Glückwunsch
Clever, playful, devoted.
I had never had the opportunity to spend time around a swine before meeting the piglet who was supposed to be the sacrificial animal for Odin, two years ago. At the time, getting to know him was the furthest thing from my mind, but circumstances and his abundant natural charm played their parts, and so he became a cherished member of the animal assemblage at Breidablik. Whenever one of us is feeling blase or sad, a visit to the pig cheers us up, not only because he does everything with great gusto, but also because of his solicitous nature. He often follows us around the swine yard when we're just doing regular fence checking, talking avidly all the while in small murmurs and clucks--pretty amazing from a hulk who weighs as much as one of the horses.
We do have to be mindful of how much interaction he receives with guests, though, because along with his intelligence (pigs rank fourth, right behind humans, apes, and cetaceans) comes a well-developed protective aspect. He loves treats and enjoys meeting people, with chaperoning.
While roving the Internet for resources and links, I came across The Swine in Old Nordic Religion and Worldview, by Lenka Kovárová, a very comprehensive thesis. The author states, by way of introduction: "This thesis tries to explore how swine (both wild and domestic) were of social and religious importance for the Nordic people, its main emphasis being placed on the Vendel period onwards. Naturally, a major focus is the boar, a powerful symbol which has usually been associated with Freyr and Freyja, but which I argue had an independent significance. As a background for the interpretation of the swine, the thesis discusses the main ideas about animals in Old Nordic religion and worldview, among them beliefs in shape-changing or fylgjur in animal shape. It underlines that in the Iron Age humans and animals were closer to each other than they are today, and that animals might have been seen as having a similar value to humans."
We do have to be mindful of how much interaction he receives with guests, though, because along with his intelligence (pigs rank fourth, right behind humans, apes, and cetaceans) comes a well-developed protective aspect. He loves treats and enjoys meeting people, with chaperoning.
While roving the Internet for resources and links, I came across The Swine in Old Nordic Religion and Worldview, by Lenka Kovárová, a very comprehensive thesis. The author states, by way of introduction: "This thesis tries to explore how swine (both wild and domestic) were of social and religious importance for the Nordic people, its main emphasis being placed on the Vendel period onwards. Naturally, a major focus is the boar, a powerful symbol which has usually been associated with Freyr and Freyja, but which I argue had an independent significance. As a background for the interpretation of the swine, the thesis discusses the main ideas about animals in Old Nordic religion and worldview, among them beliefs in shape-changing or fylgjur in animal shape. It underlines that in the Iron Age humans and animals were closer to each other than they are today, and that animals might have been seen as having a similar value to humans."
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Footage taken when the piglet first arrived at Breidablik, prior to the blót ritual which was originally intended to set him as a sacrifice for Odin. Odin and Ingvi Freyr apparently transacted an exchange in order to obtain what They each truly wanted: Odin gave the piglet, live and unharmed to Ingvi Freyr, to be kept as His sacred swine at Breidablik. He preferred me (Jalkr) as His sacrifice, as I have detailed here.
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By autumn of 2009, Glückwunsch had grown into a big, sturdy
swine. He has his own spacious enclosure in the Grove, so he could have summertime shade. Here, he enjoys porridge. 2oo lbs is rather small compared to his size now. |
