Almost all Viking tribes have similar wedding ceremonies. As for the Ross tribe, in addition to those they share in common, they also have their own characteristics.
All thirty couples, before the wedding, had understood the simple vows that needed to be said during the ceremony.
They were asked by Villa to hold hands and kneel on the ground, take away their fur coats to keep out the cold, hold their heads high and look at Aurora in the sky in a rather thin and simple image.
The north wind blew up the mountain forest, making the tall pine trees rustle.
The oil lamps also trembled in the wind, and these newlyweds in simple clothes felt the biting cold.
According to Villa's explanation, the cold is also a test for Odin. A warrior who can enter Valhalla dares to swim in winter!
They held their heads high and devoutly told their vows to the Valkyrie of Tianyu.
Their voices were loud, as if the louder they were, the more courage they showed.
Peravina didn't understand why the Varangians had to come up with so many strange rituals, such as worshiping the gods of the woods, mountains and fields in their hometown, which was basically the job of the priests.
Only when welcoming the God of Spring and the God of Sowing, the people of the manor will wear flower crowns and perform rituals at the altar to pray for good weather.
Unlike tonight, Peravina felt that if she stayed dressed like this for a little longer, her whole body would freeze!
No! My hands and feet were already cold from the cold.
All the newlyweds shouted their oaths, and after the ceremony, the most important "sword gift ceremony" officially began.
Almost all the above oaths are for this moment.
Priest Vilia, who was leaning on crutches, ordered: "You all stand up. The Valkyrie has sent down the oracle. You can proceed to the next item."
It is believed that the most senior priests can communicate with the Valkyries.
The newlyweds and all the onlookers stood up, and all the torches were raised high.
"Boys! You have passed the adult ceremony, and now it is the wedding! Now, kneel on one knee in front of your new wife and hand the sword you inherited from your ancestors into her hand!"
Rurik, who had already stood up, ignored the pain in his legs and saw his cousin kneel down again.
The scene he saw now became quite familiar.
"It's really interesting. It would be interesting to kneel down and put a wedding ring on your wife, but they actually handed the sword to the wife."
Rurik continued to observe, he understood that there was something interesting here.
Peravina, who was standing, saw her husband's smiling face.
No one has ever knelt down to her in her life, only she has knelt down to other honorable people.
Have I become a noble person?
She didn't have time to think too much, she stretched out her hands and picked up her husband's heavy sword.
Verya looked around and saw that all the women were already carrying swords.
"Now, hold your swords high and show them to the Valkyrie!"
They obeyed and raised their swords, and Villa instantly read out the next oath.
One by one, they repeated what Vilia said.
"Odin, Brünnhilde, and the heroic spirits of Valhalla bear witness! I am a Russian woman and the wife of a warrior. I hold the sword of the warrior in my hand. I will give birth to a new warrior and I will personally hand over the sword to
In the hands of the next generation.”
The meaning is this, because they are all from Novgorod and are best at speaking Old Slavic, but they only understand part of the meaning of the entire Norse language oath.
We can't expect them to be able to speak the Norse retelling very well. To put it bluntly, their retelling is quite bad.
Vilia's wrinkled face hid her discomfort, but they had made their oaths and presented their swords to heaven.
She continued her order: "Now, stick the sword in the ground!"
"Woman! Take off your necklace and hang it around your husband's neck!
Man! Take off your necklace and hang it around your wife’s neck!”
If the wedding of the Ross tribe has any local characteristics, this exchange of necklaces is it.
In many tribes, the sword gift ceremony also includes the ceremony of a wife giving a dagger to her husband.
The Ross tribe deleted this item and replaced it with a necklace to show that "the lover's token is always with you."
The female residents of Novgorod have the habit of wearing necklaces. They all love natural beauty. The Ross tribe especially likes amber and shell necklaces, and Novgorod women like turquoise.
Turquoise is not a very valuable gemstone, and its texture is not very hard. What makes it better is that it has a brighter color.
Priest Vilia always recited that the so-called husband's gift is from now on the wife's wealth, and vice versa.
Peravina was so excited that she had forgotten the cold!
She knew very well the value of the heavy amber that was polished into smooth balls around her neck.
To be honest, compared to the betrothal gift given by the tribal leader to his biological parents, which was only four pieces of unpolished amber, the new necklace he got actually cost ten pieces!
Through this gift, Peravina fully trusted her husband's trust and love for her. Similarly, because of this string of amber, she also felt that her status had made a huge leap.
In fact, for Arik, wearing his wife's necklace around his neck, his inner excitement cannot be described in words.
Giving each other a necklace is a token of exchange, just for both parties to remember each other.
Next is the equally important and final project - drinking a glass of wine.
Fine wine, any nation that can make wine needs to prepare hard and wait for this delicious food for a long time.
It is always the flavoring of various lively occasions, and it is perfect for important events such as weddings.
Quite a few ethnic groups have the tradition of drinking wine from each other, and so do the Russians.
They fermented the purchased wheat into lees, and added some dried flower petals to increase the aroma. Finally, the low-alcohol turbid original beer was poured into wooden cups, and then mixed with a little precious honey to complete the mead that the Ross tribe loved.
.
Arik, Peravina, and even the newcomers, encouraged by all the onlookers, all took out their wine glasses. The newcomers looked at each other and drank the wine in one gulp.
At this point, there are no complicated projects, only people's carnival.
Aurora is still shining in the sky. In Roseburg in the fjord, people forget their sleepiness. Taking advantage of the festive mood tonight, each small family does not hesitate to take out their own wine barrels and drink happily.
Originally, a considerable amount of wine was meant to be consumed during the days of total darkness, that is, the short period of pure polar night that Roseburg would encounter, so that it could be enjoyed at that time.
Because it’s Hanukkah for the Ross tribe!
I'm afraid today's event is more important to them than Hanukkah, and they need more wine and barbecue sprinkled with sea salt to enhance their joy.
Ordinary residents know basically nothing about the calendar. Only the priest Vilia has relevant knowledge. The most important thing is that she understands the Jesus calendar, which is practiced by those in the south of the Danish-controlled area and people in more distant countries.
A method of counting years. In fact, this calendar was later the Gregorian calendar, the Gregorian calendar of the world.
It was the birthday of another group of people, the birthday of their god's apostle, and this was the beginning of everything. Vilia was very knowledgeable about current affairs. The priest group knew the people in the far south, and their calendar could also be applied to the Rus tribe in the far north.
Use good things as they come naturally.
Before the Ross tribe moved to Fort Ross, the ancient priests had encountered the Roman black-robed people who worked tirelessly to spread their faith in the north. The Ross tribe still believes in Odin until now. They did not cause trouble to the black-robed people, but instead used trade to gain access to the Roman people.
Obtain certain knowledge from the man in black robe.
For example, those men in black robes came up with a chronological system that was even accurate to every day. The group of priests who knew its importance immediately learned it. Later, in the eyes of the ordinary people of the tribe, the priests simply "obtained the Val"
"Knowledge of Hara" because they can always accurately predict climate changes.
The most important thing is that the priests predict the time of Hanukkah extremely accurately, and they have never been wrong for decades!
Late at night on today's wedding day, when the moon left the middle of the sky, it was already November 7, 828.