Talk:Hamingja

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Not entirely correct[edit]

Hamingja is an icelandic term meaning "luck" or "success". Unlike the Warden or Fylgja, it is not a personified entity, but a blind force, a measure of which a person may be gifted with more or less. It is a cognate of norse hám (joy) and the diminuitive -ing, and may be translated to modern English as a "share of success".

This is not entirely correct. Hamingja, an Icelandic term, just means "happiness". Hamingjusamur is a verb meaning "to be happy". Therefore, the word hamingja does not have any other translation or meaning than the English word "happiness". I don't know why someone would make a whole page making this sound so complicated.

-Hulda Sif, an Icelander — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.208.204.5 (talk) 19:09, 9 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, I restore my own version from Nordisk familjebok, and I hope that one makes more sense.--Wiglaf 9 July 2005 19:17 (UTC)

Icelandic isn't Old Norse, though, and in Old Norse it just means luck, and also relates to a female personification of the same name that accompanied men and determined their luck/fortune. In a more modern sense it seems to mean both luck and happiness. You're right, it's not that complicated, but it originally just meant luck. It also relates to ancient central beliefs in reincarnation and ancestor worship, and the idea that one's honour, achievements and "luck" would be passed down to future generations. That it also apparently relates to shape-shifters in Norse mythology makes sense in this context. - Sean — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.24.50.7 (talk) 10:15, 13 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Icelandic meaning[edit]

The modern use of the word hamingja means "happiness" or "joy". In the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century it used to mean "luck" or "fortune". That leads us to believe that one could not control their own hamingja, when some have much of it and others little. This belief most probably comes from the oldest meaning of the word hamingja, that is verndarvættur (protective spirit), heilladís (a fairy of luck) and fylgja (as described in Wikipedia). The use of this meaning of the word can be found in Icelandic folklore.

Fer þá skapanorn hans og hamingja og sækir geit þá er mjólkurmest var á kvíunum „ég óska mér engra launa“ svaraði kerling, „því ég er hamingja þín“ (Trans.: Then his skapanorn [witch or norn of fate] and hamingja leaves and goes to get the goat that had the most milk. "I ask of no paiment", the old woman said, "For I am your hamingja".)

The word hamingja comes from ham-(g)engja, that is hamur and ganga, meaning a spirit that takes a certain form or appearance, that is fylgja. Possibly the word hamur can here mean the tissue that covers fetuses, and therefore hamingja is probably a spirit that accompanies a person from birth.

There are still sayings in Iceland where the hamingja is addressed, like: „Það má hamingjan vita“ ("that the hamingja knows", meaning "who knows") eða „Hamingjan hjálpi mér!“ ("may the hamingja help me", said when one is really surprised at something and even shocked).

-Hulda Sif an Icelander — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.208.204.5 (talk) 19:09, 9 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Here on the mainland, we have completely forgotten about the Hamingja. You are very welcome to work on this article, and improve it as you see fit. If you can add links and a bibliography it would be even better.--Wiglaf 21:17, 9 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Merge[edit]

Why not merge the topic with this one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fylgjur if the two are connected and considering how many of the suggestions here seem to have been ignored so that this topic has almost no relevant information on it's own. It will come up on the topic about Fylgjur's if anyone searches for this. If nothing new is added to give this topic substance, then it needs merged with the other topic and suggestions by the other contributors here should be added to the topic. Armorbeast (talk) 07:55, 16 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding the woman... completely inaccurate[edit]

The part about the woman, I'm pretty sure that it's the disir that this article is referring to. The confusion with the disir and the hamingja is a common misconception. Edit: the hamingja is solely related to luck. There is also a concept called the kinfylgja. The kinfylgja is the ancestral hamingja. And the fylga is similar to the totem concept of other cultures, but it can manifest as other things besides an animal, such as, the opposite sex, or even an abstract set of images. Lighthead ^þ 02:13, 5 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]