Plough and Hearth

From: Michael Raaterova <cabal_at_algonet.se>
Date: Sun, 15 Jan 1995 18:11:11 +0100 (MET)


There are lots of gods left to cover you know. Here=D5s some musings on=20 two very central ones. Use, abuse or change as you wish, but do send=20 your comments.

BARNTAR AND MAHOME, MAN AND WOMAN, PLOUGH AND=20 HEARTH This pair is the low key version of Orlanth and Ernalda; they symbolise=20 Man and Woman and their general provinces - woman as the master of=20 house and home, and man as ranging provider. As a metaphor one can=20 see man as the circumference of a circle, which defines the centre, and=20 woman as the pivotal point of the world, which defines what the circle=20 can circle around. Thus Mahome and Barntar define society (in a rather=20 simplistic version) not as a binary opposition but as complimentary=20 sides of a coin. And as a pars pro toto they are symbolised as Plough=20 and Hearth (at least in highly agricultural societies; in more barbaric=20 regions Odayla takes the part of Barntar).

Mahome and Barntar are also associated with the spirits of household=20 and bountiful nature, like the hustomte (a spirit of the stead which=20 takes=20
care of the household as long as the tomte is respected and gets its=20 offerings every now and then) or gnomes of the field that keeps the=20 farmer=D5s fields free of vermin and weeds and suchlike. [unfortunately I=
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have difficulties finding cognate terms in english for the traditional=20 swedish ones concerning these spirits]

And of course Mahome and Barntar have yearly rituals to be=20 performed. Here are two of them:

PLOUGH DAY
This day is not fixed, but depends on the weather. On very warm=20 winters it takes place in Dark Season but usually it is performed in=20 Storm Season (as per John Hughes=D5 calendar). It is the day of the First=
=20

Ploughing (symbolically that is). The day that precedes Plough Day is=20 the Boundary Day, when the clan=D5s boundaries are walked and=20 reaffirmed with the neighboring clans. Plough Day is an honor to=20 Barntar, Ernalda and Orlanth. The plough must be a special one, to be=20 used only in this ritual. And it must be drawn by a cow and a bull. The=20 field is not ploughed as usual but in a spiralling fashion starting with=20 the boundaries of the field spiralling into the middle, where the=20 Mahome/Ernalda/Giver of Life stands (his wife). I like this ritual but I not altogether clear myself on the symbolism and=
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purpose of the ritual. Comments are welcome.

Any objects found when ploughing are held to be sacred to Barntar but=20 belongs to the farmer who found it. There is a myth about Barntar and=20 Asrelia concerning the finding of buried treasures and to whom it=20 belongs. It=D5s propably based on a law suit, but was heroquested into=20 the myths.

Please do not resurrect the plough thread.

HEARTH DAY
The Hearth is a symbol of household and home and the centre of the=20 universe. This day (in Dark Season) the hearth must burn the whole=20 night and the whole day to purify the sacred Hearth Stone, which is=20 buried in the ususal spot the next evening, to be put in the fire next=20 dark=20
season. The aim of the ritual is to renew and confirm the bond between=20 the members of the household and between the members of the=20 household and the house/hearth itself. The leader of the rite is a woman=20 of the household, and the men guards the hearth from attack from=20 malign spirits as the Hearth Stone cannot protect the house as long as it=
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is in the fire.

There is another Hearth Rite in Fire Season - Ash Day - when the=20 hearth is thoroughly cleaned or renewed or rebuilt, according to need.

I like to write rituals like these and will post those that i have, but I=
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would also like to see what others have done in this area of Gloranthan=20 society. Mail those rituals!

If there's still a lot of =3D20s in the text i'm gonna get real frustrated.=
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Please bear with the eyesore if they're still there; I'm working on it.

Thanks for all the comments i've received. One of the reasons to post=20 things on the digest is that you don't have to think about everything=20 yourself; the other readers gladly do that for you.

Salvete,

Michael Raaterova.


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