Traditional Community

It could well be argued that one of the major causes of the Liberal-Modernist (Revolutionary) society that dominates the world today was the loss of Traditional Community or Village Life.

The instrument that was most significant in the destruction of Traditional Community was the Industrial Revolution (notice how everything that was called a revolution had negative affects on society). This Revolution called young people to move to the exciting city to get factory job and leave behind (or sell) their farms and villages. This of course had negative affects on the people who left and on society as a whole; problems that have continued to the present day.

Traditional Community, or Village Life, had a very significant impact on life itself and was, one could claim, the device that kept Tradition alive in society (which explains why Western Tradition is all but dead now). Village Life influenced all of the important things in society such as Family, Religion, Morality, Economy and Political Power.

In Village Life one was often judged not only as an individual but also by one's Family background. Quite often a person's treatment of another villager was based on their relationship with that persons family. This made people want to stay on good terms with their family.

Families would usually comprise of three generations with the Man, his wife and children, his parents and close to his farm would be the houses of his many brothers and their families making a kind of "clan" that influenced the Village significantly.

Keeping the Family Name respectable was an incentive that had many positive affects on life and fear of shaming one's Family deterred one from many things.

Family bonds were also much stronger in Village Life and when difficult situations arose for someone in the family, like crop failure or debt, the men of that family would get together and solve the problem as a group. Presumably this was much more reliable "insurance" than what is available today.

In Village Life Religion was a much more powerful force. The Priest in his village was really the father of his people whom the villagers would come to not only for spiritual matters but also for advice on temporal problems.

The Priest would often be the most learned and well traveled man in the village and be the defender and advocate of his flock against traveling con men and Legal problems. Priests would also be called upon to settle disputes among the Villagers being seen as the best way for a fair judgment.

Oftentimes an entire Village would practice the same religion which made spirituality much more real in the lives of its people. One's life revolved around the faith and religion was incorporated into part of a Villagers life. Examples of this would be Mass, the Angelus, Vespers, Grace before Meals, Processions, Weddings, Baptisms, Blessing of the Fields, Funerals etc. most of which were done as a community making a Village intensely united as everyone shared each other's most important beliefs.

Morality in Villages was much higher and crime was much lower. Those living in villages knew that everyone else would recognize you if they saw you stealing something and would know if you had something that did not belong to you. This made your getting away with something incredibly unlikely giving no incentive to commit a crime. Fear of Shaming your family was also a deterrent as your crime affected their lives as well (and they would deal with you much worse than the law would)

Village Economy was much more profitable to society. Those living in a village had no choice but to invest in their community by buying and selling locally. This caused wealth to stay in the village which made people much more wealthy and less unemployed. The "Market" in a village was much more honest as people were less likely to cheat someone they knew since childhood and poor quality goods were not tolerated by the community.

Finally Government in villages was much more effective and much less corrupt. Its effectiveness was due to the fact that it concerned itself with much less than small local government does today. Also those who had a voice in the government was limited to men with property which enabled much more beneficial decisions as the town beggar couldn't vote on a decision that might jeopardize the welfare of your farm. Voting or decision making was also more grounded in reason than emotion as those who had the most to lose would tend to make a more prudent decision. Only men were needed to vote as village issues were mostly of an economic or political nature and a man's vote represented not just himself but his entire family.

One can see by these reasons that it was wise for the Revolutionaries to get people out of the village and into the city were they would lose the protection of Ordered life and be easy to manipulate.

Traditionalists will find it hard indeed to bring society back to this well ordered life but we must try to the best of our ability. It is incorrect to think however that Traditional Community is dead, it still is alive in parishes that bond together united by religion. To bring back Traditional Community we must strengthen parish communities as that seems the best way to Counter the Revolutionary idea of Urbanism and Globalism.

Tradition, Custom and Culture

First I would like to apologize for not posting in a week. I have been working on a post that has been more difficult than I anticipated.

It seems that a blog that professes Traditionalism should discuss what it means by Traditionalism. Traditionalism is much too vast to detail all in one post but I will discuss some features of it.

Let me define some terms first. I will define these three terms to help describe what I am promoting: Tradition, Custom and Culture. Then I will answer some questions about Tradition.

Tradition: tradition is the beliefs and norms passed down to a people that affect how they live, act and think.

Custom: customs are the rituals, behaviors, arts, architecture etc. of a group that is based in or a result of their traditions. 

Culture/Civilization: culture is what is created from the combination of both Tradition and Custom. Think of it as a word that describes Traditions and Customs together as a whole. 

Now that we have defined our terms let us discuss this concept of Tradition.

Where does Tradition come from?

We have already shown in our definitions that Tradition is what creates Custom and Culture but what creates Tradition?

Tradition one could argue was created from two components, Religion and History. Religion's impact on Tradition is quite apparent as Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi; How you pray is how you believe is how you live. History's impact on Tradition must be admitted to explain how different peoples practicing the same religion are distinctly different while being related. 

What of Secularists who still practice "traditional" customs of their heritage?
Some people have the mistaken view that by dancing one's cultural dances or doing some other thing the "old way" they are Traditionalist. They consider one's heritage to be important on certain occasions but not their life. This, as we have stated earlier, is Custom not Tradition and practicing Custom and disregarding Tradition is not what Traditionalists support. To Traditionalists custom is not of primary importance; Tradition is.

What are some Traditions?
Certain Traditions are universal across all Cultures because they adhere to Natural Law. Examples of these Traditions are marriage between a Man and a Woman, respect for elders, belief in a Creator and the desire to worship, these things one will find in any culture that one studies. Other Traditions that are more prevalent in some cultures than others could be an emphasis on humility and respect or a more outgoing manner with strangers or an intense (to westerners at least) sense of family bonds that extend to very distant relations.

Are all Cultures equal?
Since we have affirmed that Tradition and ultimately Culture is built on the Religion of a people, it is reasonable to believe that since all religions are not equal to each other, all Cultures are not equal to each other.

I, as a Catholic, believe cultures influenced by Catholicism (and churches whose bishops have apostolic succession i.e. the Orthodox) are superior to all other cultures. That being said it is apparent that the West has discarded its Religion and its Culture and is at the moment far inferior to non Christian civilizations that have upheld Traditional living and morality.

Traditionalist, I think, must make this distinction in their heads that all cultures are not equal to each other. This may sound "politically incorrect" to affirm that Catholicism is superior to say Islam or Hinduism but if I believe Catholicism is true then I must believe that. I am sure that Muslims, Hindus, Jews etc. would disagree with me and I would expect no less from people who truly believe in their religions. If they do not believe this they should look for another faith that they do believe is superior to all others.

Should Traditionalists from different Religions and Cultures work together?
"Ecumenism" between Traditionalists seems necessary to some extent to defeat the modernists. Prudence suggests caution however in joining those frequently used by the Revolution i.e. Muslims.
Catholic Traditionalists should support all Traditions from all Cultures that do not contradict the Gospel. Certain Traditions like honor suicide or animal sacrifice etc. Traditionalists should not support. Those Traditions and Customs which are good however Traditionalists should support regardless of what Cultures they come from.

Should Traditionalists adopt other Culture's Customs?
Yes and No. Traditionalists should study and experience (to some extent) other Cultures but actually living as another Culture is not proper. We were each born into a certain race and our duty is to keep that culture alive. To forsake your "tribe" as it were and adopt another is a betrayal of your Folk. Besides no one will be Japanese as well as a Japanese and no one will be a Frenchman as well as a Frenchman.

There are really two Cultures that one belongs to; Particular Culture and General Culture. Particular Culture would be one's specific country or Culture. General Culture would be for example Western culture or Eastern culture, African culture or South American/Latin American culture.

                                                                                          Conclusion...
Traditionalist Counter-Revolutionaries have much work to do to fight so that Tradition may be strong in the life of their Folk. Tradition brings order in society and are laws that governments do not enforce  yet are all the more powerful because they belong to people. For such order and beauty to return to the West (and all those places that have become Liberal-Modernist societies) we must never lose hope and must pray and fight for with all our ability.

Language of the Gaels

Why don't the Celts teach their children to speak?

Traditionalism expressed in Language is perhaps not something many have thought about but as other groups well know the power of a country's native Language is quite great.

Today being Scott, Irish or Welsh is seen as a respectable race by non Celts. This has not always been the case however as being a Celt used to automatically make your life difficult.

Though there were many hardships for Celts in their history they always had a fighting spirit to keep their Traditions and "the old ways" alive...until now.

In this day when education is widespread and life is much more luxurious the several different Celtic peoples don't find their native Language worth preserving. The Language that their ancestors were persecuted for speaking (yet they continued to speak it defiantly) is not important to them.

Currently the status of these Languages are quite sad. In Ireland the population that "know" Irish is 1.77 million; the population of those who know more than a little is 77,185. In Scotland the amount left of those who speak Gaelic (as in speaking more than just a smattering) is 87,100 according to a 2011 census. In Wales a t.v. channel hosted a survey and found 750,000 reported to "know" Welsh and another 1.5 million who say they can understand it. The other small Celtic groups such as Breton, Cornish and Manx is much worse with 35,000 who speak Breton every day, 2,000 that say they are fluent in Cornish and 1,823 that speak Manx.

To Traditionalists this should be a cause for concern as the possibility of a language dying means a living link to past generations dying. This may not be the most important battle for counter revolutionaries but it is a battle that everyday common people can fight by educating themselves in their national language. This does not require drastic measures either; learning some of the language and (most especially) using it as much as possible is better than not at all.

One man from Ireland did find the Irish language important and decided to move his family to an Irish speaking county so that his children's native language would be Irish. The children, who were quite musical, become a very famous Irish band that sings in the Native Irish. That band is called "Na Casaidigh" or The Cassidys.

Resisting modernity comes to many different battle grounds and Traditionalist Counter Revolutionaries must fight however they can. Depending on the abilities and opportunities given to us by God we all must fight where we are able. If we are in the Political world we must fight for Tradition in government, if we are musicians we must promote tradition with our music, if we are artists then we must fight with our art and if we might promote Tradition by speaking as much as possible in a Traditional (still living) language to remind people of the past then that is how we must fight to change the Mad Modern World we live in.

Éirinn go brách

Alba gu bràth

Cymru am byth

Gaels Forever 

Why Don't We Have a Game of Riddles?

The amusement of playing a game of riddles seems to be an uncommon pastime these days. In fact the traditional way of playing riddle games seems all but lost now.

In olden times asking and answering riddles was an art and a riddle competition was no easy challenge requiring cunning and creative skill. One's ability to solve riddles was once used to measure one's intelligence.

Like many other Traditional human activities the tradition of riddles is present in just about every culture from ancient China to Old Norse Scandinavia. Medieval and ancient literature has many accounts of riddles and riddle games such as the book of Exeter, The Saga of Hervör and Heidrek and One Thousand and One Nights.

Why modern man has lost this tradition of riddle games is uncertain but in my opinion it is due to our love of "gadgets" and our emphasis on the superiority of science. Though many Moderns will be astounded at my stating, it is my opinion that knowing about the existence of an atom does not make you superior to medieval and ancient man. Those in our modern age who claim medieval humanity to be backward are themselves quite ignorant about what true intelligence is; the ability to memorize facts out of a science book is far inferior to the ability to create. One need only quickly compare Modern to Medieval society to determine which was more creative.

For Traditionalists the tradition of riddle games should be important to keep alive. There are many times when one may incorporate this game in our live i.e. car rides, while waiting for someone etc. The Traditional way to play it however is not memorizing a bunch of riddles to ask someone but rather to make up your own quickly while playing the game. This compels you to be creative and will be difficult at first but over time you will learn to quickly make creative word puzzles and even make wagers with your friends (warning: don't wager you life unless absolutely necessary)

Remember it is more traditional to make riddles about nature or non modern things but if you want to make a riddle about a modern thing like a t.v. or something try to encrypt it in archaic metaphorical language.

" You heard me before, yet you hear me again, then I die, 'till you call me again, What am I?"

answer: an echo

Story of Tradition: Mongolia

                                         
Many people I am sure will suppose that to be a Traditionalist, one must be entirely against technology (and that a traditionalist blogger like myself must be a demented hypocrite). The Truth is however that to be a Traditionalist one need not reject technology but try to use it Traditionally.

Mongolia is a fine example of true Traditionalism. The Majority of the People of Mongolia live the way there ancestors did as Nomadic herdsmen. Over the last few decades however they have incorporated technology into their Traditional lives making them more efficient.

Traditionalism does not mean our lives must be stagnant, rather Tradition should be our guide as to how we use technology and modern advances. It is helpful to think of Tradition as a tree. A tree is always growing as tradition always grows. To cut down the tree or to stop it from growing both harm the tree. The same is with Tradition, to completely reject it as progressives do or to reject all progress are both nontraditional.

The People of Mongolia are living Traditional lives while using technology to improve themselves. The government of Mongolia has helped Nomad families to obtain access to the internet and television. This has helped the herdsmen to keep track of meat prices and has enabled them to get better prices when selling their meat. It has also helped education and literacy. The Nomads have also added gas powered vehicles such as motor cycles and trucks to help care for their herds better.

Though life has become a little more modern for these nomads, there traditions are still secure. The Family is still the basis of their society usually having three generations living together. They continue to support themselves by herding sheep, camels and horses. Evening are spent together and it is common for the grandfather to tell the children stories that have been passed down for countless generations. Though western clothing is becoming more common, many nomads continue to preserve their traditional dress. Traditional music is also much more common than the modern music popular in Mongolia's only metropolis, Ulaanbaatar.

Traditional eagle hunting is a common feature of Mongolian life and horsemanship is a common skill. There are many Festivals also in Mongolia where the Nomads compete in sports that celebrate their Traditional lifestyles.

Religion is still strong in Mongolia with the majority of Mongolians practicing Tibetan Buddhism. Surprisingly even in an unlikely place like Mongolia, the Catholic Church is present and has some one thousand adherents.

Though Tradition in Mongolia remains a strong force, there are still problems there with Progressivism. Many families have moved to the capital Ulaanbaatar and given up their nomadic lifestyles. This is mostly due to the Republican government that is trying to westernize the country. The risk of Mongolia loosing all traces of Traditional life however is quite low as the country has seen many regimes and were the west to ever stop being interested in Mongolia the modernization and westernizing of Mongolia would quickly cease.

Mongolia is a great example for Traditionalists that to have technology does not mean one can not be a Traditionalist. For Westerners what is needed is more Tradition in our lives and less technology. Living more traditionally could be keeping chickens or hunting or gardening; one could also be more traditional in one's recreation like reading, singing folk songs or telling stories. The important thing is to do what we can to reverse the modern mindset by thinking traditionally. We do not have to rid ourselves of modern conveniences but do what we can to counter the revolution that has become the establishment.

Traditionalist Holidays: Name Days

One very beautiful custom still practiced to some extent by Catholics, Orthodox and Westerners in general is the Name Day celebration. This is a celebration similar to a birthday except the feast of a person's patron saint is celebrated rather than the date of their birth.

There was a time when the Church required parents to give their children Christian names. This was because when a Child is named after a Saint, that Saint becomes the child's Patron and prays for his or her soul to be saved. In those days everyone had a patron and everyone had a name day.

Due to Catholicism's vast importance in the West (causing nearly everything known as Western Civilization), the people of the West's lives revolved around The Catholic Church and their Traditions, Customs and Culture and were all influenced by it. The Catholics of the West, especially the wholesome peasants took their faith very seriously and were always thinking of religion. It is not surprising therefore that a good custom like the Name Day celebration came into being.

Traditions for Name Days include: Holy Mass on the feast of one's Saint, Prayers to that Saint by the whole family, gifts and pastries that are associated with that Saint.

Those trying to live more traditionally should consider celebrating Name Days (even more than birthdays) for this was a special Tradition to our forefathers and celebrating Name Days in a religious way, especially in Protestant countries like the United States would greatly help the Counter Revolutionary cause (and obviously improve one's spiritual life).

Traditionalist Music

Traditionalism and Music 

Being a Traditionalist is more than just saying one agrees with Tradtional values. Real Traditionalists should be trying to revive the Traditions of our forefathers. One aspect of life in the better days was singing everywhere.
           Every culture has it's own distinct traditional music. One culture that has kept this tradition alive is the Celtic culture. Many ethnicities however have lost much of their traditional music and this should be a concern to Traditionalists.

Those who aspire to help return the world to it's glorious past before modernism should consider studying and incorporating into their lives music from more traditional times.

Some types of traditionalist music include...

Folk Music 

Folk music used to be an important charecteristic in the life of the common man. Playing folk instruments and singing folk songs (some even made up by their relatives) would be the means of recreation for a family before things like t.v.'s and radios were invented. In those days people would make up songs to go with their work. Even sailors, some of the most uneducated people, would make up songs to go with their work. Today however, the playing of instruments, though still popular, is steadily becoming less common and the writing of ones own songs quite unusual. What does that say about modern mans creative and artistic ability?

Classical Music 

Though modernists would hate to agree, it is hard to deny that modern man has become quite unknowledgeable about art. The great music of the baroque and classical era's have been replaced with much more simplistic and uneducated styles of music (rap for instance). Cultivating an appreciation for classical music is a worthy endeavor for it helps to educate ourselves to think and see beauty the way our ancestors did. It also helps to increase the popularity of classical styled music which would greatly improve society. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries composers wrote music to meet the demand of the public, modern composers however now write music more to impress other composers than to please the public. This is due to the small demand for new classical music. We Traditionalists should strive to promote classical music at least in our own families and teach the younger generations to appreciate Classical music and know that it is superior to modern styles. 

Chant 

This mostly relates to Catholics. 

Gregorian Chant is a style of Sacred music that has been around since the 10th century (some say even earlier). Though it is not as commonly heard today there was a time when our forefathers heard it every week at Mass. Today this ancient style of music is still heard in those churches that celebrate a Missa Cantata Tridentine Mass commonly known today as the Latin Mass. 

This style of sacred music connects us with all Latin rite Catholics since 900 a.d. That the singing of Chant in modern Catholic Masses has become uncommon is an abomination and proves that Liberals and Modernists have truly tried to destroy the Church. This music should be precious to Catholics and Traditionalist should never cease in fighting to preserve this Sacred music. 

Traditionalists should support Gregorian Chant by learning it for their local Mass (or even for private prayer) and teach people of its beauty and worth. 

If you have never heard Gregorian Chant before I would strongly recomend the Pange Lingua and the Adorote Devote to introduce you to the most beautiful music in the history of man.