Couple tie the knot in the first Viking wedding in nearly 1,000 years

2018-09-05 16:10 Last Updated At：16:11

Instead of ‘Here Comes the Bride,’ a former beautician was serenaded by Norse throat singers as she married her carpenter groom in the first genuinely Viking wedding in nearly 1,000 years,

Swapping the traditional bridal car for two long boats – made famous by the fearsome warriors – 27-year-old Elisabeth and Rune Dalseth, 36, tied the knot on the banks of a Norwegian lake, complete with blood offerings and a hog-roast banquet.

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Despite having a conventional Christian upbringing, after a pagan ceremony, dressed in full Viking matrimonial garb, the happy couple then celebrated through the night with their 130 guests, all in costume, swigging ancient honey-beer and enjoying Norse songs and dance.

“We had no Spotify,” explained Elisabeth, of Sunnmore, Norway, a stay-at-home mum to the couple’s six-month-old baby Ragnar, recalling her wedding on August 25.

“Instead, we danced to live music that our ancestors danced to over a millennium ago.”

Part of a 6,000 strong movement of Norwegian Viking revivalists, Elisabeth and Rune are keen to challenge the horned helmet-wearing seafarers’ reputation for violence, rape and pillage.

“Vikings were no more terrible than any other group of people living at that time,” said Rune, who runs his own carpentry company.

“What people don’t mention is that Vikings were people who had a great appreciation for nature, for the land and for animal life. We want people to be more aware of that.”

Elisabeth and Rune, from Norway, met two years ago in May 2016 at a bar.

Then running a beauty salon, she knew nothing about paganism and Viking traditions, but was immediately drawn to the way of life after Rune, who had been a pagan for two years, introduced her to them.

“Rune completely opened up a new world for me, and I soon fell in love with the people and the spirituality of it,” said Elisabeth.

The following year, he proposed at a Viking festival near Oslo, and the couple quickly began planning a pagan wedding with all the trimmings.

Friends from the movement, which works to preserve and continue pagan rituals, were keen to be involved in what would be the first Viking wedding since the demise of the ancient warriors nearly 1,000 years ago.

“We rented two longboats,” said Rune. “They were made by a local shipbuilder. The traditional dress is not easy to find, so another friend helped us with that.

“Finally, a man who we had met at a festival one year agreed to be the Gothi – the equivalent of a priest – for the ceremony.”

While their wedding preparations went smoothly, not everything was the fairy tale they had hoped for, as both Rune and Elisabeth say they were aware of some scepticism from their parents.

Rune said: “I come from a very Christian family. When I announced that we were not going to have a Christian wedding my mum was a little unsure about it.

“But I think she has now come to accept it. She can see how happy paganism makes me and how it has helped me get my life together.”

He added: “Before I was a Viking, I didn’t have a wife, a baby and a house – now look at me.”

In the end, despite having the option of wearing modern dress, friends and family all got into the spirit on their big day, when nearly all came in splendid Viking costume.

“We were so pleased that everyone was willing to join in with us and be open to our way of life,” said Rune.

Following the ancient ritual of a traditional 10th century wedding, Rune arrived early in the morning at the lakeside with 10 of his closest friends, before setting sail in the specially made longboat across the water.

As the guests began to assemble, a hunting horn was blown to signal the start of the ceremony and the longboat returned to shore for a dramatic entrance.

Elizabeth said: “I arrived with my father, one of the few bits of modern tradition that we observed. I was also in a white dress, but not a princess dress.”

She continued: “Before we said our vows we did the ‘blot’ ritual. This is when a cauldron of blood is put on top of a pile of stones. The blood is then drizzled over little figures of the gods and then across the forehead. It is supposed to symbolise the union of gods and people.”

Guests were a little surprised when the Gothi, who officiates the ceremony, then announced that the relatives of the bride would compete in a race against the relatives of the groom, in a custom known as Brullaup.

After Elisabeth’s family won, the losers’ forfeit was to serve alcohol to the victors during the wild boar feast, which went on late into the night.

“We stayed up very late afterwards, into the following morning. We danced and sang and listened to old stories about the gods,” said Elisabeth.

“Some of the people who came were a little sceptical about it at the start, but by the end they could all feel the energy and the love that we generated.

“I think if you go to a wedding like ours, you will definitely think differently about what it is to be a Viking.”

How the Ebola outbreak is changing weddings in Congo

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — There were no kisses, long embraces or a crowded dance floor packed with well-wishers. But there was love.

As Congo battles an Ebola disease outbreak that has killed nearly 100 people out of the more than 500 confirmed cases, local authorities have raced to slow the disease with strict measures, including by limiting public gatherings and enforcing social distancing.

For Jean Claude Érable and his bride Solange Hahati, celebrating their wedding on Saturday in such conditions meant having some family members and friends absent on one of their happiest days.

“We had planned 300 guests (but) only 50 people were allowed to enter,” Hahati told The Associated Press. “It was really difficult because we wanted to celebrate with our friends.”

The latest Ebola outbreak, which is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri. There have been 515 confirmed infections so far, including 91 deaths, according to Congolese health authorities. The number of cases is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed weeks late, and the response has been challenging also because the virus has no approved vaccine or treatment.

To help slow the spread, local officials have urged people to limit physical contact, wash their hands regularly and report suspected cases quickly.

At the Catholic Church in Bunia, the capital of Ituri, where Érable and Hahati celebrated their love story, the Mass featured a number of couples who were present for their weddings.

The precautions, though not always adhered to, are reshaping social life in a country where weddings are typically vibrant, daylong celebrations bringing together hundreds of relatives, friends and well-wishers.

As the choir chorused and as brides in white gowns walked down the aisle, the handful of relatives and friends present inside the church maintained social distance, cheered and snapped photos. Outside, a crowd sang excitedly.

“We are adhering to the preventive measures and respecting social distancing,” said Érable. “I must say that there is no problem, no obstacle, because we are doing our best to respect all the measures dictated by the state.”

His bride smiled as he slipped a wedding ring onto her finger. Outside, after the wedding Mass, she proudly displayed the ring as her husband walked her to the car.

The couple moved part of their reception outdoors, where guests could spread out more easily.

Church leaders say adapting has become essential.

Some families have already postponed their scheduled weddings in light of the new health measures, said the Rev. Aimé Lokanabego, the priest who officiated their wedding Mass.

The church is not holding other religious events that involve higher risks of exposure, such as baptism, he said.

“This is, in a way, how we are dealing with this Ebola epidemic at our level. The situation is critical,” said Lokanabego.