In our blogs about the Yamnaya nomads and those of the Bronze Age warrior, we delve into how the Proto-Indo-European steppe peoples migrated to Europe, thus shaping our Bronze Age and permanently altering our European DNA. In this blog, we focus on how they practiced their religion, which would eventually evolve into the Greek, Celtic, Slavic, and Germanic religions.
Bronze age religion
From the Indo-European religion stem the European pagan religions such as those of the Romans, Greeks, Slavs, Germanic peoples, Vikings, and Celts. From the Indo-European migration towards Asia also come the Persian, Buddhist, and Hindu religions, among others. Hence, the many similarities.
When examining European paganism of the late Bronze Age, we base ourselves on a hypothetical religion reconstructed from later subsequent religions.
Indo-European culture is presumed to have had a polytheistic religion, in which various gods were worshipped. There are many common elements in the mythology and religious beliefs of the Indo-European peoples, such as the worship of the sky god and the sun, as well as the emphasis on rituals and sacrifices. In the Indo-European religion, the World Tree and the many gods were central. The main gods are broadly comparable among the different Indo-European peoples. For example, the god Odin and Zeus, Freya and Aphrodite. For more information on the Indo-European religion, see: https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/blogs/info/indo-european-gods-culture-society/
Nature religion
European paganism is not a nature religion. By nature religion, we understand that natural elements are seen as gods or that the forces of nature themselves are worshipped. However, nature did play an important role in European paganism. Trees are revered as representations of the World Tree. Rivers and lakes are worshipped because, like burial mounds, they are places where the different 'worlds' (or layers of the World Tree) come close together. Some animals are revered for their unique characteristics, such as the boar (for its strength), the wolf (for its cunning and deadly power), and the bear (for its strength). Furthermore, the seasons' equinoxes are worshipped, with the Gallic Coligny calendar showing that the transition to the dead of winter and the fertile summer and midsummer are the most important. Additionally, the Greek goddess Artemis possibly provides an insight into the Indo-European view of nature. She is an untouchable virgin goddess who must be treated with great respect, or else her reaction is destructive. However, there is a theory that the goddess Artemis, like possibly the Celtic god Cernunnos, dates back to a time before the first farmers. However, in Greek mythology, Artemis and Apollo are the divine twins comparable to the Welsh goddess Arianrhod. Although after 600 BCE more land was cultivated and hunting became a hobby of the elite, Artemis was not forgotten.
In the city of Ephesus in present-day Turkey stood the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The temple was famous for its statue of Artemis, which was made of gold and ebony. Artemis was one of the most revered ancient Greek gods. Her worship spread throughout ancient Greece, with her numerous temples, altars, sanctuaries, and local cults found everywhere in the ancient world. The deer was sacred to Artemis, just as it was to the Celtic stag god Cernunnos.
Priest or Shaman?
It is important to decide whether our Bronze Age priest is a priest or a shaman. Shaman is a loanword adopted in the 17th century from Russian and has been indiscriminately used by Western colonizers for all indigenous priests they encountered. While indigenous tribes in many regions never refer to their priestly class as shamans nor use an attested term. At the same time, the modern concept of what we call shamanic mainly focuses on (nature) religions where the premise is that there are (spiritual) forces everywhere and that these can be revered and invoked. These religions are accompanied by their own complex mythological system. This contrasts with European paganism, which always had a pantheon as the basis for the religion.
Cultural appropriation is a risk here. In post-Christian Europe, there is a great search for our traditional culture, with the danger of unconsciously appropriating native peoples and tribes. By using elements from their cultures that we modern people label as Viking or Celtic but originally are not.
Looking at the etymology of the modern word shaman possibly derived from the Russian word šamán, which itself comes from the word samān in a Tungusic language, possibly from the southwestern dialect of the Evenki, spoken by the Sym Evenki peoples, or from the Manchu language. The etymology of the word is sometimes associated with the Tungus root sā-, which means "to know".
This primarily gives the impression that it does not refer to Indo-European peoples but to Siberians, where it is logical that Native Americans could also be meant since DNA research shows that they share Siberian ancestors.
Cultures change, and people can choose which cultures they are attracted to. For example, you can be attracted to both Viking culture and at the same time practice shamanism or the original Maori religion.
Our standpoint is that shamanism and European paganism differ too fundamentally from each other to say that our Bronze Age priest could have been a shaman.
Class System
It is likely that Indo-European cultures had a clear class system. Until 1950, the Hindus in India had the caste system, which was probably a remnant of Proto-Indo-European culture. The Jamna culture, Hallstatt culture, Viking culture often buried their dead in burial mounds. Not all deceased individuals were buried in burial mounds, as this was intended exclusively for a specific segment of the population. Thousands of years later, burial mounds can still be clearly distinguished in the landscape. Additionally, so much effort was put into creating a burial mound that it is assumed that the deceased (man or woman) must have played a very important role in their society. In this blog, we have strongly emphasized the lines of the late Bronze Age warrior and slightly adjusted them because the late Bronze Age warrior is representative of the highest classes of the population. The reason for this is that the highest class in the aristocracy also served a ritual function as a high priest.
It is known that individuals in almost all Indo-European peoples could move from class to class. However, this was probably quite rare. In Old Irish law, it is detailed what each class must possess in terms of property and what taxes they must pay. Only the free class and aristocracy participated in military activities. In the early Roman Empire, it was known that one had to purchase their own weapons and the quality they needed to be. This was not much different in other cultures. The free class refers to people with legal personality.
By kings, we mean the king of the tribe or tribal chief. There were many kings in the past who were not all equally wealthy. That depended on the wealth of the tribe.
Composition
Both the warrior and the priest lived in the same period (Hallstatt B period).
We assume that priests played a central role in society. Therefore, they were expected to be wealthy, just like the other late Bronze Age aristocracy. It is also likely that rulers fulfilled a similar role as high priests. Much is unclear about religion in the late Bronze Age, and rituals are mainly based on archaeological sources. In this blog, we also take the priest Esugenos to draw a parallel between the Indo-European aristocracy and their priestly class.
Prehistoric Shoes
The footwear that Esugenos wears is possibly the oldest type of footwear ever to have existed. This footwear was used until the 16th century AD! Remains of these shoes have been found all over Europe.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/leather-iron-age-sandals-brown.html
Undertunic
Few clothing fragments have been found from the Late Bronze Age because textiles degrade quickly. Therefore, artistic freedom has been taken with regards to clothing. Looking at Mediterranean cultures, the tunic was widely used. Later, tunics continued to be worn until the Middle Ages. Therefore, we assume that Esugenos also wore tunics. Of course, the primary purpose of clothing was not to display status but to stay warm. Therefore, Esugenos wears an undertunic.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/undertunic-lofar-half-long-sleeves.html
Tunic
The cultures of the late Bronze Age were highly advanced. In the later Hallstatt periods, people were buried with valuable grave goods. In the mountains of Hallstatt, near Salzburg, salt had been mined since the Stone Age. Salt was indispensable for food preservation. As a result, the population of Hallstatt was very wealthy. Therefore, Esugenos wears a blue tunic. Blue was a dye that was expensive to produce.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-tunic-torsten-blue.html
Trousers
We assume that Esugenos did not wear trousers because this was also not the case among neighboring peoples. If Esugenos had worn trousers, we would expect them to be similar in style to the Thorsberg trousers.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/search/thorsberg+hose/
Cloak & Antlers
The cloak and antlers serve ritual purposes. Just like in Shamanism, the Indo-European society, in some cases, employed ceremonial shapeshifting. The transition from the Berserker to the bear in battle or adjacent cultures are the most well-known examples. In this way, gods such as Cernunnos, who wears antlers, can also be interpreted as half-human, half-animal.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/skull-red-deer-cernunnos.html
Ceremonial Staff
Esugenos carries a ceremonial staff adorned with parts of animals that held a special role in Celtic religion due to their unique attributes. The staff was a common item worn by priests and Völvas in the Indo-European community. They were often buried with the staff as well. It is likely that the concept of the magic wand also originated from the staff.
Goose Feathers
In Celtic culture, geese likely symbolized aggression.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/goose-feathers-set-of-10.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/deer-skull-with-antlers-and-jaws.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/lower-jaw-of-red-deer.html
Within Celtic mythology, the deer is a magical creature capable of moving between worlds. In Ireland, many stories exist in which people transform into deer. For example, it was said that St. Patrick transformed himself and his companions into deer to escape a trap set by a pagan king. In the Welsh tale of Culhwch and Olwen, the deer is one of the oldest animals in the world, along with the blackbird, the owl, the eagle, and the salmon.
The antlers of the deer are compared to tree branches and can symbolize fertility. Because they are shed and regrow each year, they can also symbolize rejuvenation and rebirth. Cernunnos, the Celtic horned God, was depicted with the antlers of a deer; he is considered a god of fertility and abundance, and as the Lord of the Animals. According to some, his antlers symbolize a radiance of heavenly light. Images of deer are said to have been used by some to symbolize Cernunnos in non-human form.
Belt
In this setup, we have given Esugenos a textile belt. However, leather belts were also used.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-belt-elina-natural.html
Jewelry
In the graves from the Hallstatt period, bronze jewelry has been found, providing insight into the types of jewelry worn during that time. Traditionally, it was believed that women were buried with jewelry, and men with war-related items. However, it has since been discovered that this is not entirely accurate. Therefore, we estimate that jewelry was worn by both genders.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/classical-bracelet.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/spiral-shaped-spectacle-fibula.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/celtic-upper-bracelet-with-spirals.html