.The first South Estonian grammar was compiled by Johann Gutslaff in 1648....

), Härjapea Koda (with members from the north of the country), and Tartu Supilinna Koda (formed in the university town of Tartu

Tartu

Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...

). Later, Tartu Supilinn

Supilinn

Supilinn is a neighbourhood of Tartu, Estonia. It's located just north of the city centre, on the right bank of Emajõgi River. Supilinn has a population of 1,843 . With an area of it's the smallest neighbourhood of Tartu...

a Koda has been renamed Emajõe Koda (after the river Emajõgi

Emajõgi

The Emajõgi is a river in Estonia which flows from Lake Võrtsjärv through Tartu County into Lake Peipus, crossing the city of Tartu for 10 km. It has a length of 100 km...

), and the newer association of Maausk adherents of the island Saaremaa

Saaremaa

Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...

, Maausuliste Saarepealne Koda, has been admitted to Maavalla Koda.

On the Estonian military NATO-standard

STANAG

STANAG is the NATO abbreviation for Standardization Agreement, which sets up processes, procedures, terms, and conditions for common military or technical procedures or equipment between the member countries of the alliance. Each NATO state ratifies a STANAG and implements it within their own...

 dog tag (identifier)

Dog tag (identifier)

A dog tag is the informal name for the identification tags worn by military personnel, named such as it bears resemblance to actual dog tags. The tag is primarily used for the identification of dead and wounded and essential basic medical information for the treatment of the latter, such as blood...

, adherents of Taarausk and Maausk are identified with the abbreviation EST.

A Runic calendar

Runic calendar

A Runic calendar is a perpetual calendar based on the 19 year long Metonic cycle of the Moon. Runic calendars were written on parchment or carved onto staves of wood, bone, or horn. The oldest one known, and the only one from the Middle Ages, is the Nyköping staff, believed to date from the 13th...

 noting festivals of the Estonian traditional religion is published annually by Maavalla Koda.

The current focus of activity of Maavalla Koda is on traditional natural sacred sites in Estonia, with the aim of mapping and doing folkloristic research in order to preserve and perpetuate the local traditions relating to these. Along with the University of Tartu

University of Tartu

The University of Tartu is a classical university in the city of Tartu, Estonia. University of Tartu is the national university of Estonia; it is the biggest and highest-ranked university in Estonia...

, Maavalla Koda co-operates in a government programme initiated to ensure the documentation and protection of natural sacred sites in Estonia.

Management

Maavalla Koda is run by a board of three members – an Elder (vanem), a Warden (vardja), and a Secretary (kirjutaja). The board is elected by the Assembly of Maavalla Koda comprising representatives of local associations.

Elders of Maavalla Koda

• Addold Mossin
• Kalle Eller (acting)
• Anzori Barkalaja
• Andres Heinapuu
• Ahto Kaasik

Uralic Communion

In 2001, Maavalla Koda was one of the founders of an umbrella organisation, the Uralic Communion, founded in order to facilitate co-operation among adherents of Uralic

Uralic languages

The Uralic languages constitute a language family of some three dozen languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt...

 native religions.

Other founders of the Uralic Communion included

• the former Mari ethnic religion organisation Osh Mari – Chi Mari,
• Sorta, a research-oriented organisation of Mari traditional religion,
• Mariz Kemal, leader the Erzya native religion celebration Rasken Ozks, and
• the Union of Finnish Traditional Religion.