Dr Robert J. Wallis presents paper at 'Death Day' Conference, University of Winchester

02/06/2010

Dr Robert J. Wallis, Director of the MA in Art History and Associate Professor of Visual Culture, co-delivered a paper at the 'Death Day' Conference held at the University of Winchester on Saturday 15 May:

Death, Ancestors and Contesting the Past: from Oracular Seidr to the Reburial of Prehistoric Human Remains, in Today’s Paganisms, Robert J. Wallis and Jenny Blain

Extract from the Paper
Today’s pagans tend to approach their world holistically, as one in which everything is connected. Boundaries between humans and animals, culture and nature, the living and the dead, are often perceived as fluid, and many pagans engage in rituals which aim to honour and facilitate communication with the dead. The Heathen practice of oracular seidr, for instance, drawing on historical Norse accounts of ‘shamanistic’ practices, involves a seer/esses’ ritual descent to Hel in order to speak with ‘ancestors’. Such practices are viewed suspiciously by other pagans – who has the authority, skill or experience to speak with the dead, and how reliable are their accounts? Some pagans also take a serious interest in the physical human remains of ‘ancestors’. A current, fiercely debated issue, concerns respect for and the reburial of prehistoric human remains held in museum and university collections, or on display in exhibitions. For many pagans, excavation forces a disconnect between ancestors and land, and the storage of human remains in scientific conditions or their public display, is disrespectful. Equally, however, there are pagans (some of whom are archaeologists) who view the excavation, examination and archiving of human remains, which inform our knowledge about the past, as in itself respectful. In this paper we examine these two examples, the practice of oracular seidr and calls for the reburial of prehistoric human remains, drawing on our ongoing work (e.g. Blain 2002, Wallis 2003; Blain & Wallis 2007) on the diversity of pagan interests in death and the dead.

Blain, J. 2002. Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic: Ecstasy and Neo-shamanism in North European Paganism. London: Routledge.

Blain, J. and R.J. Wallis. 2007. Sacred Sites, Contested Rites/Rights: Contemporary Pagan Engagements with Archaeological Monuments. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press.

Wallis, R. J. 2003. Shamans / neo-Shamans: Ecstasy, Alternative Archaeologies and Contemporary Pagans. London: Routledge.

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