Monday 11 August 2014

More Vikings!


Near the end of my Danish holiday, I visited a small harbour called Hundested where there was a sand sculpture festival. I have to say, the quality of craftsmanship (is that the right word?) and artistry was really high. There were a few Brit's in amongst the contributing artists, which made me proud :)

The theme of the festival was Vikings and Norse mythology, so following on from last week's blog, this was a great chance to have a refresher in the 'old religion'. And again it brought home to me the richness of those stories and some interesting similarities. In particular the creation story, which feels very familiar...

Ask & Embla are the first human couple. The story goes that Odin, Vile and Ve, while walking along the beach, found two trees. Of these, they created the first two humans. Odin gave them breath, Vile gave them sense and Ve gave speech, hearing and sight. They gave them clothes and names. The man was called Ask and the woman Embla. All humans originate from them. The culture is framed by the Midgard Serpent, which holds the world together by biting it's own tail.

Below are some more images from the festival.

Surt, the fire giant, who destroys the world during Ragnarok (apocalypse)

Freya, goddess of love, sexuality and fertility (amongst other, darker things), on a cloud of hearts

Three Valkyries, depicted as clouds, trying to capture a viking ship

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