What a strange time to be alive.
The Far-Right is making a comeback, the environment is degrading at break neck speed, and all the money is somehow in the clutches of a handful of people.
And all I can think about is the term 'Unmann'.
To get into my head, you have to go on a journey with me. A journey I started about two years ago, after buying two books and seeing an exhibition.
One I will always bring up, the Davids Graeber and Wengrow with 'The Dawn of Everything'. Its a great exploration of humanity and its political organisation, mainly how we are not, or don't allow ourselves to be, as maleable as we were back in the past.
The second is Hana Videen, with 'The Word Hord'. Throughout her life she has collected old english words that have meanings and stories we have forgotten. If you are interested in etymology and the English language, buy this book. I have her next one called 'The Deor Hord' all about old english animals(1).
The final is an exhibition that was on at the Historik Museum of Oslo about the different ways of looking at human organisation and culture. This one introduced(2) me to Tapu, a Moari for respecting something sacred, something holy.
With these out of the way, lets dive in.
You see, the 'Unmann' is a strange concept to really get your head around. It was really used as a derogative of someone. To be named this, you have to sacrifice your humanity to gain something. But in the Word Hord, Videen explores it as both a formation of monsters and heroes.
"Un-mann in these contexts is undoubtedly negative, but another instance, in the Life of St Guthlac, is less clear. The saint's life describes Guthlac's boyhood and coming of age...... he thinks more and more frequently about 'the strong deeds of unmanna and earthly rulers'. If spending your time learning about birdsong is frowned upon, surely time spent pondering over the deeds of bad men is worse. So is 'bad men' really What unmanna means?' (p226-227)
Hana goes on to say that Bosworth-Toller brings up a second definition that fits un-mann as hero. 'Like a superhero', is said.
I understand that, even someone like Beowulf couldn't be seen as a man. In the stories he seems to transcend that definition through physical, honourific and political accumen. He understands that war will come from man's deceit, and he swims in the sea for days on end with full armour. In fact, the only time you see him not as an overpowered individual is when he is killed, where the population then mourn him and fear what is to come next(3).
So if we see the Unmann as someone who has transcended or descended from the category of 'man', we can interpret both Hero and Villian as something to respect and be wary of.
This brings me to Tapu, where we get the word Taboo from. This is sacred things that must never be transgressed. When we were in Oslo, Elizabeth and I saw an exhibition that explored man and their relationship to nature. The customs and traditions, as well as the exploitation and future solutions. Here there was an text about Tapu, which I'll show here.
I think its important to look at rules and laws from outside your worldview, as you can see patterns or other ways of navigating the world. Here, Tapu is a way for keeping the sacred away at a safe distance and not causing any disruption. Being wary of the gods is belief of fear and respect rather than love, but also recognising your place within the ecological or divine system and not breaking that.
So what does this have to do with my point of the 'Unmann' and the problems of today? Well, quite a lot I'd say.
Just like gods in pantheistic religions, being wary of those who hold divine power helps the group prosper and survive, those in power can be seen as 'Unmann' or gods. But in stories such as Beowulf and Greek epics for example, there are many characters who break these rules. Characters who kill those in sacred spaces or try to challenge the gods themselves. Those who succeed often feel a disconnection to others of their kin, either losing humanity or gaining divinity. Quite often it is the first.
What I'm trying to say(4), is that we should be sceptical of those who are trying to gain power over others. People who are willing to break rules that are there for the collective good for personal gain. If we don't value these rules, then we will be full of monsters that have sacrificed their soul for some sort of temporary power that will only bring harm to the majority of the worlds population.
Hell, we can see it now! Oil companies spilling into the Gulf of Mexico(5), Water companies in the UK are polluting our rivers because its cheaper than actually doing their jobs, Tech companies are actively excluding peoples identities just to be the good graces of a bunch of corrupt politicians! This is not a healthy world we live in, and there must be a better solution rather than just accept it. Unfortunately, hero worship and monster worship are too close together, so maybe even elevating someone should be analysed sceptically.
My case here is(6) Elon Musk. A man who in the past wanted to create clean energy, space travel and carbon zero cars. Elon went to talks about how to improve the human condition and spoke like an expert on everything. He could have been doing it from the kindness of his heart, but what we know now is that her wanted to be adored, worshipped even.
It has been found that all of his genius was not his, but others he has either bought or manipulated. He did not create Paypal, he did not create SpaceX, and he did not found Twitter(7). Elon is a quintessential 'Unmann', someone who has removed himself from the population to try to be a hero or, if failing that, a monster. A monster he has formed in siding with openly right wing parties all over the world to grow his influence.
So what can I finish with here? That trying to be more than human is a bad thing? That ambition is evil? I don't think that's what I'm saying.
I think that those in power must be questioned about their authority. Where does it come from, and how is it effecting the world?
We have our own taboos that are separate from anything spiritual, such as who owns what(8) and how much we should trust those who govern. But what if that taboo is actually a lie to keep us from thinking for ourselves, made so we don't question what has been taken away from us in the name of progression or security. Some sacred rules have been broken to make new rules that are artificial taboos that we are told not to dissent from by many corrupt 'Unmen'.
Being ambitious is not the same as being exploitative. Being a leader doesn't mean being cruel and manipulative. These artificial taboos can be broken, unmade and remade to make a better world for everyone.
So next time you see a person lauded for their acheivements, I think you should ask yourself, who is actually benefiting from this worship?
(1) I'm starting to write little stories based in a Beowulf/Mabinogion world, where spirits exist. I like Animism, its a great way of looking at the world, and thats how I'm constructing these stories.
(2) I knew it existed, But i didn't really know the meaning of it. I still don't, and would love to have a chat if anyone who wants to chat.
(3) And the Wyrm that kills him is a thinly veiled story of how greed can be the downfall of entire regimes. Also you could say that it's man's need to conquer nature that leads to deaths of others, where the theives steal the Wyrm's gold and the Wyrm then goes on a killing spree.
(4) The long way around I guess.
(5) It's the Gulf of Mexico, I'm not calling it the Gulf of America. The Mexica peoples were there first, and Texas used to be Spanish. So you know, stop.
(6) Unfortunately
(7) I will not call it X
(8) In England, we don't actually know who owns what land. So who is profiting from this ignorance?
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