I thought I would add some
(turning out to be some considerable) prose commentary to this just
to open it up to discussion and explain some of the choices I made in
writing this poem. I should say
I am not approaching this from the perspective of trying to create a
binding creed, or anything like that. Rather, poetry seemed to be the
best way to sum up what I have learned after this latest little bit
of research. In the process I happened to come up with something that
could even be used as the basis for an oath of troth or a tribal oath
of sorts. I am happy to report it is seeming to get a good reception
wherever I have posted it in the last few days.
The initial impulse for
engaging in a renewed study of Nordic concepts of honour lay with my
nine year old son who asked me last month "What is honour? ".
I wanted to give him an explanation that was comprehensive and was thoroughly
Heathen in sentiment, and at the same time not too complicated.
I have long been only half
satisfied with the "orthodox Asatru" Nine Noble Virtues for
several reasons, not the least of which was the fact that most of the
named virtues were named in Latin, so that any subsequent investigation
of the words used would lead up the wrong river, so to speak. Also always
bothering me was the fact that they were often just sort of strung out
on a clothesline as if quite by accident, with no greater context offered,
no further explanation as to *why* it was desirable to act in such and
such a way, as if they in and of themselves were reward enough. Also
curious to me was the inclusion of honour on the list of Nine, because
honour is not something one possesses as an inner asset, but rather
is something one receives from others outside of the self as a result
of some inner asset... in other words it is one result of virtue, not
a virtue itself.
This last point is an example
of something new I have learned as a result of recent inquiries. I had
recently posted the Freehold list stating that there was a difference
between "arr" and "gefrain," because such it was
taught to me by more than one Theodish Lord of some rank, and that is
namely that "gefrain" is a person's reputation at large, in
other words an "outer possession" , whereas "arr"
(what I am now spelling "eihre") was innate virtue that is
an "inner asset", which is to say a mental or spiritual asset.
However, when Freeholders and I dug a little deeper, I found a new position,
a most convincing argument for which is presented by George Fenwick
Jones, in 1959's "Honor
In German Literature" (University Of North Carolina Studies
In The Germanic Languages And Literatures)
Jones makes a good case
that in fact "arr" or "eihre", translated usually
as "honour" is not an "inner quality" but rather
is wholly an external possession in every Germanic language. So the
distinction between arr and gefrain is in fact that one may have bad
gefrain and be arless, but good gefrain results in arr or honourso it
is said one is arful. This led me to rethink not only what I had been
taught in Theodism of the difference between arr and gefrain, but also
re-approach the fabled Nine Nobles Virtues which have hitherto seemed
to me like nine odd peas lacking a pod.
Parallel to all that, for
several years now I have been trying to figure out why fame and honour
was so important to the ancestors to the point where theirwar-band oaths
would trump even their obligation to their blood-kin, so important that
they would sooner die than suffer the shame of a poor reputation. As
a "modern man", knowing how fickle public opinion can be,
it seemed to me a strange and unlikely basket to be putting all one's
eggs into, and I just could not understand what on earth could possibly
be so important about a person's reputation that they would put their
lives on the line to protect it.
Part of the answer to that
problem is to be found in The
Road To Hel: A Study Of The Conception Of The Dead In Old Norse Literature,
by Hilda Roderick Ellis, (1958) as well as "The
Germanization of Medieval Christianity: A Sociohistorical Approach to
Religious Transformation" by James C. Russell (1994): ... as
well as scattered around in dozens of sources, but which all, when regarded
on their own, are as incomplete and as unsolved a puzzle as is the Nine
Nobles.
What pulls the information
from all these sources into perspective is a central tenet of tribalism,
namely that individual members of a tribe are properly to be considered
as integral parts of a greater group consciousness, a collective consciousness,
a kind of single wellspring of tribal spirit from which every member
draws their individual lives and consciousnesses, and back into which
everyone will dissolve upon their death.
This "tribal spirit"
may seem like an abstraction to many modern Heathen, but it is as plain
to see as the eyes of a large Heathen kindred such as my own in which
everyone is actually blood related: far from being an abstraction, the
underlying unity and ubiquity of the tribal spirit is obvious to the
eye. You could almost say that if each member of the tribe is a single
nerve-cell, the entire tribe as a whole is the brain which all those
nerve-cells make up when they are networked together.
The network of communication
between individual tribesmen is manifold, but epitomized in the use
of language, especially powerful and significant language during the
rites of symble, blot and husel.
[On an aside, Claude Levi
Strauss, forefather of structural anthropology, wrote in the fifties
that myth is to be distinguished from poetry as existing on either end
dichotomy: he says poetry is always lost in the translation from its
original language, whereas it is precisely the feature of myth that
it retains its essential meaning whatever the language it is translated
into. I thought about Nordic mythology and mythical thought which is
best expressed and understood poetically: something really is lost in
the translation, understanding the poetry and the language is crucial
to really understanding the Germanic mythos. Much indeed is to be gained,
in understanding Germanic myth, by learning the elder languages, precisely
because it is expressed in poetic terms.]
The role of language in
tribal culture and religiosity is manifold, but one tribal Indonesian
once stated well to a friend of mine that the poetry he sung to his
own ancestors over his tribe's sacred feast consisted essentially of
"serving delicious words for the gods and ancestors." Indeed,
I thought, my Teutonic ancestors knew a thing or two about serving delicious
words to the gods and ancestors.
It has been my experience
that the gods visit upon the hall when sacred words of power are shared
among fellows who gather in frith, and that the sharing of significant
language is indeed the medium that consolidates the tribal collective,
creating a suitable environment for the appearance of gods, ancestors,
alfar and land-wights. Significant language forms a bind between the
folk, and facilitates in taking the gathering "out-of-time"
to a magical place where the past, present and future are one, and all
the ancestors join us to feast, drink and make merry.
Also to be taken into consideration
are the baby naming traditions cited on the Viking Answer Lady website,
if memory serves, wherein it was often custom to name a baby after a
dead relative, and that in doing so something of that person's spirit
is called to reside in the baby being so named, and that relative's
luck is to a certain degree also becomes attached to the baby. Also,
the commemoration of the dead in various forms, especially by toasting
the dead by name, as part of the sacred feast and drinking ceremonies,
not to mention the taboos against speaking the names of the recently
deceased so as not to disturb their spirits, and a host of other odd
bits of folk lore and custom regarding the dead and names.
All of which seems to suggest
that there is great magical power associated with the act of speaking
the names of the dead.
So taking all of this into
account, it suddenly makes perfect sense why one' s reputation would
be perhaps the most important thing to the honourable ancient Heathen.
Far from being some kind of ego-maniacs or rock-star types seeking fame
for its own sake. On the contrary, rather, the ancient tribesmen knew
that so long as his name was spoken among the living, something of himself
would live on in the world of men. As Odhin has said, "Cattle die,
kinsmen die, but a man's good name lives on." Being spoken of fondly
by the surviving members of his tribe kept his spirit alive at symble
in a very real way. Being spoken of with ill will would likewise hinder
his spirit at future symble. Not being spoken of at all... that would
be perhaps the worst case scenario, other than being spoken of as an
outlaw of course.
We are all today familiar
with what mute ancestors can teach us: not a whole lot. Generation after
generation of my ancestors have lived and died but their names and their
stories are largely lost to me. They are nameless faceless ancestors
who I could not honour if I wanted to, at least in not any specific
or significant way. They are mere shadows at symble: only when I call
one by name does he step forward into the torch light.
And so, as last pieces of
the puzzle, take into account the tradition of sitting out on the ancestral
grave-mound all night to get guidance from spirits of the ancestors.
The question of the antiquity of the myth of Valhalla not withstanding,
it is nevertheless safe to assume that, unless I die in an extraordinary
act of heroism I will likely not be going to Valhall after I die, but
will most likely join the rest of the dead in Hel, where it will be
incumbent upon me to find the dwelling place of most of my ancestors.
It suggests to me that the grave mound is a portal to the underworld
that works in two directions, from the world of the living to the world
of the dead, and also from the world of the dead back to the living.
And, at least in theory, this portal would be "lighting up"
during the holy rites of communion among the living.
And of course, who can resist
a little pop-culture reference? (Perhaps I should) One of the most touching
scenes for me in the Lord of the Rings was when Theoden buried his son
and laments "A father should not have to bury his son." To
which Gandalf replies, to the effect that "His spirit was strong
in life. He will find the hall of your ancestors."
Related to this question
is the root sense of the Germanic word "god" which does not
seem to have been used with regularity by the Germanic tribes to describe
their "supreme deities", of which they generally used words
belong to the ANSUZ and TIWAZ word families. I understand, however,
they used the word "god" to refer to the deities of other
peoples as well as in an elder root sense of "a spirit dwelling
in a burial mound".
But all this intellectualization
aside for the moment, the bottom line for me was, as a tribalist, how
I would hope my tribe deals with my eventual death. Hopefully, they
would have a feast in my honour, if I have been a good tribesman. Hopefully,
I will give them something to talk about. The bottom line is, what would
I want my eulogies to be? Really? How do I want to be remembered by
my tribe? Thereby keeping my name alive, with stories of my deeds, so
that I will not be mute to my future descendants. Seems to me there
would be no greater glory than to be toasted by my descendants in five
or ten generations. That would be more than most men could hope for...
for the Heathen, that honour is a kind of eternal life... so long as
living men speak his name, he will have a tale to tell future generations,
and his sprit will alight at symble.
The mountain man living
alone at the mountain top may well be enlightened, or leave a virtuous
life, but it will only be the ravens who sing his praise, and his virtue
will come to naught, will have made no difference for his tribe, and
he will find no glory. The tribesman on the other hand, if he is thewy,
will be praised by his kin, not the ravens, for his life, not his death...
true glory belongs to the tribesman, for whom the folk light torches
and sing their praises, not the mountain man who has no one to even
attend his remains but the mountain lion.
The master-key in unravelling
the puzzle lay with tribalism. Why are such and such behaviour honourable
and others are not? Honourable acts are actions that benefit the tribe
or other collective of which one is a part, and dishonourable actions
harm or hinder the tribe. This is the core truth from which all virtues
and vices spring. Whence the statement of purpose opening the poem:
"I build worth as
a tribesman, give honour to our ancestors, and give good gain to my
tribe, by these things that I ever strive to be:"
Building "worth as
a tribesman" means my greatest value is in terms of what I can
contribute to the survival and prosperity of my tribe, but it also harkens
back to the elder meaning of "worth" which shares the same
root as "wyrd". At any rate, "the story of life"
is not really about me, whether or not I ever achieve enlightenment
or any other such nonsense: in reality life will chew me up and spit
out the bones, in the end, my greatest function is as a conduit of genetic
and cultural information from past to future generations, I am but a
single link in the chain -- now here - now gone -- although every link
must be strong, the real story is about the entire chain... as a friend
Gunn likes to say "from the first ancestor to the last descendant."
I am disposable, but the tribe *must* survive. If the tribe does not
survive, it will fall mute to the future even more so, so it is not
an option: individuals come and go, but the tribe must survive. By ensuring
such is firstly how I honour the ancestors.
"To be TRIUWE: keeping
my word and holding my oaths, ever loyal to ancestors, kith and kin."
This could be called "true"
but I did not want to confuse it with the idea of "an actual fact",
but rather emphasize its root sense of "trustworthy, firm as a
TREE".
Oaths were of high importance,
and no one wanted to be known as an oathbreaker. The oaths which bound
a war-band or comitatus were so holy as to take precedence over kin-ties.
That is to say that the infamy gained by being renowned as an oathbreaker
was a greater harm than losing one's kin-luck. War-bands were concerned
with protection of the greater community, not just one kindred or the
other, and as such of course the execution of their duties would be
more important than just one kindred (unless perhaps it was the kindred
of the king. in which case the king's whole kindred and bloodline was
the embodiment of the collective, just as the king himself was an emodiment
of the tribal collective).
Being triuwe to ancestors,
means, among other things, keeping the holy-tides and fulfilling the
functions of the Nordic ancestral religion in our communities on an
ongoing basis, until the end of time.
Being triuwe to kin, means,
among other things, holding kin-ties as sacred above all save perhaps
those of the war-band as above. This is especially important at this
stage on the revival, when so many of our folk are alienated from their
families and each other. Injury to one member of a tribe is an injury
to the whole tribe. Tribesmen should defend and protect their fellows,
treating a tribesman's injury as their own.
"To be BOLD: bravely
meeting both life and death with swift courage, whatever the woe or
foeman that falls against me."
Another of the cardinal
virtues of the ancestors was of course bravery, which is pretty self
explanatory. It has been said that bravery is not an absence of fear,
but the ability to act in spite of it. What makes that possible is the
sure knowledge that in fact even in death there is nothing for the individual
to fear when the tribe as whole survives. So though the body may be
frightened, the mind knows and the heart rests in the knowledge that
the spirit of the tribe which animates him will transcend the death
of his own body, as has, indeed, always been the case.
"To be HEALTHY:
growing in strength and might, fit of body, whole of mind, for hallowed
are the hale."
Also pretty self explanatory.
Worthy of further study is the relationship of all the words in the
HAL complex (holy, hallowed, whole, hale, health etc.) which all seem
to suggest halig or holiness refers to the holistic and homeostatic
nature of the healthy body. This would consist of emphasizing activities
that are good for the body and minimizing or moderating activities (such
as smoking or drinking too much) which are obviously not good in excess.
The purpose of this is not to aggrandize our own bodies as such, or
introduce a bunch of prohibitions, but rather to prepare the body to
be better able to preserve the genetic legacy of our entire tribe.
"To be STEADY: working
hard, persevering and holding fast to my course, whatever brings the
daily wind and weather."
For me, anyway, steadiness
also includes a certain emotional fortitude as well. I don't like to
waste energy on needless emotionalism, and don't like getting all stressed
out unless absolutely necessary. Being steady is a certain part a science
of mind, self control and self discipline in the face of days when the
universe, or parts of it, is just is not going the way I would have
preferred. There is no use shaking my fist and getting all pissed off
at the weather, for example, I had better to direct my energies to getting
my firewood out from the rain, or what have you.
"To be SKILLFUL:
exceeding limits to achieve excellence, in all that I do, building
weal and wealth."
Interestingly, the word
"skill" did not come to mean expert ability until about the
1300's, and prior to that meant "distinction, discernment"
in Old Norse. Here we combine both meanings, as indeed, it takes discernment
to create quality and generate wealth. This also speaks to the root
meaning of "evil", which meant originally "malformed,
defective, not excellent", at least inversely. Skill is the ability
to create something that is properly formed, and effective. Skill therefore
is the best tool to counter evil.
More still, it speaks to
the triad that is classic to many levels of Germanic and Indo-European
folk-lore: good, better, best; thrall, carl, earl, etc. as illustrated
in Rigsthula. Excellence is divine.
"To be GIVING: freely
generous in hand, heart and mind, hospitable and ever a help to my
friends."
It seems overly obvious,
but I have found there is not a clear understanding of what reciprocal
gift-giving really means in a tribal context, specifically how important
reciprocal gifting is as a way of consolidating the tribe. But it also
speaks to non-tangible gifts a person can bring their tribe.
To be giving of heart, for
example, might mean offer to certain degrees unconditional love to kinsmen,
being tolerant of their eccentricities and forgiving them the minor
disagreements which arise when folks live in close quarters. This is
not to say to put up with abuse from kinsmen, or support them in their
destructive behaviours, for example, which would call for a bold as
well as giving approach. This is to say to keep the goal in mind: which
is to preserve the consolidation of the tribe. The Havamal teaches to
the effect that "No man so faulty as to be of no worth, or so virtuous
to be free of fault... both fair and foul blended within one breast..."
and "of what gain is a good man dead", and so on.
To be giving of mind means
to teach what it is one knows to another member or members of the tribe.
What good to the tribe is one's knowledge and wisdom if one takes it
with him to his grave? This knowledge in fact belongs to the tribal
collective, is part of the cultural "software", if you will,
which is loaded onto the genetic "hardware" of the living
members of the tribe, and is passed down generation to generation. Without
teaching and passing on what one has learned, the tribal culture will
be silenced to history, quite like the dead ancestor with no face or
name, mute to the future, part of a lost past (and what is a worser
fate than that for an ancestor?)
This also speaks to the
Theodish thew of "right good will", that of granting fellow
tribesmen the benefit of the doubt, granting them basic dignity of respect,
and assuming the best of their intention unless and until they prove
otherwise.
"To be SOOTH: seeking
the real and the actual, eloquently speaking the truth."
It has been my experience
that lies and secrets between tribesmen divide and fracture the tribe.
Both seeking out the truth of any situation, as well as a firm commitment
to speaking truly no matter how uncomfortable it may get in the short
term, actually preserves the consolidation of the tribe in the long
run.
This also speaks to the
more conventional meaning of sooth-saying: the ability to recognize
how present trends are likely to develop as time unfolds. For just one
example, it is safe to say lies and deceit between tribesmen hurt and
hinder the whole tribe, and big trouble for the tribe will be the eventual
result.
But even more, being sooth
relates to the serving of delicious words to the gods and ancestors
during symble, and in general to the exchange of significant language
as a tool to build solidarity within the tribe.
"To be WITTY: kindling
intelligence, seeking out knowledge, gaining in wisdom."
By witty I do not primarily
mean a sharp sense of humour, although that is certainly a part of wit,
I use the word in its elder context of "knowing", ala the
OE title for community elder, "wita" - one who knows.
Much can and should be written
about wisdom in a Heathen context, but just for a brief example, it
could be that in fulfilling one of these guidelines, one has to not
fulfill another. For example, it may be necessary to lie in order to
secure the survival of the tribe as a whole, even though at the same
time you can't have all the tribe members lying to each other. Being
able to discern which choices best serves the tribe, in any given situation,
requires wisdom.
"To be WINSOME:
being loving to my fellows, joyous and glad of heart."
Being winsome, or glad,
was indeed an inner asset for the elder chieftans. The best interest
for the whole group is well served by having a leader who is positive
and optimistic. Who would want to follow a dreary, depressed pessimist
to his grave? But many would gladly follow a winsome leader even into
sure destruction, which relates to boldness directly. Many of us nowadays
relate bravery with fierceness alone, when in fact the most uncanny
kind of bravery frees one from fear completely, to be joyous and glad
even in the face of certain death.
And why would that be, you
may be asking, why would I be glad in the face of ultimate destruction,
be it on the battlefield or by way of the decay of old age, suffering
and death... faced with such a bleak outlook, how could anyone be joyous?
Why is Heimdal known as "glad" even though the gods are sure
to take heavy casualties in theri battle with the giants at Ragnarok?
Could it be he knows what Odhin whispered in the ear of his son Baldr
when the latter was put upon his own funeral pyre? Do I see a smile
on Baldr's death-mask?
I suspect that it is the
secret that the giants cannot possibly understand, but to ensure their
ignorance was why Odhin riddled them... and that what he told Baldr
was as much: that the essentials of divinity transcend the death and
destruction of form by their very definition... that what is truly glorious
and divine is everlasting, even through the cycles of becoming, the
web of wyrd, throughout the worlds of form and formlessness... that
which is truly glorious remains whatever befalls the temporary form
of the divine... even perhaps like Gullvieg rises into form again three
times after being burnt by the gods... what remains... what endures...
what is truly glorious... is divine... are "the leavings of the
wolf", to paraphase a kenning of Tyr's.
This speaks to the importance
of arfull and thewfull (honourable and correct) deeds to the Heathen,
seems to me. That the spirit of the tribe likewise transcends the death
and destruction of any one individual body which embodies it. It is
a powerful and joyful mystery, and I should be as glad as Heimdal in
the knowing of it.
Lady Tee Wodening has commented
as well on the fact that she sees that many Heathen today forget about
the importance of being winsome. I might add perhaps that is because
of the context "the pursuit of happiness" takes on from within
the world view of world-denying universal salvationist religions like
Christianity, Islam, the Krisna cult, and to some degree even popular
Budhism.
It is true that the right
thing to do is often the most difficult, for example setting aside one's
own desires to secure the best interest of the tribe requires tremendous
self-sacrifice that is quite painful to many of us individuated moderns,
at least it was and occasionally still is for me. The story of life
is not about me being happy all the time: in fact I would rather not
have to do many of the things I have to do, scrubbing the toilet being
the least of my worries. So in fact, my personal enlightenment and happiness
is really beside the point of life: the priority always being the survival
and gain of my tribe as a whole. In fact achieving that singular goal
furnishes enough emotional satisfaction to make up for the pain of loosing
or delaying a selfish desire anyway.
However, that is not to
say that Heathenism lacks an opportunity for individual tribesmen to
"scratch their own backs". There is the freedom to seek out
pleasurable and joyous things, according to individual interest and
aptitude.
Not to mention the fact
that of what use is a religion to me if does not assist me in enjoying
myself? Really? A religion should at least provide me with the tools
and knowledge I need to wrest some small joy out of my existence. If
not, who needs it?
But the bottom line is that
love is the strongest bind between folks, stronger than significant
language, stronger than religion per se. Love is the sinew which binds
the various tribesmen into a consolidated whole, and as such is the
life-blood of the collective consciousness of the tribe. A tribe based
on and controlled by fear alone is doomed.
While I draw breath,
let my words ring true in my deeds,
Ere when I die, my good name leaving behind,
my tribesmen will toast my life, saying,
"In life, he was all of these things!"
For true glory is the
honour of the living,
and gives safe passage among the dead;
Such fame makes sure my welcome,
at the mound of my ancestors.
I have already given considerable
discourse on the ideas contained in these summary stanzas above, but
again I felt it necessary to not only open but also close the piece
with a clear statement of what my goals really are in life.
Some may have noticed there
are nine points of honour in this piece, and I assure you that was quite
unintentional. When I sat down and asked myself how I would like to
be known by my tribesmen after my death, there was a list of more than
a dozen points, although not as many as in Northvegr's "30 virtues"
for another example. But I saw many of them could be combined under
one point of honour, but I could not, in these drafts at least, boil
my list down to any fewer than nine points and retain the granularity
I required.
So in my initial quest I
have succeeded, I feel, and that was to be able to give my 9 year old
son something he could memorize that would encapsulate a genuinely Heathen
conception of honour.
I am honoured that it has
spoken to so many Heathen across the net as well.
