 About Ainur ElmgrenAge: a quarter of a century Sex: XX Gender: female Race: Against time Ethnicity: Allright, if you insist... 62,5% Finnish, 25% Mishär Tatar, 12,5% Kale ( Finnish Gypsy). Citizen of Sweden. Horoscope: Pisces, year of the Goat Occupation: Ph.D. student at the Department of History, Lund University. Freelance cartoonist and illustrator. Writes for Bild & Bubbla magazine. Nourishment: rye bread, mediterranean yoghurt, piroshki, peremech, sushi, octopodes, honey, tea, wasabi, chocolate, halloumi, broccoli, vodka, avocado, natto, any combination of the above. Turnons: The 1920's, Orcs, Finns, Russia, Socialist memorabilia, helicopters, the Cthulhu mythos, chocolate, the German language, libraries and book shops, magazines with lots of colourful pictures, epic comics, Japanese clothing, swords, lots of pillows with tassels. Turnoffs: Racism, chauvinism (nationalist or gender-based), big capitalism, philistines, boors, bigots, McDonalds, fat-free yoghurt, missionaries (for any religion, ideology or music style). Friends: People with whom I can share a moment of silence, with a quirky sense of humour, a tolerant mind, a tough skin and a big heart. Doggies!Enemies: Intolerant, insecure people who pick on those who seem weaker. Fundamentalists of any colour and creed.
OLD-TURKIC DEITIES Rafael BEZERTINOV From his book TENGRIANIZM – RELIGION OF TÜRKS AND MONGOLS Moon (Ai). Ancient Türks’ mythology regarded Moon as a daughter of Sky God Tengri and Earth. They perceived the goddess Moon dually: She frightened them and at the same time they loved Her.
The night is darkness, when the malicious spirits emerge from all holes. The rituals and hypnotic sessions of witches were always conducted according to the phases of the Moon. At night the illnesses amplified, causing more often deaths at this time. Robberies, murders are done mainly at night. On the other hand, the Türks trusted the magic force of the Moon. She was a sole night lantern. To please Moon those born during full moon were given names as such: Aisylu, Aituly, Ainir, Aizirek, Ainaz, etc. [or Ainur! - Ainur] The three phases of the moon also had their signs. It was believed that at ‘ai naazy’ (new moon) the moon symbolized a young girl, pure and modest. At ‘ai toly’, ‘tuly ai’ (complete moon) Moon personified a mature woman – mother. In this period she is good-natured and favorable. At ‘ai karty’ (old moon) the Moon aged, became wise, but quarrelsome and malicious. Before death Moon reigned in absolutely dark night. In these three nights, it was believed, life and death meet together. The old Moon died, a new one was born, and together with Her a new life, new cycle, new round was born. I found this interesting text in The Tatar Gazette. Read more about Tatars, a Turkic people, on my Tatarstan page.
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Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The new album of the Slovenian industrial band (or should I say, movement) Laibach is pure genius. Let's start with the name. "Volk" refers, of course, to the German word for "people" or "nation", but also to the Slovenian (and common Slavic) word for "wolf". The album cover features sheep. Wolves in sheep's clothing? The album tracks are inspired by national anthems. The peoples/nations - are they sheep or wolves? Homo homini lupus. The idea of a "nation" has led people to mindless slaughter. Are they willingly led or driven by their killing instincts? What is a nation? Can we overcome nationalism? The covers are not simply industrial rock versions of the original anthems. There are guest singers, singing in their native languages. The anthems are heavily adapted and new lyrics have been added - very dark and very critical lyrics, but the lyrical melodies evoke strong emotions. I unashamedly admit to crying to Germania - it hit exactly the right spot. Francia is a comment on the revolts in the faubourgs and compares them to the revolutionary theme in la Marseillaise. America puts the sermons of the religious right in stark contrast to the ideals of the United States. I had to smile at the emphasis on the words "amore" and "signore" in Italia. There is so much detail and depth in these songs. I'm looking forward to the concert on the 28th - that's right, Laibach is coming to Lund!
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