Eliwagar "Alver og Disir" (Elves and Disir).
In the northern tradition, the Elves are the male ancestors while the female ancestors are called Disir. People who died were often buried under stones in an area close to where they and their family lived, these places are called burial mounds. It is believe that their spirits were guardian spirits of the land and family. They protect them and give them good blessings. We hail them, thank them and respect them at some special date in the year when they can feast amongst us. In Scandinavia, we hail to the Elves at the end of october/beginning of november, when all the harvests are inside and safe, when we know that we can go through the next winter. We thank them for great harvest, call upon them for a succesful hunt, we remember their greatness and the fact they gave us this ancestral fire burning forever inside of us. We light a fire on an autumn evening under the darkening sky summoning the winter nights... this fire represents the fire in our spirit, ever burning in the darkness and guiding us through the night, it represents our ancestors forever by our side. This night is called Alveblot (sacrifice to the Elves) which is similar to the celtic feast of Samhain.
We also have a feast dedicated to our female ancestors called Disablot (sacrifice to the Disir), this one is celebrated at the end of winter, when the earth is ready to give birth, when the ice slowly melts under the rising light of the golden sun. We ask for a great coming summer and great harvest, fertility and love. In the west coast of Norway, this fits very well with Walpurgisnacht, or the celtic feast called Beltane the 31st april/1st may which celebrate the return of the light and spring. The first leaves on the trees appear and the flowers are blooming from that time of the year, and spring is like an explosion of life, very intense!
We hail Frøy as the king of the Elves, and we hail Frøyja as the queen of the Disir!
"Alver og Disir" is filmed and produced by Runahild.
The song can be freely downloaded from the Samhain compilation of Heathen Harvest here:
http://heathenharvest.org/2013/10/25/...
