Terje Østigård – författare

Den svarta ryttaren och döden är namnet på en mycket spridd folklig berättelse om just en skräckinjagande man på en svart häst jagande en vettskrämd ung kvinna som emellertid lyckas gömma sig. Hon möter en vandrare som lovar att inget säga till förföljaren, som emellertid strax dyker upp. Vandraren blir livrädd och avslöjar vart kvinnan sprang. Den svarta ryttaren rider snabbt däråt. Kort därpå hörs ett skott och snart kommer ryttaren förbi med den skjutna och döda kvinnan slängd över sadeln. Hade vandraren ljugit så hade det blivit han som dödats av den skrämmande svarta ryttaren. 

Så gick denna historia under benämningen Hinjakta , Hindjakta eller Odens jakt i Östergötland i äldre tider, men även långt in på 1900-talet. Föga anade någon i trakten då att berättelsen utgjorde en sista kvarleva från en uråldrig, spridd myt kanske den äldsta i vårt land. Egentligen har berättelsen mångtusenåriga rötter ner i historien. Inte bara i Nordens historia. Ryttaren, hans hundar och den jagade kvinnan finns i liknande berättelser spridda i varianter i olika kulturer och epoker. Utifrån denna myt skriver författarna boken. 

Om författarna 

Anders Kaliff är professor i arkeologi i Uppsala och författare till åtskilliga uppskattade böcker i sitt ämne. Medförfattaren Terje Østigård är docent på samma institution, tillika universitetslektor i arkeologi vid Linnéuniversitetet, samt författare. 

Indo-European Fire Rituals is a comparative study of Indo-European fire rituals from modern folklore and ethnography in Scandinavia and archaeological material in Europe from the Bronze Age onwards to the Vedic origins of cosmos in India and today’s cremations on open pyres in Hinduism.

Exploring Indo-European fire rituals and sacrifices throughout history and fire in its fundamental role in rites and religious practices, this book analyses fire rituals as the unifying structure in time and space in Indo-European cultures from the Bronze Age onwards. It asks the question how and why was fire the ultimate power in culture and cosmology? Fire as an agent and divinity was fundamental in all major sacrifices. In Europe, ritual fires in relation to agriculture and fertility may also explain the enigma of cremation. Cremated remains were ground and used in fertility rituals, and ancestral fires played an essential role in metallurgy and the creation of cosmos. Thus, the role of fire rituals in culture and cosmology enables a unique understanding of historic developmental processes.

For students and academics studying Indo-European culture history from the Bronze Age onwards, this book has a broad interdisciplinary audience including archaeology, ethnography, folklore, religious and Indo-European studies.

Indo-European Fire Rituals is a comparative study of Indo-European fire rituals from modern folklore and ethnography in Scandinavia and archaeological material in Europe from the Bronze Age onwards to the Vedic origins of cosmos in India and today’s cremations on open pyres in Hinduism.

Exploring Indo-European fire rituals and sacrifices throughout history and fire in its fundamental role in rites and religious practices, this book analyses fire rituals as the unifying structure in time and space in Indo-European cultures from the Bronze Age onwards. It asks the question how and why was fire the ultimate power in culture and cosmology? Fire as an agent and divinity was fundamental in all major sacrifices. In Europe, ritual fires in relation to agriculture and fertility may also explain the enigma of cremation. Cremated remains were ground and used in fertility rituals, and ancestral fires played an essential role in metallurgy and the creation of cosmos. Thus, the role of fire rituals in culture and cosmology enables a unique understanding of historic developmental processes.

For students and academics studying Indo-European culture history from the Bronze Age onwards, this book has a broad interdisciplinary audience including archaeology, ethnography, folklore, religious and Indo-European studies.

The Nile River Basin supports the livelihoods of millions of people in Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda, principally as water for agriculture and hydropower. The resource is the focus of much contested development, not only between upstream and downstream neighbours, but also from countries outside the region. This book investigates the water, land and energy nexus in the Nile Basin.

It explains how the current surge in land and energy investments, both by foreign actors as well as domestic investors, affects already strained transboundary relations in the region and how investments are intertwined within wider contexts of Nile Basin history, politics and economy. Overall, the book presents a range of perspectives, drawing on political science, international relations theory, sociology, history and political ecology.

The Nile River Basin supports the livelihoods of millions of people in Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda, principally as water for agriculture and hydropower. The resource is the focus of much contested development, not only between upstream and downstream neighbours, but also from countries outside the region. This book investigates the water, land and energy nexus in the Nile Basin.

It explains how the current surge in land and energy investments, both by foreign actors as well as domestic investors, affects already strained transboundary relations in the region and how investments are intertwined within wider contexts of Nile Basin history, politics and economy. Overall, the book presents a range of perspectives, drawing on political science, international relations theory, sociology, history and political ecology.