Significance of Burial Customs in Old Scandinavian Culture
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In the Scandinavian culture from the Bronze Age to the Viking Age, people of the old heathen beliefs performed various forms of burial customs; these include passage graves, cremation burials with or without cremation remains of the pyre, inhumations in pits with or without coffins or in wooden chambers and boat burials. But after the conversion to Christianity (from the end of the 10th century onward), these varying burial customs disappeared and got unified into inhumations in consecrated grounds (Pulsiano and Wolf; Graves). Old Norse literature and archeology unveils these forgotten rituals. Written sources, however, could not give a thorough picture of ancient concepts since most were recorded by Christians at least 200 years after the Christianization and were discovered in fragments. The interpretation of excavated Viking graves was also problematic due to religious ambivalence from pagandom to Christianity even though many of the archeological findings were from the Viking Age (Pulsiano and Wolf; Burial Mounds and Burial Practices). Nonetheless, the burial customs present the modern world with the important aspects of the perception of reverence for ancestors, life after death, and social structure in the old Scandinavian culture.
Scandinavians believed that there were innumerable spirits who had influence on their lives and so they had to ÐÐŽÐobehave properly, honour the gods and other supernatural beings and give them their dueÐЎб (Roesdahl 152). In order to maintain contacts with their ancestors and receive protections from them, people often located the graves nearby the villages (Roesdahl 157). Therefore, as they met their fates of death, the dead of the families were treated with great reverence. The erection of the massive structures of dolmen and passage graves or barrow burials, where the enormous work of remained family must had been necessary, confirmed the veneration the living held for the ancestors (Simek 48). Likewise, the funeral ÐЎЮfeastsÐÐŽÐЇ took place ÐÐŽÐowith a large company of menÐЎб and ÐÐŽÐowith the greatest honourÐЎб (Johnston 18).
This aspect of respect given to the dead established a close relation of fire with the burial customs. From the excavated burial places like Birka, many indications of cremation were found. Old Norse literature also proved the connection as it appeared very frequently. According to Ynglinga Saga, Odin, the All-father god, ordained the burial rites that ÐÐŽÐoall the dead were to be burned on a pyre together with their possessionsÐЎб (Sturluson, ÐÐŽÐoHeimskringlaÐЎб 11-12). Odin himself was burned after his death. It is said that human is a combination of body and soul, and as fire burns out the body, it purifies and frees the soul (Class discussion). By this procedure, the living are helping the dead to be liberated from the living world and go to Other World.
As a result of Roman and later Christian influence, the ritual meaning of fire was disregarded and inhumation began to spread out. Although cremation was the dominant burial custom with OdinÐÐŽÐЇs order, Freyr was buried in a burial mound at Uppsala secretly. When the Swedes knew of his death three years later, good harvests and peace still prevailed; so they did not cremate him, believing his existence brought about the fortune (Sturluson, ÐÐŽÐoHeimskringlaÐЎб 14). As inhumation burial became prevalent, Scandinavians considered physical remains to be deferential. So in Ynglinga Saga, King OttarÐÐŽÐЇs death is portrayed as dishonor; ÐÐŽÐothe Danes laid his corpse upon a hill to let the beasts and the birds devour it, and made a crow of wood and sent it to Sweden with the words that their King Ottar was of no more value than thatÐЎб (Sturluson, ÐÐŽÐoHeimskringlaÐЎб 31-32). The changes in burial customs continued, but great reverence expressed by the living to the dead remained constant in all forms, whether the bodies were burnt or not.
For the Norse, death meant the start of a new journey beyond life instead of the absolute end. They believed, according to the Norse mythology, all righteous men would go to Vingolf and wicked ones to Hel after their death (Sturluson, ÐÐŽÐoEddaÐЎб 9). For OdinÐÐŽÐЇs chosen warriors, it was thought that they went to his Val-hall, Hall of the slain, and FreyaÐÐŽÐЇs hall, Folkvang after their death (Roesdahl 156). Wherever the realm might be, the living prepared for the deadÐÐŽÐЇs afterlife journey; and this became a tradition.
The ritual conception of afterlife journey developed the boat burial. This form of burial custom prevailed from the 6th century to 10th century (Simek 40). There were three types of the boat burial custom. First was a burning ship which sailed out to sea with the dead person laid on board. In SnorriÐÐŽÐЇs Edda, BaldrÐÐŽÐЇs funeral rites were carried out by this type of boat burial. His death-ship Hringhorni contained BaldrÐÐŽÐЇs corpse and many other objects. Collapsed with grief and died, his wife Nanna was laid on the boat. A dwarf named Lit was also placed in the boat as a BaldrÐÐŽÐЇs follower because Thor kicked him into the pyre. Additionally, as a symbol of warrior, his horse was placed in the flaming ship along with a gold arm-ring called Draupnir that Odin gave (49-50). King HakiÐÐŽÐЇs death was also similarly celebrated. He was laid on the pyre, which included his slain men and weapons, on one of his galleys and the ship was sailed out to sea burning. In another example, in J. R. R. TolkienÐÐŽÐЇs The Lord of the Rings, even though Boromir was not cremated, he was laid in a boat that drifted out to a gigantic waterfall.
Second type of boat burial is a burial mound with ashes of burnt ship with the dead person buried on board. According to Gesta Danorum III, the King of Saxony, Gelder was ÐÐŽÐolaid on