Unusual Viking Rituals That Might Surprise You

The Vikings living in the Northern lands of Europe during the medieval ages were definitely some of the fiercest tribes around. They had their own culture, language, religion, and traditions that they followed diligently. Now, while there might be some raised eyebrows trying to understand the earlier traditions in the 21st century, that was their culture- however distraught it might be. So, let’s check up on some of the unusual Viking rituals that could potentially surprise you. 

Unusual Viking Rituals That You Might Not Have Chanced Upon In ‘Vikings’

1. 81 Individuals Were Sacrificed Every 9 Years During Yule

It has been documented that every nine years, Swedish kings would sacrifice 81 men at the Uppsala Temple. The royalty would decapitate nine heads every day for nine days, with the head being offered to the Gods. 

2. The Blood Eagle

If you have seen Vikings, you must have come across this. Now, while historians are in two minds about the verisimilitude of this method of execution, it does make for a really cool story. The ritual involved cutting into the back of the victims, wrenching the ribs outwards, pulling the lungs out, and placing them on the ribs to portray wings.

3. Sexual Slavery Into The Afterlife

After the chieftain was dead, one of his slave girls would be chosen to accompany him to the afterlife. In order to properly complete the ritual, the slave girl would first be kept intoxicated throughout, after which she would have sex with every man in the village. Finally, she would be strangled, stabbed, placed along with the corpse of the chieftain on the boat, and set on fire. 

4. The Blót

The Vikings were God-fearing people, so they had several rituals that they performed yearly to appease them. One of them was the blót. This involved sacrificing animals and drinking their blood. After that, the carcass would be passed around and dunked in its own blood. 

5. Keeping Off The Draugr

Just like every other religion, the Vikings also had their version of the zombie- the Draugr. And just like every other zombie, it liked death and destruction. So, in order to not make that a possibility, the deceased had pieces of twigs hidden in their bodies, along with scissors. At times, needles were driven through the bottom of their feet as well. 

6. Artistic Dentistry

Vikings absolutely loved modifying their teeth. Archeological digs have discovered horizontal grooves that were filed into the surfaces of the teeth. And it is also documented that the natives used multiple dyes to paint it. 

7. Berserkers

Berserkers were the ultimate warriors of the Vikings. They had discarded their morality and humility in order to be the perfect killing machine. In order to be a berserker, one would have to undergo a rebirth that would unlock their powers. And to achieve that, they were sent out into the wild in order to survive on their strength and skill. If they chanced upon any of the predators in the forest- they had to kill it themselves. 

8. Urine Fire

Rather than having to scrounge for dry wood in alien forests, the Vikings carried their fire with them wherever they went. This was done by boiling touchwood in a pot of urine for multiple days. After that, it was pounded into a lithe material. Since the urine contained immense amounts of sodium nitrate, the bombs smoldered rather than burned.

9. They Weren’t Naturally Blonde

The Vikings had immense pride in how they looked, which is why they preferred being blonde. This was done by using harsh soaps that had high contents of lye that would strip the hair of its natural color. This also killed off the lice- so there wasn’t much to complain about. 

10. Battle Magic

No warrior sect or cult believed in magic more than the Vikings. Sorcery and the occult were so deeply ingrained in their culture that they practiced battle rituals before going out to fight. They would also mark every single one of their weapons in order to get an edge over their enemies. 

Sure, most of the Viking rituals would land people in prison today. But they were the norm of the past- and so they must be given the respect that it deserves.