10 Apr 2005
The Manamana Phenomenon

Well, it's been a week since the Moot, and I believe that I'm sufficiently recovered to recount the events of last Sunday evening, as the "Last of the MoHeathens" sat around the sumbel fire high on Moot Mountain in southwestern Missouri...

There were about 25 folks there - as diverse a bunch of heathens as you're likely to find together anywhere, but bound by a common troth, and feeling exhausted after a weekend of non-stop conversation, blot, sumbel and general enjoyment. The fire was burning brightly in the center of our circle, and I chose this time to make a bit of a dedication that I'd been saving up all weekend.

Hammerstead was proud to supply the Moot with meat and eggs this year - we brought 12 dozen of the latter and nearly 40 pounds of good Highland beef with us, and it was nearly all gone by Sunday night. Except for the heart of the animal, which I had with me to give to the gods and wights as a thank offering for a weekend of fun and relaxation.

So after the gang has gathered around, and the mead had begun to flow, I stepped to the center of the circle, held the heart aloft and offered it:

Hail the Gods! Hail the Goddesses! Hail the Wights of this Land and the All-giving Earth! We offer this, the heart of the animal that has provided our meals this weekend, as a gift to you, as thanks for the community and companionship we've shared on this sacred spot! Hail!

I then dropped the heart into the center of the fire, and the fun began.

Now, earlier in the day there'd been a discussion of sorts about Muppets (and Monty Python, and several other things) that had included the Manamana song from the original Muppets show. And for some reason, perhaps because the original was sung by alien Muppet cows, the word itself caught fire ...

Asatrurar are generally pretty serious in sumbel - oh, sure, there's the good natured jab, and more than a few jokes, but overall the timbre of most sumbels maintains a rather high level of decorum. But not this time: the first toast was a simple "Manamana!", followed by a round of "Hail!" and it degenerated from there: movie titles, lines from Shakespeare, commercial tag lines, proverbs, even a reference to the Odin blot of the night before - nothing was sacred!

  • Only you can prevent manamana!
  • The Manamanator
  • E tu, manamana?
  • The Good, the Bad and the Manamana
  • One Flew Over the Manamana
  • Manamana Hill
  • The Hunt for Red Manamana
  • Manamana, Actually
  • I'd Walk a Mile for Manamana
  • If wishes were horses only manamana would ride!

Only two lonely folks tried to initially resist the onset of manamana, and one of them was Matt's six year old son Sean! But they were eventually overwhelmed, and swept along with us into the unexplored regions of manamana.

This continued for nearly three hours! It only stopped when the beef heart had been utterly consumed, and naught but glowing coals remained. And a curious bond had formed between those present: strong in troth, as well as in mirth.

We had met the manamana, and it was us!

00:00 /Asatru | 1 comment | permanent link