Abstract
This paper deals with humanoid figures on gold foils from the Late Iron Age in Scandinavia. Interpreted as figures wearing masks, an effort is made to show the complexity, importance and significance of masking practices. The single Bornholm figures from the 6th century are interpreted as shamans performing rituals. Further, it is proposed that a restriction of masked appearances and performances to certain people (shamans) and places in the long run created stricter and more rigid gender roles in everyday life. The later gold-foil couples are seen as signs of divine communication, cosmological movement and seasonality, making up a mythology that legitimised political domination —the sacred lineage of rulers pivoting around an apical, ancestral cross-sex pair.
Highlights
In ample examples we find representations of masked figures on Late Iron Age (550-1050AD) objects, for instance on the well-known helmet plaques from Öland and Uppland in Sweden, and of masked countenances on buckles and brooches (Kja:rum & Olsen 1990)
This paper further investigates the possible implications of masking practices being connected to certain rituals such as shamanistic performances and initiation rites, and to certain people or certain categories of people, such as shamans
It is suggested that a restriction of masked appearances and performances to certain people and places in the Late Iron Age, created stricter and more rigid gender roles in everyday life
Summary
This paper deals with humanoid figures on gold foils from the Late Iron Age in Scandinavia. Interpreted as figures wearing masks, an effort is made to show the complexity, importance and significance of masking practices. The single Bornholm figures from the 6'" century are interpreted as shamans performing rituals. It is proposed that a restriction of masked appearances and performances to certain people (shamans) and places in the long run created stricter and more rigid gender roles in everyday life. The later gold-foil couples are seen as signs of divine communication, cosmological movement and seasonality, making up a mythology that legitimised political domination —the sacred lineage of rulers pivoting around an apical, ancestral cross-sex pair.
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