Rituals and Practices
The main rituals of the Nordic people have been pieced together from archaeological evidence of their existence and expanded on through an understanding of the nature of their religion. Traditional Nordic worship took place in the open air and often involved violent and sacrificial practices by the Vikings, but there were no priests or sacred objects or texts. One of the most common rituals was the sacrificing of slave girls. This was a fairly widespread ritual, where Slaves were sacrificed at the funerals of their master. The purpose of this was so that the woman would become the handmaiden of the dead man in the afterlife (Kaldera, R, 2011, Prayers and rituals).
In the Norse religion, emphasis was placed on the rituals of burials so as a result, in a traditional chiefs funeral his body was placed in a boat with his possessions and the boat was set alight. Slave girls were sacrificed in rituals every nine years, and warriors often went through burial rituals with slave girls so that they were guaranteed a wife in the the afterlife (Kaldera, R, 2011, Prayers and rituals) These rituals were inspired by the stories of the Gods and their actions, for example the God Odin was said to have hanged himself in order to gain knowledge about death (Hartney, C, 2011).
In the Norse religion, emphasis was placed on the rituals of burials so as a result, in a traditional chiefs funeral his body was placed in a boat with his possessions and the boat was set alight. Slave girls were sacrificed in rituals every nine years, and warriors often went through burial rituals with slave girls so that they were guaranteed a wife in the the afterlife (Kaldera, R, 2011, Prayers and rituals) These rituals were inspired by the stories of the Gods and their actions, for example the God Odin was said to have hanged himself in order to gain knowledge about death (Hartney, C, 2011).