FREYA'S UNUSUAL WEDDING
Neil Gaiman
Embora não seja originalmente anglófona, a mitologia nórdica marca a cultura inglesa por vias históricas. Uma das histórias mais famosas dessa tradição cultural é o “Casamento incomum de Freya”, emblemática principalmente por narrar uma situação de vulnerabilidade dos deuses diante de seus inimigos.
Na contação do mito, tomamos como ponto de partida a versão de Neil Gaiman, publicada em 2017 no livro “Mitologia Nórdica” [“Norse Mythology”, no original]. A escolha dessa versão, dentre muitas outras possíveis, se deu em razão de sua atualidade e de seu humor.
Have you ever thought of where the names in the days of the week come from? Well… To explain it in detail would be a long story, but for the sake of brevity one could say they come from Norse Mythology. More specifically, from the gods of Norse Mythology. For, after coming from Scandinavia, the Vikings dominated many British territories and brought their gods with them. Almost every day of the week is dedicated to these gods. Thursday, for example, is named after Thor, the god of thunder and Friday after Freya, the queen of the gods, which once almost had to marry an evil frost giant, and that story goes like this…
Thor, which, as you all know, is the god of thunder, the strongest and mightiest god in Asgard, awoke one day with the feeling that something was wrong. He reached out a hand for his hammer, which he always kept within reach while he slept, and… no hammer was to be found.
There was no hammer anywhere. His hammer was gone. The hammer kept the gods safe from all the dangers that threatened them. Frost giants and ogres, which were their worst enemies, were frightened of them. Thor loved his hammer. And his hammer simply was not there.
The first thing he did when something went wrong was ask himself if what had happened was Loki’s fault. But he did not believe that even Loki would have dared to steal his hammer. So he did the next thing he did when something went wrong, and went to ask Loki for advice. Loki, by the way, was a very handsome god. He is plausible, persuasive, and by far the most cunning and treacherous god in Asgard.
Loki was crafty and knew what to do. He went to Freya’s hall. Freya was the most beautiful and the queen of all gods. Loki asked her for her feathered cloak, the one that lets one fly.
Freya said “Absolutely not. My cloak is more valuable than gold and I am not having you wearing it and going around and making mischief.”
But Loki said “Thor’s hammer has been stolen”, and Freya replied quickly “I’ll get you the cloak.”
Loki put on the feathered cloak and he took to the air, in falcon shape. He flew deep into the land of the giants, looking for something unusual.
Beneath him, Loki saw a huge grave hill, and sitting on it, was the hugest, ugliest ogre of a giant he had ever seen.
When the ogre saw Loki, he grinned a sharp-toothed grin and waved.
The ogre asked: “Why brings Loki to the land of the giants?”
And Loki said: “Thor’s hammer is missing. Would you know anything about that?”
Trying hard to cover his satisfaction, the ogre chuckled [laughed inwardly] to himself and said: “I have Thor’s hammer. I’ve hidden it so deep beneath the earth that nobody could ever find it, not even Odin. I am the only one who could bring it up again but this will have a price. And, in exchange for the hammer I want to marry Freya. Bring her in eight days from now, and the hammer of the gods will be given back on the wedding night.
Loki took the ogre’s request and went back to Asgard.
Thor and Loki went to Freya’s hall, and she asked them“Did you find out who stole Thor’s hammer?”
Loki answered: “The lord of ogres.”
And Freya said “I’ve heard of him. A nasty piece of work. What does he want for it?”
Loki said then “You… He wants to marry you.”
Upon hearing this, Freya said absolutely nothing. The ground and the walls began to shake and Freya’s hands were squeezed into tight fists. She was outraged and wouldn’t marry an ogre to save the gods from trouble. She wanted them out immediately.
If Freya didn’t want to marry the ogre, they would be doomed…
But Loki, the cunning Loki, were to come with a brilliant idea, by which Thor wouldn’t be very pleased.
Loki approached Thor and said: “Well… I think we have no choice other than dress you as a bride.Thor said “What!? I don’t like it! People will think… well, for a start they’ll think I dress up in women’s clothes. And I’ve got a beard. I can’t shave off my beard! It’s a terrible, terrible idea! No one like this idea, do they?”
But all gods loved the idea, including Odin the all-highest: With a wedding veil, they would hide Thor’s face, and the ogre would think he is marrying Freya. It was brilliant.
And so the goddesses brought him things to wear. They dressed him in the finest clothes and they covered his face with a veil, so that only his eyes could be seen.
Loki too shifted his shape and turned himself, in voice and in appearance, into a beautiful young serving woman.
Disguised as such, Thor and Loki clambered into Thor’s chariot and took to the skies. Thor had a bad feeling and Loki said: “Just don’t say anything. Leave me all the talking.”
As they arrived, the ogre sat at the head of the table, Loki sat next to him, and Thor at the next seat on the bench. The ogre clapped his hands and giant serving men came in, carrying plenty of food and huge casks of mead.
Thor ate a whole ox, all by himself. He ate seven entire salmon, leaving nothing but bones. The pastries vanished, to the sound of munching, under the veil.
The ogre was impressed: “Amazing. I’ve never seen any woman eat so much, or drink so much mead.”
And Loki said “There is an obvious explanation… She hasn’t eaten for eight days and eight night, she was so keen to come to the land of the giants and make love to her new husband.”
“I should kiss her”, said the ogre. He was already leaning over and making kissing noises. With one huge hand, he reached for Thor’s veil. But suddenly he stopped and sprung back, shaken.
“Why are Freya’s eyes so… so terrifying?... It seemed there was fire burning inside of them.”
But Loki, again, soothed his worries: “She hasn’t slept for eight days and eight nights. She was so consumed by love for her future husband that she dared not sleep, so mad she was to taste his love. What you saw in her eyes was burning passion.”
The ogre was desperate to start the wedding and ordered his servants to bring the hammer. It took four giants to carry Thor’s hammer. They brought it in from deep inside the hall. With difficulty, they placed it on Thor’s lap.
The ogre said then: “Now, let me hear your beautiful voice, my love, my dove, my sweetness. Tell me that you love me. Tell me that you will be my bride.”
And the Thor’s answer came in a voice like thunder: “What I say is that you should not have taken my hammer.”
He hit the ogre with its hammer, only once, but once was all it took. The ogre fell to the straw-covered floor, and did not rise again.
All the giants and ogres fell beneath Thor’s hammer: the guests of the wedding that was never to be.
When the hall was silent, Loki climbed out from under the table, in his original shape.
Thor was already taking off his women’s skirts, with relief, when he said: “There, that wasn’t as bad as I had feared. I’ve got my hammer back. And I had a good dinner. Let’s go home!
O livro com a versão completa do mito pode ser adquirido aqui.
Você também pode ouvir o próprio Neil Gaiman fazendo uma leitura pública desse conto no seguinte vídeo:
A canção “Sunday is for Sunna”, cantada após a história, mostra a origem etimológica dos dias da semana, relacionando cada um deles ao um deus nórdico correspondente.
Wednesday is the fourth (fourth) day of the week,
And on Wednesday we honor Odin,
Who gave one of his eyes
So he could be more wise.
And so on Wednesday we honor Odin.
Thursday is the fifth (fifth) day of the week,
And on Thursday we honor Thor.
The strength that's in his arm
Means we are safe from harm.
And so on Thursday we honor Thor.
Friday is the sixth (sixth) day of the week,
And on Friday we honor Frigga.
Beloved of Asgard's hall,
She's mother to us all.
And so on Friday we honor Frigga.
Saturday's the last (last) day of the week,
And on Saturday we do our washing.
Our face and hair we shine,
While clothes dry on the line.
Because on Saturday we do our washing.
Retiramos essa canção deste site aqui, no qual também se encontram diversos poemas e histórias relacionados à mitologia nórdica.