German Memory in Asia - Memories of the Old Europe

While we were passing a junction, the driver told, hesimilarities to other European and West-Asian pagan
wanted to visit a deity, because he had made a vowtraditions, such as Finnish paganism, Sami religion,
some time back and turned the vehicle towards aSlavic paganism, Baltic paganism, Roman paganism,
more isolated passage. Though he was Catholic byGreek paganism and Vedic religion. The principal gods
religion his faith in deity worship is not strange in Sriare known as Odin, Thor and Tyr.
Lanka.The surviving accounts indicate spectacular human
Ancient nature worship and Hindu traditions aresacrifices. A unique eye-witness account of Germanic
deeply rooted in the daily life of many people.human sacrifice survives in Ibn Fadlan's account of a
Steffani, a German Praktikum (Internship) studentRus ship burial, where a slave-girl had volunteered to
and Romy were watching intently what wasaccompany her master with his burial.
happening in that small temple of deity worship. ButThe Heimskringla tells of Swedish King Aun who
the deity and nature worship is not strange tosacrificed nine of his sons in an effort to prolong his
Europe. Before Christianity was introduced intolife until his subjects stopped him from killing his last
Europe, there were deities and also everywhere ason Egil. According to Adam of Bremen, the Swedish
variety of Pagan religious practices.kings sacrificed male slaves every ninth year during
Pagan practices were only abolished when the Paganthe Yule sacrifices at the Temple at Uppsala.
temples were demolished by the later emperors ofThe Swedes had the right not only to elect kings but
the Roman Empire and others in the Europe.also to depose them, and both King Domalde and
Germanic Pagan religion played its own part in ancientKing Olof Tratalja are said to have been sacrificed
Germany.after years of famine.
Germanic paganism refers to the religious practices ofOdin was associated with death by hanging, and a
the Germanic nations preceding Christianization. Thepossible practice of Odinic sacrifice by strangling has
well documented form of Germanic paganism is 10thsome archaeological support in the existence of
and 11th century Norse paganism. There are variousbodies perfectly preserved by the acid of the Jutland
references found in the ancient writings of Germanicpeat bogs in Denmark, into which they were cast
peoples and in Roman descriptions. The informationafter having been strangled.
can be supplemented with archaeological findings andAn example is Tollund Man. However, there were no
from the remnants of pre-Christian beliefs in laterwritten accounts that explicitly interpret the cause of
folklore.these strangling, which could obviously have other
Germanic paganism was a polytheistic religion withexplanations.