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Thanks Mel! Have you read Tom Dubois 'Nordic Religions in the Viking Age'. He is looking at considerable cross-overs between Sámi noiadi practices and seidr (and contrasting this with the coming of christianity which tried to differentiate itself from older understandings and practices). And what I've pointed to is the similarity of worldview and animistic ideas within the cultures, hence an ease of practices blending. One thing is to focus on the singing, which is central to both. There have also been speculations about some of the 'shield poems', that the 'shield' hanging on people's walls, and showing mythological scenes, were rather painted skins similar to Sámi drums with upper, middle and lower worlds and various beings on them. Neil Price also has done work on 'shamanisms' in both cultures, from an archaeological viewpoint. Also, some Sámi legends have apparently focused on great women noiade of the past.. Lots there to look at, I think. Be warned that some people within Heathenry - more in the US than here, I think - get awfully upset and start shouting if it's speculated that seidr was/is shamanic! Look forward to talking more.. Jenny >Hello Jenny >I really enjoyed your Nine Worlds of Seidr Magic. Seidr is an old >interest of mine, and I'm delighted your book has come out to >hopefully reinvigorate the subject. >I have actually just completed a research seminar on 'shamanism'. >Using a symbolic interactionist approach (I know, a little >unfashionable these days but seemed applicable) the basic idea was >to reinvoke Stromback and, focusing on prophecy and divination in >the two societies, argue for a Saami influence on Norse seidr. A bit >of a stretch to be honest, especially as there is little evidence >for drum work in seidr accounts - and of course much drumming in >Saami noaidit practices. Still, you know the similarities too, and I >took a line that was inspired by Backman and Hultkrantz that the >ecstatic rather than drumming component of Saami divination >corellated somewhat with seidr. >What I did find that I thought was interesting was that the big >difference usually assumed between the two societies, i.e. the >marginalisation of women in Saami 'shamanism', was not necesarily >the case, with both Lundmark and Skanke providing evidence of female >noaidie workers (and not just as chantresses at shamanic rituals). >How representative this was of course is open to debate, and three >or four accounts don't offer much in terms of recentering Saami >women as noaidie practitioners, but it was enought to suggest the >androcentricity of Saami 'shamanism' may not be the whole story. >Anyway, it was wonderful to have been able to explore this subject, >albeit in a cursory fashion, and I am very eager to hear of any >developments in the area. >All the best >Mel > -- Dr J. Blain [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] Programme Leader, MA Social Science Research Methods Applied Social Science, Faculty of Development and Society, Sheffield Hallam University Collegiate Crescent Campus, Sheffield, UK S10 2BP 0114 225 4413 07919 556371 http://www.sacredsites.org.uk home address: 18 Lemont Road, Sheffield S17 4HA 0114 262 1342 07919 556371