Gullinbursti

Gullinbursti (Old Norse), meaning "Gold Mane" or "Golden Bristles") is a boar in Norse mythology.

When Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skíðblaðnir, and Odin's spear Gungnir fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi, he bet his own head with Brokkr that his brother Eitri (Sindri) would not have been able to make items to match the quality of those mentioned above.

So to make gifts to Freyr, Eitri threw a pig's skin into a furnace as Brokkr worked on the bellows, and together they manufactured the boar Gullinbursti which had bristles in its mane that glowed in the dark.

The story of Gullinbursti's creation is related in the Skáldskaparmál section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda.

According to Húsdrápa, Freyr rode Gullinbursti to Baldr's funeral, while in Gylfaginning, Snorri states that Freyr rode to the funeral in a chariot pulled by the boar.

The boar is also known as Slíðrugtanni (Old Norse: meaning "Sharp Tooth" or "Fearsome Tooth") (sometimes anglicized to "Slidrugtanni").

The cult of Freyr and Gullinbursti also existed in the British Isles. Accounts have been preserved describing Scottish Christmas celebrations in the 8th–11th centuries. On the eve of the feast, all the men of a kin group gathered at a long table headed by their chieftain. The principal ritual dish of the banquet was a boar’s head, a practice associated with the veneration of Freyr. It was placed on a large platter and ceremonially carried into the hall where the festivities were held. The privilege of carving the head was reserved for the most respected guests. After the meal, the men left the house carrying torches and lit a ritual bonfire, after which they joined hands and formed a circle. Accompanied by the sound of bagpipes, they performed a dance whose rhythm gradually intensified and became increasingly frenzied. In a state of ecstatic excitement, the dancers cried out: “Haile, Yule, Haile” and “Thor is with us!”. Once the fire had burned out, the participants returned to the hall and continued the feast.

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