Fire, Water, Heaven and Earth : Ritual

Archaeological excavations of prehistoric Scandinavian graves and ritual sites often reveal seemingly enigmatic and contradictory features. Interpretation from a comparative Indo-European perspective allows a partly new approach to material which at first sight seems fragmentary and anonymous. The interpretations in this book proceed from cosmological beliefs occurring in various Indo-European traditions. The author discusses mortuary practices and votive customs in ancient Scandinavian tradition in a long-term perspective, with a comparative Indo-European approach.

Introduction	p. 7
Religion as a force in the creation of culture - a revived research field	p. 15
The significance of terminology for interpretation	p. 23
Analogies and phenomenology	p. 33
The Indo-European context - problems and possibilities	p. 37
The Vedic analogy - an introduction	p. 47
The source material and the ancient Scandinavian conceptual world	p. 55
Cosmology and ritual practice	p. 65
Grave monuments and sacrificial altars - kindred ritual implements	p. 75
The cremation ritual and the ideas behind it	p. 85
Traces of Scandinavian fire sacrifice	p. 99
Fire sacrifice rituals and the elements	p. 121
Death and grinding - the annihilation of the body	p. 135
Ritual dismemberment and deposition	p. 147
Everyday life and ritual- different expressions of the same cosmology	p. 163
Rock and stone as a medium and a cultic implement	p. 175
Aspects of the dead as mythical beings	p. 187
Conclusion	p. 195
References	p. 201
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Fire, Water, Heaven and Earth : Ritual Practice and Cosmology in Ancient Scandinavia: An Indo-European Perspective

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