Tradition and Identity
by Koenraad Logghe, Chairman of Werkgroep Traditie vzw, Belgium

Antwerp, 7 Mars 1999
© Koenraad Logghe, 1999

Dear friends and congenial spirits,

When I decided that Tradition and Identity would form the main theme of the 2nd Heathen Congress, it wasn't just a flash of intuition. It was the result of a long study that I've made on the phenomenon of the so-called New Age religions - as far as we are dealing here with religions - and of the heated discussions on the mailing-list of the World Congress of Ethnic Religions, an organization founded in 1998 by among others, Werkgroep Traditie. I am convinced that in these two words, Tradition and Identity, words that are so commonly used and abused nowadays by all kinds of ideologies, lays the essence of what is wrong in modern society.

A while ago, during a quarterly meeting of the Werkgroep Traditie, there was a lecture about an agnostic concept of paganism. Quite a few amongst us will remember that as one of the highlights of our meeting. And I have to admit, the speech was ingenious, well documented and built up in a logical way. I could find myself in the biggest part of it. But nevertheless one point really astonished me. The lecturer pointed out that the name of our workgroup was well chosen indeed and that it without doubt could not be linked to the definition of Tradition used by traditionalists as Guénon or Evola. He was completely wrong. "Tradition" as it was meant by our workgroup, connected perfectly to the stream of the traditionalists. I will give here the definition as it is described in 'les hommes au milieu des ruines':

" In it's true vivid meaning tradition doesn't represent a form of passive conformation opposing the past; it is not the slow continuation of the past into the present. Tradition is in essence a meta-historical reality and at the same time dynamic. It's a general structuring force, obeying to principles addressed to a higher legitimacy - we could also say to principles from above - a force one in spirit and animation, influencing many generations by means of institutions, laws and organization forms of various kinds. It would be a fundamental mistake to identify or confuse some of the organization forms, that more or less belong to a long gone past, with tradition itself".

I am convinced that this definition is clear enough. Tradition is not what is considered folklore nowadays, nor is it holding on to degenerated forms. But it does mean a return to that what originally brought forth these forms and that principle is - whether one likes it or not - metaphysical. There are the so-called neo-pagans - I call them so since they are neo's, Ersatz, post- or other modernists - who will reduce everything that could be called metaphysical, everything that could be considered as transcendental and everything that could be part of another, higher, Order, to the natural -all-too-natural. This is logically due to the being caught in 19th century Romanticism with its pantheistic point of view. This reduction took place in a similar way as nowadays humanists and moralists deal with man: they degrade him to a human - all-too-human - being. But this reducing attitude is not new. Boëthius stated once that if man is not capable of bringing himself to metaphysical heights, he reduces himself to the most primal situation. Or put in his own words: "incapable to achieve the level of a god, one becomes a beast!" Therefore I wish to return to the essence of the religious tradition and to get even with the many misunderstandings concerning so-called "paganism". When I postulated app. 4 years ago that workgroup Traditie wasn't just a view of life, but truly a religion, many objected thinking I was about to found some new church. Even now some of us still have this false impression. I reproach in the current pagan conversations the endless philosophizing and thinking about nature and community on the one hand and the virulent rejection of monotheistic religions on the other hand. But knowing this won't even slightly take off the edge of our religious hunger. Fighting against existing realities and norms was more or less trendy and I found it rather cheap to jump on that bandwagon. After all it would only strengthen nihilism and vacuity. Nevertheless I don't want to be blind for the situation that has grown crooked due to the monopolization of religious conversations by Christianity; but criticizing only won't fill up the loss of religious experience. On the other hand we also have to get rid of the moralizing and cheap sentiment in which religious thinking is trapped. And René Guénon was right at the time when he stated:

"Religion is for most of the people only a matter of sentiment without even the slightest intellectual connotation. Religion is confused with a vague feeling of religiosity, it is reduced to a moral; one confines as much as possible the place of the doctrine - which is however fundamental - and of which the rest logically only can be the consequence... It's about time to show that inside the religion there is something else than a form of sentimental devotion, something else than moralistic imagination or blessings for spirits that are weakened by suffering".

Everybody will remark that still too many so-called pagans only have 'a vague feeling of religiosity' and see religion as some sort of a twilight-zone where one has to search blind for what fits, without too many obligations, without any engagement. On the other hand there are also the New Age and cyber-pagans. They are constantly talking about 'widening of consciousness' and they compare this with the hallucinogenic kicks from junkies; inspired by the 18th century 'mecanici' they've changed God into one big computer memory; in psychedelic music they recognize the heartbeat of mother Earth and the DJ is actually a shaman; finally it doesn't matter anymore to be in this reality, but somewhere in a virtual reality, created by projections or computer programs. With workgroup Traditie we try to clarify this caricature by putting forward a couple of fundamental principles of a traditional religion. One of these fundamental principles is ethnicity, being rooted, being centered, being incorporated. The concept of 'ethnical religion' has been defined by Dr. Michael Strimska for the World Congress of Ethnic Religions as a:

"Religion rooted in a world vision, a mythology, a rituality and other holy traditions of a specific region or of a specific folk. In some regions an ethnical religion is an uninterrupted continuation of traditions passed on generation after generation. In other areas however - where vast connection with the perished tradition is lost or has been interrupted - an ethnical religion is the expression of the perished tradition chosen and sometimes adapted by a folk with a strong feeling for such a holy tradition, regardless its racial or ethnical heritage. In both cases an ethnical religion is based on and inspired by sacred traditions established in the past and sometimes changed or adapted to contemporary needs of the folk today or in the future.

And this is where the concept Tradition meets the other component of our theme, merely Identity. What is identity? What is the meaning of this word in the carried conversations? And how can it practically be realized in the present? I remember a somewhat grim discussion with Professor Rik Pinxten in light of the publication of his book "Culturen sterven Langzaam", which deals with the problem of identity. Recently he has further elaborated his vision and expressed it during a broadcasting of 'Het Wereldbeeld' on Radio 3 a couple of months ago. Pinxten stated that the fundamental mistake of philosophizing on identity could be found on an ontological level. Defined otherwise, the professor rejects the identity as an aspect of being and defends rather a dynamic concept. According to him identity is the result of continuous and never-ending exchanges and therefore cannot be defined. Without doubt an interesting approach that, as far as I'm concerned, can not be simply brushed aside. Were it not for the fact - and here we come to the point of the conversation - were it not for the fact that this dynamic is abused to advance the total relativity of identity. Identity, dear friends, does have an ontological (static) and a dynamic aspect. In this light it fits like butter (identity) on bread (tradition). Remember the definition: tradition is in essence a meta-historical reality and, at the same time, dynamic. Well, man forms a certain identity through confrontation; confrontation with intellectual ways of thinking, confrontation with social problems, confrontation with aspects of nature. Everybody can observe this. The way of thinking or philosophizing of a European is fundamentally different from a Navaho-Indian because their language is different. A European would say "the sky is blue". The Navaho on the other hand will formulate this completely different: "it blues". An inhabitant of India will think in terms of functional castes with a religious/morphological undertone, while the Jews will think in tribal terms with some odd universal touches. The influence of the sun-symbol on a Fleming will differ completely from the influence it has on an Arab. In Flanders the sun is more than welcome - between two rain showers - and she is connected here with growth. In the Arabic region the sun has a rather destructive character and she is linked to dryness and sterility.

And yes, undoubtedly identity does have a dynamic aspect. We cannot cut ourselves off from other folk, cultures, ecological cycles and spiritual ideas. They influence and form us all the time. But what is not enough recognized is the fact that someone who tries to integrate these influences will always search for a center of reference. We see this very clearly with islanders - not as much anymore though due to the increasing mobility. But islanders do have the strange habit to dose those influences and to shape them into something that is from their own, something that is part of their nature. When the flood of information becomes so heterogeneous, in such a way that one is o longer capable of familiarizing with it, than we can speak of alienation; the loosing of the Self. And quoting Boëthius once again:

"No longer recognizing oneself comes with other living creatures forth from their nature; with man it comes down to uprooting!"

Take a good look at the word choice: up-root-ing, breaking away from the earth, cutting off the roots...

The principle of identity within the tenets of Asatrú - tenets that are fundamental for us in order to understand the traditional life-attitude - cannot be seen separate from the Inscribed Law in man: Laga, Orlög, Forlög. The highest principle is called Order, what links up with the Sanskrit term Rita (cosmical order, harmony) or with the Persian Arta (universal order). We, as humans, are after the gods, the executors of this Order. It has been inscribed in every individual person - call it Lot or Primal Law, I don't care. This Inscribed Law is different for everybody and goes together with being placed here and now, in this reality, in this culture, in this time, within this family, in this social climate. This is something you don't choose, period. We are thrown into this life. Heidegger would speak in this matter of 'Da-Sein', being-there. And according to the old teachings of Asatrú it is exactly here - in the execution of ones' lot - that lays ones' fulfillment or realization. You will try to fulfill this Inscribed Law, this Divine Task or put in other terms: you will fulfill your own lot. This is also the ancient known amor fati, the love for the lot - the tragic nature of the Indo-European. Identity and Tradition can therefore be seen as ladders to turn back to ones' own Inscribed Law, ones' own lot, ones' very own task of here and now! Identity and the reintegration of the individual in oneself create a form of independence towards the outer world and a purchase to determine and form this outer world according to the own nature. From within the tradition on the other hand the individual creates new forms over and over again in order to associate with the Highest Order, the metaphysical principle. Werkgroep Traditie, dear friends, is therefore no profane organization, but an organization with a religious character. It tries to offer its members building blocks in order to help them retrieve their identity. Opposing ever increasing mondialism that doesn't offer any center whatsoever our Werkgroep offers an intimate and organic grown society; introvert and reflecting on itself over and over again. Opposing an uncontrolled flood of information from everywhere and nowhere Werkgroep Traditie offers a limited religious vision that is capable of reducing the genesis and of transforming it into a reintegrated essence. Opposing the mono-visions, be it monotheism, pantheism, or no matter which reductionistic vision, we place polytheism and a multi-layered reality.

Our organization copes with the real need from our youth. The need no longer to flutter from one culture to another, from one spiritual path to another, but to behold the large spiritual spectrum with respect and to be pleased with such a wide variety, without leaving the own spiritual path. That is why Werkgroep Traditie wants to cooperate on good terms of respect with the other traditional religious organizations, as long as these organizations are indeed rooted in their own culture. Fantasies and experiments on a religious level are highly inappropriate when man is placed in an ever increasingly imaginary whole in which man looses himself. In this context I would like to stress that Wicca and Shamanism could be interesting systems, as far as they actually restore the ties with the homeland, that is. New Age universalism has already psychologically confused too many people as it creates a virtual reality without frontiers and that on a pure experimental base. New Age, dear friends, is the most glaring parody on traditional religions. We recognize ourselves completely in approx. 500 Lakota representatives stated against Westerners who think that they can appropriate the Native American traditions undisturbed to themselves. Their declaration leaves no space for interpretation:

Since we've suffered all too long from the unspeakable indecency where our most cherished Lakota ceremonies and spiritual actions have been violated, ridiculed and abused by non-Indian 'wannabees', salesmen, cultists, commercial vultures and self-developed New Age shamans and their followers, and

Since pseudo-religious corporations were formed to deprive people from their money by making them participate in specious sweat lodges and vision quest programs, and

Since blasphemous 'sun dances' are performed for non-Indians by quacks and cult leaders who promote terrible and obscene imitations of our holy Lakota Sun dance rituals, we have decided the following:

To establish a zero-tolerance for every 'white shaman' whom, as a non-Indian, thinks to have obtained authority from our community for the appropriation of our ritual path. All such plastic medicine men are enemies of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people.

We urge all the traditional people (all the tribal leaders and all the Government Advice Commissions of all the other Indian Nations as well as all National Indian Organizations). Support our request for an immediate stop of this destructive exploitation of our respective American Indian Sacred Traditions by means of official declarations in which this abuse is rejected for it is not only the spiritual practice of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people that is systematically is violated.

We call upon our Indian brothers and sisters to react boldly and immediately according to our established campaign in order to stop the destruction of our holy traditions. Bearing in mind that it is our highest duty as Indians to preserve the our cherished traditions in such a way that our children and grandchildren can survive and stride along on the Holy Path established by our Creator for each of our respective folk".

I'm convinced, dear friends and congenial spirits, the time has come to reflect on the function of Tradition in our contemporary, almost 21st century era. Werkgroup Traditie hereby invites you to support us in any which way you can. Our struggle is one for the rebirth of the European human in oneself.

I would like to thank you for your attention.

Koenraad Logghe
Chairman of Werkgroep Traditie vzw



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