(I wanted to keep this short, but failed. So please bear with me, especially if you’re interested in folklore, history and the mighty figure of Odin. Also, Sinterklaas and Black Pete.)

Whether you’re in an English or Dutch speaking area, around this time of year you may see articles popping up about how Santa Claus or Sinterklaas really is Odin/Wodan. Basically, Sinterklaas (I’ll go with the Dutch name, since that’s where I’m from – there’s a lot to find about the similar origins of these two figures) is a christianized version of Odin. But is this true?

Here is a very short history of Sinterklaas: he is a populair Saint who originally was called Saint Nicholas of Myra (Turkey) and lived from 270 to 6 December 342 CE. Nicholas was a Saint for many groups of people, children among them, and he was known as a miracle worker and a giver of gifts (he often gave these gifts secretly). Sounds familiar, right? The cult of Saint Nicholas spread throughout Europe. In the Netherlands, he transformed into Sinterklaas.

So how did Odin come into this? I can’t help thinking that this has to do with folklorists who were eager to turn anything that has even a hint of indigenous, or at least non-christian, tradition into ‘this is what our pagan ancestors did’. Despite Sinterklaas being a christian saint, he does have some strange habits. He rides his horse on rooftops, for example. And he has helpers who are named ‘Black Pete’. Let’s look at some characteristics and traditions:

• Odin and Sinterklaas are both depicted as old, white bearded men. This is true, at least in popular culture. The way Odin looks is actually his disguise when he wanders the World. Saint Nicholas of Myra seems to have been depicted both as a man with a white beard and clean shaven. I think that what happened here is that the bearded Nicholas became Sinterklaas. May this have been under the influence of Odin? Who knows. Then again, old men with white beards aren’t exactly rare, so the fact that they look alike may mean nothing at all.
• Sinterklaas secretly brings gifts to children who have been good and punishes children who have been bad. Odin…doesn’t? To be more preciset: the children give little gifts to Sinterklaas in the weeks before the actual feast on 6 December, such as poems or drawings, or a carrot for Sinterklaas’s horse. They would often place these gifts in one of there shoes (your guess as to why they did and still this is as good as mine). They receive a gift in return if they’ve been good. Finally, on the eve of 6 December, children get their ‘actual’ gifts. I’ve seen this interpreted as an ancient habit of bringing offerings to receive gifts. Thing is, there is as far as I know not one tradition involving Odin that comes even close to what;s happening during the feast of Sinterklaas. Even if it is an ancient heathen tradition (which it may well be), the tradition of giving and receiving offerings to and from the gods is so common that I don’t see how this is specific to Odin.
• So what about Sinterklaas’s horse? It is well known that Odin had an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir. Sinterkaas rides his horse (who in the Netherlands is called Amerigo), which has the usual four legs. Are they comparable? Two men (granted one a saint and one a god) riding a horse is really too generic. People ride horses all the time, especially in older times when there weren’t many other means of transport. Then again, Sinerklaas rides on rooftops, Odin even rides through the sky…I really don’t know what to make of this. Also, both Sinterklaas and Odin ride a grey. So there may be something going on here, but then again we have to keep in mind that horses, and from what I’ve understood especially greys, were considered ‘elite animals’. So this may also simply be a sign of these men being regarded as elite figures. Still, the flying and walking on rooftops is interesting…
• Black Pete is a controversial figure. Apart from the blackface (which is a discussion I’m not willing to go into in this post, but if you’re interested in discussing it please send me a PM) his origin and meaning is a point of discussion. It is known that the first time we meet Black Pete in the Netherlands is in a 19th century chlldren’s book. Before Pete came into the story, Sinterklaas (mostly?) acted alone, at least in the Netherlands. Looking throughout Europe, we find Sint Nicholas accompanied by other, almost demon-like creatures, who seem to have largely the same functions as Black Pete: assisting the Saint, rewarding good children and punishing naughty children (or people in general). But who’s missing from all of this? Oh yeah, Odin. I’ve read texts trying to turn Pete into dark riders of the Wild Hunt (see below) and even into Odin’s ravens (because black, apparently), but non of these convince me. Black Pete may be many things, but he is not a sign of Sinterklaas really being Odin.
• When Sinterklaas moved to America, he sort of became Santa Claus, and his feast day was not on 6 December, but during Christmas. Christmas = Yule, so therefore Santa Claus (or his ancestor Sinterklaas) must be Odin, right? No, not really. It’s true that around the same time Odin/Wodan rides around with his Wild Army. Throughout Europe, including in the Netherlands on the Wadden islands, there are traditions that seem to re-enact these wild hunts in one way or another. But it’s not certain how old this tradition is (it may not be pre-christian at all). Yes, there are old acounts (the oldest being by Tacitus) of a Germanic army who disguise themselves so they appear as the dead but that’s not the same as a Wild Hunt and Odin isn’t named in this account. What’s more, it seems that the idea of the Wild Hunt was already established when Odin became associated with it. There is a lot of conflation going on, but still no evidence that one is the origin of the other.

So, is Sinterklaas Odin? I think not. It’s obvious that there is a lot of local folklore that has been latched onto the figure of Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) and his feast. But it’s way to simplistic to say that therefore this is another pagan tradition stolen by christians. It’s not a clear cut discussion – hence this article being longer than I initially expected. Which is exactly why I think we should be really critical with just throwing around all sorts of assumptions. That said, I wish everyone who celebrates it a happy Sinterklaas feast, and don’t eat too many peppernuts!

 

Today is the first Sunday of September, which since a few years has been dubbed ‘International Goddess Day’ by some pagans. I like this idea – the pagan religion is one of a few world wide religions in which female deities get as much if not more attention as their male counterparts (if there are female deities at all). So yeah, everyday is goddess day if you ask goddess worshippers, but let’s just spread the word that there are many goddesses, large and small, some worshipped by millions, others long forgotten (but slowly waking up again).

For me it’s a nice opportunity to shine some light on the goddesses that were once worshipped in the Netherlands  by the peoples who lived here thousands of years ago. In fact, some of them are being enthousiastically rediscovered – Nehalennia even has her own modern temple. For this website, I’m trying to stick to the facts. It’s quite astounding how many deities – male and female – were once worshipped in and around this little area that is now known as the Netherlands. Here are seven goddesses; but seek and you shall find many more!

Arcuana

Baduhenna

Hludana

Hurstrga

Nehalennia

Sandraudiga

Tanfana

This essay is added to the list of deities.

The title of this page is refering to a deity – a goddess most likely – of whom almost nothing is known, though the little that we know is quite fascinating.

First of all it must be said that Tanfana’s name, like many other names of ancient European deities, appears only once in history. It is Tacitus who, in his Annales, mentions this name. The context is the defeat by the Romans of the Germanic tribe of the Marsi (this is their Latin name). Here is the Roman text, with my English translation (based on the Dutch translation by Ben Bijnsdorp, see sources below):

1.50.3. Delecta longiore via cetera adcelerantur: etenim attulerant exploratores festam eam Germanis noctem ac sollemnibus epulis ludicram. Caecina cum expeditis cohortibus praeire et obstantia silvarum amoliri iubetur: legiones modico intervallo sequuntur.

1.50.3. They chose the longest route and made haste with the rest: because scouts had informed that a feast was celebrated by the Germans that night and they would spend it with an abundance of traditional meals. Caecina was instructed to advance with light-armed cohorts and to eliminate the hindrances in the forests: the legions followed at a slight distance.

1.50.4. Iuvit nox sideribus inlustris, ventumque ad vicos Marsorum et circumdatae stationes stratis etiam tum per cubilia propterque mensas, nullo metu, non antepositis vigiliis: adeo cuncta incuria disiecta erant neque belli timor, ac ne pax quidem nisi languida et soluta inter temulentos.

1.50.4. The night with its glittering starry sky was favourable to them and they arrived at the villages of the Marsi and surrounded them with sentries while the inhabitants were still in bed or at the table, without fear, without advanced watchers: this was how much everything was neglected by carelesness and they harboured no fear for war and even if there was peace, it was a peace of relaxed lethargy among drunks.

1.51.1. Caesar avidas legiones quo latior populatio foret quattuor in cuneos disperit; quinquaginta milium spatium ferro flammisque pervastat.  Non sexus, non aetas miserationum attulit: profana simul et sacra et celeberrinum illis gentibus templum quod Tanfanae vocabant solo aequantur. Sine vulnere milites, qui semisomnos, inermos aut palantis ceciderant.

1.51.1. Caesar divided his avid legions into four wedge-shaped formations to ensure a destruction on a grand scale; he destroyed an area of fifty miles by sword and fire.  No sex, no age appeased: the profane as well as the sacred, even the by these people much celebrated sanctuary of Tanfana, were demolished. The soldiers, who had slaughtered their victims half-sleeping, unarmed or wandering around, remained woundless.

That’s all we have. Theories and calculations mention that this battle probably took place during a full moon in autumn. This may lead us to a deity associated with the moon and/or the harvest, though this is of course a rather straightforward conclusion based on very little. We can’t even be sure of it’s really a deity we’re talking about, though the fact that the text menstions a sanctuary dedicated to Tanfana makes this a faitry safe bet.

Even the name is a riddle without a satisfactory answer. Tanfana sounds like a female name, and surely the suffix -a usually indicates a female name, but not always. Caligula, Agrippa, anyone? And the most feminine of all godesses is called Venus, when -us is usually assocoiated with male names. So again, that Tanfana is a goddess is really not clear at all. But let’s assume it for the time being, because everyone else does (not a very good reason…).

If -an(a) is actually a Germanic suffix, as some people such as Van Renswoude (who bases this idea on Jan de Vries, see sources) think, we come up with *tanf-. What could that mean? According to Carl Mastrander (see Renswoude, sources) this could lead to tafn which is Old Norse for ‘sacrificial animal’.According to Van Renswoude, Tanfana could be a latinization of *Tafnanð, who might then have been a goddess of sacrificial animals.

Another more daring theory, which I also got from Van Renswoude, connects Tanfana to the night sky. According to this theory, Tanfana could etymologically be traced back to *Tanhwanð if you accept that the f might have been a hw (which is not impossible). This word can then be compared to other Germanic words that have all something to do with the night sky – and with heavenly bodies in particular, though not necessarily the moon. It’s a very thin line to draw, but it can be drawn nonetheless.

Sources

Bijnsdorp, Ben.  “Publii Cornelii Taciti Annales: een structurering van een gedeelte van de latijnse tekst en een nederlandse vertaling door Ben Bijnsdorp” Antieke literaire teksten met een vertaling door Ben Bijnsdorp. Checked on 11 February 2017. http://benbijnsdorp.nl/ann01_46.html Checked on 11 February 2017.

Boris. “De oorsprong van de naam Tanfana.” In: Wiccan Rede. Jaargang 30, no. 1. Lente/Beltane 2009. Zeist: Silver Circle.

Rijnswoude, Olivier van Renswoude. “Bij volle maan gevierd.” On: Taaldacht. 15 June 2011. Checked on 11 February 2017. https://taaldacht.nl/2011/06/15/bij-volle-maan-gevierd/ Checked on 19 February 2017.

Owls come in many shapes and sizes. They are ambivalent birds in folklore, associated with positive as well as negative aspects. They are birds of the night, the moon, darkness, wisdom and witchcraft. In modern folklore the owl is considered a wise bird. This goes hand in hand with classical mythology, where the owl is the bird connected to the goddess Athena. But the Romans considered the owl an omen of death, putting the creature in a different ‘light’. In many medieval and Renaissance depictions of the owl, the meaning is almost the exact opposite – a foolish bird depicting the sins of the people.

There are many folktales about how the owl came to be – many of them have to do with unlikable to downright sinful women being transformed as a punishment…more

Corvids are among the most popular and feared birds in folklore. They have many stories and myths that are well known: as a trickster in Native American culture or a battle bird in Celtic and Norse culture. You won’t read much about that – as I’m sticking close to my home. This folklore is slightly less known perhaps, but will still be very familiar. This is not strange, since so many myths and stories all over the world are connected to each other. And as we all know, corvids are basically everywhere…without further ado:

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This page is dedicated to the folklore of corvids in Northwest-Europe , especially the area of England-Netherlands-Germany.Corvids are crows, ravens, rooks and jackdaws. They are associated with winter, death and dark magic. Ravens have become rare in Northwest Europe, mostly through excessive hunting down of these birds because of their negative image and the ravage they can cause on fields. But the other corvids are thriving. They are scavengers and clever opportunists who are feared by other birds. And it’s not only birds who fear them – I know of more than one person who has been attacked by a rook or crow seemingly out of nothing (though it probably has to do with us coming too close to their nests).  Still, since prehistoric history the lives of humans and crows are intertwined, mainly through death.

This ancient connection can for instance be found in Iron Age (Celtic) pits, many of which contain animal remains. Ravens were often among those remains, and from that we can conclude that it may have been a chthoniv animal (connected to the underworld) to the Celts. One such example is a raven found buried Winklebury, England. The site found in this town contained many humand and animal remains, but this raven was very peculiar. It was laid down at the bottom of  a pit with its wings outstretched. These pits are generally considered ritual structures, and the raven was probably part of a sacrifice.

It is the eating of dead meat on battle fields and at the gallows that has gained corvids the reputation of devilish creatures who foreshadow death. Some even called them godless birds, since they would even steal the flesh from altar offerings. On the other hand, it is said that the ancient Germans would leave their enemies on the battle fields for the wolves and ravens to eat – an offering to the god Wodan. Which makes them very divine creatures indeed. This idea can be followed into late medieval England, where it was actually forbidden to kill corvids because they would keep the city streets clean (this idea would dissolve in later times, when these birds were more and more seen as vermin).

Naturally, corvids, the death birds, are connected to divinatory beliefs. Click hear to read more…

The dog is one of my favorite animals – the fact that we have an adorable black lab at home does help this opinion, of course. It’s perhaps not strange that dogs can be found aplenty in folklore, since it has been with us for such a long time. Here’s some information about dogs in folklore and mythology for you to enjoy on this lazy Sunday:

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It’s not clear where the popularity of the dog as a folkloric figure comes from. Could it be that this is simply because dog has been human’s companion for such a long time? Or should we look into mythology – perhaps it has something to do with Odin’s wolves, or with werewolves or with Cerberus, the guardian dog of the Greek underworld?

There’s a huge body of dog folklore in (early) modern Northwest Europe that centers on the animal as  connected to demons, ghosts (often the dog is a demon or ghost itself) and portents of death. But they are also found as companions to (Romano-)Celtic deities on ancient sculptures. These aspects are what this article focuses on for now, but other aspects of the dog in myth and folklore will be added as my research progresses.

Ghosts and demons

England

The black dog has been sighted many times in folklore, especially in the English countryside. Dozens of stories about black dogs called ‘shuck’ or ‘shock’ (in fact a sort of demon) can be found in Suffolk. A black dog terrorized church-goers in 1577 during a storm.

Yorkshire has its on spectral dog, called padfoot* – a large, black dog with shaggy hair an huge round eyes. It follows people during nighttime and hinders them when they are traveling. Another apparation of padfoot looks more like a ‘black mastiff-type dog with eyes shining red or green’.**  Padfoot may bring either luck or bad luck, depending on the circumstances. Just as other ghostly dogs, it is hard to determine where his story originates.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands too, many sightings of ghost dogs have been reported. For example, there was a dog in the Betuwe (central Netherlands) with glowing eyes and a fiery tongue, walking on its hind legs and rattling its chains. According to some researchers, there may be a connection with werewolves here. In the small town of Grave in Noord-Brabant, a dog walked around with a glowing key in its mouth, and in Oerle close to Eindhoven a dog as large as a foal would accompany travelers during the night. Also in Noord-Brabant, close to the Belgian border, a headless dog was said to wander about (this is not the only known sighting of a headless dog in the Netherlands, an I can’t help but wonder if it has anything to do with tales of the headless hunt).

Other large black dogs have been found throughout the Netherlands and Belgium – although sometimes the dog is actually white and small, such as a haunting spitz in Rijkevoort in Noord-Brabant.

In Groningen (northern Netherlands) there were dogs known as spoekgulers – ghost howlers. They were dogs with a yellow spot above their eyes, who could see evil. The name  ‘ghost howler’is derived from the idea that such a dog would start to howl when it could see that someone would die.

Other names for ghost dogs in Groningen are borries, a large black dog with a short tail and eyes as large as saucers; the polderhond (‘polder dog’), a large black dog that dwells in water as much as on land; witte wind (‘white wind’) a small white dog that grows larger an is actually the devil in disguise; and ’t zwarte hondje (‘the little black dog) a black dog that walks along with travelers.

Companions

Going much further back in time, we find another role for the dog: some Celtic deities have this animal as a companion. Case in point is Nehallenia, a goddess who was worshipped on the westcoast of the Netherlands. Dozens of altars dedicated to her were excavated in the 20th century. They almost all have the same images of a seated goddess with several attributes. One of those attributes is a dog at her side. The meaning of this dog is not clear – it may be a chthonic (underworld) symbol connected to fertility and/ore watchfulness, although as with many symbols in Celtic art its actual meaning will probably stay unclear.

 

*Many Harry Potter fans who didn’t already know this will now think: ‘Aha, so that’s where J.K. Rowling got Sirius Black’s nickname from!’

** Griffiths, p. 54.

Sources

Griffiths, Bill. Aspects of Anglo-Saxon Magic. Anglo-Saxon Books, 2006.

Laan, K. ter. Folklore en Volkswijsheden in Nederland en Vlaanderen. Prisma, 2005.