Anachronism
Wednesday 12/19/07 8:00 pm
My mom tells me a man named Rich would like to send me a video about Kumihimo braiding. I come out to meet him, and Rich says he’s with the SCA and learning kumihimo with Nancy Mudloff, our instructor. “Oh,” I say, “the Society for Creative Anachronism.”
“I see you’ve heard of us…”
I was in my early teens, growing up on an acreage next to a forest preserve in Nebraska. For those of you who have traveled to Nebraska, it may shock you to read that there’s enough trees to warrant a forest preserve. Mind you that Arbor Day, the festival celebrating trees (”Trees are Terrific!” I remember a cartoon hooty-owl singing out to me in grade school) was launched in Nebraska City, NE. We do have smatterings of trees. Perhaps forest preserve isn’t the right word, though- nature reserve may be both more accurate and plausible now that I think about it. In either case, I spent a good deal of time when we first moved to Dutch Hall Road exploring the preserve. One of my first favorite things to do was to pretend with my friend Sam, my best friend from when I lived in the Omaha suburbs, that we were participating in an SCA faire. He was the one who introduced me to the concept of people acting out all the cool stuff we had imagined while playing Dungeon’s & Dragons- fully grown adults in armour and leather jerkins bashing one another with pvc pipes wrapped with padding. Magicians would call out spells during battle and throw a bean bag at you; quite simply you were under his (or her) spell if you were hit by the bag. Now that I think about it, a magician with a good arm would probably inflict more physical damage on the unsuspecting combatant than any pvc broadsword could. Seriously, you could put an eye out with one of those things!
I didn’t learn that what I was playing was considered ‘anachronistic’ until high school. Honestly, I didn’t even know there was a formal society until a few years later, when I learned the word “anachronism” while my Latin class read “Julius Caesar” and we talked about the clock chiming before clocks existed. From that point on I became especially fond of the word for a reason I can’t really explain. Maybe because it breaks down to mean exactly what it’s parts indicate- ana for “against or out of”, chronism for “time.” Not all words are so direct- George Carlin has a good bit about spelling and the English language which examines the topic perfectly.
I’ve put the SCA on the backburner with things I’ve fantasized about doing but have no real desire to pursue, like coaching high school football or becoming a brewmaster. In all honesty, I’ve associated a bit of a stigma to the desire for running around in the woods like William Wallace from back in the 7th grade when a fellow troop member told me not to talk about Boy Scouts with him at school because it wasn’t cool and would ruin his reputation. However, it was after meeting Rich that I figured out I’ve been gently introduced to people who have also confided that they feel their secret cravings were a bit dorky, too. And they’re quickly finding out they are not alone. The sheer numbers finding solace in internet communities full of people just like them is giving comfort to all those who used to feel embarrassed to say they are obsessed by a craft their great-grandparents used to do. Members of those circles are now branching out with renewed confidence and finding tangential ones, which has served to further re-enforce their social validation. They chat about their discoveries almost like the cast-aways on “Lost” who have discovered that Others live on this supposedly deserted island, too. SCA should be flocking to their LYS because by its definition knitting IS anachronistic. We should have more interactions with groups like this. There is nothing more basic than spinning fiber from an animal and using it to keep one’s self warm, and reconnecting to that fundamental art not only has power as an outlet for creativity and love, but also serves to join us with our ancestors who probably preferred using candles to those new-fangled Edison lights.
Knitting, from the skill to the existential meaning, is about connection. Cross-promotion of societies dependent on an accurate portrayal of human history help to ensure their own growth and survival because as they bring alternative arts, they add character and depth to their own. Rich has moved from a fascination with Japanese history and wanting to learn how to wield a samuri sword to learning kumihimo braiding because he wants to accurately reproduce every detail of his samuari armour. Along the way he’ll learn the philosophy and meditative benefits to an ancient braiding technique, which will further enhance his feeling of connection to his own art. That small voice in my head that makes me want to go to bed smelling like campfire thinks that is the coolest pursuit in the world.
dr john, yarnboy
