From: Paul Heinz (paul@profax.co.nz)
Date: Thu 20 Mar 1997 - 10:06:22 EET
Hi, Paul Heinz here.
Just to add another thread that's not about Boristi or Lunars...
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT MALE TROLLS
These musings came to me whilst stumbling about in the dark at Andrew
Bean's farm in the Yarra valley after RQ Con DU (an awesome event).
I am thankful to John Hughes, Nick Brooke, and Pam Carlson in helping
me express this imagery.
Whilst I may state things below 'as fact', all this is merely opinion
which I express for the purposes of critique.
THE BIRTH MOTIF
To me, the birth/womb motif is central to much of trollish life.
Male trolls are also sent outside to hunt and generally do what their
I envisage that trolls see birth into the "real" world as a journey
from one womb (their mother) into a larger womb (the underworld)
or as Sandy (I believe) put this, the Uzterior.
mother or wives tell them to do but look forward to returning to the
safe warm "womb" of their cave or underground dwelling.
As trolls see the underworld as a womb, they also view that even
though at birth, the physical umbilical is cut, a spiritual link
or spiritual umbilical exists between a mother and her children.
For male trolls, this link is their main connection with the powers
of birth and life that are central (and sacred) to trolls and, as
trolls live in a matriarchy, birth and life are central to power.
TROLL MOTHERS AND THEIR SONS
My belief is that troll mothers are loving but authoritarian. Kyger
Litor is the demanding mother, _not_ the nurturing all-accepting mother,
that role is filled by Xiola Umbar (who we are told is 'not-a-troll').
Troll males live in fear of disappointing their mother or their wife
and losing their love and acceptance. Troll males are not encouraged
to build strong links of males relating to males for their own sake.
Hence, the RuneLord cult of 'Karrgs Sons' for male trolls has been
misunderstood by the God Learners and other patriarchal cultures
that have come into contact with trolls. Who your father is does
not matter as much in a matriarchy and this cult is a subcult of Kyger
Litor so I believe that this cult is the troll cult of the 'Good
Son', of male trolls serving the matriarchy. Trolls in this cult do
not so much worship Karrg as try be _like_ Karrg by serving the
interests of their mother and wife. Karrgs Sons are _not_ mythically
the 'Sons of Karrg', they are more 'Sons Like Karrg'.
Now, I imagine some male trolls rebel against their mother (and the
Zorak Zoran went and sought fire as a show of contempt for his mother
matriarchy). They defy their mother and form strong male to male
links for their own sake. They are the 'Bad Son'. Some go so far as
to seek that which is forbidden for trolls, Fire. Male trolls are
allowed to _know_ fire but they are forbidden to seek it.
and used fire to sear and burn away the spirtual umbilical that
joined him to her. Thus he was no longer her son and Zorak Zoran is
'not-a-troll' for this reason. I believe the searing of the navel
with flame is a Zorak Zoran initiation ritual and causes great pain
but severs the ritual link with the mother/matricarchy and 'opens the
third eye'. Zorak Zoran can also bring a form of life out from death,
the raising of corpses which also a sign of contempt for the powers
of birth and life that the matriarchy represents. Zorak Zoran
empitomises the role of the 'Bad Son' in trollish culture.
My tentative belief is that in some respects, Xiola Umbar, has some
aspects of the Wayward Daughter namely those who show mercy and
comfort even to those that her mother has punished. To the authoritarian
Kyger Litor, this is not a 'Good Thing' but subtle disobediance.
A further tentative belief, is that perhaps the Black Eater of troll
myth that trolls fear so much is when a troll angers the mother so
much that they are pulled back by the spiritual umbilical back into the
womb and are then sucked back out into the void and non-existence
that is before birth. Perhaps trolls are so afraid of this aspect of
the Terrible Mother as so assign it away from Kyger Litor and to
some form of 'Other'.
Enough for now,
Comments are welcome,
TTFN,
Paul 'RuneLord' Heinz
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Paul Heinz
Profax International Limited, Auckland, New Zealand
E-mail: paul@profax.co.nz
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