The Cult of the Ancestors | Bronze Age Folklore

In early bronze age Europe, the youths of the koryos warbands embodied their ancestors in a pagan cult of the dead. So how did the ancient Indo-Europeans perceive the nature of death and their relationship with their ancestors? The folk story of the Wild Hunt is reflected in diverse festivals across the Indo-European world, in Pagan and later Christian societies such as Yule and Carneval, Saturnalia and Compitalia, and Anthesteria and Dionysia. Elements of these folk stories and the festive cultural practices come from earlier traditions relating to the koryos and the cultic Visitation of the Ancestors at special times of the year. By the time the Host and the Hunt folk tales are recorded in history, the original meanings were changed, lost, and forgotten. But the practices themselves like the masked processionals bringing annual blessings continue even today all around the world. --- Support the Channel --- Patreon ➜ PayPal ➜ Ko-fi