Helgi verður til: Bakgrunnur, tilurð og þróun helgiathafna og helgisiða Ásatrúarfélagsins

• Main Author: Terry Gunnell 1955-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Þjóðfræði; Þjóðarspegillinn 2015; Rannsóknir í félagsvísindum XVI; Eggert; Örn; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/23177

This paper (presented in Icelandic) will be largely based on interviews which were taken in 2014 with the last two allsherjagoðar (high priests) of the Ásatrúarfélag, Jörmundur Ingi Hansen, and Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, about the nature, background and performance aspects of the rituals and prayers that have been designed for the society’s annual rituals, for weddings and funerals, and not least as part of recent protests against large building projects in Iceland which are likely to have a long-term influence on the environment. The focus will be placed on the way rituals (which are not intended to be genuine recreations) came into being (including the use of ritual artefacts, costumes, setting and more); the degree to which change is possible; and the way in which “sacred time” is created for those involved (special consideration being given to the performance aspects of rituals). In addition to the interviews, I will be making use of the MA research of Eggert Sólberg Jónsson, and other scholars who have investigated the society.