Precept of Heathenry (Ásatrú)
Keep your oaths.
Words spoken over the horn are binding; the old ethic is less commandment than reputation — courage, honesty, hospitality, and a word that holds.
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held
The oath is the load-bearing institution of Heathen ethics because the historical culture it draws on had no state apparatus to enforce contracts — a person's word, witnessed, was the mechanism. Modern Heathenry preserves this seriously: oaths sworn at sumbel are made carefully and sparingly, and breaking one damages not only the oath-breaker but the reputation of everyone who witnessed it, which is why groups are cautious about who they let swear.
The same ground, other faiths
claims that share this one's ideas
Tahlilan and slametan.
Islam · rite
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Charye, and the journey.
Confucianism · rite
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Ujiko — the households of the parish.
Shinto · community
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The compound.
Yoruba Religion · community
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The samskaras — life, marked.
Hinduism · rite
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The fourfold sangha.
Buddhism · community
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