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The Nahanarvali were a sub-tribe of the Lugian league in eastern Germania. They are famous for an ancient sacred grove.
Tacitus reports that in this grove a priest in women's dress performed the cult – and that the divine pair of the Alcis was worshipped there. He compares them with the Roman twin gods Castor and Pollux: young, brotherly gods.
The Alcis belong to the very earliest testimonies of Germanic belief in gods. They show that besides the great gods there were local cults – continental, centuries old, independent of the much later Norse tradition.
"They worship two young gods, brothers, whom they call the Alcis."after Tacitus, Germania 43 (public domain, own translation)
The Nahanarvali lead into the heart of early Germanic belief. Continue with the Lugii and Germanic religion.
The Lugii · The Semnones · Germanic Religion · The Suebi · Interpretatio Romana.
