Ancestral Cult

"This religion encompasses both the cult of life and the cult of death. Its intricate system is aimed at the preservation, continuation, and well-being of life through the interaction and cooperation between the living and the deceased members of a kin"

For the first time in English, Emil Birkeli's classic study on the Norwegian ancestral religion provides a unique and vibrant exploration of how pre-Christian ideas and customs survived and flourished, living on through mysterious folk customs and traditions, some of which survive to this very day. Delve into the question of how the beliefs and practices of the Ancestral Cult, with its origins spanning the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Viking period, lived on through the ages, reimagining and disguising themselves within the daily life of the people, their true origin and meaning becoming lost to time. What is the significance of the Wild Hunt, a motif that reoccurs across Europe? What lies at the roots of many of the old Norwegian Christmas customs? How successful was the Christianization of Norway, and how deep did it penetrate into the spiritual life of the people?

Emil Birkeli puts forward an exciting explanation as to the nature of these obscure traditions and customs, namely that they were rooted in the religious ancestral worship which was practiced in Norway for thousands of years, and which would continue to be, unbeknownst to the practitioners themselves, practiced in camouflaged forms for centuries after the Christianization of Norway.