Heathenry in Diaspora with Robert L. Schreiwer, Michelle A. Jones, and Stacey Lynne Stewart

About this episode

The episode explores the complexities of engaging with ancestral spirituality in the context of diaspora, featuring discussions on the Pennsylvania Dutch and the Urglaawe tradition.

There can be a deep sense of displacement in the experience of the diaspora. Often raised unrooted to ancestral lands and traditions, or even fully rudderless in the vacuum of cultural assimilation. To engage in ancestral lifeways from this position can sometimes give off a palpable sense of imposter syndrome, seeming like a choice between appropriation and a LARP. How can we explore ancestral spirituality as "ancestors in training" rather than merely venerating the past? How can ancient myths make us more engaged in our present? The Pennsylvania Dutch, in their many iterations, offer a fascinating example of how a diasporic people can foster a living spirituality, propelled by their traditions, but gracefully in conversation with the adaptations and assimilations that a true connection to the present moment asks of us. The Pennsylvania Dutch have many flavors, but the most interesting to me is somehow at once the most invested in their ancestral ontology, and also the most progressive. Urglaawe is a new vision for working with old Gods. A strain of Heathenry that seeks to adapt ancient wisdom to contemporary life, and root ancestral lifeways in new lands. SHOW NOTES: Get the…

People in this episode

Host: Chad Andro

Guests: Robert L. Schreiwer, Michelle A. Jones, Stacey Lynne Stewart

Topics covered

• Heathenry
• Diaspora
• Ancestral spirituality
• Cultural assimilation
• Pennsylvania Dutch
• Urglaawe
• Living spirituality

Keywords

• Heathenry
• Diaspora
• Ancestral spirituality
• Cultural assimilation
• Pennsylvania Dutch
• Urglaawe
• Imposter syndrome
• Living spirituality
• Ancient myths
• Contemporary life

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Urglaawe.org, Urglaawe, The Accidental Urglaawer, Accidentalurglaawer

Books & works: Heathen Traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch

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