Section 2 of 6 - Prev - Next
All sections - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

   the half-nomad forest Sámi culture. The fjeld Sámi do also some
   fishing and willow grouse (am. willow ptarmigan) trapping. The
   importance of reindeer in the Sámi culture can be seen in the fact
   that in Sámi languages there are about 400 names for reindeer
   according to gender, age, color, shape etc.
   
   One special group are the River Sámi living around river Đeatnu/Tana
   and its tributaries. They lived mainly fishing salmon but nowadays
   they have some agriculture and domestic animals, and more permanent
   settlements than the fjeld Sámi.
   
      Sea Sámi
      
   The first written remark of the sea Sámi living in northern Norway by
   the Arctic Sea was made in year 892 by a Norwegian tribal chief Ottar.
   The remark described that "up in the north there are people who hunt
   in the winter and fish on the sea in the summer". This half-nomad
   culture is strongly affected by both Norwegian and Finnish
   inhabitants. They live in two different areas. The Norwegians call the
   northern people "sjřfinner" and the southern "bufinner".
   
      Kola Peninsula Sámi
      
   The Sámi living in the Kola peninsula are the original population in
   that area. The number of Sámi there has remained pretty much the same
   throughout the years, slightly below 2000 people. They live mostly
   fishing and reindeering.
   
   
   
  2.3.4 Sámi mythology
  
   Living of the nature has formed the original conceptions of the world
   among Sámi; the world view was animistic by nature, with shamanistic
   features. They believed that all objects in the nature had a soul.
   Therefore, everybody was expected to move quietly in the wilderness;
   shouting and making disturbance was not allowed. This beautiful
   concept still prevails among the Sámi.
   
   When speaking about beliefs I deliberately avoid using the word
   "religion", because among Sámi that word is strictly connected to
   christianity - instead one should speak about "world of beliefs", or
   about "a Sámi mindset", however vague that may sound.
   
   The Sámi believed that alongside with the material world there was an
   underworld, saivo, or (Jábmiid) áibmu, where everything was more whole
   than in the material world and where the dead continued their lives.
   Eastern Sámi use the word duot ilbmi, "that air" (i.e. afterworld).
   
   Important places had their divinities. Every force of nature had its
   god and sources of livelihood were guarded by beings in spiritual
   world which could be persuaded to be more favourable.
   
   Stállu stories are known in all Sámi cultures. Stállu was a large and
   strong but simple humanlike being living in the forest, always
   traveling with a dog, rahkka, and he could some times steal a young
   Sámi girl to become his wife. It is believed that stállu stories are
   related to early contacts with Vikings.
   
   Some people were capable to foretell future events, or fortune in
   hunting etc. A person with this special gift could be 'called' and
   accepted by the community as a noaidi (shaman). A noaidi was capable
   of visiting the saivo and people from far away would come to him/her
   for advice. For more demanding "trips" a noaidi sometimes used a
   "magic drum", much in the similar way as the northern Siberian
   shamans.
   
   In the forest you could find trees which resembled a human body, or
   you could make one. These were called sieidde (in Finnish seita) and
   they were worshipped. Also a strangely shaped stone or rock could be a
   sieidde.
   
   Christian missionaries and priests normally didn't understand these
   Sámi concepts, but regarded them as satanic. Sámi people were
   converted to Christianity by force and shamanic practices were
   forbidden.
   
   The disintegration of the hunter/gatherer culture and the transition
   to other forms of occupation meant that the old world view had less
   significance for the Sámi, although at first the christian beliefs
   were adopted alongside with the original beliefs. The "Sámi apostle",
   Norwegian Thomas von Westen (1682-1727) started public education among
   the Sea Sámi in Sámi language. From 1773 on Sámi language teaching was
   forbidden and all teaching had to be in Danish until nineteenth
   century.
   
   Lars Levi Laestadius (1800-1861) has had the strongest religious
   influence on Sámi people and his thoughts spread all over Sámi region
   although there is evidence that elements of the original religious
   practices of the Sámi were used as late as the 1940's. Characteristic
   to Laestadius' ideas is the central significance of parish. This has
   helped in preserving Sámi culture.
   
   
   
  2.3.5 Sámi languages
  
   As there are several Sámi cultures there are also several Sámi
   languages and dialects. It is not exactly known what kind of language
   the ancestors of the Sámi originally spoke, obviously it was some kind
   of proto-Uralic language. Now the common theory is that the Sámi
   languages developed from early proto-Finnic languages side by side
   with proto-Finnic language, so that there was some sort of
   proto-Lappic language around 1000 BC - 700 AD. This then developed to
   various languages and dialects as we know them now. The Sámi languages
   are regarded as Finno-Ugric languages and their closest relatives are
   the Baltic-Finnic languages (Finnish, Estonian).
   
   It's often hard to decide whether two related forms of speech are in
   fact different languages or merely dialects of a single language,
   especially when there are transition areas between them. Commonly the
   Sámi languages are divided into nine main dialectal areas.
   
   The numbers in brackets represent the approximate number of speakers
   of the language according to the Geographical distribution of the
   Uralic languages made by Finno-Ugric Society in 1993.
   
1. South Sámi - in central Scandinavia                 [500]
2. Ume language                                        [very few]
3. Pite language                                       [very few]
4. Lule language                                       [2 000]
5. Northern languages (Norwegian Sámi, fjeld language) [30 000]
6. Enare language - north of lake Inari                [400]
7. Skolt language - in Pechenga                        [500]
8. Kildin language - in central Kola peninsula         [1 000]
9. Ter (Turja) language - in eastern Kola peninsula    [500]

   As there are several languages, there are also several grammars and
   orthographies for them. The areas 2 - 5 have more or less the same
   written language but several orthographies. Language 6 has its own
   orthography whereas areas 7 - 9 use mainly Kildin language in
   publications.
   
   The following description about the history of written Sámi concerns
   mainly the languages spoken in Sweden.
   
   The first Sámi books were religious literature, used for converting
   the Sámi people to Christianity during Gustav II Adolf's reign in the
   17th century. The first books (ABC book and mass book) were made by
   the priest Nicolaus Andreae in Piteĺ in 1619, but they were in a very
   clumsy language. The first written grammar was again made in Sweden by
   the priest Petrus Fiellström in Lycksele in 1738.
   
   For a long time the written texts in Sámi languages were solely for
   religious purposes. Poetry and other literature in Sámi languages is
   rather recent. In 1906 the Sámi teacher Isak Saba (1875-1921)
   published a poem Same soga lavla (the Song of Sámi Family) which is
   known as the national anthem of the Sámi. Four years later Johan
   Turi's (1854-1936) Muittalus Sámid birra (A Story about Sámi) was
   published in Sweden. This is probably the most famous volume written
   in Sámi language. Just as an example what Sámi language looks like
   here's the first verse of Same soga lavla in the orthographic form
   proposed by Sámi Language Board in 1978:
   
          Sámi soga lavlla                    Song of Sámi Family

  Guhkkin davvin Dávggáid vuolde         Far in the north under the Plough
  sabmá suolggai Sámieatnan:             looms quietly the land of Lapps:
  duottar laebbá duoddar duohkin,        a fjeld lies behind a fjeld,
  jávri seabbá jávrri lahka,             a lake spreads near a lake,
  c´ohkat c´ilggiin, c´orut c´earuin     peaks on ridges, tops on bare fjelds
  allánaddet almmi vuostá;               rise against the sky;
  s´ávvet jogat, s´uvvet vuovddit,       rushing rivers, wuthering forests,
  cáhket ceakko stállinjárggat           steep steel capes stick
  máraideaddji mearaide.                 into roaring seas

   [ c´ and s´ denote c and s with apostrophe ]
   
   
   
  2.3.6 The Sámi as citizens
  
   Before the 1600s the Sámi lived their own life more or less
   undisturbed. They were gradually pushed further north by new
   inhabitants but it happened peacefully. It is believed that the Sámi
   were mainly following reindeers and other wild animals which were also
   retreating further north.
   
   In the 1600s, and later, there were some "colonialistic" features in
   the way the Sámi were treated by the kingdoms ruling over their lands.
   It was considered "natural" to subjugate cultures that were regarded
   as "undeveloped" and "primitive". At that time the government of
   Sweden-Finland had a political goal to have permanent agricultural
   settlements in the Swedish Lapland instead of sparse nomad
   inhabitation; it was thought that keeping the area within the state
   would be easier that way. This is why many Finns were also encouraged
   to move there. Although the same basic European colonialistic thinking
   was also common in Scandinavia, it has to be noted that the attitude
   towards the original people has never been as inhuman as it was in
   many colonies elsewhere in the world.
   
   As a general observation it can be said that as the Nordic countries
   divided the Sámi territories between states they failed to take into
   account the Sámi colonies and to let them develop naturally. Instead
   the Sámi people were forced to adapt to the cultural system of each
   country.
   
   The Swedish king Gustav Vasa declared that "all permanently
   uninhabited land belongs to God, Us and the Swedish crown". This
   declaration concerned also the territories where Sámi lived. Because
   of their nomad way of living they were not seen as "permanent
   inhabitants". Later the Sámi's right for land was stabilized as
   certain "family areas". In 1867 in Sweden a new administrational
   "cultivation border" was formed. It goes several tens of kilometers
   from the Norwegian border all the way from Karesuando to Jämtlands
   Län. All land in the Swedish territory was given to the Sámi and only
   Sámi people were allowed to live there without a separate permission.
   All activities that are done there need a permission and the money
   goes to "Lapland fund". The money of this fund is used for
   reindeering, building bridges, etc. in that area. All this is done by
   the state and the Sámi people have very little to say about how the
   money is to be used.
   
   There have been discussions about the Sámi's right for the natural
   resources in their areas between the Nordic Council and the Nordic
   Sámi Council but so far there has been little progress in this issue.
   
   There have been several agreements between the Nordic countries and
   the Sámi people but they are beyond the scope of this document.
   
   All in all, the Nordic countries have not been indifferent about Sámi
   but due to lack of ethnosociological knowledge the Sámi have been
   treated as "children who don't know what's best for them".
   
   Because arctic occupations favour the individual mind, and the Sámi
   population is sparse, their own activities as Nordic citizens have
   developed very slowly. Also, belonging to four different countries
   doesn't make it easier - on the other hand crossing borders between
   the Nordic countries has never been a problem. This belonging to
   different countries has been one factor which has increased the common
   sense of ethnicity among the Sámi people during this century. Only a
   few decades ago it was not desirable that Sámi children spoke Sámi
   with each other in school whereas now, in principle, it's possible to
   complete university degrees in Sámi language.
   
   How many Sámi are there, then? Well, that depends on who is counted as
   a Sámi and who isn't, as there has been much assimilation and mixing
   with the rest of the population. Some figures were presented in the
   chapter concerning Sámi languages. Another often presented statistic
   tells that there are 25,000 Sámi in Norway, 17,000 in Sweden, 4000 in
   Finland and 2,000 in Russia. Yet another statistic which only counts
   people who speak Sámi languages as their mother tongue says: 10,000 in
   Norway, 5,000 in Sweden, 3,000 in Finland and 1,000 in Russia.
   
   
   
  2.3.7 The Sámi Today
  
   For centuries the majority population has had a patronizing attitude
   towards the Sámi, which has affected cultural policy and politics.
   This policy was abandoned after World War II. This phase was signalled
   in 1948 in Norway by the official "Proposals for Sámi School and
   Educational Affairs" from the Coordinating Commission for the School
   System. A definitive change did not come before 1963, however, when
   the Norwegian parliament discussed the recommendations of the Sámi
   Committee of 1956. The official policy then adopted is expressed in
   the Parliamentary Records for 1962-1963 as follows:
   
     "The policy of the national state must be to give the Sámi-speaking
     population the opportunity to preserve its language and other
     cultural customs on terms that accord with the expressed wishes of
     the Sámi themselves."
     
   Later in 1980 the Norwegian government appointed two new commissions
   with very extensive mandates: the Sámi Rights Committee and the Sámi
   Cultural Committee. At the moment demands for clarification and
   legalization of local rights in areas traditionally used by the Sámi
   are under consideration by the Sámi Rights Committee. Since much of
   this area has diversified use by different Sámi and non-Sámi groups,
   it has been difficult to arrive at a just and nationwide solution.
   
   The Nordic Sámi Council was established in 1956 to promote cooperation
   among the Sámi in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The Council has twelve
   members, four from each country. Both state authorities and the Nordic
   Council have recognized the Sámi Council as a legitimate spokesman for
   the Sámi and have met many of its demands.
   
   The Sámi have their own flag which was officially acknowledged in the
   13th Nordic Sámi Conference in 1986. The flag is designed by Astrid
   Behl from Ivgubahta/Skibotn in Norway. The basic idea in the flag is a
   symbol from a drum. The circle is a symbol of sun and moon - the sun
   ring is red and the moon ring blue. The colours are also the colours
   used in Sámi costumes.
   
   The Cultural Heritage Act, passed in 1978 in Norway, states that
   everything which is more than 100 years old and related to the
   cultural heritage of the Sámi, is automatically protected by law
   - this is to protect historic sites and monuments.
   
   Sámi as an elective language is taught in primary schools in several
   places in Lapland. Special Sámi high schools are located in
   Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino and Kárásjohka/Karasjok. Sámi language and
   culture courses are taught at several universities in the Nordic
   countries.
   
   Modern Sámi applied art has largely extended the development of
   traditional Sámi handicrafts such as horn- and wood-carving, basketry,
   leather work, etc. Sámi art appears at present to be undergoing an
   important period of creativity - this applies to music as well. The
   traditional Sámi folk song, the joik, has won increasing recognition
   and interest. The Norwegian Sámi Singer Mari Boine Persen has won
   international fame among world music fans, while in Finland e.g
   Nils-Aslak Valkeapää (who sang joik in the opening ceremonies of
   Lillehammer Olympics), Wimme Saari (who mixes joik with ambient techno
   backgrounds) and the band Angelin Tytöt have gained acclaim. There are
   five Sámi newspapers, or newspapers intended for Sámi readers, in the
   three Nordic countries but the circulation figures for them are small.
   The newspapers and magazines are dependent on state funds for their
   existence. Radio programs are broadcast in all three countries, in
   Kárásjohka/Karasjok (Norway), Giron/Kiruna (Sweden) and Anar/Inari
   (Finland). Plans exist for the establishment of a Nordic-Sámi
   production center for radio and television programs, but the extent
   and form of cooperation have not yet been agreed upon.
   
   Because of growing Sámi cultural consciousness and sympathetic
   official minority policies, there is good cause for believing that the
   Sámi will survive as a viable ethnic and cultural group in
   Scandinavia. The meaning of "Sámi" will change as the way of life
   itself changes. The Sámi's own actions and self-conception will be
   decisive in forming the future meaning of the term - or, as one Sámi
   scholar put it when asked about the Sámi tradition:
   
     "Tradition? As of when? Fifty years ago, a hundred years ago, or a
     thousand years ago? We adapt our ways to fit the times."
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Acknowledgments:
   I would like to thank Jari Oksanen of Tromsř University and John Blood
    of Sámi Association of North America for their
   help, opinions and references.
   
   References:
   Karl Nickul: Saamelaiset kansana ja kansalaisina, 1970
   Mikko Korhonen: Johdatus lapin kielen historiaan, 1981 ISBN
   951-717-248-6
   Bjřrn Aarseth: The Sámi Past and Present, Norsk Folkemuseum, Oslo 1993
   ISBN 82-90036-32-9
   Johan Turi: Kertomus saamelaisista, 1979 ISBN 951-0-08410-7 (based on
   Muittalus samid birra, 1910)
   SANA Sámi Association of North America
   ODIN  (Offentlig dokumentasjon og informasjon i Norge)
   

[ the sections above are available at the www-page
  http://www.lysator.liu.se/nordic/scn/faq23.html ]

   
   
  2.3.8 SANA - The Sámi Association of North America
  
   (from: Ruth M. Sylte)
   
   SANA was formed on 10 April 1994 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
   
   The purpose of SANA is to create a strong Sámi presence and an
   understanding of the Sámi people and Sámi culture in North America.
   Membership includes a subscription to the North American Sámi Journal,
   which will continue to function as the official organ of communication
   for the group.
   
   SANA encompasses both the United States and Canada. It has recently
   been given permanent observer status at the Sámi Governing Council.
   
   For more information, contact:
   
          Susan Gunness Myers, SANA USA
          10010 Monticello Lane North
          Maple Grove, MN 55369 USA
          E-mail: 
          Faith Fjeld, Editor
          BAIKI
          3548 14th Avenue South
          Minneapolis, MN 55407 USA
          
   
   
  2.3.9 The Sámi in Internet
  
   (I'd hate to say this, but... this chapter is still very much under
   construction...)
   
   Sámi links:
     * The Sámi "Parliament" of Sweden.
     * The Sámi of Norway by Elina Helander, ODIN.
     * The Sami in Finland by the Foreign Ministry of Finland.
     * An introduction to the Sami people a web-site associated to the
       magazine Samefolket.
     * The magazine Samefolket did a survey of www-sites, and delivered
       for instance murderous critics of this very site.
       

[ the sections above are available at the www-page
  http://www.lysator.liu.se/nordic/scn/faq239.html ]

   
   



------------------------------

Subject: 2.4 What do we know about Scandinavian mythology?

   Not very much, I'm afraid, and we're lucky to know even as much as we
   do. For example, most of the ancient poems about pagan deities
   (they're the most authentic source of Norse mythology) that survived
   to this date are from a certain book called Codex Regius, the only
   extant copy of which was rescued in half-rotten condition from an
   abandoned Icelandic barn in the 17th century.
   
   
   
  2.4.1 Short introduction to the sources
  
   Although the Vikings were, in theory, a literate people, the runic
   script was never used for anything more complicated than a few
   sentences, usually commemorating some person or event, e.g "Bjorn had
   these runes carved in the memory of Hofdi. He died in Särkland." The
   runestones and other archaeological material offer clues as to the
   nature of the Norse religion, and there are some accounts by Christian
   and Moslem contemporaries of the Vikings -- e.g the bishop of Hamburg,
   Adam von Bremen, and the Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan -- but the main
   sources of information are the Eddas, written down in Iceland in the
   early middle ages. The Poetic Edda is a collection of poems on
   mythological themes by anonymous poets; even more important is the
   Prose Edda written by the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson in about
   1220, which is a collection of old heathen myths in prose form. For
   more about sagas and Eddas, see section 5.5. The medieval Danish
   historian Saxo Grammaticus can also be mentioned, but he is less
   reliable and perhaps less interesting to read.
   
   The problem with those sources is that they were written down hundreds
   of years after the conversion of Scandinavians to Christianity, indeed
   some of the authors (e.g Saxo) were members of the Catholic clergy,
   and their work is to some extent influenced by Christian and classical
   ideas. Also, the picture given is no doubt biased towards the
   particular form of pagan religion practiced in Iceland; while the main
   deities Odin, Thor and Freyr seem to have been worshiped all over
   Scandinavia, there must have been a lot of local variation, local
   deities, differences in emphasis given to the main deities and their
   aspects, etc.
   
   Nevertheless, the stories of the Eddas have become a common cultural
   heritage of the Scandinavian countries, and at least a basic knowledge
   of it is a must for anybody interested in Scandinavian culture.
   
   The following summary of the main features of Scandinavian mythology
   is taken from the excellent book Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, by
   H.R.Ellis Davidson, 1964, pages 26-30, Penguin Books.
   
   
   
  2.4.2 The World Tree Yggdrasill
  
   This world had for its centre a great tree, a mighty ash called
   Yggdrasill. So huge was this tree that its branches stretched out over
   heaven and earth alike. Three roots supported the great trunk, and one
   passed into the realm of the Aesir, a second into that of the
   frost-giants, and a third into the realm of the dead. Beneath the root
   in giant-land was the spring of Mimir, whose waters contained wisdom
   and understanding. Odin had given one of his eyes to drink a single
   draught of that precious water.
   
   Below the tree in the kingdom of the Aesir was the sacred spring of
   fate, the Well of Urd. Here every day the gods assembled for their
   court of law, to settle disputes and discuss common problems. All came
   on horseback except Thor, who preferred to wade through the rivers
   that lay in his path, and they were led by Odin on the finest of all
   steeds, the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. The gods galloped over the
   bridge Bifrost, a rainbow bridge that glowed with fire. They alone
   might cross it, and the giants who longed to do so were held back.
   Near the spring of fate dwelt three maidens called the Norns, who
   ruled the destinies of men, and were called Fate (Urdr), Being
   (Verdandi), and Necessity (Skuld). They watered the tree each day with
   pure water and whitened it with clay from the spring, and in this way
   preserved its life, while the water fell down to earth as dew.
   
   The tree was continually threatened, even as it grew and flourished,
   by the living creatures that preyed upon it. On the topmost bough sat
   an eagle, with a hawk perched on its forehead: the same eagle,
   perhaps, of whom it is said that the flapping of its wings caused the
   winds in the world of men. At the root of the tree lay a great
   serpent, with many scores of lesser snakes, and these gnawed
   continually at Yggdrasill. The serpent was at war with the eagle, and
   a nimble squirrel ran up and down the tree, carrying insults from one
   to the other. Horned creatures, harts and goats, devoured the branches
   and tender shoots of the tree, leaping at it from every side.
   
   
   
  2.4.3 The Creation of the world
  
   The tree formed a link between the different worlds. We are never told
   of its beginning, but of the creation of the worlds of which it formed
   a centre there is much to tell. In the beginning there were two
   regions: Muspell in the south, full of brightness and fire; and a
   world of snow and ice in the north. Between them stretched the great
   emptiness of Ginnungagap. As the heat and the cold met in the midst of
   the expanse, a living creature appeared in the melting ice, called
   Ymir. He was a great giant, and from under his left arm grew the first
   man and woman, while from his two feet the family of frost-giants was
   begotten. Ymir fed upon the milk of a cow called Audhumla, who licked
   the salty ice-blocks and released another new being, a man called
   Buri. He had a son called Bor, and the sons of Bor were the three
   gods, Odin, Vili, and Ve. These three slew Ymir the ancient giant, and
   all the frost-giants save one, Bergelmir, were drowned in his surging
   blood. From Ymir's body they formed the world of men:
   
     ... from his blood the sea and the lakes, from his flesh the earth,
     and from his bones the mountains; from his teeth and jaws and such
     bones as were broken they formed the rocks and the pebbles.
     
   From Ymir's skull they made the dome of sky, placing a dwarf to
   support it at each of the four corners and to hold it high above the
   earth. This world of men was protected from the giants by a wall, made
   from the eyebrows of Ymir, and was called Midgard. The gods created
   inhabitants for it from two trees on the sea-shore, which became a man
   and a woman. They gave to them spirit and understanding, the power of
   movement, and the use of senses. They created also the dwarfs,
   creatures with strange names, who bred in the earth like maggots, and
   dwelt in hills and rocks. These were skilled craftsmen, and it was
   they who wrought the great treasures of the gods. The gods caused time
   to exist, sending Night and Day to drive round the heavens in chariots
   drawn by swift horses. Two fair children, a girl called Sun and a boy
   called Moon, were also set by them on paths across the sky. Sun and
   Moon had to drive fast because they were pursued by wolves, who meant
   to devour them. On the day when the greatest of the wolves succeeded
   in swallowing the Sun, the end of all things would be at hand.
   
   
   
  2.4.4 Asgard, the realm of the Gods
  
   Once heaven and earth were formed, it was time to set about the
   building of Asgard, the realm of the gods. Here there were many
   wonderful halls, in which the gods dwelt. Odin himself lived in
   Valaskjalf, a hall roofed with silver, where he could sit in his
   special seat and view all the worlds at once. He had another hall
   called Valhalla, the hall of the slain, where he offered hospitality
   to all those who fell in battle. Each night they feasted on pork that
   never gave out, and on mead which flowed instead of milk from the
   udders of the goat Heidrun, one of the creatures that fed upon
   Yggdrasill. Odin's guests spent the day in fighting, and all who fell
   in the combat were raised again in the evening to feast with the rest.
   Horns of mead were carried to them by the Valkyries, the maids of
   Odin, who had also to go down to the battlefields of earth and decide
   the course of war, summoning fallen warriors to Valhalla. Somewhere in
   Asgard there was a building with a roof of gold, called Gimli, to
   which it was said that righteous men went after death. There were
   other realms beyond Asgard, like Alfheim, where the fair elves lived,
   and as many as three heavens, stretching one beyond the other.
   
   
   
  2.4.5 The Gods
  
   As to the gods who dwelt in Asgard, Snorri twice gives their number as
   twelve, excluding Odin himself. Odin was the father and head of the
   Aesir; he was called All-Father, but had many other names, among them
   One-Eyed, God of the Hanged, God of Cargoes, and Father of Battle. He
   journeyed far and wide over the earth, and had two ravens to bring him
   tidings from afar. His eldest son was Thor, whose mother was Earth.
   Thor was immensely strong, and drove in a chariot drawn by goats. He
   possessed three great treasures: the hammer Mjollnir, which could slay
   giants and shatter rocks; a belt of power which doubled his strength;
   and iron gloves with which to grasp the terrible hammer.
   
   Another son of Odin was Balder, said to be the fairest of all and most
   deserving of praise; he was white of skin and bright-haired, and was
   both wise and merciful. The gods Njord and Freyr were also dwellers in
   Asgard, but were not of the race of the Aesir. Njord came of the
   Vanir, and was sent to Asgard as a hostage when the two races were at
   war, and Freyr was his son. Njord controlled the winds and the sea,
   helped in fishing and seafaring, and brought men wealth, while Freyr
   gave sunshine and rain and the gifts of peace and plenty. Freyr
   possessed the ship Skithblathnir, large enough to hold all the gods,
   but small enough when folded to lie in a pouch, and also a wonderful
   boar with golden bristles.
   
   Another god was Tyr, who could give victory in battle, and it was he
   who bound the monster Fenrir and was left as a result with only one
   hand. There was also Bragi, who was skilled in the use of words and in
   making poetry. We hear, too, of Heimdall, who was called the white
   god, and was said to be the son of nine maidens. His dwelling was
   beside the rainbow bridge, for he acted as the gods' warden, guarding
   heaven from the frost-giants. He could see for an immense distance,
   while his ears were sharp enough to catch the sound of grass growing
   on earth, and wool on sheep. He owned the Gjallarhorn, whose ringing
   blast could be heard through all the worlds.
   
   There was also among the gods Loki, the son of a giant, who was
   handsome to look upon but given to evil ways. He was a cunning
   schemer, who both helped and hindered the gods, and he gave birth to
   the wolf Fenrir, to the World Serpent, and to Hel, the ruler of the
   land of death. These were the chief of gods, and beside them were
   others of whom we know little: Ull, a famous archer and skier,
   Forseti, the son of Balder and a good law-giver, Hoder, a blind god,
   and Hoenir, who was sometimes the companion of Odin and Loki in their
   wanderings. The sons of the great gods, like Vali, Vidar, and Magni,
   had special parts to play, for they were to inherit the world of
   Asgard when the older generation had perished.
   
   
   
  2.4.6 The Goddesses
  
   There were also certain mighty goddesses. Frigg was the wife of Odin,
   and like him knew the future of gods and men. Freyja was Freyr's twin
   sister, and the most renowned of all the goddesses; she helped in
   affairs of love and had some power over the dead. She drove in a

Section 2 of 6 - Prev - Next
All sections - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

© allanswers.org | Terms of use