We go outside with our host Lokarr, here standing in for ON man, and
his family. On the way out the door we are given skies, and are told
that we will be skiing to the local yule-meeting with our host, and
that at noon (at noni, long o, about 3PM) rises up the yule-frith,
and that it is Hokunott (technically the 11. of January in the north-
sea this year, my location). We arrived at an interesting time, and
note that the neighbour is named Ondurr (hooked-o, Ski - compare our
occupational name Skidi, long-i, skier). Passing the Kani (Sled, but
also likely *Sledi, dh, an unattested ON man's name) and the Vagn, we
see an Mondull (hooked-o), or rather two (axels), on the Wain, and
another one in the *Kvern, using for churning (probably an unnatested
women's name. On the way our host's brother, Hofi, and his family
join us, also skiing. We note that Lokarr's brother is named after ON
man's place of worship, also called many other things, amoungt the ve
(long e, neut.pl.), which we see as -ve in many women's names, and
which has a masc. -ir (from *-ver). We must be appraoching, as we
hear the Vei (long e) blowing a horn (like Gothic weiha, priest, and
matching our ON personal name Godi, and relating to Soni, soefari or
sacrificer, which reconstruct as a name *Vei). We pass the *Skeid(dh)
on the way to the door, a ship-setting of stones so named as it was
shaped like a spoon, skeid, and in which the ashes of Lokarr's
ancestors lie buried in ker's (small vases of clay or woven birch,
naefrker, but other materials possible), many of them cremated on
bear-skins, which is why Lokarr's distant descendant keep digging up
bear-claws mixed in his ashes. We figure the if men could be called
Knifr, the *Skeid would make sense for women. We ate our dagverdr
(morning-meal) with a spoon, because the only forkr (fork) at this
time was a large tool in Lokarr's barn, used for hey (I am not sure
when the board-fork was introduced, but if one of you knows, then
please mention it). Entering Lokarr's place of worship, we are seated
as the meat is cooked at the seydir. We are given white line-clothes
to wear, blotklaedi, and figure that *Lin (long i) must have been a
good women's name (compare also Hvit, Serkr, etc.). Finally, Gydingr,
the local priest, shows up and sprinkles some blood on our white
clothes, and a few words to say about how this is being done for
growth, and for year and frith. We note that many ON personal names
compound in -frithr. Gydingr's father, or ancestor's must have also
been priests, as his name means descendant, or relation of, a priest.
Before the drinks are passed over the fire, and before the food is
eaten, our locals exist the structure, as Gydingr reddens the walls
with his hlautteinn (comparable to the Catholic tool used to sprinkle
water, but make of bundled sticks). We recall that a man could be
named Kafli (a short stick, from whence the ON word for section, as
of a book), also Kvistr (about which more later, we we go out into
the wild). We follow our locals out, and Lokarr informs us to stand
outside while he and his family enter the godastuka, where images of
his gods stand, decked in gold and the fined clothes. Our eyes wander
into the room, where we see local laying on the floor, the one after
another, in front of a stalli. We notice that Gydingr's Bolli, bowl
(the thing we drank out of earlier), is standing on it now, beside a
Baugr (also Hringr, here stallahringr, a name we have seen). Lokarr
comes out, and we ask him out the Baugr. He tells us that his folk
swear oaths on it, and introduces us to a friend called Eidr(dh),
Oath, a fine fellow from the other side of the dale, who has a
brother called Dali (attested in runic Swedish, from the strong dalr,
dale or valley; more about these names later). We have a talk with
Dali about the purposes of this strange meeting, and about what the
folk wish to get out of it (next post). -Konrad