the clan as a model for societal reintegration

7/29/2019 The Clan as a Model for Societal Reintegration

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The Clan as a Model for Social Reintegration

David Griffiths

Out of the many grievances that those with Traditionalist tendencies cite regarding the modern

world, there is one factor that lies at the heart of contemporary societys sickness more than anyother. This factor is that of social atomism. This is the phenomena that has played a major role inthe separation of man from his core essence, feeding him with the delusion that his best interests

lie in freedom from culture, tradition, community and spiritual expression. This is the rot thathas made modern man rich pickings for the directive forces of the modern world - corporate

business, the mass-media, organised criminals and quasi-dictatorial, soft totalitariangovernments - to exploit and feed upon. According to the sociologist Mark Granovetter, the

economist perceives the modern atomised individual as being either a rootless thrall mindlesslypursuing his hedonistic whims, or as a gullible automaton who pursues every passing social trend

and developed personal habit without question.iI find it hard to disagree with this summary of

modern man. Being atomised has made him a stupid and impressionable creature that thinks,

wrongly, that he has complete autonomy over his thoughts and actions. Despite his belief in hiswill and his personal liberty, for such a man these things are nothing more than illusions. In hisstate of unwitting servitude he is completely at the whim of the aforementioned forces that drive

the world.

The context in which the atomised individual has become the common model of being in thecurrent age is a culture that has taken the form of what Ferdinand Tnnies termed the

Gesselschaftiithe civic, urbanised society structured on arbitrary will, impersonality, over-

stimulation and materialistic, goal-orientated needs; the manifestation of the Splenglerian

winter of society that closely precedes the exit of a civilisation from its active place on thestage of history. The individual forged in the Gesselschaft, being the product of an industrialised,

urbanised and economically driven society is entrenched with the fake values of consumerism,instant gratification, celebrity and multimedia marketing. Yet he is hardly completely to blame

for the state he finds himself in. He is nothing but the unthinking end-product of a society that isprimed to produce such beings. He is the natural born consumer who, on not questioning or

desiring to escape from his predicament, stays bound to the superficial, arch-materialist realitythat spawned him. Yet despite his blamelessness for the environment in which he was created,

the escape route from this sorry existence is entirely within his own hands.

To Tnnies, the antithesis and precursor to the state of Gesselschaft was that of the Gemeinschaftthe community of the essential will based on the level of the family or clan and thus built on

the virtues of personal relationships, loyalty, simplicity and common interest. By consciously

implementing the model of a simplified, clannish lifestyle in whatever ways he can, the potentialexists for modern man to reverse the malaise that has stricken his soul. By studying andemulating the principles, traditions and mores of his ancient progenitors the man standing in

sight of the end of the current cycle of Western Civilisation can grant himself the unique positionof the reintegrated being who escapes the abyss into which the world around him slips. By

searching for and emulating genuine examples of the clannish Gemeinschaft in ones own life Ibelieve the fight against the destructive effects of the Gesselschaft becomes a less daunting

challenge.


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The recreation of clan relationships is not a simple matter in the context of the modern world.

The time of the natural existence of such things has long since passed and makes any attempt toattain such a lifestyle a project that can never entirely escape the times in which we live. No

matter how successful one may become in the creation of a lifestyle that is altogether more

holistic, natural and resonant with our core cultural roots, there will always be some element ofour beings, be it our personal histories, our physical bodies, or our means of subsistence, that willbe forever imprisoned in the time in which we live. But this should not be seen as a manacle that

makes an attempt to reintegrate ourselves with the spirit of our ancestral cultures seem ignoble orwasteful to us. It is better to make such efforts real, if incomplete, than to continue to be wholly

immersed in a raging swell of disconnection and emptiness.

The first question it is necessary to ask oneself when it comes to recreating the essence of a clan

structure is, naturally, of whom does the clan consist? The ancient clan structure consisted of

kinsmen. The ancient notion of kinship is one that many would struggle to comprehend thereality of in our current age. The notion of kinship suggests ties to an extended family that went

beyond the modern understanding of familial relationships. In essence, kinship was brotherhood,though the connections were not necessarily biological, as the kin comprised of those with whom

there was a close emotional bond that was inclusive of, but not restricted to, ones bloodrelatives. The Anglo-Saxon derivative cynis defined as meaning family, race, kind, nature, and

such things are good bases for the modern equivalent of the clan to be constructed upon. So, thefirst factor in the formation of a clannish social structure is reliant upon simply recognising those

of ones own kind with whom a strong and closepersonal relationship or resonance of purposehas been forged.

Yet there is more to the creation of the clan than kinship alone. Despite being a good place to

start, in isolation this is still too loose a foundation for the contemporary clan to be built upon.

Adding more substance to the idea of kinship is the concept offrith. Frith lies at the heart of theclan. It is the state of being from which the bond ofpeace at the root of ones deep friendship forones kin or love of ones family emanates. According to Vilhelm Grnbech in his study of

ancient Teutonic Culture, frith constitutes what we call the base of the souliii

. He continues

It is not a mighty feeling among other feelings in these people, but the very coreof the soul, that gives birth to all thoughts and feelings, and provides them with the

energy of lifeor it is that centre in the self where thoughts and feelings receive

the stamp of their humanity, and are inspired with will and direction. It answers towhat we in ourselves call the human.

Frith was the cohesive principle that held the ancient society together. It was not only the bind ofinterpersonal relationships and marriage but also that which held together the principles offreedom, law, vengeance and courage based on the bonds of kinship and the link between men

and the gods. The outlaw, or any man castigated from society, was a man without frith. To theancient Teutonic clans, the man without frith was a niing

iv; a wolf-man

vstripped of the very

core components of humanity and left as a soulless thrall or wild beast doomed to destruction,like Grendel, far from the warmth of the mead hall, or like the young fir tree that dies, standing

alone sheltered by neither bark nor needle in the field.vi


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The essential core of humanity found in the concept of frith is one that is built on the vitalconnections between man and his kin, his tradition, his culture, his homeland and his gods. Frith

is also strongly entwined with the concept of love and freedom. Etymologically, frith, love

and free all stemfrom the Proto Indo European word *prijos, meaning dear, beloved, ofwhich one variant was *pritu, peace, which eventually became the Old Norse friu and theEnglish frith. The Proto Germanic adaptation of *prijos was *frijaz, free, which was a

linguistic and conceptual extension of the term beloved. To be a kinsman, one had to be a freeman (that is, not a thrall or an outlaw), and to be a kinsman made one beloved to other kinsmen.

Other derivatives of *prijos pertinent to the understanding of frith are Old English freond - theprecursor of the modern English friend, the Old English freogan - meaning to love, favour

and the goddess Frigg, who, with a name that also derives from *prijos and *frijaz and as agoddess of love and domestic relationships, seems an apt representative for the concept of frith.

On noting how the atomised individual, the thrall, is essentially a man without frith - andtherefore without soul and without deep and genuine humanity - the importance of reintegrating

with the ways of frith becomes clearer and more appealing.

The next question that needs to be asked with regards to the rebirth of the ways of the clanrelates to how one approaches the establishment of relationships and communities in which frith

is the underlying principle. By studying the basic structure and functions of the clan, which areexpressions of the essence of frith, we may be able to gain some ideas and understandings that

are conducive to the construction of such means of living.

In the clannish community we see the truest expression of the concept of fraternity. This kinship,

rooted in frith, has been emulated as the model for fraternal societies in Western Society eversince. In the Gemeinschaft, the principle of obligation was perhaps the most vital manifestation

of this brotherhood. The clansmans innate sense of place amongst and duty towards his fellowsmade the reciprocal relationships on which such communities were based a matter of natural

fact; quite unlike the pecuniary and self-centred motivations that polarise man against folk-spiritedness in todays society. Although the root of such duty and obligation lay in frith, the

state from which frith emanated was the initial kinship found in a society based upon universalcommonality and connectedness rather than imposed diversity and separation. Ones kinsmen,

being of like nature, blood and creed, were ones natural, rather than imposed, peers. And thus,like a family, one found the deepest bonds of trust and respect directed towards those that were

their brothers in blood and in essence. Being based in such values, the clan was a true body ofequals. Grnbech comments that this natural equality led to there being no absolutely dominant

power within Teutonic clans. Despite there being a leader of the tribe or clan, there was no oneindividual who held complete power over his peers.

Rather than being based on will and dominance, the fabric of clan society was held together by

acts of reciprocation. Stephen Pollington remarks that the practice of gift-giving, as clearlyevidenced in Beowulf, acts as an exemplar model of the state of the reciprocal structure in

Germanic culture. He states that the giving of gifts [cements] the bonds of the free classesvii

.Yet such exchanges were entirely pragmatic in nature, for when any man gave a gift he

expected a return, a counter-giftviii

, with the favours of higher ranking kinsmen, for instance,


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being returned by the service of lower ranked kinsmen. The reciprocal nature of bonds betweenkinsmen went much further than the giving of gifts. The obligation of frith gave rise to the codes

of hospitality, law and punishment that bound kinsmen together. The function of hospitality wasto extend the essence of gift-giving amongst kinsmen beyond the clan itself and onto its guests,

thus preserving the honour of the clan. Hospitality was the measured mark of the nobility and

generosity of the king or chieftain, which were values by which his wealth, reputation and powerwere judged. It is professed as a vital element throughout ancient texts, as seen in the Hvaml:

Hail the givers! A guest has come

where shall he sit?Hard pressed is he,

who tests his luck by the fire.

Fire is needful for those who arrive

with cold knees.

Food and clothing is needful

to men who have fared over the fells.

Water is needful, for he who comes for a meal,drying and friendly words as well,

and, if he can get them, kindness, good words,

and welcome again.ix

As far as the keeping of law was concerned, frith and kinship acted as a bond that gelled societytogether in a lawful manner. The place of frith in law, as in personal relationships, was to act as a

principle that maintained peace and promoted co-operation. The development of frith guilds inEngland in the sixth and seventh centuries cemented the unofficial bonds of kinship into a coded

model that were later reflected in the Dooms of Ine and Alfred. In a culture in which societalinclusion and interaction were vital to the survival and prosperity of both the individual and the

clan, the ultimate level of punishment to those who abused the trust, loyalty and reciprocationthat held such a society together was the withdrawal of the benefits of that community from

them.

In general, offences were punishable in the form of a weregild or man-price payable to thevictim of a crime, or in the case of murder, his family, ensuring that the criminal would not be

the only one to suffer from his anti-social behaviour. Because of this, the offenders direct kinwere often hit hard by such fines, and would often ostracise the offender themselves because of

the dishonour and hardship that his actions had brought upon them. If the cost of a mansweregild was too expensive, or if it was refused, those doomed to pay it were cast out of the clan

and became outlaws. In the more extreme cases ofbot-less crimes, which included the murderingof someone as they lay defenceless, were considered to be enough of a violation of the peace for

the payment of blood-money to be held as an inadequate punishment, and so led to the directcasting out of the offenderwhich was essentially a death sentence.

Whatever the circumstances of one becoming outcast, being permanently ostracised from the

clan was a catastrophic event for the individual. By understanding the concept of the niing as awolf-man, a doomed beast of a wretch without a soul or humanity, we can understand how the


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withdrawal of communal bonds greatly affected the life of the outlaw. In Viking society not onlydid the outlaw lose the privileges of the freeman, but he also forfeited his right to any kind of

protection or aid from the law. After being cast out of the settlement he became fair game toanyone who wished to take his life, as his death would no longer be held as punishable or unjust

by law. Thus the vengeance of the wronged parties could come into play as factors of the

personal distribution of justice. Laws that encourage the fear of dismemberment from the bodyof the clan and thus the loss of frith, freedom and kinship would have served the simultaneouspurpose of acting as a means of collective protection to the members of such a society and also

the further reinforcement ofones natural loyalties to thosebonds through the fear ofostracisation or the financial ruin ofoneself and ones immediate family. Such laws and bonds,

although highly pluralistic and community minded in nature, would surely have been conduciveto the development of a strong sense of personal responsibility considering what the potential

perpetrator held to lose from his illegal actions.

Indeed, it is difficult to wholly comprehend the exact strength of those bonds and responsibilitiesfrom a modern viewpoint. Such was the complete oneness and vital interconnectedness of the

clan that values such as honour, loyalty and courage were stronger matters of emotionality thanthe fear of death. Grnbech states that in ancient Germanic societies

Humanity itself is dependent on the pulsing in the veins of a frith-honour.

Without it, human nature fades away, and in the void there grows a beast nature,

which at last takes possession of the whole body. x

Being another example of a man without frith, the man without honour was as contemptible as

the robber or murderer, having proved himself as an unworthy recipient of the protectivereciprocal ties that bind the clan together.

In the Battle of Maldon we can see a famous example of how the loyalty that a kinsman held for

his lord and brethren could remain stronger than the fear of death, even beyond his demise andtheir impending defeat.

Warriors died

overcome by wounds; the slain fell to the ground.Oswold and Eadwold all the while,

the two brothers, encouraged the warriors,they entreated their dear kinsmen with their wordsthat they should hold out there in this time of need,

use their weapons unfailingly.

Byrthwold spoke out, raised his shield,

he was an old retainer, he shook his ash spear,very boldly he instructed the men:The mind must be tougher, the heart be bolder,

resolve shall be greater, as our strength becomes less.Here lies our lord all cut down,

a good man in the dust. He who thinks to turn away

from this battle play now will always regret it.

I am experienced in life; I will not go away,but by the side of my lord,


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of such a dear man, I intend to lie.xi

Such are the codes of honour, loyalty and courage displayed by Oswold, Eadwold and especially

Byrthwold, that they see it as better to fight to the death next to their fallen lord than to escape

the impending defeat with their lives knowing that they had deserted the battlefield in flight.Death is preferable to such dishonour, and those who choose to live will always regret it.

The notion of kinship in the modern era, has, like many other sacred social and functionalprinciples, been reduced to a faint shadow of its former self. Being beyond rescue at the

macrocosmic level, the formula for resacralising the role of the clan is something which one canonly do for oneself, at a personal level, with ones own kith and kin. The social relationships of

the ancient clan provide us with good examples of what principles and practices one needs tobear in mind when attempting to establish clannish elements in ones life and relationships.

Clearly the family is a very obvious place to start applying the principles of frith and kinship intopractice. Essentially though, in keeping with the nature of the clans of yore, there is no need to

restrict this to ones blood relatives. In fact to do so, in a time in which blood ties are often bothgeographically and emotionally separated, is to potentially doom such an idea from the outset.

Resonance, rather than blood, is the primary factor when it comes to re-establishing the clan.Persons with whom we resonate with at an ideological level - those who share our preferences,

thoughts, joys, culture and beliefsmake the best kinsmen. To re-establish the clan one leads byexample and holds the sacred values of frith and all that comes with it - reciprocation, honour,

trust, loyalty, fraternity, courage and hospitalityas the highest of values. One should alsocommunicate their thoughts and perspectives on frith, kinship and the clan with others,

especially those whose presence forms the clan, so that the principles of kinship and clanship aremade clear and, ideally, reciprocated.

The clan of today is less than likely to occupy the same territorial area as they would have in

times past, and this is obviously a large obstacle in the path of invoking the actuality of the clanstructures of our ancestors. But there is no bar to establishing thespiritof the clan amongst those

who one considers their kinsmen. There is also no reason why the modern clan cannot create asymbolic unifying principle, such as a totem, to represent the clan as those of old did. The role of

the animal totem was to provide a symbolic representation of the clan or tribe that also served asa vessel for their collective psyche, being the object of their mythology, their religious practices

and an influential element on the aesthetics of their material culture. The modern age clan can beunified by a totemic symbol that is felt to summarise the motivations and traditions of the clan in

a way that is of no less significance now as it was to our ancestors. To fit in with the aestheticand aims of the group, such a totem could be symbolised in the form of a god-form, a real or

perceived common physical or spiritual descendent, an animal form, or even anEgregore; amagical being specifically created as a symbolic representative of the unique purpose and

dynamic of the group. What is of essence is that a clan, fraternity or tribe of whateverdescription, requires some kind of singular, remote, symbolic figurehead that can be instantly

recognised as the living principle that summarises the frith and the kinship of the group. Thisadds authenticity and spiritual dimension to the clan, without which the vital element of sacrality

is missing.


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This common sense of the sacred is something which is vastly important if one is to accuratelyuse the clan as a model for social reintegration. The study, contemplation and practice of the

integral religious traditions of the common ancestors of the clan, as revealed through historicalsources, myth and folklore, is a factor of considerable importance. Glenn Alexander Magee

states that

The first step towards cancelling modern barbarism and recovering primal openness isto begin with ones ownsensus communis. What we must do is immerse ourselves inthe sensus communis of our people by internalising their myths and traditions, by

practicing their customs and rituals, and, in general, trying to live as much as possible as

they did. The chief obstacles to this are the modern ways of thought that have alreadybeen imprinted on us. As a first step toward overcoming this obstacle we may ask how we

recognise our peoplessensus communis in ourselves. It is through what I shall call theparticularity of myth, that we may find a way into thesensus communis.xii

He concludes by stating it is only by immersing ourselves in the ways and traditions of our

forefathers that can lead to the kind of openness that makes our entire lives a theatre of

memory and thus connects us to the archai, the mysterious primordial truths, that mythcommunicates to us.

So although there are many good societal reasons to reintegrate ourselves with the ways of ourancestors, the thwarting of the niingstatus associated with social atomism being perhaps the

most vital, there are also good - in fact essential- spiritual reasons for doing so. Considering this,it seems irrefutable that mans natural and ideal state of existence is found in that of the

Gemeinschaft; the close-knit, traditional, organic community in which our ancestors thrived, andnot the Gesselschaft; in which modern man despairs, declines and crumbles. Looking to the

traditions and methods of the ancient clan or tribe is therefore an important step to take inregaining our core humanity.

iGranovetter, Mark. "Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness"; American Journal of

Sociology, Vol. 91, No. 3. November 1985, pp 481-510. 1985.

ii Tnnies, Ferdinand, Community and Society. Dover Publications. 1957.

iii Grnbech, Vilhelm, The Culture of the Teutons, Vol. 1, p. __. 19__.

iv From Old Norse nihostility, shame, scorn. The niing, according to Jan de Fries in Die geistige Welt der

Germanen, was a mythological creature "that only exists to cause harm and bring certain undoing".

v

Grnbech, p.__ According to Rudolf His (Das Strafrecht der Friesen im Mittelalter, 1901) , the niing "must seekshelter alone in the woods just like a wolf." In the context of compensatory payment for crimes and the punishment

of outlawry, there is a certain resonance here with the Old Norwegian Rune Poem relating to the F runeGold

causes strife amongst kinsmen, the wolf grows up in the woods.

vi Hvaml: 50. Version cited throughoutChisholm, James Allen, The Eddas: Keys to the Mystery of the North

viiPollington, Stephen, The Mead Hall: Feasting in Anglo-Saxon England, p. __. Anglo-Saxon Books. 2003.

viii Ibid


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ix Hvaml: 2-4.

x Grnbech, p.68

xi

The Battle of Maldon, 302-319. In Treharne, Elaine M., and Wu, Duncan, Old and Middle English Poetry.Blackwell Publishing. 2002.

xiiMagee, Glenn Alexander, The Recovery of Myth and the Sensus Communis, in Philosophy and Culture: Essays in

Honour of Donald Phillip Verene, pp163-181, ed. Glenn Alexander Magee. 2002.

the clan as a model for societal reintegration

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