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Heathen Tribes A Collection of Essays Concerning the Tribes of Our Folk by Mark Ludwig Stinson Chieftain of Jotun's Bane Kindred Temple of Our Heathen Gods Kansas City Area Written During 2010-2011 First Edition “Heathen Tribes: A Collection of Essays Regarding the Tribes of Our Folk” © 2011 by Mark Stinson. All rights reserved, under a specific Open License. This book may be used, copied, distributed, and transmitted in any form or by any means, as long as the contents of the book remain intact and unchanged, including this copyright information. Individual essays or sections of the book may be freely syndicated in any form and by any means, as long as credit is given using all of the following information (in quotations)... “Written and Copyrighted in 2011 by Mark Stinson, Used with Permission, Heathengods.com.” Published by Jotun's Bane Kindred Temple of Our Heathen Gods P.O. Box 618 Liberty, MO 64069 http://Heathengods.com Table of Contents Acknowledgments 1 Introduction 2 We Need More Practical Heathen Books 4 Section 1 – Essays for New Tribes 7 Your Ancestors Were Heathen 8 We Live in Saga Times 11 Growing Heathenry Using a Grassroots Approach 12 The Future of Heathenry – Grassroots or National? 15 Rising to the Challenge 17 Terminology - “Kindred” vs. “Tribe” 20 To Oath or Not to Oath? 21 Developing Tribal Thew 25 Ideas and Tips for Open Heathen Events 31 How to Organize a Successful Pubmoot 36 Raising Awareness Among “Normal” Folks 41 Bringing Our Folk Back to Their Ancestral Ways 47 Clearing up Misconceptions New Heathens May Have 53 Section 2 – Modern Heathen Tribes 58 Functions Within a Tribe 59 Is Heathenry “Too Insular?” 63 Is Heathenry “Too Judgmental?” 66 Are Heathen Kindreds “Too Feudal?” 68 Frith within a Modern Tribe – The Joy it Brings 72 Establishing True Frith in Our Lives 77 The Bare Basics on “Luck” 79 Growing Folk Communities Around Our Kindreds 80 Bringing New Members into a Kindred 87 Planned Migration – An Ill-Conceived Idea 91 Establishing a Hof and Hall 94 Section 3 – Tribal Roles and Responsibilities 96 Modern Egalitarianism Taken to the Extreme 97 Earning One's Role Within a Kindred 102 The Role of Luck in Recognizing Kindred Leadership 106 The Chieftain, Godhi, and Thyle Leadership Structure 109 The Role and Responsibilities of a Modern Chieftain 110 The Role and Responsibilities of a Modern Godhi 125 The Role and Responsibilities of a Modern Thyle 134 The Role and Responsibilities of a Modern Valkyrie 139 Section 4 – Regional Bonds 142 Heathens – Focusing on Local and Regional Bonds 143 Forming Bonds Between Kindreds and Tribes 146 Heathen Tribes – Focus on Your Commonalities 150 Respecting the Autonomy of Other Tribes 152 Heathen Road-trips and Traveling 154 The Healthy Evolution of Traditions and Thew 162 Tips for Hosting a Successful Heathen Gathering 165 The Enormously Limited Role of Modern Outlawry 169 The First Five Laws of the Midwest Thing 174 Section 5 – Heathen Families 176 What to Consider Before Marrying a Non-Heathen 177 Involving Non-Heathen Spouses in our Kindreds 180 Family is Family 184 What if you Cannot Put Down Roots? 186 Reasons Heathens Should Reject Circumcision 188 Raising up Strong Heathen Children 191 The Transition from Childhood to Adulthood 192 Honoring One's Ancestors 197 So, You Do not Know Your Ancestors 203 Section 6 – Miscellaneous Essays 205 How Heathens Correct a Wrong 206 Selfishness, Intentions, and Emotions 208 Those that Disrupt and Destroy 212 Heathen Internet Drama and How to Avoid It 213 The Lack of Emotional Boundaries Online 217 Failed Attempts at Heathen Glory! 220 My Grandmother Elizabeth Shoop 226 A Final Note on Christianity 229 Prison Kindreds vs. Kindreds Outside of Prison 232 How to Carve a Wooden Hammer 239 Section 7 – Kindred Bylaws 243 The Purpose of Kindred Bylaws 244 Bylaws are Different than Thew 245 An Example of Kindred Bylaws 246 Lightning Across the Plains 260 Temple of Our Heathen Gods Website 265 Mark Ludwig Stinson 266 Further Reading 268 Acknowledgments This book would not exist without the patience and support of my wife, Jennifer Stinson. She is my partner in all things and I would not be the person I am without the life we have built together. My children, Nathan, Elizabeth, and Joshua are my inspiration and my joy. They make me laugh. They energize me. They test me and wear me down, and then they make me laugh and energize me all over again. I am proud of them – greatly proud of them. Much of my motivation for writing these essays is to record for them that which I believe, and to narrate for them why I have worked so hard with Jotun's Bane Kindred to build something that can be passed down to them. We will build a Hof and a Hall on tribal land and all of the work I put into these deeds is for them. None of us live forever, but our Blood, our Orlog, and our Deeds live on in our children. My Tribe, Jotun's Bane Kindred, breathes life into all the essays in this book. We share all of our struggles, our hard work, and our successes in true Frith. These are my trusted friends and sharing strong bonds and oaths with them is clear evidence of my Luck. So many of these essays are based directly on our own experiences and on the conversations we have together of what we want for our families, our Kindred, and our Folk. So, I want to acknowledge Rod Landreth, Craig Winkler, Jamie King, Will Burris, Johnny Hamilton, Kimberly Hamilton, Glen Steveson, Susan Steveson, Jason Grothe, Jennifer Stinson, and all of their families as the best people I know. I want to acknowledge my Great-Grandfather and name-sake Ludwig Schweiger. He was a Germanic immigrant to the United States, a hard worker, and a beloved family man. My Grandmother and Ludwig's daughter, Elizabeth Shoop, taught me to dream, laugh, and enjoy life. She was my best friend as a child and she left the world too soon. First among my Ancestors is my father, Glen F. Stinson. He was the best of fathers, and I work hard to pass Orlog to my children that is as good and powerful as the Orlog that my father passed to me. 1 INTRODUCTION The essays in this collection were written in the years 2010 and 2011. In their original form they were written as internet essays, message board posts, and as answers to e-mail questions I received. In bringing them together into this book, I have grouped them into categories and put them into an order that gives them context. I have reworked all of the essays to varying degrees. Some required very little refining, while others required extensive reworking. This book is a very practical book, written in a conversational tone. It is not a scholarly work, heavy with footnotes and quotes from other authors and other sources. There are many amazing books of that nature available, some of the best of which are listed at the end of this book. What you will find within this collection is my approach to various topics and issues within our Folkway – the Folkway that represents the ancestral religion, ways, and worldview of the Northern European people. The essays included here are informed by the experiences of Jotun's Bane Kindred in starting, maintaining, and growing a Heathen Tribe here in the Heartland of the United States. The scope of these essays is far-reaching, but this collection does not provide a comprehensive examination of Heathenry. If that is what you are seeking, you should buy Our Troth, Volumes 1 and 2. This collection does not serve as a complete introduction to Heathenry, either. Essential Asatru, by Diana Paxon, would better serve you as a brief introduction to our Folkway. The ways of our Ancestors varied greatly from Tribe to Tribe, location to location, century to century, and even among various levels of society. The same situation exists today within modern Heathenry. These essays are not presented as the one-true-way that things should be done within Heathenry. These essays represent one man's approach – one Tribe's approach – to these issues and topics. It is likely that every reader will find things to both agree with and disagree with in the contents of this book. If nothing else, the essays will hopefully get you thinking about these topics and examining, or re- examining, your own approaches and points-of-view. Jotun's Bane Kindred draws from Norse, Germanic, Anglo-Saxon, and other Northern European sources for its ways and traditions. For this reason, there is a certain mixing of terminology in the following essays. We do not restrict ourselves to using only Norse terminology or only Anglo-Saxon terminology. If a word or concept accurately reflects what we are doing, then we use that word or concept. 2 This collection is not an anti-Christian manifesto. Instead the tone is one of starting where our Ancestors left off, reclaiming what was taken from our people, and moving our religion forward into our modern world. Our Kindred and these essays focus on moving beyond Christianity. For this reason, I have kept references to Christianity and other religions to a minimum. Jotun's Bane Kindred is an oathed tribal Kindred in the Heartland of America. We are a Folkish Kindred, at least by our own estimation. These essays reflect a tribal approach to Heathenry. They reflect the importance of Kindreds with committed and hard-working leaders and members.
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