Norse Mythology, Folklore and Traditions of Scandinavian Sacred Trees
Swedish and Norwegian Traditions of Planting Sacred Trees
By Douglas Hulmes
Professor of Environmental Education
Prescott College
My mother would carefully place the tomte on the shelves of our living room book case every December about a week before Christmas, along with miniature goats made of straw, and sheaths of grain that she said were for the birds who were in search of food during the snowy months of winter. The tomte were the little people or elves of my Swedish ancestors’ culture, and they brought a sense of humor and delight to the darkening days of winter, as well as a reminder of how we must treat each other and nature with respect. If we didn’t care for nature’s creatures, the tomte might play nasty tricks on us. From these early childhood memories of my Scandinavian heritage, I developed an interest for learning more about the folklore and mythology of the Nordic people and their relationship to nature. As an environmental educator, I have come to appreciate the values of stories to teach lessons and draw analogies. This form of cultural wisdom, shared through stories, fables, and myths, forms the basis of awareness toward the good as well as the bad or dangerous aspects of nature. Academia refers to our “mythopoetic” connections to nature; the sources of wisdom that form a sense of moral and ethical relationship to the natural world as well as our relationships to one another. Much of this wisdom is rapidly being lost by the homogenizing process of modern American culture.
For a variety of reasons, many of our grandparents and great grand parents who came to this country as immigrants felt an obligation to refrain from speaking their mother tongues, and were also led to believe that folk beliefs and traditions had no relevance in their newly adopted homeland. Others left their homelands due to unfortunate circumstances and rejected these traditions as reminders of a dark past. Probably an even greater factor was the influence of religion and science that relegated these beliefs and traditions to the level of antiquated fairy tales. They were also found to be somehow contrary to the teachings of Christianity and the objectification of nature through science.
My initial introduction to the Swedish tomte eventually fueled a lifelong fascination with my Scandinavian heritage, including the history, mythology, folklore, and traditions that I felt was entirely missing from my formal education. The journey I have taken in recovering my cultural heritage eventually led me to a Norwegian word, friluftsliv, a concept that bridges the mythopoetic folklore of Scandinavia with a way of being with nature that invokes a sense of wonder, respect, and joy in being present and at home in nature. The direct translation of friluftsliv means “free air life”. My perspectives of friluftsliv are still developing, and my hope is that this essay will trigger an understanding and desire to explore its application to the American relationship to, and use of, nature.
A special tradition that is shared by many Scandinavians is the planting or the knowing of a special tree in Swedish called a vårdtrad, and Norwegian a tuntre; a sacred tree planted in the center of the yard on a family farm that reflects an intimacy with a place. The caring for the tree is a moral reminder of caring for the farm or place where one lives. One Norwegian told me that the tuntre provided a direct connection with the nature spirits that lived underground at his farm.
I am continuing my research in Norway and Sweden of this fascinating tradition. So far, I have not found direct evidence either written or in practice of this tradition being brought to America. I would like to hear from anyone who knows if this tradition was practiced by Scandinavian immigrants, and if not, perhaps it is time to revive the tradition here in America. The specific questions that I am researching are listed below.
Mythology, Folklore and Traditions of
Scandinavian Sacred Trees
Purpose: The purpose of my research is to investigate Norse mythology, folklore and traditions related to the Norwegian Tuntre, and Swedish Vårdträd.
Relevant questions:
1. What connections are there between Yggdrasil of Norse mythology and folklore/traditions related to tuntre and vårdträd?
2. What are similarities and differences between the Swedish and Norwegian traditions?
3. What is being done to preserve the trees and gather the stories and traditions related to these trees.
4. Do Norwegians have other words that describe other kinds of sacred trees as the Swedes have?
5. How did the church and Christianity influence the existence and attitudes towards these trees?
6. Did Scandinavian immigrants bring the tradition of planting these trees to America?
7. What evidence exists about these traditions in America? Written? Practices?
8. Are these traditions known about by the common person, or by scholars of Scandinavian traditions both in Scandinavia and America?
9. Do any of these traditions continue today?
10. How do these mythopoetic stories and traditions influence moral and ethical relationships to nature?
11. How do these traditions demonstrate a sense of the sacred in nature? Does our American culture have a tradition, folklore, or mythology that shows a sense of the Sacred in nature?
Thanks for you help,
Douglas Hulmes
Professor of Environmental Studies and Education
Prescott College
Yggdrasil: The World Tree of Norse Mythology
At the end of the World, the great Ash tree Yggdrasil dies...
According to Norse myths, the end of Asgard the world of the gods, and home to Odin, Thor, and Loki is brought about by the death of Yggdrasil, the great ash, tree of life and wisdom from which Odin hung upside down for 9 days and lost the sight of one of his eyes in exchange for the wisdom of the runes, and intuition of the goddesses or norns. The tree had been kept alive by these three women of fate (past, present, and future), Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, who cared for the tree giving it water from Mirmir’s Well of wisdom, and covered its wounds, inflicted by goats and deer, with white clay. Despite their care, the great tree dies from its roots, slowly strangled by the great serpent Nidhogg, whose body was entwined throughout the roots of the great tree, and who symbolizes the inevitable cycles of life , death and renewal.
The complete meaning and symbolism depicted in this saga called the Edda, which possibly means the mother will forever remain a mystery. As an oral tradition, the sagas and myths were handed down from one generation to the next throughout the 400 years that marked the Viking episode of the Nordic culture. It is likely the oldest mythical sagas originated earlier with the Scandinavian Bronze Age, which lasted for over a thousand years, from about 1600 to 450 B. C., and were further influenced by other Germanic tribes that moved into Scandinavia during the Migration Period caused in part by the disruption of the Roman Empire from about the 3rd to the 6th century A. D. (Davidson, p. 12, 1969). These tribes replaced or mingled with peoples who first inhabited Norway and Sweden 8 to 10 thousand years ago at the retreat of the last ice age. In the 13th century some of the great Sagas were written down by a Christian Icelander, Snori Sturluson (Crossley-Holland, p. xxv., 1980). Much speculation continues as to the influence Christianity may have had on his transcribing of the sagas, but through them we are given a window into the superstitions, beliefs, and symbolic wisdom held within these stories and provides a basis for understanding the significance of the planting of “tuntrer” in the center yard or “tun” of the farm, a tree to honor the original farmers and who’s care helps to insure the health of the farm, and a tradition that continues today in parts of Norway. In Sweden there is a similar tradition, and the tree was called a Vårdtrad, or guardian tree.
The ancient tribes and cultures that are the ancestors of contemporary cultures and civilization created myth to help explain the natural world and humans place in nature. It is interesting to note that a great many mythologies have a tree or column or mountain at the center of the world. “More specifically, the symbol of three cosmic regions connected by a tree that we find in Norse mythology also appear in Vedic Indian and Chinese mythologies”(Crossley-Holland, p. xxiv., 1980). Classical Greek mythology also described three women of fate in association with the tree of life. As civilizations evolved, human speculation of ourselves and the world around us gradually transcended into philosophy, religion, and science; each influencing the other as individuals of learning often considered all three together. It is unfortunate that most people educated today have little understanding of ancient history as it relates to the relationships and succession from myth to philosophy, religion, and science, not to mention an understanding of how humans impacted their environments, and how environments and ecology influenced history.
Svenska Vårdträd
Genom lindarnas valv glittrar sol, faller regn
ner till levnadens barn och gamla.
Vi skall söka vårt fäste i hem och hägn.
och till fridskap krafterna samla.
De allfarna vågar är fjärran i önskan,
vår lindalle för oss till säkrare mark.
Vid sjö strand och skogar, vid fältskördegronskan.
där bygger vi lindrotad trygghetsark
Through holey groves arch glittering sun, falls rain
for life young and old.
We shall seek our stronghold in home under
the cover of serenities powers together
The off the beaten track is our desire.
Our path lined with trees for us is certainly the land.
With seashore, and forests, with verdant harvest,
There we will build our “lindrotad” our ark of safety.
Gunnar Arnborg
The Old GuardianTree
When life’s struggle is heavy and severe. I remember, my home, farm yard’s peace and tranquility. My memories of the old trees’ beauty and care surround my old body and take me back to my childhood. I dash there and sumersault beneath the shade deep and cool, I rest out in the homes’ peace and listen to the trees talk.
Everything is so quiet. The wind blows through the old tree stirring the branches. It sighs gently, half in dream, I hear its whispering. And its speech be as a story of how generations struggled fought and suffered, and grew up under its protection, and lie there in the graves below.
Ivar A. Gånstam
Douglas Hulmes
220 Grove Ave.
Prescott, Arizona 86301
(W) dhulmes@prescott.edu (H) dhulmes@cableone.net
W(928) 350 2228 (H) (928) 778 4167