Asatu Religion

The Asatru is a religion that was prominent in northern European countries known today as Scandinavia, England Germany, France, the Netherlands, and other countries, long before christianity was introduced. Asatru, according to the Old Norse, language of ancient Scandinavia, means “belief in Gods.” Asatruars are Asatru worshippers, members, or believers. They were mostly the vikings, various Germanic tribes and the Norsemen. According to Susan Granquist (1997), Asatru is “a folk religion, with credibility for those in leadership positions being gained by demonstrated ability, knowledge and respect, in much the same way that in other ethnic religions or groups tribal elders are recognized” (2). In Asatru recognition is gained through demonstrated

McNallen (1995), Asatruars believe in Gods and Goddesses that are real just like the God christians worship (4). They pray to their gods and goddesses in a different way, they “commune and honor them while seeking their blessings through formal rites and informal mediation” (5) and they use items to remind them of their gods and goddesses. They also believe that their gods and goddesses “can become “charged” with a certain aspect of divine energy” (5). They also believe that “good and evil are constants” and that the result of a situation or instance “may or may not be “good” or “evil”, but it will still be the right action” (6). They believe that there is an afterlife and that the way one lives his or her life here on earth will determine how their life in the afterlife will be. If one lives a good life then good life awaits them in the afterlife, and if one lives a bad life vice to virtue their life in the afterlife will be doomed to dullness. Even with their knowledge about the afterlife they are not worried about it, they live in and focus on the

Because of this belief, the Asatru Folk Assembly is deeply involved in the case of the Kennewick man remain so they can be buried where it was originally from as burial is a very important tradition in religions. Also part of the Asatruars belief is that they are bonded in a special way to their ancestors and they can feel some form of connection. Scott L. Malcomson (2000) talks about McNallen, an Asatruar who feels “a connection to anyone “whose essence we carry.” This link of kinship “transcends time and space” and is like a “folk soul”” (3). McNallen after hearing about the Kennewick man thought there was a connection to his remains came for the remains. Juno Gregory (2002) further says that McNallen “promptly demanded the bones, claiming Kennewick man as his people’s ancestor” (2). This means that McNallen felt some sort of connection through the link of kinship towards the Kennewick man to know that the remains belonged to an ancestor of the Asatruars. McNallen was acting based on his belief as an Asatruar. For all the judge knew, a few or some of the results of the scientific procedure carried out to determine which tribe or group the remains belonged to could have been wrong, thereby making the remains not fit to be a northern European ancestor of the Asatruars. According to the