Excerpt from Dem Bones by Andy Norfolk
Yule 2008 / Imbolc 2009 issue
Paganism in Britain, according to some who know about these things, is a recent reinterpretation of what the beliefs of the pre-Christian people of these islands may have been, with a large dollop of invention, wishful thinking and imagination. That's not necessarily a bad thing - all that positive creativity is probably one of the most important factors in making British Paganism the vibrant and energetic, if occasionally rather odd, thing it is today. People who have thought about these things and who have read some of Ronald Hutton's books, or at least heard about them, may also be a bit coy about claiming an unbroken Pagan tradition back to - well - before the year dot! There is after all no evidence that stands up to a bit of reasonably intelligent scrutiny that contemporary Paganism goes back very far at all. However Pagans do say that they draw inspiration from the pre-Christian religions of the world and in Britain this means whatever our ancestors were up to before about the 6th century. In particular prehistoric monuments from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages are important to many Pagans. Not surprisingly what our ancestors did is important to us, though we may not have a clear idea of what that was. Recent genetic research shows that most of us are directly related to the ancient peoples of these islands. For many Pagans our ancestors themselves are of great importance and are part of their lives and practises. Ancestors are asked for guidance, or just "company", in rituals and everyday life.
In 2006 Paul Davies, reburial officer for the Council of British Druid Orders, asked English Heritage and the National Trust to rebury prehistoric human remains from the Avebury area presently in the Alexander Keiller Museum.
Both EH and NT are seeking responses to a consultation exercise about this request, which should be made by 31st January 2009. As they point out this request raises a great many issues. In doing so they are following the advice in "Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums" published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in 2005, Part 3 of which deals with claims for the return of remains.
The publication of this guidance seems to have been prompted by a request from Australia for the return of Aboriginal remains and Part 3 begins with a quotation: "The express recognition that the concerns of various ethnic groups, as well as those of science, are legitimate and to be respected will permit acceptable agreements to be reached and honoured". (From the Vermilion Accord, World Archaeological Congress, 1989) The guidance recognises that requests can be made for religious or spiritual reasons and may include a desire to lay ancestors to rest on ancestral land. EH and NT have written a draft report and this and supporting documents can be found at:
www.thenationaltrust.org.uk/remains.
The guidance says that certain things must be considered when requests for the return of remains are made. The status of those making the request and continuity with the remains.
The draft report points out that CoBDO represent some, but not all, Pagan groups. Its members claim genetic relationship with the remains, but make no claim for continuity of belief, customs or language with the human remains. EH and NT comment that there is no evidence that members of CoBDO have any closer relationship with the human remains than most.