"Heimdallr is the name of one: he is called the White God. He is great and holy; nine maids, all sisters, bore him for a son. ... And furthermore, he himself says in Heimdalar-galðr:
- I am of nine mothers the offspring,
- Of sisters nine am I the son."
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
What's white and has 9 mothers?
I know that sounds like a riddle, and I guess it sort of is, but that's not how I meant it.
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12 comments:
The nine moons of gestation?
That's possible, I suppose, but it seems odd that the metaphor for the cycle of motherhood would be motherhood. Kinda unsubtle, y'know?
Could it refer, instead of literal sisters, to nine generations? That he is the culmination of a lineage?
From our vantage point it is obvious. From the time period when the Eddas were written, the whole 9 moon gestation period was not a widely known fact.
Most occult knowledge is pretty bland now.
Nine maids?
This dude totally kicked Jesus's ass!
Jake, your point about occult knowledge being rendered mundane by the advance of education is a good one.
I'm not totally convinced the gestation concept is the right solution, however, as it still doesn't address the issue that Hiemdall wasn't a fertility god. The norse had lots of fertility gods: Frey, Freyr, Sif, Frygg, the whole Vanir subpantheon, even Baldur can be argued as such. Nothing I've read suggests Heimdall had anything to do with fertility or reproduction. Of course, it could be that the Norse just thought every God and Goddess was Fertility-related.
The only other occurance of 9 that springs to my mind in relation to norse myths is The Nine Worlds. Heimdall guarded the rainbow bridge between midgard and asgard. Perhaps he had some psychopompal role that has been largely lost over the aeons. The Eddas are, afterall, a fairly late interpretation of the norse religion, compiled in response to the influx (and predations) of christianity.
If there's other hints in Heimdall's portfolio, they're eluding me. He was known for keen senses, stoic devotion to a sentry-task, guarding the rainbow, protective invocations, not trusting Loki, and eventually he and Loki kill each other ala Arthur and Modred. What am I missing?
Brainstorming the 9-generations concept Becky proposed.
5: Audhumla - Buri - Bor - Odin - Heimdall
5: Ymir - Giants - Bestla - Frigg - Heimdall
3: Geirrendour - 9 daughters of Geirrendour - Heimdall
3: Ran - 9 waves - Heimdall
His lineage is terribly contradictory
Also occuring in Nines in norse myth: the Valkyries. Hmm.
Heimdall's nickname Hallinskíði ("Bent Stick") also appears as a kenning for "ram", perhaps referring to the bent horns on a ram's head. Heimdall's nickname Gullintanni ("Golden-Toothed") would refer to the yellow coloring found in the teeth of old rams. A third name for Heimdall is Vindhlér ("Wind Shelter"). Dumézil cites Welsh folklore sources which tell how ocean waves come in sets of nine with the ninth one being the ram:
We understand that whatever his mythical value and functions were, the scene of his birth made him, in the sea's white frothing, the ram produced by the ninth wave. If this is the case, then it is correct to say that he has nine mothers, since one alone does not suffice, nor two, nor three.
From Wikipedia.
I retract my "he's not a fertility god" statement. I see some stuff about his avatar "Rig" doing some kinky stuff with a mortal couple for "while thrice three moons were gliding by."
Looks like Jake was right.
As to my Wikipedia quote, it only took a minute for me to remember that both the ram and the ocean are major fertility symbols. But as I have learned in my occult studies, it's all about 1's and 0's.
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