Reykjavík Grapevine - okt. 2021, Blaðsíða 7

Have you ever encountered a peculiar
person who seems to live their life
liberated from the boundaries of social
norms? The kind of person who decides
to take no notice of what’s considered
normal in society and lives their own life
to the fullest? Well, we have found just
the right god to represent those people,
and he’s none other than the ruler of
Valhalla himself, Ó!inn.
A one-eyed masochist
Ó!inn is what one could call a wise fool,
a character that might seem foolish at
first but later comes to be seen as a
holder of great wisdom. The appearance
and acts of this bizarre god raise ques-
tions of his sanity. That cloak-wearing,
long-bearded guy gouged out one of his
eyes just to get a sip of Mimir’s well, and
sacrificed himself to himself by wound-
ing his body with a spear called Gungnir.
As if that wasn’t enough, he then hanged
himself from the world-tree Yggdrasil,
where he remained until he grew tired
of death and brought himself back to
life using sorcery. No wonder he’s called
the ruler of possessed. He even owns
two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, with
whom he has daily chats.
So far Ó!inn appears to be a complete
moron. I mean, what kind of a fool rips
out their eye as a payment for water?
Just pack your own bottle the next time
you go on an adventure. Also, why does
he talk to the ravens, and—most impor-
tantly—who sacrifices themselves to
themselves?!
Wisdom weighs more than
pain
Believe it or not, there’s a perfectly good
explanation for all of his doings: the
quest for wisdom. He’s done all sorts of
freaky things in the name of obtaining
greater knowledge. Ó!inn’s yearning
for wisdom seems to be never-ending,
and he’s willing to pay any price for
it: He gave his eye to Mimir, because
the water running in the well is said
to impart cosmic knowledge. He sends
his ravens each morning to the world
to collect information, which they then
share with him. And when he hung and
wounded himself, he learned to create
the runes.
So next time you come across a
person who seems a bit weird, don’t
underestimate them. They might be
onto something.
7 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10— 2021

Tunglleysa featuring Katrína
"Mogensen of Mammút - Feigsey"
This beautiful, ethereal slither of
slinky trip-hop defines its own
unique musical mood; consider
Angelo Badalamenti scoring a track
for Portishead to perform in the
imagination of David Lynch, and you
might be getting close. Tunglleysa is
a collaboration between Reykjavík
musicians !orkell Atlason and Pan
Thorarensen, with this track featuring
Mammút’s Katrína Mogensen on
vocals. It all bodes very well for the
pair’s eponymously-titled vinyl. JP

BSÍ - "My Knee Against Kyriarchy"
Quirky indie darling duo BSÍ have come
through with a track that couldn’t be
more dissimilar to the drab, Reykjavík
bus station they’ve named themselves
a"er. “My Knee Against Kyriarchy” is
upbeat and impossible not to bop
along with, making you wish you could
sing along during the first play. This
song is anything but an accident—it
takes you on a journey, and that might
be one thing they do actually have in
common with BSÍ the building. DT
Gróa - "Dansa Uppá !aki"
The self-taught punk trio GRÓA recently
released an album called ‘What I Like
To Do’. The track we’ve picked here
sums up the vibrant tone of the whole
album: it’s fiery, energetic, and funky.
“Dansa Uppá !aki” urges you— quite
literally—to dance on a roof. RH
NEW MUSIC
PICKS
JUST SAYINGS
In Icelandic, it goes like this: A! bera
ægishjálm yfir [einhvern]. This literally
means, to wear the helm of terror [over
someone]. I know, the English transla-
tion is grammatically wrong, but then
again, English is often too simple to
capture the intricacies of the Icelandic
language.
Now, the first question is obvious; what
the f#$ is ‘ægishjálmur’? The short
answer is a magical rune. Ægishjálmur
is the helm of awe or helm of terror,
and Sigur!ur Fáfnisbani from the saga
of Niflungar wore one on his forehead
when he slayed the dragon. It is power-
ful protection for warriors that can be
used for good or evil.
The saying, “A! bera ægishjálm yfir
[einhvern]” means that you dominate
someone or are by far better than your
opponent. So, the next time you crush
someone in League Of Legends you are
wearing your helm of terror over them.
VG
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Get this baby tattooed on your forehead and go slay a dragon
,,Helm of terror”
GODS OF ICELAND
Superpowers:
Wants to read up on everything
Weaknesses:
Has only one eye
Modern Analogy:
That weirdo from your school,
who probably reads too much for
their own good
Gods Of Iceland: Ó"inn
The wise fool of Valhalla
Words:
Reetta Huhta
Photo:
Adobe Stock
Not quite one-eyed, but he's trying