Alfadirhaiti lyrics explanation and background
Both Obban and Ruben of team VIKINK are present in Heilung's song Alfadirhaiti. This song mainly recites the many names Odin goes by, but there is more to the lyrics than meets the (one)eye, or ear! On this page we will do a little deep dive into the song, its meaning and background.
The song starts with the name of Odin's ring Draupnir. This is followed by the recital of the names of Odin's two wolves, Geri and Freki. Then his horse Sleipnr is mentioned. The final name mentioned in the intro is Gugnir, Odin's spear. This is the bridge to the following lyrics.
"Haegolae Haegolae Haegolae Wiju Bi Gojze” This first line is mix of a runic inscription found on a spear shaft. The shaft was part of a large Migration Period hoard found in the bogs of Kragehul, Denmark. The line in the lyrics translates to "I cry a roar resoundingly; I invoke hail in the spear…”. It is part of a longer inscription that reads:
"Ek Erilaz Ansugisalas Muha haite. Gagaga ginu gahellija,
hagala wiju bi g(aize)..."
“…I am named Earl Mūha, Ansugisal’s son. I cry a roar resoundingly; I invoke hail in the spear…”
Image from Birch Eversen, 2010.
"Gaegogae, Gaegogae, Gaegogae ginu gahellija..."
This inscription features what is often referred to as ‘bindrunes’ - several runes combined into one character. In this case 3 runes spell out a word ‘Gagaga’. A similar inscription with the ‘gagaga’ runes was found on a bractate from Undley, UK. This inscription used Anglo-Saxon/Frisian runes from what we call the Futhorc and spells ‘Gaegogae’ - another line used in the song.
Image via British Museum
The meaning of Gagaga/Gaegogae is largely unknown. The runes may have been an actual battle cry or ‘yell’ that was used to invoke fear and battle readiness, much like still happens today in war and sports contexts. Another theory is that it was some form of codeword among tribes, however this is hard to back up without more context.
The fact that one inscription was found on a spear (a male and war context) and the other on a bractate (jewelry worn by women) makes the discussion of the original meaning of the inscriptions even more interesting. There is a case to be made for the war-cry theory even with just the context of the bracteate. Many of these bracteates feature depictions of mounted riders, often accompanied by animals, especially hound-like creatures and ravens. These are animals that are often associated with the god Woden/Odin who is referred to as a warrior god. Another point to be made here is that this god is also linked to the spear, possibly strengthening the reason as to why the spears from Kragehul featured the invocational runes. It is worth mentioning however that the spears are dated earlier than the Undley bracteate which raises a few other discussions.
The runes themselves.
Ghe combination of the Gebo and Ansuz rune in GAGAGA and Gyfu and Os rune in GAEGOGAE are both combinations that directly mean “gift from the God”. Gebo/Gyfu being ‘gift’ or ‘gifting’ and Ansuz/Oss being ‘God’. These runes and their meaning being carved on a spearshaft are pretty straightforward from a warrior perspective. However, the same combination does not really line up with as to why the GAEGOGAE was found on a bracteate, which is jewelry associated with women.
We will likely never really figure out the complete meaning of the inscription until we find more concrete evidence. And maybe the inscription and its meaning was also meant to be somewhat secretive.
"Fimbulthulur, Fjoelnir, Udhur, Ulfroegni..."
The song then goes on reciting the many names Odin goes by. We hope you enjoyed this deep dive into the lyrics. Below you can see some decoration found on some of the other spears recovered from the bog at Kragehul.
Image from Birch Eversen, 2010.
