06/05/2024
OBSERVANCE OF THE DESECRATED SHRINES
June 5, 2024
On this day, Urglaawer honor these deities, whose names might have been lost to us forever had the Church not boasted the destruction of their shrines as being sacred acts of St. Boniface.
There are differing theories on the areas of concern for some of these deities.
Jecha's name is fairly apparently related to various words for "hunt," including the Deitsch words "Yeeger" ("hunter"), "yaegere" ("to hunt"), and "Yacht" ("hunt"; despite spelling, it has nothing to do with the English word for a kind of boat). So I consecrated an arrow to Her. Her name in Deitsch would be rendered as Yechaa, and we will begin to use that spelling from this day forward.
Stuffo (or Stuvo): We know from the Church's own lore that Stuffo (Deitsch: “Schtuuffo") was consulted as an oracle. Perhaps He is a god who was associated with wisdom and knowledge. I used the image of Him found on page 484 of Gods of the Germanic Peoples" volume 2. The picture, which is attached to this post, is a bit peculiar, but it is taken from a dedication stone of unknown age.The Church's recording of the banishing of Stuffo is very belittling, and the fact that his name seems odd to English-speaking ears has resulted in some Heathens not being sure how to approach Him. Please be respectful.
Lohra has two competing theories on Her primary area of concern. One is that She may have been associated with livestock breeding and farming (volume 2 p. 333). The second is that She may have been associated with learning and knowledge. This is derived from a possible connection to the Germanic roots for the words for teaching and lecturing, which live on in Deitsch words, such as "lehre" ("to teach" or "to instruct") and "Lehr" ("education," "learning"). To my mind came the volume of an old (1817) German encyclopedia that was given to me this past weekend. I opened up the book today, and the first entry I saw was "Braga," which, of course, was reporting on the Scandinavian Bragi. I took that as UPG impetus to move forward with honoring Lohra as a goddess related to education, creativity, and expression of words. I would love to see what entries are in other volumes of that encyclopedia set.
Biel (or Viel, depending on the record) may have been associated with the sun and/or with forests. A picture of the "Bielsteinkanzel" or "Biel stone pulpit" in Germany appears in volume 1 on p. 117, and local myths from the Harz mountains seem to support a god of the forests. I was unsure how to honor Him until I discovered that two medium-sized branches from my maple tree has been knocked down by something today and were in my front yard at the time I was preparing to honor Him. UPG again, but I felt as if this could be an indicator for where to go with honoring Him, so the branch became a representative to Him.
Reto is the big puzzle. I have not been able to wend my way through the existing references to a crying woman needing to wash themselves on Easter Eve in the Retoloch (a large hole in the middle of the hill named Reteberg, Rietberg, or Retoberg. I also am not sure I fully comprehend connections made to the Anglo-Saxon goddess Hreda. Indeed. some scholars do not believe Reto ever existed and was merely an invention of the proponents of Boniface's mission. Being unsure but following a UPG sense that the folklore exists for a reason, I spoke His name and poured offerings to His name.
Dunner, unlike the others, remained a prominent figure in the Germanic pantheon under many names, but His sacred oak was felled by Boniface and his men. The recounting in Conversion of the Teutonic race and some other sources I have come across do not match up. The Church's narrative is propaganda that serves to make Boniface's power appear superior to the local population. Other sources indicate that Boniface was accompanied not only by his monks (who do appear in the Church narrative) but by a small army meant to protect him. Either way, though, the felling of the oak was an act of terrorism, but, despite the destruction of the sacred tree, Dunner's names continue to be spoken throughout Heathenry today.
Resources cited:
GardenStone, Gods of the Germanic Peoples (two volumes). Norderstedt, Germany: Books on Demand, 2014.
Hope, Anne. Conversion of the Teutonic race; S. Boniface and the conversion of Germany. London: R. Washbourne, 1872.
(Unfortunately, all formatting was lost when posted to my FB wall. The original post is in the Urglaawe group here on Facebook.)
