On the Aesir and Mammoths

The association between the Aesir and mammoths is commonly treated as though the latter were enormous cattle. They are not. The mammoth is intelligent, highly social, capable of remarkable memory, dangerous when distressed, and entirely uninterested in the legal fiction that it constitutes agricultural property.

Traditional Aesir herding therefore bears little resemblance to Human cattle husbandry. Herds are guided more often than commanded, and migration routes are negotiated through repeated behavioural conditioning, familiarity, and a body of practical knowledge accumulated across centuries. An experienced Aesir herder can distinguish animals at distances where I can barely distinguish the herd, which is impressive.

It has nevertheless inspired considerable mythology, including claims that Aesir speak a secret mammoth language, that mammoths select tribal chiefs, and that certain ancient herds retain oral histories extending thousands of years. The first is exaggerated. The second has occurred, though only as ceremony, and the third is maintained principally by one very determined Aesir folklorist with whom I have already wasted sufficient correspondence.

Mammoths communicate extensively through sound and gesture, including frequencies difficult for several of the Principal Races to perceive. Whether this deserves to be called language remains an interesting question. Whether Professor Skorvald’s favourite bull personally remembers the fall of the Old Northern Empire does not.