Water-Mother steps down

Water-mother, The Seven, Moondaughter, ritual law, Creation, Nippur, Enlil, Ninlil, pickaxe, dagger, sickle, amulet, shepherd, slab cist, wedge tomb, Law of Brotherhood, Voluspa, Enuma Elish, Akitu Festival

The Seven came in boat from Evens place at South Dal and the youngsters in other boats followed them. From other sites people joined since it was time for Great Ting (court) at whole Dal. Everyone knew about the founding of the Law of Brotherhood

The Old draw up the law on the rock and all spring peoples have been knocking in the signs in the rock. At the court place they have followed the moon over the Gyr-stone the last days and last evening it was in line. It was the old more than thousand year old ritual aligning moon and the stars of the Water-mother Gyr as asterism where the heavenly river goes down to earth.

This year was in the last phase of the moon cycle so the day of the triune meeting was late, but gave more time for all the jobs that should be done. At least the knockers had almost learnt all the meanings of the law and now they thought that their law is much better than that at Even's place

Even's ritual law with the 13 moon men and Ramadan at the bottom and the season suite in the middle. Above the season loop with marked moments observe the two pickaxes meaning "time for picking"

Now the people at Hogne's where going to try growing seed again. Folk memory told about the time of Three Midwives and about how the Moondaughter told about "going beneath" but growing did not work then. Hunting and gathering from the wild gave enough food. However they continued to follow the ritual of the water mother stepping down in spring. The Ting Place = court was filled with rock-carvings that told about earlier laws so the new Law of Brotherhood was more like a summary and adding the new codes.

Folk from the surrounding woods were used to celebrate at Hogne's place and they were here also now. People from the entire Dal plain dripped in all the time. Some of them were already using the new ritual and they had build slab cists as centre of the ritual. The miners introduced the wedge shaped tomb and others the type with gable hole. Some had already build two tombs of brotherhood and that idea was included in the new law.

Anyway the folks at Even's had new seed and more knowledge how to do. They had success in growing seed and knew also the secret of making beer. Old folks thought that the mjod of honey and berries but they understood that seed is easier to store all winter and they could get storable bread from the harvest.. Evens's people knew also some new songs from the South and Even's people have used them for several years.

In the morning they checked again that the stars were aligned at sunrise. The Elders gathered in a circle at the place and discussed the program of the day. They decided that the Old Singeress recite parts of Creation and the birth of the Moondaugther and lastly the birth of the Pickax. Then they would arrange the suite of young people that should meet the Moondaughter down at the Ronar Peak. Then they should all gather at the Law of Brotherhood for founding and ritual of sowing and as Grande Finale the The Seven and new pair going into the lake.

When it was time the Old Singeress began to recite and the talking stopped in the crowd:

Here we have to insert the early Law at Lerfald near Trondheim Norway telling about the Three Maiden leading the season from 4^th millennium. It is a small cut from the field with 1200 rock-carvings and mostly ships and alike. The amazing thing is that we find the text in the Edda. This is important story is endangered by erosion

The Singeress continued with an old song:

In the town of Nippur lived its young man Enlil and its young girl Ninlil with her mother Nun-barshegunu. The mother cannot give birth and she decided to marry her daughter in order to get food on the table. She advises her daughter:

But the gods saw that the girl was raped and that is not use even among gods and they demanded for marriage. However these two was condemned to the Underworld and in time the Moondaughter was born and rose like the seed from Underworld

All the spring that had been making a field for grain and other plants. They fenced it in so that the herds with less effort could keep away them from the growing field. According to the old recipe they should go to the Underworld River in three steps. The pickaxe was good for first step of breaking the surface. They bartered for a "real" pickaxe but it was of slate and they understood it was useful only for ceremonials. The real workers could use pick made of bone, antler or horn and for the smashing the clods smaller any axe or club could be used. As old Kajsa Warg recommend, "Take what you have"

In folk tale there were many names for sowing and plantation in the Mothers Earth's cunt/ wet meadow / soil-eye and whatever. Old women called her mostly Goodie. This ritual was based on that Watermother Gyr (Watergate and Aurigae) let her water in spring and in summer the Moondaughter poured the fertile rain in the River of Underworld and then fertility of the Moondaughter rises. People at Evens place had the new grain and some novelties for growing so maybe they would get the success n growing in other villages.

The young Shepherd was going to marry the Moondaughter. At the same time they would show the united fertility of heaven and soil as the first-time-act. Everyone agreed that "taking hands" was a true act of promising to live together and the crowd would remember this act for the future. The handtake guarantied that coming children would have parents as the primer responsible of caring

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The Lawmakers and the elder people stayed at the court place discussing the program and the new law codes and checked if they missed anything. This big meeting was important and concerned all the Dal plain a in north neighbouring forests and settlements. The principle of settlements of brotherhood would prevent future struggles between herds and grower and at the same time it would teach especially the youngsters to solve their problems by mutual agreement in all cases. It would be natural to delegate jobs and share the outcome on the settlement.

In the alliance the settlements build squared slab cist or wedge tombs as ritual centre of rebirth as the very visible monument of the culture. In the alliance were all kind of herds, miners, growers, herds, hunters and some stonemakers. They adapted the new use and learnt to barter one another gaining from the summer peace that brought harvest. The summer peace was going to be announced at every spring meeting and of course it lasted the rest of the year. But it was meant as proof of respecting especially the growers' field.

Some had no lake or water near the village and then they used the stony temple in the old fashion of "going beneath" while the new fashion sealed the marriage in water. From time immemorial it was use have sanctuaries and laws on rocks near water. It symbolised the important circulation of water from the heavens to the soil. Very many had the fortune of wells that would give healthy water all year.

In South the pickaxe was mainly used for building houses in what they call cities. Here on Dal it was a symbol of opening the land for culture. Folk began to call the it Raven partly due to the shape and partly since The sound of the Raven belonged to spring. It was old use that old professions lived in peace. But Even's people brought many new ideas and songs to Dal and everyone wanted to follow the Moondaughter during the season Suite.

The young Shepherd and his Suite reached the Ronar spit at the same time as the Moondaughter in her boat with two paddlers rounded the peak. If it should be right she should be as pure and naked as water and spring. But she had a shirt and a small cape in the chilly winds. In a string around her neck hang the amulet that symbolised the act of sowing and fertility going into the soil and Underworld. Her long hair was in two braids. She hailed the bridegroom but seemed pale and a bit nervous. Maybe it was because he had so much to recite at the Lawrock and it was first time. The whole suite headed for the Lawrock.

Law of Brotherhood

The Seven and the elders reached the rock at the same time as the Suite and everyone gathered in front of the rock. The Old greeted the pale Moondaugther and whispered "Take it easy, I will help you" and The Old, Moondaugther, Shepherd and the lawmakers walked around the rock with the text and up to the top and stayed in a row. The Old led Moondaughter and showed her to stay in the naked footsteps meant as footstool and he stayed behind her and she began:

She lost her words and The Old stepped in front of her. He used his staff as pinpointer and began the text at the upper loop:

"At the lower loop we have the season of the herds with milk offer when we start to milk and this symbolise the storing of cheese and meat for winter "… The Old continued and pointed with his staff at the text

"And now we are here at the handtake and the spring ritual," he said and pointed at the code:

 "And now let the two take hands and let us join them at the holly bed of ". The Old Man lead the couple to the bed made of leaf and he joined two of the legs with the weipa and after a while they dared to make love. The Old Singeress stood besides with a small cup with seed and sang the old poem

However she hardly finished the song before it came for the Shepherd and he let his seed go into the cup with seed. All the time the crowd commented loudly the act.

Now it was time for the Moondaughter to show the first-time-act. She went to the nearby field with the cup in her hand. She took the amulet from her neck and used it as stick when she put some of the grains in soil. The Old Singeress

Moondaughter joined the Seven and the Shepherd and the Old.

He pointed at the protection formula:

The Seven and the Pair wandered down the farther end of the rock down to lake to seal it all in the water.

The Old was pleased in spite of that the ceremony did not follow the planed line and words. However most important were the "first-time-acts" and the symbol deeds that should stay in the peopl4es memory. He planned now to make a special song for the whole thing and simplify part of the law for next spring.

Comments

This animation builds on the fact that we have around 100 slab cists/ wedge tomb dateable to 2300 - 2000 BC and pollen curves tell about agriculture. The two rock-carvings are intelligible once we know what they are about. Generally they have found daggers and sickles together with an amulet in the sanctuaries and we know from rock-carvings that they arranged a ritual suite.

VOLUSPA the oldest poem from the Edda have much in common with the Sumer-Babylonian epos Enuma Elish. It was recited for more than 2000 years at the spring/ Akitu festival. In Voluspa especially the beginning is alike but the Inanna-steps-down-ritual is only as a hint in Voluspa. The late Voluspa was more concerned about the harvest in the Balder Myth that began later in Bronze Age. The people had their history and the Inanna-myth arrived more than 1000 years earlier. We can use some of the songs from 3^rd millennium. I use the applicable ones on the time 4300 years ago. Anyway people had to adapt all thing they got from city-states in south

For the spring ritua we are fortunate having folklore told by an old soldier born 1868 in Haugelund in the hills above Haugsbyn here about usage in spring:

In the structure of the law texts we see two couples and then we can call it pairhood/ brotherhood. It also seen in rock-carvings elsewhere. Some of the cists are in pair. The doom rings with 7 stones in circle are also seen in pairs but a thousand years younger. Then we can jump to mediaval times when people deliberately lived in "brotherhood" and build manhouse as pairhouse. King Gustav Vasa wrote a special letter to people on Dal and condemned for living in big collectives … read: he got less in taxes. Besides saving taxes there were surely many advantages of pairhood.

The small code about fencing the fields have more meaning that we immediately see. Like many early law codes they were like philosophical principles that gave lead for life. Symbol acts founded the folk memory

The Karelian law stated the same symbol act for making brotherhood / fellowship and the claim for land. They cut up a string of turf and lifted it so that the fellows could crawl under it alternatively the owner of the land. It was a treaty with Mother Earth. In societies they always use symbol acts to show the step between two stages. The Nordic word "ed" means oath as well as ford, then meaning that they swore the oath at the bridge between two stages.

The early passage graves were surely used as Temple of Underworld in which the symbol act was celebrated. We know from for instance Egypt that they used the same ritual for sowing as for funeral. On this law the footprints toward the lake and this string of script show that they instead of the "going beneath" ended the act in the ritual bath. However at settlements with no lake near they could surely use the cist for the ritual. We only know about deposit of bones and the finds of daggers, sickles and amulets.