SEIDHR AND SEIDHRWORKERS: Recovering shamanic practice in contemporary Heathenism
Jenny Blain
Pomegranate November 1, 1998 DOI: 10.1558/pome.v13i6.6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Describes the detailed practices and attire of a seeress performing seidhr rituals in a Greenland settlement, as recorded in the Saga of Eirik the Red. |
Abstract
The Saga of Eirik the Red describes the visit of a spákona, a seeress, to a Greenland farm, one thousand years ago. Her clothing and shoes, her staff and cloak, are detailed. She is asked to predict the progress of the community; she eats a meal of the hearts of the farm animals, and the next day a “high seat” is made ready for her, where she will sit to foretell. She engages in ritual practices known as seidhr, which requires a special song to be sung to “the powers” in order that she may gain their knowledge, in trance.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |