A Mystic Journey: Viking Days at Mystic Seaport Museum, Connecticut (Part Two)
Yesterday, I covered the heart of the Viking Days Event–The Vikings Begin Exhibition–but there were so many things to see and do at this event, that it was honestly difficult to decide which things to do! There were lectures, a Viking encampment (hosted by Draugar Vinlands), musical and theatrical performances, planetarium presentations on Viking navigation, and even opportunities to get to know some very handsome Fjord horses. Not only that: The Vikings Begin Exhibition wasn’t the only Viking-related exhibit presently on-view at the museum. They are also presently hosting the Vinland Map and the Draken Harald Harfagre (which I’ll be covering tomorrow).
Following our tour of the exhibition itself, we had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Dr. William Short, the manager of Hurstwic LLC, entitled “Viking Age Religious Beliefs and Practices”. Anyone who knows me will know there was no way I was missing that! When I first began my practice, I spent ridiculous amounts of time on the Hurstwic site, pouring over article after article after article, and it remains a go-to site for when I need a “jump-off point” for starting a research project. Dr. Short presents a very outside-the-box way of looking at Scandinavian History, in that he is never unwilling to admit when there are things that we simply don’t know yet. His lecture Saturday morning did not disappoint! It was, as one would expect at such a venue, basically an “intro” to the concept of the historical Norse faith. He made a point from the very beginning of the lecture to point out that this was solely what he would be addressing–that he would not be touching on its modern incarnations (i.e., Heathenry)–and that even at that, he would only be scratching the surface of things. But it was one heckuva scratch, and I feel that most of the people in attendance actually left that room knowing far more than they likely came in knowing. My favorite thing about his lecture was his emphasis on “we simply don’t know that yet”: as in, “here’s what we do know, here’s what we don’t know, and here’s what we might never know.” The truth is, archaeologists and anthropologists are still piecing together the past, and cognitive archaeology is a very new field. He placed emphasis on the fact that the written lore is wonderful, and that it definitely gives us a window into the past which most fields of historical (and religious) study simply do not have, but that it is not infallible, and that it does have its issues. To my abject glee, during the portion of his discussion pertaining to wights (yes, he even covered wights!), his slide presentation included a photograph of himself standing at the famous Alfholsvegur (Elf Hill Road) in Iceland, which I discuss in my own book. I gave him the one-sheet for that book, Norse Witch: Reclaiming the Heidhrinn Heart , on my way out of the lecture, coupled with a handshake and my voice of gratitude for all that he has done to serve the wider community of the Norse-curious, as well as the dedicated scholars, like myself.
Afterwards, it was on to the Viking encampment, hosted by Draugar Vinland. The encampment included people giving demonstrations on mead-making, weapon-craft, and shield-craft. There were also fabulous photo-ops, so of course I jumped at the chance!
On The Green near the encampment, there were also independent artisans, including Knotted Bone Leatherworks, peddling everything from leather goods to chain-maille to mead, so of course we went shopping! My Love procured a very nice birch candleholder and a chainmail necklace bearing a Fehu rune (to honor Freyja) on a piece of antler, and I scored an altar foci, consisting of a round of wood emblazoned with Aegishjalmur (the Helm of Awe). I also discovered a pair of new meaderies: Groenfell Meadery and Havoc Meadery, who share a facility in Vermont. I had a rather large can of Havoc’s Root of All Evil Ginger Mead, and I solemnly swear Loki would love this for blot! (As it turns out, so did Njordr, Freyja, Freyr, Aegir, Ran, and the Nine Waves; if it’s Aegir-approved, it’s gotta be good!)
We also spent some time talking with the very nice people from Angels on Horseback, who were the keepers of the fabulous Fjord Horses attending the event. One of the world’s oldest breeds of horse, all Fjords are dun in color, with five variations in shade recognized by the breed standard: brunblakk (brown dun), rodblakk (red dun), gra (grey–this is most likely the color Sleipnir, Odin’s horse, actually is; note: these horses are not actually grey, as in, they do not “grey out”; this is actually a slate grulla, or black dun, given in the description of Freyrfaxi in Hrafnkels saga Freyrsgodha as brunmoalottur: “mouse-grey”), ulsblakk (white dun; sometimes called a buckskin dun in other breeds), and gulblakk (yellow dun; often called buttermilk dun in other breeds, due to the creme gene).
By far, one of the highlights of our day was Songs of the Sagas, a musical performance by Lynn Noel, aka Gudrid the Wanderer (please make sure and also check out her website!). Ms. Noel is a Canadian-American native of Newton, MA who blends the knowledge from her degrees in Geography from Dartmouth College with anthropology, folklore, and ethnomusicology. She has performed at the Smithsonian, and is a former Dartmouth Research Fellow of the Institute of Arctic Studies. In other words: she knows her stuff and she has the pedigree to prove it! We were unable to attend her Gudrid the Wanderer Program, because it unfortunately occurred at the same time as Dr. Short’s morning lecture, so we leapt at the opportunity to attend her Songs of the Sagas performance, and she was kind enough to allow us to Facebook live-stream the whole thing!
So how did visiting this events shape my practice as a vitki, and/or my work as an author?
Our day was filled with people stopping to take our picture and ask us questions. Perhaps my favorite moment was when an employee of the museum stopped us, to take our photo for their Facebook page, and when I introduced myself, said “Oh, wow, you’re Connla Freyjason? Thank you for your passion for history!” Suzanne and I attended this event with our roles as ambassadors of the Heathen community very much at front-of-mind, and we truly worked to “carry the staff” for our community all day. I watched and listened proudly (and often) as my Beloved Suzanne gave complete strangers explanations of our Norse practice that they could actually take away with them and carry in their hearts. The woman who has too-often described herself as a “baby Norse witch” suddenly bloomed and came into her own. I have, until quite recently, had a very hard time seeing myself as a leader in this community, no matter how many times Freyja argues with me to the contrary. This day, however, cemented things for me in ways that I can’t really even fully explain or describe. A godhi, in the ancient world and the medieval world, was as much law-giver and statesman as priest, so I have had a really hard time with that word as a title. In our modern world, it has become a title associated with having the “proper paperwork” or having taken “the right classes”, and I have neither. Yet the more I work within our community, and the more I act as an ambassador outside our community, the more I realize that Freyja’s right: I am growing into more than just a “humble vitki”. She is, most often, right about a lot of things. For now, I remain a Norse Witch with a Heidhrinn Heart that is eager to blaze a trail for who we really are as Norse practitioners: loving people, who practice charity and hospitality for all who would, like us, promote Inclusive Heathenry.
I hope you will join me one last time on this journey tomorrow (Thursday, 6/21/2018), when I discuss our exploration of the modern Viking ship, the Draken Harald Harfagre.
