The Boar in Celtic Culture

You can watch the video about this subject in here: [The Boar in Celtic Culture]


There are many mythological accounts concerning boars in a variety of cultures throughout the world. Boar hunt, and all its process – from tracking the animal, chasing it and delivering the final blow at the end – as always been a very ritualistic activity, greatly linked to initiation rites, tests of manhood, strength and an exercise to prepare for war. 
Hercules chased and captured a ferocious and gigantic boar; the goddess Artemis sent a boar to Calydon to ravage, lay waste, create chaos in that region because Oeneus, the king of the city, forgot about the yearly sacrificial rituals to the gods; in Norse mythology we have Gullinbursti – the god Freyr’s mount - a boar; In Hindu mythology, the boar Varaha is the third of the ten avatars of Vishnu and under that form Vishnu defeated the demon Hiranyaksha. Well, it’s not my intention to give you a list of mythological accounts about the boar, I just want you to understand that this was an animal of great importance in many cultures, but let’s focus on the Celtic culture. 

Through archaeology we know our ancestors started the process of domesticating animals during the beginning of the Neolithic period. Of course they domesticated animals before this period, but the Neolithic marks a time when Man’s actions greatly changed the behaviour and the physical appearances of animals. Changes in the animals eating habits, changings in the habitats, inter-breading to enhance certain features of an animal – the earliest genetic changes – well, a variety of factors which contributed to change the physical appearances of animals. Boars were domesticated and we have transformed them into pigs, and for millions of years, in general to us there as always been this idea that boars were just wild pigs and pigs were domesticated wild pigs. So there was no great difference between the two. However, to the Celts, a pig was a pig and a boar was a completely different creature. In the Celtic languages there are different words for a pig and for a boar, I mean, the Celts didn’t just refer to boars as wild pigs. The Celts did not identify the two animals as being from the same species. For instance, he word for Boar in ancient Irish and Gaelic-Scottish is “torc”, in Welsh is “baedd gwyllt” and in Cornish “bath”, this shows us the singularity of the boar in the Celtic cultures.  

Both the bear and the boar were considered to be the most fearsome creatures of the forests in pre-Christian times and throughout the early middle ages. The Celts highly respected and admired the capacity the boar had to defend itself when the creature felt threatened. So the boar became a symbol of courage and bravery, and also ferocity in battle. To the Celts and also among the Anglo-Saxons, the boar assumes the zoomorphic figuration of the Ideal Warrior, which is why the figure of the boar appears in decorations of weapons and in the equipment of warriors, most prominent in helmets and shields.  

When the Celts went to war, one of the most characteristic objects they would take with them was the Carnyx, those long bronze trumpets, with an animal head from where the sound would come, and most of the heads were representations of a boar’s head, of course there were other 
animal representations such as serpents, but the boar was the most used representation for these wind instruments. The boar being an animal linked to courage, bravery and ferocity in battle, it’s really interesting to see this very creature represented in these objects emitting a battle chant from the depths - frightening. 

The boar is also associated with certain Celtic deities, such as Vitiris, a Celtic god who was worshipped in the British Isles, a very popular deity amongst young warriors and even roman warriors who adopted this god. And the god Mogons also associated with the boar and Moccus a deity from Gaul, worshipped by boar-hunters. The goddess Arduinna, also from Gaul, a goddess from a specific forest in ancient Gaul, and she is associated with hunt and the boar, she even rides a boar. And in ancient Lusitania, the cult of the god Endovélico involved sacrificing boars, and also pigs. So the boar was one of the main animals used in the cult of a variety of Celtic deities. And we have other spiritual/religious references to the boar, such as some of the warriors from ancient Celtic Scotland wore wild boar skins, or even a Celtic tribe from northern Britain, whose name was Orci which means “tribe of the boars”. And then a wondrous variety of statuettes and figurines of boars, and boars represented in coins. The boar was one of the most represented animals, second only to the horse. 

In conclusion, the boar is one of the most representative animals of the Celtic culture, as a symbol associated with war, but above all, courage and bravery, ferocity in battle, and in a variety of folktales and Celtic legends, even the ones about King Arthur, the boar is also associated with magic and the other world, in Celtic mythology, especially in Welsh mythology, the boar can speak with humans and the creature is able to lead people into the world of the spirits, linking the animal to initiation rites; rites of passage. 

The Viking Berserkers – Brave warriors or drug-addicted?

Nowadays we often use the word "Berserk" or "to go berserk" to label any person in a irrational state of mind, or a person who isn't able to control his/her actions because the rage is such, that the person enters a frenzy, lunatic state, a destructively person or frenetically violent. The word Berserker or Berserk, comes from the old Norse word "Berserkr", which means "a wild warrior or champion". These warriors wore hides of bears, which might explain the origin of the berserkr as a compound of "Bera" - Bear, and "Serkr" - shirt or coat. These were the fierce viking warriors who were known for battling in an incontrolable trance-like rage, and were alleged to be able to perform seemingly impossible super-human feats of strength, akin only to a wild beast.

In the medieval history and folklore, of both Norse and Germanic, the berserkers were described as members of an unruly warrior band/gang, whose main devine cult was the cult of Odin, the king of the Aesir tribe of gods. The berserkers were also commissioned to royal and noble courts as bodyguards and special elite troops, who would strike fear into all who encountered them.

It wasn't hard to struck fear into the hearts of the enemies, as the berserkers behaved like an animal, roaring, grunting and howling, entering in a state of uncontrollable rage. Most of them would leap towards the enemy, biting shields and gnawing upon the skin of their enemies. 

Dating back as far as the ninth century, the berserker Norse Warriors were said to be able to do things that normal humans could not. According to ancient legend, the berserkers were indestructible, and no weapon could break them from their trance.  They were described as being immune to fire and to the strike of a sword, continuing on their rampage despite injury.

Most anthropological and psychological studies indicate that the Berserkers simply worked themselves up into a self-induced hysteria before fighting, that was part of the cult to Odin, very violent. They would act like animals, abandoning their clothes and dress with animal pelts, an initiation process to leave behind the human condition and become an animal. Other researches indicate that the consumption of drugs or alcohol, or even mental illness, could be the key to understand their behaviour. Some botanists have claimed that berserker behaviour could have been caused by the ingestion of the plant known as bog myrtle, one of the main spices in Scandinavian alcoholic beverages.

Other more esoteric theories surround supernatural beliefs. For instance, some scholars have claimed that the Vikings believed in spirit possession and that berserkers were possessed by the animal spirits of wolves or bears. According to some theorists, berserkers learned to cultivate the ability to allow animal spirits to take over their body during a fight (an example of animal totemism) that also involved drinking the blood of the animal that they wished to be possessed by.
Speaking in a more esoteric term, there are some theories surrounded by supernatural beliefs.For instance, some scholars have claimed that the Vikings believed in spirit possession and that berserkers were possessed by the animal spirits of wolves or bears. According to some theorists, berserkers learned to cultivate the ability to allow animal spirits to take over their body during a fight, an ancient cult of animal totemism linked to shamanism, that also involved drinking the blood of the animal that they wished to be possessed by.

In 1015, Jarl Eiríkr Hákonarson of Norway outlawed berserkers. The Grágás, the medieval Icelandic law code, sentenced berserker warriors to outlawry. By the 12th century, organised berserker war-gangs had been completely disbanded.

The Powerful Bear in the Northern Tradition

As the other day i wrote about the Boar as a very powerful symbol in the old European Traditions, i wouldn't want to left another powerful animal behind, which is the Bear, strongly worshiped by both Europeans and the indigenous inhabitants of northern America and Alaska.
For many cultures, Bears were the kings and queens of beasts, the rulers of the wild, the animal on the top of the food chain, for animals such as lions or other fearsome large felines didn't exist in these areas, well in truth they did but it was so long ago and for a short period of time in the early human lives, that people gave more importance to the Bear, for that animal accompanied the lives of human beings for much longer The Bear was also considered to be the old, wise and wild brother of us humans, as Bears can stand upright like we do and walk if only for short periods. For this reason, the Bear was thought to be the mediator between us humans with the spirits, and there was much respect for this animal, caves were found, containing arranged Bear skulls, in honor to these creatures, as altars from the Paleolithic era, a cult to the Bear that dates from at least twenty thousand years ago (20.000).
Bears used to be all over Europe, from the far shores of the Mediterranean Iberian Peninsula, all the way up to the North of Scotland, to Scandinavia and the Eastern regions of Siberia, unfortunately nowadays we can only find these creatures in the cold north regions, and the tales about bears from the people living in those regions are many especially from the Finns, Saami and the Siberian tribes.
 
The bear wasn't just a sacred animal to these people, it was also the source of food, even to the Saami before they had learnt to have reindeer herds, but the respect for this animal wasn't less just because of that, as a matter of fact most animals that were sacred were also eaten and there was always respect for these creatures and there was always special rituals to hunt an animal, to honor the spirit, the life and to thank them for their purpose. In the case of hunting a bear, it was always done during the hibernation of the animal but it was always awakened first, because killing a bear during their sleep, was considered to be dishonorable for both the hunters and the bear, and cowardice for the hunters, after the successful killing of the animal, the hunter or the hunters had to pass through many rituals in order to be safe for the hunters to get in the village, so people could be saved from the spirit of whom the hunters had killed, to keep the spirit from having its revenge upon the tribe, or to keep the spirit of the Bear King or Queen from having its revenge for killing one of its children. During the time of the rituals, no one could look the hunters in the eyes nor talk to them, only the hunters could butcher and cook the body and no one else could come near it before it was ready to be eaten. Before the feast began, a speech of apology and thankfulness was given to the bear, and afterwards the bonés of the animal were buried in a sacred place. These king of acts are still very common amoung shamanic tribes that still exist today, the so called taboos among the shamans and their families, and everyone must respect that and the spirit of the animals in order to safeguard the families and have prosperity and happiness.

To the Norse people the Bear was also a very powerful symbol very much attached to their beliefs and their warrior cults. People believed in many gods but there was always a group of people, a cult, dedicated to just one specific god, and in the Norse culture the warriors dedicated to Odin were called Berserkers, whose name comes from the word Bersark which means literally bearskin, which they wore for magical purposes and to honor the strength of the bear and become like him, fierce, strong, ferocious, violent in battle. These warriors would enter in an altered state of mind and call upon the spirit of the bear, becoming a bear themselves so they would not feel any pain during the battle, in order to keep the fight longer, roaring, putting fear upon their enemies. There are many accounts of this, of these warriors taking the amanita muscaria mushrooms, to enter in trance, and go completely crazy, becoming beasts ( this is from where and why the English word Berserker, or to go Berserker, came from ) wearing bear skins and nothing else, and sometimes even totally naked while going to battle and use their own hands and teeths to kill the enemies and tear off their armour and break their shields.

Note: If you have any questions for me or if you want to see my artistic works, check out my Facebook page and make a Like if you can by following this link --> http://www.facebook.com/ArithHarger

The Boar - A sacred animal

The Boar was once considered a sacred animal, as well as his domestic descendant the Pig, not just in to the Norse/Germanic peoples, but to many other European peoples, such as the Celts, the Lusitanians ( which in fact in todays Portugal is still an animal much honored by the neo-pagans ), the Gauls and so on. The Boar is a very intelligent animal and was the sacred animal of the Gods from many pantheons, but speaking of the Norse/Germanic Deities, they hold this animal in a very high esteem, a noble animal renowned for his intelligence, fighting spirit and its delicious flesh. For example, the God Frey rode the golden boar called Gullinbursti and his sister, the goddess Freyja rode a similar mount called Hildisvini.

In many old pagan religions throughout Europe the boar was a symbol of courage and strength to the warrior class, and also the symbol of ultimate sacrifice, giving himself to death so others could eat and survive, the same way as a warrior gives himself to death to protect those he loves to protect his home, the sense of duty, but he doens't give himself so willingly, he will fight fearlessly, testing his enemies and take some of those with him. The Boars blood was often used to purify and sanctify temples and sacred places and even the body.

In other places and cultures, the Boar was the symbol of Death, not just the Boar but all the other animals from the swine family, for Boars and Pigs devoured the crops, livestock animals, children and some times even adult humans, the Boar is so strong so feared, that the devouring demons from many mythologies were seen with huge boar's tusks.

The Boar is an animal who likes to live in the deep forest, near swamps and pools, places seen by ancient folk as the very entrances to the Underworld, the border between civilization and the cosy places of the human communities, with the untamed wild, mystical, mysterious, the place of the Gods and the spirits and the Boar was its fearsome protector.

Note: If you have any questions for me or if you want to see my artistic works, check out my Facebook page and make a Like if you can by following this link --> http://www.facebook.com/ArithHarger