Scandinavian Folklore: Mara.👻

The Mara is a female spirit like being from Scandinavian mythology.

One of the earliest mention and possibly the original origins of the tale comes from the Norse Ynglinga saga, a 13th century saga written by Snorri Sturlson, an Icelandic poet. 

In the saga King Vanlandi Sveigoisson of Uppsala is killed by a mara which is conjured by the Finnish sorceress Huld, hired by the king’s abandoned wife.

.....

–Ynglinga Saga, Verse 16..

“Driva bribed the witch-

wife Huld, either that she should bewitch Vanlande to return to

Finland, or kill him. When this witch-work was going on Vanlande

was at Upsal, and a great desire came over him to go to Finland;

but his friends and counsellors advised him against it, and said

the witchcraft of the Finn people showed itself in this desire of

his to go there. He then became very drowsy, and laid himself

down to sleep; but when he had slept but a little while he cried

out, saying that the Mara was treading upon him. His men

hastened to him to help him; but when they took hold of his head

she trod on his legs, and when they laid hold of his legs she

pressed upon his head; and it was his death. The Swedes took his

body and burnt it at a river called Skytaa, where a standing

stone was raised over him.”

....         

....... .

........

In Polish folklore the mara is described as a soul of a living person who leaves their body at night (astral projection) and are seen by others in the form of wisps of hair or moths. 

In Czech lore there are stories  of a “night-butterfly,” also thought to be linked to the mara legend. 

In Russian folklore she's  invisible but with the ability to also take the form of a woman with long hair. Other mentions of mara in Slavic folklore include descriptions of the her as a succubus-like creature that invades men’s dreams and lead them to their doom (Croatia) and as a spirit who enters through the keyhole and strangles you while you sleep (Serbia). 

In Turkey, the mara is called the Karabasan which translates to “ominous-presser.”

,.....

In the  Icelandic Vatnsdæla saga as a spirit connected to the fate of the person it is attached to and in the Eyrbyggja saga (also Icelandic in origin) where the sorceress Geirrid is said to assume the shape of a marlíðendr or “night-rider.”

In Germany there are records of charms and prayers to ward off the mara, such as the below:

Here I am lying down to sleep;

No night-mare shall plague me

until they have swum through all the waters

that flow upon the earth,

and counted all stars

that appear in the skies.

Thus help me God Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen!..

,..... . 

The legend of the mara is also connected to the legend of the old had or night hag, a story used in many cultures to explain sleep paralysis. 

The first definition of sleep paralysis appears in Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary under the term “nightmare”:

Nightmare n.s. [night, and according to Temple, mara, a spirit that in the heathen mythology, was related to torment to suffocate sleepers.] A morbid oppression in the night, resembling the pressure of weight upon the chest.

                        Old Hag, Night Hag.

.....

......

Other versions from around the world.

.. 

In Japan it is referred to as kanashibari, which translates as “to bind” or “to tie.”

In Mongolia sleep paralysis is called khar darakh, which translates to “to be pressed by the Black.” 

Thai belief describes sleep paralysis as being caused by a ghost called Phi Am.

Newfoundland and parts of the southern United States where the hag leaves her body and sits on the chest of the victim.

In Arab cultures it is referred to as Ja-thoom which means “what sits heavily on something.” It is believed sleep paralysis can be prevented by reading the Throne verse of the Quran.

......

The origins of the name comes from the Nordic word for nightmare (the Norwegian word for nightmare is mareitt, the Icelandic name is martroo, and the Swedish word  is mardrom). Mareitt and martroo roughly translate as “mare-ride”, referencing the original use of the term, while mardrom translates as “mare-dream.” 

...

🎃 Happy Halloween  👻

Norse God of Winter🌨️❄️

 

             ❄️Ullr❄️

Ullr, the Viking God of Winter 

He is the son of the grain goddess Sif, and the stepson of the thunder god Thor.

In chapter 31 of Gylfaginning in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, Ullr is referred to as a son of Sif (with a father unrecorded in surviving sources. 

He's a highly skilled  archer, hunter, skater, and skier.

Ullr - pronounced “ULL-er,” often Anglicized as “Ull,” and sometimes “Ullinn”)

In Grímnismál, it says his home is called Ýdalir, “Yew Dales.”

 He lives at his hall Ydalir, which translates to Yew Dales: yew wood was the material of choice for making bows in ancient Scandinavia. 

Ullr was also known as the god of oaths and combat. It's said that all oaths were taken on Ullr’s ring, which would shrink down to sever your finger should you break your oath.

In some versions of the myths his wife is the giantess Skadi....(in other stories, skadi is the wife of Njord The Sae God.)

 He was the ruler of Asgard when Odin was away for ten years.

There are several locations in Scandinavia  named after him. 

A few of the city's ...

Ullevål,

 Ullevi, 

Ullared, 

Ullensaker 

And Ullensvang..

Because of his status as a winter god, many worshippers would pray to Ullr before travel in the harsh northern winter.

Within the winter skiing community of Europe, Ullr is considered the Guardian Patron Saint of Skiers (German Schutzpatron der Skifahrer).

 An Ullr medallion or ski medal depicting the god on skis holding a bow and arrow, is widely worn as a talisman by both recreational and professional skiers as well as ski patrols in Europe and elsewhere.

Ever since 1963 the town of Breckenridge, Colorado has held a week-long "Ullr Fest" each January, featuring events designed to win his favor in an effort to bring snow to the historic ski town.

Ullr is also a playable character in the video game Smite.

.......

Can't believe its already December, time flys I guess, bundle up and enjoy the snow .

❄️☃️🎿⛷️

Nordic Skraeling, Tiny people of the north pole

                                        The Skraeling

 

 The first written accounts of Arctic elves come from Viking Sagas- texts written by medieval Norsemen in ancient Nordic and Germanic history. 

Among the most famous of these is the saga of Erik the Red.

Erik the Red, a  Norse farmer who lived in Iceland in the late 10^th Century. 

In 982 A.D., he was banished from Iceland for committing a murder. 

Accompanied by a handful of  friends and relatives, he left his home and headed out to sea, bound for a mysterious land to the west which had been spotted by Icelandic sailors blown off course.

Erik the Red and his crew spent three years exploring this new land, and discovered that it had areas which were suitable for farming. 

In 985, he returned to Iceland and told  tales of what he dubbed “Groenland”, or “Greenland”. Having convinced a number of Norsemen to help him settle this new territory, Erik the Red returned to Greenland that year and established a colony there.

In 999 A.D., one of Erik the Red’s sons, called Leif Eriksson, traveled to Norway, his father’s birthplace, where he converted from Norse paganism to Christianity. 

 

Determined to bring the Christian religion to Greenland, he headed out into the North Atlantic. During his voyage, he was blown off course, and landed on a strange shore where wild grapes grew in abundance. 

He called this New World “Vinland”, or “Wineland”, and later returned there to establish a colony of his own. Some historians believe that Leif Eriksson’s Vinlandic colony was what we know today as L’Anse aux Meadows, a cluster of Viking ruins discovered on the northern tip of Newfoundland.

 

 

Icelanders  told of Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson’s adventure in New World.

 

This collection of story's would later become the Icelandic Sagas.

Many of the Sagas mention the Norsemen's  encounter with small humans in the New World, in both Vinland and Greenland. 

 

The Vikings called these people “Skraeling”. According to the 13^th Century Saga of Erik the Red, the Skraeling “were short in height with threatening features and tangled hair on their heads. Their eyes were large and their cheeks broad.”

Many historians believe that the Skraeling were the Thule people, the ancestors of the modern Inuit. , Inuit folklore even contains some references to bearded, sword-wielding giants called “Kavdlunait”, believed by many to be Viking explorers. 

Others claim that the Skraeling were the ancient Dorset people, whom the Inuit eventually displaced.

Though some maintain that the Sagas’ references to Skraeling constitute the first written records describing a lost tribe of Arctic dwarfs, remnants of which, some say, still inhabit the Northland to this very day.(see captain foxes discovery in previous post)

..............................

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

next weeks post will be the last one for 2021...

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

.......

 So what do you think, is it possible there is still a hidden race of small people living the arctic to this day?

Norwegian Christmas poem, Julaften.

 HAPPY  DECEMBER FIRST :)

 

 

Julaften.

By

Norwegian poet Sigbjørn Obstfelder 1866- 1900

Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve with candles in the windows,
Decorated trees in the halls,
Carols coming from the doorways!

I walked alone in the streets
and listened to the carols.
I sat down on the steps
and thought of my dead mother.

I walked out in the fields —
out — amongst the stars.
My shadow crept over the shadows
of skeleton armed trees.

I found a corpse between the glints of snow,
the snow candles,
a corpse, still living,
a poor frostbitten starling.

And I went home to my attic
and put the candle in my bottle.

I put the candle in my bottle
and put the Bible on the bed.

I kneeled down by my bed
and blew the dust off my Bible.

I folded my hand on the Bible
and cried....

,.............

In Norwegian

Julaften!
Julaften med julelys i vinduene,
bugnende juletrær i de store salene,
Julesang ut gjennom døren sprekker!

Jeg vandret alene i gatene
og lyttet til barnesangene.
Jeg satte meg på trappene
og tenkte på min døde mor.

                    *

Og jeg gikk ut på markene -
ute - blant stjernene.
Skyggen min gled over skyggene
av døde trær.

Jeg fant et lik mellom snøfnuggene,
snølysene,
et lik som fortsatt skjelver,
en dårlig frostdød spurv.

                    *

Og jeg gikk hjem til loftet mitt
og legg lyset i flasken min.

Jeg la lyset i flasken
og legg bibelen på kisten min.

Jeg knelte ned ved kisten min
og blåste støvet av bibelen min.

Jeg brettet hendene mine over bibelen min
og gråt.