Fri, 28 Oct 2005

Some Thoughts on Heathen Funeral Rites

It has been my honor to serve as an officiant at several funerals. Heathen funeral rites can be remarkably different from the Christian rites, and the differences in our worldview and theology call for understanding and careful attention to detail. I'd like to share my experiences in crafting a Heathen funeral rite with others who may be called upon to serve the folk in this capacity.

At a Christian funeral the deeds of the dead are frequently not mentioned at all, or when they are, it's usually a very brief biography that summarizes dates and surviving family members. The rest of the homily is devoted to reassuring descriptions of the Christian afterlife, and to proselytizing those present so that they may share in this version of "eternal life". Here is a very basic difference in worldview: to a Heathen, the entire and complete purpose of memorial services are to remember the dead, and praise their worthy deeds. This builds remembrance, which is a core requirement for our version of "life everlasting":

Cattle die, kinsmen die,
one day you yourself will die;
but the words of praise will not perish
when a man wins fair fame.

Cattle die, kinsmen die,
one day you die yourself;
I know one thing that never dies -
the dead man's reputation.
Havamal 75-76

What I didn't realize until doing a bit of research for this article is that eulogies are specifically forbidden in Christian (Catholic) services - see this decree from the Archdiocese of Newark on the subject:

Eulogies, which extol the good qualities of the deceased or recall happy memories and past events whether delivered as a "homily" by the presider or a family member are never permitted in the funeral of a Christian.

This is the very core of a Heathen funeral: the goši acts more as a mere "master of ceremonies" in leading the family and friends to a true remembering of the departed than as a homilist or teacher. It is not our duty to "convert" the assembly: it is our entire duty to give all due honor to the dead.

Grave goods are traditionally placed with the deceased in a Heathen rite: I placed a carved horn with my father for his journey to the Otherworld, and my wife insured that a small amber heart travelled with her mom. I usually arrange for this placement before the actual services, but it could be woven into the fabric of the rite as the family deems proper.

Since our focus is on the deceased, rather than on divine entities, Heathen funerals tend to be much freer of form than Christian services. When planning for a funeral, it is good to remember that these are nearly always gatherings of people with difference religions: a greeting and statement of purpose from the goði is wise:

Family, Friends and Kindred - attend now to my words! We are joined together in memorial to honor our fallen kinsman and friend. Open your hearts and do not let this moment pass you by, for life is fleeting and we are here together now! Let our deeds this day be written among the heavens that we may never forget [name of deceased].

I follow this simple opening with a prayer: this is something the assembled folk can understand, regardless of their personal beliefs. I sometimes use the quotes from the Havamal 75-76 as above, but the opening lines from The Lay of Sigdrifa work well:

Let us pray:
Hail to the Day, Hail to the Sons of Day
Hail to Night and its Daughter!
Gaze on us gently, grant us sitting here
Your blessings in our battles.
Hail to the gods, hail to the goddesses
Hail to the all-giving earth!
Wisdom and lore, as long as we live
Grant us, and healing hands

At this point the goði should introduce the family member who has been chosen to deliver the first remembrance - as many eulogies may be offered by family and friends as the immediate family feels appropriate and necessary. Often a favorite tune of the deceased is played to close this portion of the service.

In closing a funeral service a prayer is more or less an expected formality. I adapted a chant from The 13th Warrior, which was allegedly taken from Ibn Fadlan's manuscript of the Rus funeral:

There is an ancient prayer among our people, uttered by those facing death. Let your hearts feel their warmth as we pray:

Lo! there do I see my fathers.
Lo! there do I see my mothers,
my sisters, and my brothers.
Lo! there do I see the line of my people,
back to the beginning.

They call to me.
They bid me to take my place amongst them,
in the halls of the gods,
where the Faithful and True may live on....forever.

Hail [name of deceased]! Godspeed on your journey - we wish you well until next we meet! The rite is ended - the folk go on!

This is obviously nothing more than a mere sketch of a ritual - it's up to the officiant to "fill in the blanks". One thing to keep in mind is the range of opinion in the Heathen community about the afterlife, from living on in the mound as a family guardian to going to Asgard (or Hel), to reincarnation. The services should be adapted to reflect the beliefs of the deceased and the family as much as possible.

The graveside is the venue where we serve the arval ("heir-ale"). This acts as a "committal", parallelling the Christian rite. The arval (in the case of a child's funeral I substitute spring water or whole milk) is drunk as a toast to the departed, first by the heir, if any, followed by other friends and family. The format is very similar to a sumbel, with the main difference being the object of all of the toasts and boasts is the life and deeds of the deceased. When serving as goði, I open by reciting Havamal 75-76, then filling the horn with the invocation:

I pour the arval for [name of deceased]! Let his deeds be remembered that his folk may gain from his strength!

If I have a female assistant (and I try to) I hand the horn to her, who offers it to the heir. The horn is filled and carried as needed until all have remembered the dead, and the dregs are poured as a libation close to the grave.

I have performed this "Heathen committal" following Christian funerals when the heirs of the deceased are Heathen, usually with little or no resistance from the family or assembly. It helps in such situations to limit the ritual to those who understand and respect the desires of the heirs - otherwise you can get a bunch of boneheads praising Jesus for taking the dead to his bosom... not exactly a good way to relieve a Heathen's grief.

Death is a part of life, and as we grow as a community we will be staring it in the face more and more frequently. Our path does offer consolation to the grieving, and a properly constructed and executed funeral rite can go a long way towards comforting those for whom death has indeed been made real.

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