For the first time in around 1,000 years, Asa believers in Sweden can have their own burial place.
If all goes well, the burial site could be in place as early as 2025.
– It would mean a lot to the community. This should mean that we can fill a gap in society – where Asa believers did not previously have a burial place, says Thommy Vähäsalo, head of the national cemetery at the Nordic Asa community.
When Christianity came to the Nordics at the beginning of the 11th century, it was not long before the Christian kings banned asatron. Since then, the practice of the faith has mostly been contained in mythological stories and history books, and for those who continue to practice asatron, there has been no official burial place.
Might be there next year
In 2023, the Nordiska Asa community applied to be allowed to build a burial site in Karlstad Diocese and after discussions with the church, an application has now been forwarded to the County Administrative Board for approval. If all goes well, the burial site could be in place as early as 2025.
– It would mean a lot to the community. This would mean that we can fill a gap in society where Asa believers did not previously have a burial place, says Thommy Vähäsalo, head of the national cemetery at the Nordic Asa community.
Big plans for the future
The burial site is supposed to be on a headland outside Nyed’s church. They plan to build three large burial mounds there. Over the years, they want to build large shipwrecks with the tombstones around the burial mounds.
Historically speaking, Christianity and asatron have not gone very well together, but Thommy Vähäsalo does not see the fact that the burial site is now planned to lie on church land as a problem.
– We have widely different religions, but we have had nice conversations with the church. On the other hand, we have made demands that the grave site should not be located on the church grounds, where we had requests for special decorations and designs. We want to stand out from the church and make a clear association with asatron, he says.
It is difficult to say exactly how many are Asa believers in Sweden, but in the Nordic Asa community there are around 100 members and according to Thommy Vähäsalo there is a large number of dark people.
– There are many more of us than you might think, he says.