I make no bones about describing myself as a descendent of headhunters. Yes, the forebears of my mirthful, moon-faced saint of a paternal grandmother used to chop off the heads of their enemies, and display them:
A magnificent, brown-purple buckler he bore, with five wheels of gold on it, with a rim of pure white silver around it. A gold-hilted hammered sword at his left side. A long grey-edged spear together with a trenchant bye-spear for defence, with thongs for throwing and with rivets of whitened bronze, alongside him in the chariot. Nine heads he bore in one of his hands and ten in the other, and these he brandished before the hosts in token of his prowess and cunning. Medb hid her face beneath a shelter of shields lest Cuchulain should cast at her that day.
Yeah, the prevailing attitude in those days could be summed up as "two heads are better than none, a hundred heads are so much better than one" (I love that video- it seems like it could be the inspiration for Stonehenge).
Being the descendent of headhunters, the best way to honor this proud tradition is to engage in it. Simply put, I've collected skulls since I was a child. Most of my collection is now in the family camp in Maine in the cabinet of curiosities (my apartment is too small for a large collection of crania). I could not bear to part with one particular skull, though, a gorgeous raccoon skull I found while hiking with my maternal grandmother in a park near my house:
I leave it on the bookshelf, next to Kinsella's retelling of The Táin. Unfortunately, I never saved the brain of the raccoon, in order to fashion it into a weapon for home defense.
If you have some free time, and want to read one of my all-time favorite pieces of literature, The Táin is available online, in all its ultra-violent, scatalogical glory.
POSTSCRIPT: It's a shame that people of Irish descent have given up headhunting- what ancient Celt wouldn't have given his eye teeth to be able to display this giant-sized baby-head as a trophy?
The only thing that bugs me about skulls, are the teeth still in them. I'm not sure *why* I find it creepy but, I do.
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty cool 'Coon skull though. One time, when I was a kid, I found a cow skull in a neighbours field. I didn't take it home-my Mum would have killed me.
Your palms are quite fleshy. :)
((Hugs))
laura
Your palms are quite fleshy.
ReplyDeleteThe chemical hair-remover I use on them causes them to swell up.
The next full moon is November 10, BBBB.
ReplyDeleteTo be forewarned is to be forearmed...
~
A magnificent, brown-purple buckler he bore, with five wheels of gold on it, with a rim of pure white silver around it. A gold-hilted hammered sword at his left side
ReplyDeleteBig on the bling, those Celts. What does "Pimp my Chariot" look like in Ogham?
W/v = "subdero" which confirms many of my suspicions.
Again w/ the link trouble. ("Two heads.")
ReplyDeleteI'm quite certain I've some ancestors who liked the head of an enemy or two, they just didn't brag about it quite so much. (At least not when reporters were around.)
Now that Laura mentions it, that palm should be read by a pro. You seem to have extra lines. Or I'm missing one.
WV agrees: This was an almost hypnotic post, just a "no" short: "hyptic."
M.Bouffant~ The line beside his lifeline seems quite deep, doesn't it? Isn't that his "head line?"
ReplyDeleteA co-incidence that this post is about head hunting????
Hmmmm. :)
((Hugs))
Laura
I keep a trophy on my front lawn.
ReplyDeleteAgain w/ the link trouble. ("Two heads.")
ReplyDeleteThanks, every so often I have "cut-and-paste" problems. Link is fixed.
Now that Laura mentions it, that palm should be read by a pro.
&
The line beside his lifeline seems quite deep, doesn't it? Isn't that his "head line?"
I don't believe in that palm-reading stuff- I think it's fakery, unlike phrenology, which is SCIENCE!!!!
I keep a trophy on my front lawn.
Whoa, I never knew you were an Olmec.