Why do the visitors lick the seer's hand in Vikings?
All the vikings do it. It looks like some kind of a payment or a tradition, but I wonder what is in that for them or the seer.
The seer seems to enjoy it...but why?
Does it symbolize anything?
Does it have some historical basis?
Best Answer
Apparently it has no historical basis.
Interview with Katheryn Winnick at PostCity.com
“It wasn’t originally in the script and we just wanted to come up with something unique and different. Travis [Vikings star Travis Fimmel] did it first. My new pages were revised that morning, and all of a sudden they added, ‘Lagertha licks his hand.’ When, covered with all these prosthetics, and all this alcohol and makeup on his hand, I had to lick it, I’m not kidding, 14 times.”
Wikipedia on Vikings Historical Accuracy
Little is known about Viking religious practice and so its depiction is largely creative. When Katheryn Winnick was asked why she licked the seer's hand she answered "It wasn’t originally in the script and we just wanted to come up with something unique and different". Regarding the historical differences and accuracy issues of the show, showrunner Michael Hirst comments that "I especially had to take liberties with ‘Vikings’ because no one knows for sure what happened in the Dark Ages" and that "we want people to watch it. A historical account of the Vikings would reach hundreds, occasionally thousands, of people. Here we’ve got to reach millions.
As for what it means...it seems to be just a mark of respect.
Pictures about "Why do the visitors lick the seer's hand in Vikings?"
What is wrong with the seer in Vikings?
Early Life. The Seer's past is as obscure as his own character. His appearance is deformed, and it is unclear if this is congenital, a result of disease, or even the result of violence. His eyes were either sewn shut or skin grew over his eyes.Is floki in Vikings a God?
Floki principally worships Loki and believes himself to be a descendant of the God. Ragnar notices that Floki is a lot like Loki, only not a god.The Roots - The Seed (2.0) (Official Music Video) ft. Cody ChesnuTT
More answers regarding why do the visitors lick the seer's hand in Vikings?
Answer 2
I think it's payment for the seers work that he does by answering the questions as he has no use for money or books or a TV so yeah that's what I reckon
Answer 3
Due to the position of the person licking, and by the context, IMHO it's likely an act of submission. This is something that appears in some animal species as allogrooming, and may be that the show writers took inspiration from that as a "weird thing", also connected to the seer's habitation and profession, very reminiscent of the fact that in those culture, being connected to the spirits/gods, means being connected to the natural or animal world. So, that is a way to "connect" and "thank" the spirits/gods.
EDIT: If you search around a bit, you can see that licking is always somehow involved with shamans. That may have been some inspiration too.
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