Stríðsdans

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Worshipers of the Storish Ancient Ways.

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Godsvara Thingeyris
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Stríðsdans

Post by Godsvara Thingeyris »

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A war dancing Vanakvinna feeling the power of Freyja stirring inside her.



Stríðsdans means war dance in the Storish language. It is a generic term for a form of group dance involving mock combat, usually performed as a ritual connected with the worship of the Goddess Freyja, in which individuals, men as well as women, sing and perform free-style martial movements.

To practitioners of the Storish Ancient Ways war dancing is part of their happy, open, and relaxed style of life in harmony with nature and the Lords and Ladies Divine, the Lady of the Vanir in particular.

Importance
War dance today is one of the most vital, vibrant and popular forms of Storish music and dance, especially in the parts of the Twenty-Six Jarldoms where the Storish Ancient Ways hold sway. Its importance may be measured by its wide-spread diffusion in the various parts of the Lands of the Longships Throne, its penetration into other music areas, its influence on celebrations, and its accelerated proliferation since the High Realm was formed.

Performance
Usually war dances have little or no formal routine or pattern; rather, the dancers move and leap spontaneously in various directions within the dance area. There is a tendency for the entire body of dancers to move en masse around the center of the dance area in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. In the Heartland the direction is usually counterclockwise, while the opposite is true in the other parts of the Lands of the Longships Throne. Some special songs dictate a contrary ruling to the normal direction of the dance.

Music
The dance is conducted to the driving beat of large drums and the captivating sounds of music of flutes, fiddles and trumpets, played by bands of merry musicians, both male and female. The tunes they play are fast-paced, pulsing in one's ears, getting under one's skin.

The music is infectious, powerful, passionate, and strong. It spirals through the air, throbbing deep into one's brain, deep into one's heart, deep into one's blood, bringing dreams of power and glory and victory, and evoking Divine Energy within and beyond the body, leading to unprecedented levels of ecstacy.

Songs
Many war dance songs are ancient beyond the memory of man and tell about the battles of ancient times, exploits of the Gods, those of the Lady of the Vanir in particular, and heroic deeds of warriors of old. However, there are also songs written in more recent times, many of them about the Days of the Old Tale.

Newer war dance songs usually are composed by individuals who are established as as singers or song-makers in the parts of the High Realm where the Storish Ancient Ways hold sway. Composers create the melody, vocables, and words in accordance with a desired tempo. Their inspiration is derived either from interactions with the Gods, or from other supernatural sources, such as dreams or vision quests, or through conscious creativity. In either case, he or she is in essence composing against a list of predetermined standards: scale, vocables, language, and form. Singers say they receive inspiration from such phenomena as one's lover's heartbeat, the whisper of the wind in the trees, or the conscious creation of a rhythmic pattern such as beating two swords together.

Places
War dances are performed, when the time of the year, the weather and the climate permit outdoors in Godsgroves, large gardens or dance squares; otherwise they are danced in community halls, temples or other indoor venues.

Wear and Weapons
Individuals taking part in the war dancing usually are either fully naked or are wearing token armour that serves as ornamentation. In some Traditional Districts it is customary for the dancers paint (part of) their bodies as well wear jewellery. The dancers also carry various ritual weapons such as swords, axes and daggers.
Her Holiness the Lady Oracle of Thingeyri
Priestess of the Thingeyri Temple
Priestess to the Vanic Temples Beyond-the-Seas in Shirekeep and Lindstrom City.
Storish Viking Answer Lady to Bastion

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