Ch. 2 - Adrift

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to episode two of Rings and Rituals, a drift from the Pain in McKay's

[00:00:17] series Rings of Power. I'm Marilyn, the librarian of Ruvendale, and I'm Sara Shield-Baden

[00:00:22] of Rohan, and we're delighted that you've joined us. Today we'll be reviewing what we mean

[00:00:27] by Ritual and then applying those concepts to different examples of Rituals that we find

[00:00:32] in this second episode of the TV series. We'll explore them using a set of questions

[00:00:36] to reveal how Pain in McKay depicted the cultures that they were adapting to their series.

[00:00:40] Be sure to get in touch with us. A discussion of two is an adventure, but we'd love to have

[00:00:46] more voices join us. You can email us at ringsandritualsatfelorhounds.com

[00:00:53] and or you can join our Rings and Rituals channel on the Lorehounds Discord. We'll include all

[00:00:58] that information in the show notes. And we also want to say that we are a proud affiliate of the

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[00:01:26] Okay so before we get into it let's review our process. Firstly, Marilyn, what do we mean by

[00:01:31] Ritual? Yes, Ritual is a repeated action first of all. It's usually intended to recognize and or

[00:01:38] bring about change in some fashion. It often has symbolic content but not always.

[00:01:44] Wreshing your teeth morning and evening could be considered a ritual.

[00:01:48] It may be a form of making meaning, which does not have to be religious or spiritual.

[00:01:54] And it may create or reinforce community identity although it can also be a private ritual.

[00:02:00] And we'll keep those points in mind as we describe each ritual and then ask some of the following

[00:02:05] questions. What is the design of the ritual? What is the intent of the ritual? What is the outcome?

[00:02:12] And particularly what does it tell us about the culture and the individuals in that culture?

[00:02:18] So before we get into all that, we're going to take a quick break now. When we come back,

[00:02:22] we'll bring you the meat or the tofu for our vegan or vegetarian listeners without the quail sauce.

[00:02:38] Welcome back! We're going to review the ritual elements that we saw in this episode but to aid our

[00:02:43] listeners memories, we'll begin each section with a synopsis of events. Now please note,

[00:02:48] we are doing full-on spoilers throughout these episodes. If that isn't what you want,

[00:02:52] go and binge the entire season and then come back and join us. Yes, please come back and join us.

[00:02:59] So for the first time in this episode, we see the magnificent opening sequence images.

[00:03:06] And here the music of Howard Shore. This is the one time that we'll hear Howard Shore's composer,

[00:03:11] although I have to say, I think Beermick Careery is doing a perfectly fine job.

[00:03:15] Oh, I totally agree. It was really stunning to see what looked like sand shaping and reforming.

[00:03:23] Oh absolutely wonderful and so cleverly done because now I've spoken to the folks behind

[00:03:31] that opening sequence. Yes. And it's an incredible thing that they did. I mean, it's not done by AI,

[00:03:38] it's done by actual sand resonating to actual sound and it's just stunning.

[00:03:44] And the fact that it is music sound that generates all these shifting patterns ties right back into

[00:03:51] the very beginning of the Samurrian and the Ina Linda Day. So the more people looked at it,

[00:03:58] they said, wow, this is made. At first it was like what is this supposed to be but

[00:04:03] you know, slowly the symbols and the images started to make sense.

[00:04:07] Right. Yes. I think the more you think about it, the more you realize actually this is incredibly

[00:04:12] appropriate for this sort of story to have a world shaped through sound in this way.

[00:04:19] Absolutely. So surprised to realize that she feels responsible for the stranger's well-being.

[00:04:26] Noorie helps him with the reluctant assistance of Poppy. Back in the Hartfoot camp, Sadduck is

[00:04:33] wondering about the Starfall. Well, Marva and Mary Gold are wondering whether they should

[00:04:37] break camp right away or wait until after the festival. Sadduck says perhaps they're safer

[00:04:42] in camp than out but that they should all be keeping an eye out because the Starfall does not

[00:04:48] well. Well, it's always lovely to hang out with the Hartfoot. Yes, definitely.

[00:04:57] So there's wonderful kind of what we could call a cultural affirmation that we

[00:05:05] amongst the Hartfoot and we start to hear this now and it will continue throughout the series.

[00:05:11] It's this chant or statement that they use frequently. Nobody goes off trail and nobody walks

[00:05:18] alone. It's used as a saying but it's also used as like a chant with them to it

[00:05:25] which you could walk to which is really appropriate, which is what they spend an awful lot of their time

[00:05:30] doing. Absolutely. So a bit with Malva and the sisters, they seem to be quite important in the

[00:05:39] sense that they along with Sadduck are the ones who affirm the practices of the group. This is

[00:05:47] what we do. This is how we do it and we all do it this way and they maintain those community

[00:05:54] norms and I think that's really important for the Hartfurt because everything that they do is about

[00:06:00] remaining together as a community which is all about survival, right? Especially when you're

[00:06:06] itinerant as they are. Yes, and I love that we have a very iconic image of

[00:06:13] it's the old women who keep the knowledge, who keep the wisdom, the young ones in line

[00:06:21] not that the young ones really like that a whole lot or pay very close attention. Especially not

[00:06:24] the Dory especially not Nory but for those of you who are Star Wars fans this may bring up a

[00:06:32] familiar expression to this is the way which could certainly fit for the Wayfinder Sadduck

[00:06:42] that is sort of the way this phrase functions in a ritual fashion. It's kind of a stripped down thing

[00:06:48] but definitely indicative of their culture which seems to expect a certain level of conformity.

[00:06:54] Oh definitely, that idea of nobody goes off trail is we stick together. This is how we do it. Nobody

[00:07:05] goes off by themselves and that's all fine and good until you get a Nory because Nory wants to

[00:07:14] go off trail nobody you know nobody wants her to do that but she wants to be outside of the norm

[00:07:21] because she wants to see what else is out there and that is not what the Hartfurt do. They have very

[00:07:27] set practices. We go from here to here at this time of the year and we keep ourselves safe

[00:07:36] I think Mary Gold actually says to her you know we keep each other safe because that's what we have

[00:07:43] to do and the idea of someone going off and doing their own thing is so outside of their

[00:07:50] norm and their experience that it's kind of scary for Nory's parents the idea that she just

[00:07:58] would go off and do something so yeah that to me I think Nory having a Nory actually teaches us

[00:08:08] more about the Hartfurt because she stands in such opposition to them. Definitely, definitely.

[00:08:13] Yes, rugged individualism not welcome here. Yeah yeah and they are I think incredibly strict

[00:08:23] about sticking to the rules. Yes their rules are extant these are the rules you stick to the rules

[00:08:31] and nobody is happy if you don't stick to the rules. And it is about a survival of the community

[00:08:37] and I don't think a lot of us are accustomed to a culture that seems to and I'll say seems to again

[00:08:47] support the community over the individual. That seems to is doing a lot of heavy lifting in

[00:08:52] that sentence then Marilyn for good reason right as we'll come to later. Exactly, exactly.

[00:08:58] Yes, if you take it at face value this is a really strict and stern culture. In actual practice

[00:09:07] you know they threaten and so forth but things do turn out rather differently from what

[00:09:14] this particular chant might suggest. So does that tell us anything particular about the Hartfurt culture itself?

[00:09:22] Well I think it does. I think it tells us that they have these norms

[00:09:31] these norms are strict to keep them safe. If anything happens outside of that they will gather

[00:09:40] together those who are sticking to the norms and anybody outside of that could be in trouble

[00:09:45] and I think we get a hint of that when Norrie's dad's leg is injured. Yes towards the end of the

[00:09:52] episode because the first question that Sadok asks is not is he okay?

[00:09:59] Yes. Can you migrate? How soon can you travel? Yes, that's it and I think that tells us quite a bit about

[00:10:07] them and there was a lot of discussion at the time about you know does this make the Hartfurt's

[00:10:13] kind of brutal or is this just simply what the culture is like because they have to be?

[00:10:18] Yes. That's a balance isn't it? And we'll see a lot more about that very question

[00:10:23] in episode or two when we come to just amazing ritual. Yeah yeah and I think when we come to that

[00:10:34] we get to learn what it really means if somebody is on their own outside of the group

[00:10:42] and what can happen so anything else in the Hartfurt's Maryland?

[00:10:48] Not from now I don't think but it's nice to have this little peek in. It sets us up for later

[00:10:56] discussion doesn't it? Exactly exactly and keeping that phrase in the back of your mind can be very

[00:11:02] helpful as you watch the Hartfurt's in action or in action. Indeed. So okay do you want to move

[00:11:10] us to the next one then? Yes indeed. In the Southlands, Bronwyn and Avrandeer look at the remains

[00:11:17] of Harden with fishers in the ground and no bodies left behind. They separate Avrandeer to

[00:11:24] explore a tunnel and Bronwyn to warn her people. In Eregion, Kelley Brimbor explains to Elrond that

[00:11:32] he has a new project in mind that might even exceed the Silberls and embody what he calls

[00:11:39] Real Power. Kelley Brimbor tells us true creation requires sacrifice. He also says,

[00:11:47] I admire all who can delve into the mystery of things who could divine from the plainness

[00:11:52] of what is, the beauty of what could be. They will need a massive forge built before spring

[00:11:59] and Elrond suggests inviting help from the doors. Now I can't help but think just as I was reading it

[00:12:05] just now. It occurred to me. Kelley Brimbor sees what is as plain. Yes, that struck me as well

[00:12:15] and he wants to make it what he considers to be beautiful. Does that sound Elrond?

[00:12:27] The elves tend to appreciate the beauty in what's around them, the natural world around them.

[00:12:33] This sounds fainorian rather than genus. Excellent connection. My first thought answering my own

[00:12:45] question was this sounds very null-bought in and of course fanned off it was a null-bought.

[00:12:50] Yes, it's kind of the idea of superiority over things when you want to make them better which

[00:12:58] assumes that they're not good in the first place. Exactly, exactly which may also speak to why

[00:13:05] the Noldor decided to migrate in the first place. Right, there were so many elves who said it's

[00:13:12] beautiful here. This is Quivien and there's all these wonderful things to look at and appreciate

[00:13:17] why should we go anywhere else? We're perfectly happy where we are. I think the Tlaire came closest

[00:13:24] to that. They wanted to stay by the sea and sail their boats and appreciate what I'll say

[00:13:32] and Ulumol had to say to them but the Noldor were definitely the craftspeople, the makers

[00:13:40] and that is of quite an ambiguous role in Tolkien's world. It's perilous, let us say. There's a very fine

[00:13:52] line that one has to walk in order not to usurp someone else's authority or exceed your own capacity

[00:14:02] and Kelleb Rimbors seems pretty driven here. I think that we get all of the hints here

[00:14:10] that this attitude of Kelleb Rimbors is what's going to get him into trouble. Spoiler alert,

[00:14:18] yes, yes. I won't reveal the entire spoiler but saying something like true creation requires sacrifice

[00:14:26] that immediately raises the question of sacrifice of what or whom

[00:14:33] does it really always and what does he mean by true creation? It's just interesting to pull

[00:14:40] the language apart and then when he says I admire all who can delve into the mystery of things,

[00:14:46] well we know somebody who is able to delve into the mystery of things who really you should not

[00:14:50] be abarring, but that's going to create trouble. And the fact that he has however accomplished

[00:14:59] Féinor's hammer. Now I don't think any Noldor can ever forget Féinor but do we really want

[00:15:09] to commemorate him? Yeah, I mean Kelleb Rimbors we know is extremely closely related to Féinor

[00:15:19] and would have known very well what had happened with Féinor and his sons.

[00:15:24] Yeah you'd think that would be oh here's a lesson I should be learning but he seeks to emulate him

[00:15:33] or exceed him. Yeah, I think that's the real driver here. And that's a problem.

[00:15:38] Let's say definitely exceeding this in some version potentially the second worst being

[00:15:47] and well maybe third worst we have to put it out on in there too.

[00:15:52] How are you going how do you want to exceed him? Why and the fact that real power that's the thing

[00:15:58] makes me very uncomfortable too because that seems to imply a level of power that again could

[00:16:08] really lead to a lot of trouble. Right, yeah because real power implies that there's power that

[00:16:16] just isn't enough. Yes exactly. So it's amazing how much we can deduce about his character from

[00:16:26] just a few examples. Right, now that the moment when Elrond and Kelleb Rimbors arrive

[00:16:37] to go and visit the doors at Casadoun is funny and rather wonderful actually as but it does lead us

[00:16:46] to understand all sorts of things about the doors because when Elrond approaches the door

[00:16:55] he tells Kelleb Rimbors what they should be able to expect. Right, and we can summarise it as being

[00:17:01] hospitality. He's talking about feasts and all sorts of things that are wonderful and

[00:17:08] Kelleb Rimbors looks like you know that sounds great. And then what do they get? A door slammed in their

[00:17:14] face. So it's quite a comedic moment but it's important to note that hospitality seems to be an

[00:17:21] important thing for the dwarves but it's also not compulsory. Yes, they can decide if they're going

[00:17:28] to offer it or not and in this case they are not offering it which comes as a bit of a surprise

[00:17:34] to Elrond but as he's going to learn there is a reason why he's being denied entrance.

[00:17:40] So he then invokes the right of Sigintarag and a quite remarkable dwarvish ritual commences

[00:17:48] doesn't it? Oh yes. The ritual of Sigintarag means the ritual of the Long Beards which is the name

[00:17:57] of the clan who is settled now at Khazadum. So looking first at the music because that's what I do.

[00:18:08] Very rhythmic, very low. You can almost hear stomping and hammers banging on anvils

[00:18:18] just a single line of melody and very little harmonization. It's a sort of song that once it gets

[00:18:24] in your head you have to work really hard to get it out. And there's string bases and other low

[00:18:31] instruments. Occasional voices also very low, single line no harmonic stuff by and large.

[00:18:39] Brass instruments, lots of drums but as far as we can tell at this point no ram s horns which was

[00:18:47] one of the things that Elrond said would be present at this wonderful welcome to Asmitality.

[00:18:54] And this right is a very public affair. Oh yes it's definitely not one that is done behind closed

[00:19:02] doors. You can see that everybody who's around is invited to come and watch their prints take on

[00:19:12] this skinny elf at a it's not combat. It's like a fight against the stone if you like but

[00:19:24] it's a contest to see who has stamina and strength and it's clearly very very important but let's

[00:19:31] actually talk about the beginning of the ritual first because alongside all of that rumming music

[00:19:38] underneath it all we get the dwarves who are you know cheering and shouting in unison and they're

[00:19:44] pumping their fists and you can see both men and women amongst them of lots of different ages

[00:19:52] and social stages. You can see ones who seem to be just that clearly minors and they're dressed

[00:19:59] in very practical clothing and then others who seem to be of a slightly higher social status with

[00:20:05] clothes that indicate that they're not literally getting their hands dirty in the rock right now

[00:20:11] and then we do hear the Rams horn. Yes we do but it's for a very particular reason because it is

[00:20:18] there to greet not Elrond no no print store in and as he enters and he enters with this wonderful

[00:20:26] kind of swagger. Oh my gosh. It's called slaggering. Oh yeah and the chance increase in tempo until

[00:20:37] Turin signals for a halt and invokes a call and response which is so clearly a part of the ritual

[00:20:45] Kazad. It's absolutely brilliant. So according to their beliefs this ritual was actually fashioned by

[00:20:53] Aula himself as Prince Durin announces which again is clearly part of the ritual where he speaks

[00:20:59] this is what the ritual is and it's so ancient it's been here with us since Aula himself

[00:21:06] and it is a test of endurance. One after the other each of them smash a rock in turn and we're not

[00:21:14] talking about like a small rock we're talking about a boulder and without pausing and even if the

[00:21:20] axes get damaged they have to get new ones and the last one standing wins. Yes and the crowd loves

[00:21:29] this incredible level of mockery and Durin himself has having a very sardana attitude about it all

[00:21:37] and is just really enjoying I think Elrond's bewilderment initially and growing. I think he

[00:21:47] starts getting pretty tasty it's like what is this? Why do I have to I mean it's one thing I have

[00:21:52] to do the right to get your attention but you know I have to endure all this other stuff as well but

[00:21:57] that's part of the deal that's part of the game isn't it it's like trash-talking in a lot of

[00:22:02] different uh sports we might see oh yeah it's like the WWF the world wrestling federation

[00:22:09] exactly stomping around going oh that guy over there he's such a weakling it's a very similar sort of

[00:22:16] thing does the elf understand and he's got this elf near on his face as well it's just he's just

[00:22:25] dripping with scorn and yeah so with all the mockery going on and all the rest of it it's a very

[00:22:34] lively very noisy contest and in the end Elrond does yield now we see some interesting glances

[00:22:44] back and forth at the point of yielding which we should keep in the back of our minds again for

[00:22:48] future episodes um they he had smashed and broken his axe and so they came to offer him another one

[00:22:56] and I there's this sense of well I shouldn't project too much because I already know what happened but

[00:23:02] uh he's pretty annoyed at this point I don't know if elves actually get pissed but um

[00:23:09] this is certainly the look that I'm this is how I'm interpreting the look and when he yields

[00:23:14] the rams horns sound again and all the dwarves chant dordin's name and it's like this immense uproar

[00:23:21] in a in a um stadium somewhere and I'll just put in a personal note here on this most recent

[00:23:27] rewatch on amazon streaming uh they and their wisdom through an inadvertence from a locker room at

[00:23:34] this point which absolutely encapsulated the five of them previously and it really was very

[00:23:43] funny I'd love to think that it didn't on purpose but I kind of doubt that that would be the case

[00:23:49] so this is our introduction to the doors we haven't seen anything about them yet um what do we see

[00:23:55] about their culture well clearly strengthen endurance are immensely important to them

[00:24:01] um and the fact that it's connected to breaking rocks also shows that the strength and the endurance

[00:24:07] is linked to their relationship with the mountain their relationship with the stone around them

[00:24:13] um and it's also it's a ritual that is only for the royalty of the dwarves so

[00:24:25] someone like Duran who has been challenged by somebody else it doesn't seem to be a ritual that you

[00:24:30] know bob the dwarf can have a go at knob the dwarf and say right we're going to do this

[00:24:36] it seems to be actually much more important than that so it's also a test of Duran as a prince not

[00:24:44] just as a dwarf but as a leader um which makes it immensely important to him that he doesn't fail

[00:24:52] because if he lost to the skinny elf he's going to look really ridiculous yeah I do interpret some of

[00:24:58] his looks across at Elrond as being ever so slightly concerned just checking in to see how the

[00:25:03] the elf is doing interesting um yeah because he cannot afford to lose in front of his people right um

[00:25:10] he would be made to feel weak yeah yeah and that's unacceptable Elrond knows that of course Elrond

[00:25:19] knows that um and he would know that it would be it's all very well that he's now got Duran's

[00:25:28] attention but he would not want Duran to lose face in front of his no his people that was never

[00:25:34] his intention particularly given that he's coming to ask a fever exactly the personal

[00:25:41] aspect I think is even more important at this point for Elrond because wow he was not expecting this

[00:25:47] and it was a uh a maneuver on his part to invoke this right in the first place I also

[00:25:54] rather think that I mean I don't know how they were able to have the news travel so quickly

[00:26:00] but the minute that Duran knew who it was there was no way he was going to let anyone else take

[00:26:07] this on um both because of his his heart the you know the sadness and the anger that

[00:26:17] that Elrond produced in him which will be hearing about shortly um as well as the needing

[00:26:25] to demonstrate you know his strength and his position and all the things that you've been talking

[00:26:33] about and I like that you say you think that he's also concerned for Elrond um because underneath

[00:26:38] all the hurt and the anger and the rest of it there is still that connection and as there would be

[00:26:44] I mean you don't get angry at somebody who you know disappears from your life if you don't care

[00:26:49] about them no no he's furious because he's hurt exactly yeah exactly and thought better of Elrond

[00:26:57] and so forth but it's also a very interesting contrast between two cultures here

[00:27:03] and again we'll see that spelled out even more in the elevator speech

[00:27:08] coming right up that um for the way the two cultures experience time

[00:27:16] it's radically different and this is the source of their misunderstanding

[00:27:21] and the unintentional hurt and so forth so again we see a contrast of cultures which

[00:27:28] you know I might say well you know dwarves live law as long as they can and they live large and

[00:27:33] they live hard and joyfully I also like the fact that they mentioned Aula himself

[00:27:42] yes because here that it you could say this this sacrilyzes the ritual

[00:27:49] it was initiated by their father god if you will their creator and that makes it of critical

[00:27:59] importance to them in who they are what is it to be a dwarf although I don't know that they

[00:28:04] think that introspectively necessarily but still um it's the first time we've seen any mention

[00:28:11] of a deity as it were although they weren't really deities they were like demureches

[00:28:16] but the fact that their demurege their creator is so important to them again possibly because of

[00:28:25] their contrast to the other cultures in the middle earth it becomes all the more important

[00:28:32] to affirm this is who we are in the same way with the hardfits we heard this is who we are

[00:28:38] with the chant that you hear so many times or the or the admonition and to Benin van how it's been

[00:28:44] developed yeah and far more so than we ever get from the elves or from the humans this idea of

[00:28:52] this is who we are and it seems to be far more rooted in the hardfits and in the dwarves

[00:28:59] yeah yeah and I wonder if that's partly because I don't think well the dwarfs can be dominant species

[00:29:06] when they need to but the hardfits definitely are not dominant species when it comes to other

[00:29:10] sentient beings yeah we're reminded of that aren't we when Nory sees the wolf or sees the wolf

[00:29:20] track print yeah and then we get to see the wolf and I think we realize actually the hardfits

[00:29:26] can be very much in danger out in the world oh absolutely and that's you know that's just one form

[00:29:33] yes indeed okay so Elrond having yielded the contest manages to convince Dura

[00:29:40] into escort him to the surface and during their elevator ride he also convinces Dura of his

[00:29:46] remorse for his 20 year absence that bit there where Dura in tells him that he's missed his wedding

[00:29:53] his missus birth of his children and you can see this look a shock on Elrond's face because 20 years

[00:29:59] to him is breathing in and out that's it yeah it's just nothing yeah but so much has happened in

[00:30:06] Dura in his life and he's missed all of that really important moments yeah and you know he

[00:30:13] you can see he is really sorry about it I think it's actually quite a lesson for Elrond

[00:30:19] this moment absolutely absolutely and it's a good example of what I hate the notion of

[00:30:26] interspecies communication but intercultural communication might be a better way to put it

[00:30:32] there is genuine friendship between them and yet there's also responsibility on both sides

[00:30:41] to recognize okay if I want to demonstrate my affection for my friend I need to be able to see

[00:30:49] the world through his eyes yes more than I have been yes it's you can't do it completely

[00:30:57] but as someone who has been offered the gift of friendship by someone from a culture very

[00:31:03] different from your own there's a certain amount of responsibility towards understanding

[00:31:11] what your friend would interpret as supportive or hurtful yep yeah and you know time in the elves

[00:31:20] it is it's almost like the air that they breathe or the water they swim in and then this is the

[00:31:27] first time that Elrond has really encountered up close and personal I think what it is to be a

[00:31:33] mortal and not serially longevity yes yeah like I said quite the lesson for Elrond there I think

[00:31:41] yeah so Durin brings Elrond to his home to apologize and then leave apparently but Deesa who

[00:31:53] is definitely in charge in that house and is respecting the tradition of the hospitality of the

[00:31:57] dwarves she insists that he stay for dinner and Elrond of course still hoping to remake his bond

[00:32:06] perhaps with with Durin or to you know mend the friendship he gladly agrees to stay for dinner

[00:32:14] and he spots the tree who's suppling he gave to Durin well it must be more than 20 years ago right so

[00:32:21] yes yes um it's alive and it's flourishing it's growing in a place of great love

[00:32:29] and you can see that actually Durin and perhaps Deesa as well must have really worked hard to make

[00:32:37] sure that that suppling was in a place where it would get everything it needed yes it clearly meant

[00:32:42] something to Durin and even when he felt abandoned by Elrond he didn't abandon the tree he didn't

[00:32:49] chop it down mm-hmm yeah yeah and Deesa tells us how he he cherished it like one of his children

[00:32:56] right which gives away the fact that Durin really does care about Elrond like kind of yeah just

[00:33:03] just an inkling of a hint yeah yeah yeah um but the important thing for us because we are talking

[00:33:10] about ritual is that Deesa describes to Elrond the craft and ritual of resonating in which the dwarves

[00:33:18] who have the skill sing to the stone in such a way the stone reveals to them its composition

[00:33:24] and its structure and it allows the dwarves to decide where they're going to mine and what they have

[00:33:31] to leave alone um so it's a real connection to the rock to the mountain right yeah yeah yeah

[00:33:40] yes she actually describes it and a few episodes from now we will experience it and wow I can't

[00:33:46] wait for that so we know it involves singing so again music part of ritual and it's not quite clear

[00:33:55] if it is for this particular function of mining is it just one person resonating or in groups because

[00:34:00] at one point it's expressed that Deesa is particularly good at resonating but she does talk about being

[00:34:07] with a group while it's happening so maybe they're singing too maybe they're doing some particular

[00:34:13] mining tests that they are particularly experienced or gifted at but it's it could be a solitary

[00:34:21] activity don't you think yes yeah um and not to preempt when we do see it later in the series

[00:34:28] it is just Deesa at that moment that is doing the resonating um but yeah it could be a group

[00:34:35] of dwarves who are resonating at different frequencies who are listening for different things

[00:34:41] in the stones who knows I'd love to see more of it that's what I do know definitely and you used

[00:34:48] a very important word there which is listening mm-hmm if you think about the noise and the hooding

[00:34:54] and all that we went on in the previous ritual that we saw this is a completely different approach

[00:35:02] you're listening you're recognizing that you need information and you want the information

[00:35:07] because you want to be able to do the best that you can and so this cooperation with a mountain

[00:35:16] is quite different from the competition of the right to see Guintara so it's it's nice to know that

[00:35:23] dwarves have both capacities and particularly in what their fundamental activity is which is mining

[00:35:31] and delving and shaping and forming the mountain so they only proceed according to the information

[00:35:38] that they're given from the resonating so I see it as being very communal and cooperative and even loving

[00:35:46] again Kelle Brimboire has a very interesting quote they sculpt the rock with the respect of one

[00:35:52] who cares for an aged parent mm-hmm doesn't that connect beautifully with what Gimli says in the

[00:35:58] Lord of the Rings um when they're talking about the glittering caves uh and he said you know the dwarves

[00:36:04] wouldn't go in there with their pickaxes they would you know perhaps tap on tiny tiny bit of stone

[00:36:10] in the course of an entire day right and it would all be done with love and craft because the dwarves

[00:36:17] really do have that connection to the stone world around them if you like and you know they have a

[00:36:26] relationship there because it's all very well resonating and singing to the stone but the stone

[00:36:33] must permit itself to move it must agree it has to you know allow that to happen

[00:36:41] so there is a give and take between the dwarf and the rock that is incredibly important

[00:36:49] and the dwarves have to respect with the rock and the mountain's say yes because otherwise you

[00:36:55] could end up with a bunch of dead dwarves underneath a rockfall right right which leads me to leave

[00:37:01] ahead and wonder um what did they learn from the resonating that produced a certain aura that

[00:37:09] we'll mention at the very end here mm-hmm yeah yes maybe a particular note comes back that tells them

[00:37:18] once within the rock mm-hmm but also a caution about the rocks surrounding it yes you know if the

[00:37:27] mountain tells you hey watch out you know my my left elbow is is hurt and real bad right now

[00:37:33] they say well we'll just tap around it you know and um maybe not a very good outcome

[00:37:39] indeed yeah so what can we summarize about what we know about the dwarves now then

[00:37:46] well I'm thinking about the contrast between um their interactions with outsiders

[00:37:56] and their interactions with each other now Elvrand was not an outsider to do it in

[00:38:03] even though he messed up somewhat in their friendship but I just yeah on the surface

[00:38:10] you know we've been presented with this idea of dwarves is yeah they're loud they're smelly

[00:38:15] they're gruff and rough and tumble and they don't take nothing from nobody kind of thing

[00:38:20] and then we hear that also they sing to their surroundings they listen they care

[00:38:26] um dolden cared for that symbol of the friendship and even when he was seemingly ready to throw

[00:38:35] it out still tended the symbol of it yes and what it represented um certainly the the behavior

[00:38:43] we've seen between these two and daughter in this wonderfully loving and it's grotesque and right

[00:38:49] and um very cozy and cuddly yes it's a lovely relationship to see yes yes and the fact that

[00:38:59] we can easily distinguish male from female dwarves and they are partners and just so many different

[00:39:05] things the dwarves I think are very very well characterized in this series and quite a contrast

[00:39:14] I think to to this or some material yes yeah and I'm thinking about them in contrast to the half

[00:39:20] it's um the half-its are connected to the natural world about them um sadok looking at the stars

[00:39:28] and you know knowing what the land is going to give you at certain points in time and you know all

[00:39:34] the sorts of things that they do they can even blend into the countryside for goodness sake

[00:39:39] yes which is amazing so they have a relationship with the natural world so do the dwarves

[00:39:46] it's just that their natural world is inside the earth rather than on the top of the earth nice um

[00:39:52] but they have just as powerful a connection with the living world around them because for them

[00:39:58] rock is alive it's not just you know dead stuff that you chip away at it's something that they have

[00:40:04] a real relationship with and I also like that again in this uh envisioning of the dwarves

[00:40:13] they're surrounded by plants in many places you know it was a tree that was the gift to Elrond

[00:40:20] you know they they've set up all this incredible mirroring system to bring the sunlight down into

[00:40:25] the darkness so that they can they can grow greens and so they don't have to worry about vitamin D

[00:40:30] deficiency if that's something that dwarves are concerned with maybe they're maybe not you know

[00:40:34] there's supposed to be living underground most of the time so there is that sense there but yes

[00:40:40] they certainly experience stone as being far more alive than any other culture I can think of

[00:40:48] yes I agree with the earth so and all the more juxtaposition than with the elves um probably more

[00:40:57] so the silvanils than than the noldora I mean we are told that the reason why the noldora settled so

[00:41:03] close to kaza du at one point is because they were crafters that was their fundamental um cultural

[00:41:11] identity and they crafted things with different materials and so forth and early on the elves who

[00:41:18] did listen had great profit from their friendship so they were willing at some points to

[00:41:25] to extend that hand of friendship and to um give aid and also receive aid right right which shows

[00:41:33] that the dwarves are not you know isolated and uh keep themselves away from absolutely everybody

[00:41:40] there is a connection there with uh outside forces for the time being hmm well we'll see

[00:41:47] no right we'll see okay well I think there are no more rituals that we've identified for the rest

[00:41:54] of this episode um but what we'll do is give you a quick synopsis the remaining events just so

[00:41:59] you can keep up with the story for next time okay so nori returns to the stranger who develops a

[00:42:05] sudden taste for snails crunchy snails with the shells on uh last one sorry Marilyn calcium gotta

[00:42:13] get that calcium in yes the vegetarian in me is going ik no anyway

[00:42:20] lago manages to injure his foot quite seriously by the look of it sadduck and the wise women are

[00:42:25] even more concerned that they might not be able to start migrating on time

[00:42:30] yes this is definitely increasing their pressure

[00:42:35] yes it really is then we go across to see to where galagrille has crossed the path of a raft full

[00:42:41] of southlanders who are trying to escape the attention of the c dragon that has erected their ship

[00:42:47] at the reappearance of the worm one halbron to separate his part of the raft off from the others

[00:42:54] in the hopes that the worm will follow them and leave him be galagrille joins him on his raft when

[00:43:00] the rest are taken brownman tries to convince the villagers to leave because of what she has seen

[00:43:07] with her around here but Waldreg and the others refuse to believe her until she returns the tavern

[00:43:13] with an orc said freshly one in combat inside her own house and says that anyone who wishes to live

[00:43:19] should come with her to the watchtower the elves have abandoned the next morning she leads her

[00:43:25] community towards austir with her son Theo who takes with him the sword hilt that he found in

[00:43:31] Waldreg's barn even though he's discovered that blood is drawn to the hilt and flames into a blade

[00:43:39] fighting a massive storm galagrille is swept over the edge of the raft tied to a rope

[00:43:44] halbron follows the rope down underwater to find her and uses finrods dagger to cut her free

[00:43:48] from the rope and bring her back to the surface norrian poppy bring firefly lanterns as they try

[00:43:54] to tell the stranger that they're going to have to leave the stranger whispers to the fireflies and

[00:43:59] uses them to form a pattern nori understands that he's looking for a place where that constellation

[00:44:04] appears in the sky but as they watch the fireflies die which is I think really troubling the

[00:44:11] stranger sinks to the ground and they don't understand any of it yeah yeah there's an awful lot

[00:44:17] presented here that is just completely baffling to all of us and the concern for the fireflies

[00:44:25] again very much reflecting of the harf woods in the natural world I mean who would have thought

[00:44:31] of using a bunch of fireflies to make lanterns great idea but clearly they've never killed them in that

[00:44:39] process no no just caught them within some things so they can light that way and then I envision them

[00:44:48] releasing them later back in kha'zadum prince duren is convinced that despite the timing of his visit

[00:44:58] el-rond does not know about their newly discovered ore but his father king duren does not believe

[00:45:05] the coincidence that it can be no trust between hamatter and rock eventually one or the other must

[00:45:12] surely break which harks back very nicely to the great of stigging tarag.

[00:45:20] Galadriel wakes from deep sleep to realize that their raft has been found by a large ship

[00:45:25] captain to by somebody that she cannot see she's too exhausted to do more than lie back down on

[00:45:31] the raft and sleep again and so ends episode two yes yes lots of switching back and forth in this

[00:45:38] episode yes I think we're having to do that because we're having to see lots of different places

[00:45:44] and get to know lots of different people in these early episodes yes we're definitely setting up

[00:45:50] information at this point I mean this is the first time we've seen it wars yes right but you can

[00:45:55] only introduce so many new cultures at once oh I think if they put everything into the first episode

[00:46:01] it would have driven people crazy yeah more than that did yes well that's another story hmm so how

[00:46:09] would we sum up the cultural information we receive from these rituals in the first episode then

[00:46:13] Marilyn well again studying contrasts it's interesting to note that there are more rituals per

[00:46:21] episode in the earlier chapters or episodes than there are towards the end and I really see this

[00:46:28] as a means of giving us these distinctive characteristics we even see although we haven't really

[00:46:35] talked much about Arrondi yet the difference between the Silvanils and the Noldorhaus

[00:46:41] you know what are their concerns and how do they see the the natural world I'd really cannot

[00:46:48] imagine Arrondi carving a memorial image of his captain into a living tree no I just don't see it

[00:46:57] I just don't see it so in these little details outside of ritual too it's very helpful to see

[00:47:05] that contrast and be able to understand some of the deeper threads that are going to be pulling

[00:47:12] along here yeah showing us these cultural maurais is a really good shortcut to understanding

[00:47:19] these people isn't it so yes I guess that does make sense that they would front load the

[00:47:24] the earlier episodes where's the source of things that we get to know not just the characters but

[00:47:31] who they are in terms of their own culture much more quickly and it helps us make more sense

[00:47:36] of things that seem really contrary to what we would do I'm thinking that particularly the

[00:47:41] harfots of course yes and yeah fun stuff that we uncovered today about Kilobrimbore which didn't

[00:47:51] even involve any ritual at all I mean it almost seems as though elves are natural ritualists

[00:47:55] I mean think back to the first episode and the the scene in which the Galadrian Her warriors

[00:48:02] received the golden ticket yes the great ceremony and they're sent home the great ceremony yeah

[00:48:08] and yet there are still similarities we see them each of the different cultures dressing up

[00:48:15] specially for the ritual so do it in with his magnificent cape and Galadrian Her warriors all

[00:48:23] in white and later on we'll see the harfots doing similar things although to my inexperienced eyes

[00:48:31] you know one type of grass is pretty much like another type of grass when you widen in your hair but

[00:48:35] they do something special because it's a special occasion it's not every day time

[00:48:43] right set aside time it's liminal time it's sacred time if they have that concept yes yeah

[00:48:49] oh that's lovely putting it that way yeah yeah okay so that's it for this episode

[00:48:57] write in and let us know what you think any suggestions you might have for rituals to look at

[00:49:01] anything else you'd like to share with us we welcome your feedback at rings and rituals at

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[00:50:08] podcasts as well as many other benefits until next time then remember with apologies to any Scottish

[00:50:15] listeners a dog may bark at the moon but it cannot bring it down however farewell for now

[00:50:23] yeah have I sit there well