Julbock

Julbock

High in the hill there lived a goat

where the stars touch the earth

and the sky lights brought mirth

in the dwellings of the little folk

Whence it came, down the valley

which was blazing in golden light

from houses in gloom of night

searching for scraps to feed the belly

From house to house it went

disguised in clothes made of straw

people gave it something to gnaw

and a piece of wood it lent

The elders made a long red ribbon

from flaps of old worn garments

where wooden pieces and old parchments

were sewed by the women

Upon the goat's neck it was placed

the ribbon with messages to the gods

adorned with runes and colorful knots

to the hill it went as everyone gazed

Dawn came over the horizon

the Yule goat consumed by flame

of Sunna's warm steady claim

the cold valley it will brighten

Arith Härger


Cσρуяιgнт © 2013™


Happy Holidays to all friends! :D

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Thor’s Hammer

Speaking of Norse symbols, Thor's Hammer or Mjölnir is one of the most used symbols of all time, I dare to say that it is more used nowadays than during the Viking Age, unfortunately most people use it and don't know its true meaning, they just use it because it is cool and most bands they like also use one of those.

Mjölnir is the weapon of the Thunder God Thor, which initially was thought to be made of stone, but in truth it was made out of iron, forged by the Svartálfar or black elves, along with the help of the dvergar or duergar (dwarves) named Sindri and Brokkr. 
Thor's weapon in the myths is a magical axe or hammer when thrown with the objective of destroying its enemies, it comes back to Thor's hands like a boomerang, it has also the capability of becoming so small that can be carried under the clothes. Mjölnir is to Thor what Gungnir (the spear) is to Odin, it is the very symbol of the god of thunder and his power, it is a weapon that all the enemies of this great god fear the most, especially the Jötnar, the giants of the Norse mythology. Most enemies try to lure Thor into their territories and somehow steal his hammer and Megingjörð, Thor's belt of strength and power. During the Viking Age, miniature pendant replicas of Thor’s hammer were very popular and often used by all in Scandinavia. In Iceland its variant was cross-shaped, while Thor’s hammers from Sweden and Norway tended to be made with an arrow or T shape. According to some researchers, the swastika shape found in East Anglia and Kent before Christianization, may be a variant of the same symbol. In Old Norse the name of Thor’s hammer is spelled either mjǫlnir or mjǫllnir. It is thought to be etymologically related to the English word mill and meal "to crush". Another version states it is related to the Russian word молния and the Welsh mellt, both meaning ‘lightning’. Mjölnir is usually interpreted as meaning "That which smashes", derived from the verb mölva "To smash". "Moer" which is one of the Portuguese words that survived the Germanic and Norse influence in the country also means "to crush" or " "to grind" and also "mill".
Many modern Thor’s hammer pendants try to feature the word Mjollnir in the Elder Futhark runes, simply replacing each letter with a corresponding rune. The procedure is incorrect. Mjolnir is an Old Norse word. Old Norse developed in the 8th century. Due to its difference as compared to its earlier form, Proto-Norse, Vikings were to reform their runic writing system. As a result, they adopted the Younger Futhark. By the end of the 8th century the Elder Futhark was not in use any more. If we were to write the name of Thor’s hammer in the Elder Futhark runes, we would have to reconstruct it in Proto-Norse. 
It is important to know that this symbol is a symbol of power, protection and fertility, most people who aren't heathens, or anyother pagans who practice the old Norse beliefs tend to label Thor's hammer as a symbol of hatred, racism and fear, which obviously isn't.

I always wear a Mjölnir made of Ox bone, it was a gift given to me by my girlfriend.

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Ales stenar - The Swedish "Stonehenge"

Ales stenar ,as it has been called, is a giant stone relic perched atop of a cliff in Skåne in southern Sweden, most call it the "Sweden's Stonehenge"
It’s been speculated that the 67 meter long (220 feet) stone ship has astronomical, geometrical, geographical, and mythological significance and that it is tied to the Iron Age and the Viking era. But a new group digging at the site finds no such evidence. Amateur researcher Bob Lind and his team instead believe that Ales stenar is a relic from the Bronze Age. But is it really? The carbon 14 dating system has provided seven results at the site, one indicating that the material used is around 5,500 years old, whereas the remaining six indicate a date about 1,400 years old. The latter is considered to be the most likely time for Ales stenar to have been created, which would place its creation towards the end of the Nordic Iron Age. And who was Ale? According to Scandinavian legend, Ale the Strong was a King and fought several battles. He ruled in Uppsala for 25 years and might be buried at Ales stenar. And the meaning of the stones? According to the Lind team, they form a calendar. “The pits where the stones are set in are perfectly aligned with the sun’s setting and rise. It’s statistically impossible that they ended up like that by accident,” explains geologist Nils-Axel Mörner, who works with Bob Lind.

The Oseberg Buddha

I have already written a post about the Oseberg ship and its finding during the early 90's of the XX century (1904) in a burial mound near Oseberg farm, in the Vestfold county in Norway.  One of the most well preserved findings of the Viking Age, unfortunately looted during the early Middle Ages, but even so what remained there was a really exciting and princeless findings for the archaeological studies.
Apart from the two female skeletons found there, which was the main subject of my previous writing about the Oseberg ship on another post, there were other burial goods, all the precious metals have been taken by the thieves, but what seemed to them to be worthless, is indeed a marvelous treasure the understand the lifes of these people during the Viking Ages. One of the most interesting Oseberg discoveries is the so called Buddha-bøtte or Buddha bucket.  It is a pail with two identical figures forming the joints of the pail handle. Both figures represent a man seated in the Lotus position. The head is flat and his face with the eyes closed has a very peaceful expression. The man’s breast is ornamented with red and yellow in the technique of champlevé enamel used in the decorative arts, as well as panels in the glass work technique of millefiori. Four swastikas on the enamel decoration have the common shape of those in the Buddhist tradition, in which this symbol represents auspiciousness and good fortune, which is indeed an universal symbol that dates from prehistoric times, very common in shamanic comunities and the Norse peoples also used it. But this artifact shows that the Vikings could in fact have met Buddhist missionaries during their expeditions.  It is also interesting to know about the Sixth-century Buddha statuette from northern India that was found on the island of Helgö, in Sweden, something that I have also written about and you can take a look at the lable of "Archaeology" which shows indeed the contact that the Nordic people had with other cultures, so far from their homeland, the trading routes that have been settled during this time, theexchange of culture, ideas, religion and the trade communities of other countries that have settled in the Norse lands and apparently they all got along pretty well, according to the archeolofical findings of Helgö. However, the Oseberg Buddha is different, it does not seem to have been imported from Asia. Researchers point to either Ireland or England as the possible places of origin. Hexham bucket decoration represents a flat human head with the same type of broad face and the same stress on the eyes. Among other parallels, the hanging bowl found at Löland, Norway, and the one found in the Maas, Holland, are similar examples. Both have human shaped handles with red and yellow enamel decoration. Perhaps the most striking parralel to Oseberg Buddha are the anthropomorphic escutcheons on the Myklebostad hanging bowl, which have similar elaborate champlevé in red, yellow and green, with panels of millefiori. However, the man is not seated, but standing.
Suffice to say that the identity of the man here represented remains a mystery. It could be Buddha himself, or a different type of foreign art that the Norse adopted and created the image of one of their leaders in this shape, or probably the representation of one of their gods? We might never know, but it is interesting to see how far people went and the many cutural diversity already existing in Europe in these ages.



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An unexpected visit

An unexpected visit

The cold afternoon of October brought a sudden harsh wind, which helped me to reach the train station faster as it pushed me down the street. With my luggage and backpack I went to the train station, but it was still too early for I was eager to get home. No one to be seen, the place was filled with the singing of birds and the whispering voices of leafs in the wind. I set down inside the train and the burning colours of dusk over the horizon passed gently through the window, those last western rays of the sun smoothly warmed my face, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath filling my lungs with a new vigor and exhaling the longing for home. Time went on without warning and before I realized the train was already ongoing, with few people scattered in the carriage where I was. The train with its bumps cradle me and I fell asleep, but was quickly woken by a sudden and abrupt stop of the train, I did not realize what was happening because my mind was still partly inside a dream as my eyes slowly opened for a still blurred reality. People went to and fro outside my window, there was too much comings and goings, but I stood at my seat in silence, waiting. In a few minutes the train was on the move again and I was glad, for every inch I left behind, it was the closest from home I could ever be. Usually on my way home or leaving it by train or any other kind of transportation, I go alone on my seat, forlorn with only my thoughts as a companion. The train is a remarkably adviser when we are left alone with our own mind, and exceptional good stories are made while the landscape outside changes, everything around us changes, and yet we remain the same and our mind wanders into fantastical places. As I was minding my own business and writing a few books in my mind, a young fellow sat in front of me with a smile from ear to ear, glittering brown eyes, sallow-faced and dark hair, he was no younger than me at that time. He didn't stop looking at me and smiling, I pretended that I wasn't noticing, but then I thought that he might knew me from somewhere or we probably met each other years ago, although it seemed to me that that could be the first time I was actually seeting my eyes upon this figure, how rude of me it was not greeting this stranger that seemed so eager to speak to me. I turned to him and as I was beginning to open my mouth to let friendly words come out, he anticipated my gesture and spoke first, and this is what he said to me:
- "Hello!" - said he without letting his smile fade away, and in answer I said - "Well Hello to you too... I'm terribly sorry but.. do we know each other? I don't seem to recal your face from any place" - and then I added - "I'm very good with faces, I never forget one, and yours isn't familiar.." - His eyes never blinked and as I was waiting for an elaborated answer from his part, he simply said - "No!.. we do not know each other." - an awkward silence filled the air and he continued - "This is actually the first time we met and I am so eager to share with someone my tale.." - well I could notice that, but I remained deprived of any commentary and waited - "You see... as I was entering the train I noticed you, as anyone else seemed to be busy, I turned to you to share my tale because I can't keep to myself such joy." - "By all means, please do tell." - said I, and thus our long conversation began, and every word he spoke to me I will now write to you as if it was the very person telling you the tale.

"Few years ago it seemed that I couldn't take any joy in living, while the world around me was falling apart, little control had I over the events of my daily life. I remember that I was completly listless and seldom a smile anyone could push out of me. My only plesure was to sleep, traveling in the realm of dreams, in places where anything was possible, but the many dreams I had, naught stood in waking memory, all I could remember is that I was free in such dreams, whatever those were. One day I woke up during the night, after an entire day lying on bed waiting for.. well.. anything that could lift my spirit, I got out of the door and went to the nearest woodland in the surroundings of my town. Upon reaching the site, I dove deep into the woodland, embroiled in shadow, till I found a glade that had nothing but tall grass and a rock here and there bathed by the moon light. Right in the very middle of this glade there was a woman, simple but beautiful with a long blue dress and a ribbon of the same colour on her long hair that seemed dyed with dried blood. At that moment I felt my own heart beating, a thing that I thought to be lost deep within my chest. She looked upon me and spoke with her eyes, her bright hazel eyes, and we both grabbed the hands of each other. The night went on and no word was spoken. The next day I had something to live for, and I eagerly waited for the night time to see her again in the exact same spot. As night came, I never looked back once I got out of the door and ran straight to the glade. So there she was, this time I had so many questions in mind and I poured out as many as I could. I got to know that she wasn't from the town nor anywhere near, but as a child she used to play in that place, so the last week of October she would always be there and we could always be together on that last week of that month.
I waited an entire year for that last week to come again and it finally did. I was thrilled to be with her again, and the night I have been waiting that entire year finally came and I ran for it. I was afraid that she wasn't there, but fortunately there was no disappointment, she was there indeed, she hadn't change a bit. I took my chances, I told her that I loved her, after all... I would only have the last week of October to be with her, and then I had to wait an unbearable year, suffocating in anguish, and that thought was excruciating. There was never a dull moment, all that we ought to have done we did until the last day of October finally came and I stood by her till the next morning, the first of November. I woke up alone in the cold morning, my clothes were completly soaked with the morning dew. For seven years we lived like this, we only saw each other one week every year, cursed week shouted I ! Naught was more unbearable than the long waiting, my heart was being torn asunder. None seemed to believe my story and the only advise given to me was to let it go, let that fantasy be kept hidden in the night vault where all desires should be locked away from the cold steel called reality. I waited for that week once more and for the last time, I was ready to put an end to this, when it came to me the reason why we could only be together during this time. I wept for too long until I forgot the reason why I was weeping. This morning, a couple of hours before this very moment, I found a way to be with her, to reach her in the far corners of my thoughts, and by the time the sun delves into the earth far in the western horizon, from out of the darkness a new light shall spring forth, she will come to me and I to her. Look friend, the hour is upon us, such joy I have that I couldn't contain it, I'm standing between the fine line of amazement and awe. The hour is Nigh! For a few frames of second you will be able to see the light coming from the veiled sky. Look friend, there it is.."

As I turned my head to look outside and back again, he was no more. By the gods! The look on my face must have been quite a sight! I got up and looked from one end to another of the carriage, too few were those standing there, some half asleep, others completly aloof. I looked down to my hands, I could feel the cold, I rubbed my hands and a warmer temperature started to come. I was quite awake! I sat down gazing the void of darkness outside and I saw my own image reflected on the window, I laughed, but not a loud laughter, only a subtle laugh shaking my head the way we all do when we realize how obvious something is.



Arith Härger



Cσρуяιgнт © 2013™


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The Julbock

Since we are entering in the season where the most awaited festivity of the year lies, I'll tell you about what the Julbock is, since that this December of 2013 I will not speak of any celebration during this season because I've written about this subject numerous times in other posts.

The Julbock or Yule Buck is an holiday custom, a goat made of straw, a little object filled with history that comes from the ancient times when Northern Europe hadn't been touched by christianization and people were still heathens, celebrating their own holidays.
I actually got my first Julbocks this year, I found them to be really interesting we back home we wanted to decorate the house with those during this season. We bought two little ones and I joked about those being Thor's goats... well I wasn't far from the truth, having something in the house and not knowing its real meaning isn't right for me so I have made some research.

Of course this little symbol has an obvious connection with Thor's goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr (Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder) and the story of Father Winter comes again, there is much speculation to who is the real Santa Claus. Well, one thing we can be certain, this is something that goes back in history in a time before the Christian figure of Saint Nickolas. The figure of Father Winter tend to be linked to Odin or Thor.
There wused to be a Swedish folk custom that was directly related to Snorri Sturluson's account of Thor killing his goats for a feast and then raising them from the dead the next day, a story we don't get tired of hearing especially when it involves the adventure of Tjalf and Roskva. Unfortunately this custom seems to have gone since the mid twenty century (1900's). The performance is described as an actor, hidden by a coverlet made of skins and wearing a pair of horns, is led into the room by two men, who make believe that they are slaughtering him, while they sing verses referring to the mantles of various colours, whire, red, yellow and blue, which they laid on him, one after the other. At the end of the song, the Jolbock or the Yule Goat, after feigning death, jumps up and skips about to the amusement of all of those who were watching.

We usually see goats in the Norse folklore, most of the times the goat is the companion of the Tomte, a small mythological creature associated with the winter solstice, no taller than three feet, and has a long white beard and colorful clothes, very much like a Gnome. The Tomte or the Tomten, are usually known as the gift bearers, deeply connected with the goat and here we can see the connection to Father Winter, giving gifts, as Odin is often called, The Gift-bearer, The giver of gifts etc. 

There is also a Norwegian custom called the Julebukking, where people wear masks and costumes called Julebukkers and go from door to door and neighbors who receive them try to identify who is under the disguise. The Julebukkers will of course attempt to disguise their voices and body language. Offering Julebukkers treats and something to drink is a tradition. Once the Julebukkers have been identified and whatever was given to them is consumed, they move on to the next house. Another tradition requires that at least one person from the visited household join the band of Julebukkers and continue to the next household.

The Julbock is burned during the bonfires that are set during this season as an offering to the gods. Some people write messages to the gods in a piece of paper and place them in the red ribbon in the goat's neck.

It is interesting to see that this pagan symbol still survives to this day and I'm really happy that I got my first Julbock this year, from my mother side and from my father's father side my ancestors were Norse and Germanic, but many traditions were lost.. but the moment I saw that goat made of straw, something inside of me awoke, perhaps a feeling shared by my ancestors that still runs through my veins.

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World's oldest Marijuana stash

By the title you may find it an unusual theme to be written about by my part, but I assure you that it is totally in a historical and archaeological point of view.

Science today doesn't stop to amaze us, especially when it comes to the study of ancient civilisations and we get to know better the ways of our ancestors, which doen't stop to surprise us also. 
Almost two pounds of a plant material was found in a 2,700-year-old grave in the Gobi Desert, this material was still green and it has just been identified as the world's oldest marijuana stash. The tests that have been made to this ancient marijuana shows that it possessed potent psychoactive properties. It was thought that the ancient civilisations only grew the plant for hemp in order to make clothing, rope and other objects, but this finding shows it differently. It appears that these people were using the plant as a drug. Well.. there isn't anything new about this, what is new is that they had a lot of  plantations for the purpose, they didn't just go into the wilds and pick them up, or went to places where the plant was abundant, they already had personal gardens of it.

The excavations took place in the Yanghai Tombs near Turpan, China. The drug was found lightly pounded in a wooden bowl in a leather basket near the head of a blue-eyed Caucasian man who died when he was about 45. This person was buried with a lot of unusual and rare items of great value. Among these items there was a make-up bag, some bridles, pots, archery equipment and a kongou harp. It is believed that this individual was a shaman from the Gushi people, who spoke a language called Tocharian that was similar to Celtic, unfortunately now extinct. The test results of the plant found in the bowl revealed that it was cannabis.

The seeds mixed in with the leaves, along with their color and other characteristics, indicate the marijuana came from a cultivated strain. Before the burial began, someone had carefully picked out all of the male plant parts, ( which are less psychoactive ). Researchers don't yet know how this drug was administered because among the findings there wasn't any pipe nor any other kind of tool associated with the process of smoking. It might have been fumigated or orally ingested.

Apparently this plant was not only used to make clothes and other goods, as there is evidence that the Gushi people did their own clothes out of wool and made ropes out of reed fibers. Probably the marijuana was grown for medicinal and spiritual purposes, maybe that was its greater function.