WATCH: Helenä burned at junior procession
Ryan Nicolson
Junior jarl Marley Teale has sent his galley, Helenä, to Valhalla at the end of this year’s junior procession.
On a dry but cold night, 14 squads and around 100 guizers walked through the Lerwick streets in the precursor to Tuesday’s main event.
Any spectators could have been forgiven for believing they had stumbled across the real thing, however, with every inch surrounding the King Harald Street playpark wall covered by expectant and eager spectators
Teale, whose brother Sonny was junior jarl just two years ago, chose to represent Sigmund “Fish-Hook” Andresson at this year’s festival.
Peter Hamilton
Great opportunity for all those able to join in. Pride, excitement, bonding with peers and being part of a greater whole. Terrific.
But for decades now some girls have voiced concern that they can’t take part on an equal footing, even though previous organisers of JUHA have said they’d have liked them to. These girls haven’t enjoyed being banned. They haven’t liked being told they are less important and don’t merit a role.
Why?
“Well its tradition and cannot be changed”, comes the tired excuse, and so some folk have grown to see the exclusion as normal, natural even. Like Viking children were boys and boys only, and had Viking fathers and fathers only.
What hidden messages lurk behind this ridgid absurdity? Its a man’s world. Get used to it. Don’t ask awkward questions. Learn your place.
You may have worse to come to put up with.
This needless discrimination is not natural. It is entirely manmade. And now it is 2020 it is surely time for it to be given another look.
Why not?
Let the girls take part.
As Viking seers, shamans and soothsayers, to a woman and a man, all did say: awkward questions don’t go away.
Ali Inkster
Since yarriving on these shores how many things have you taken part in compared to how many things you tell us we’re doing wrong?
Peter Hamilton
“Us”? I’ve never been alone on any issue, so Ali can go to Forvik himself.