What are Wights in Norse mythology?
What are Wights in Norse mythology?
In Norse mythology the Wight, also known as Draugr, was a reanimated corpse that guarded the treasures it was buried with. They usually came to existence when a mean or unpleasant person was not buried in the proper way.
What are land spirits in Norse mythology?
Landvættir (nature spirits) are chthonic guardians of specific grounds, such as wild places or farms. When Vikings approached land, they reportedly removed their carved dragon heads from the bows of their longships so as not to frighten and thus provoke the landvættir to attack and thereby incur bad luck from them.
What is land spirit?
Land spirits (Old Norse landvættir) are, as the name implies, the spirits who dwell within particular places or features of the land. They wield considerable influence over the well-being of the land and all who depend on it.
What is a house wight?
Honoring a house/land wight can be as simple as leaving a small liquid or food offering out on a regular basis, set on a windowsill or shelf, or, perhaps more effectively (if one is able), poured or buried into the property’s actual land. …
How would you describe a wight?
: a living being : creature especially : a human being.
How many guardian spirits of land are there?
The four landvættir are traditionally regarded as the protectors of the four quarters of Iceland: the dragon (Dreki) in the east, the eagle (Gammur) in the north, the bull (Griðungur) in the west, and the giant (Bergrisi) in the south.
What did Vikings call shapeshifters?
In fact, hamr is the most crucial word in the Old Norse lexicon of shapeshifting. The Old Norse phrase that denotes the process of shapeshifting is skipta hömum, “changing hamr,” and the quality of being able to perform this feat is called hamramr, “of strong hamr.”
How many Aesir are there?
The names of the first three Æsir in Norse mythology, Vili, Vé and Odin all refer to spiritual or mental state, vili to conscious will or desire, vé to the sacred or numinous and óðr to the manic or ecstatic.
How do you honor the land Wight?
Honoring a house/land wight can be as simple as leaving a small liquid or food offering out on a regular basis, set on a windowsill or shelf, or, perhaps more effectively (if one is able), poured or buried into the property’s actual land.
What is a wight?
These wights are seen as beings that live in and bless a particular location; this can be a field or simply a rock. Most Heathens have by now heard the story of the airport whose construction was delayed to allow landvaettir to move out of a boulder sitting in the new airfield; many Icelandic people still hold a reverence for these wights.
What is the importance of land?
For many people, land is a source of livelihood, and is central to economic rights. Land is also often linked to peoples’ identities, and so is tied to social and cultural rights.
What is the right to land?
Land rights, particularly in the context of developing countries, are inextricably linked with the right to food, the right to work and a host of other human rights. In many instances, the right to land is bound up with a community’s identity, its livelihood and thus its very sur vival.
What do the current land ownership and land development patterns reflect?
The current land ownership and land development patterns strongly reflect the political and economic conditions of the apartheid era.