Sassisk

Vöärig mål heb ik my an et end vorteld um de vormånende woorden van Jeff Kripal. Et givt teagensworig een heyle bült vorskeinsels dee wy med enkander glyks sünder umdenken vorbinden, weyl dat villicht neet süks een enkle vorbinding is in de wearld sülv (Strieber en Kripal, The Super Natural: Why the Unexplained is Real (2016), p. 9-10). Wy glöven glyk dat butenaerdsen en UFOs etsülvde fenomeen is, mor is dat wirklik so? Ik heb my vöärig mål seen låten, dat wat wy oft seen as UFOs, is up sümmige steaden jüüst de seal is van eyn dee uut de tyd kommen is. En wat hev dat now med butenaerdsen to doon?!

Neen, as wy us een mål kyken når een andre tekst uut desülvde umråd en tyd as de Twentske tekst van vöärig mål, dan seen wy dat et ouk anders geit, sünder douden dit mål:

“… En doe heurn ik es moal wat ruske. En ik deank, dat kan wa nen haazn of n knien wezn, bie wieze van sprekn, mer ik heb niks zeen en doe bin ik wa vedan jagd, mer doe, net as ande joarn met vliegtuign met dat ofweergeschut, dan kwamn der mangs van dee stukkesndaal of ne vliegende schotel dee gung der alle daag langs, ie konn ok niks anders zeen as lecht, as a lechtke, t was gen vliegtuig, dat flikkert meestal, t was oardig lecht boetn en doa stun ik op t platje, ik keek duur t raam hen … ik zag t, wat is dat no van ding …”

Kollektsy Engelbertink, 14. map, 5. vortelling

Wat hebt wy now eyglyks leasd hyr? Et is een wat kryptiske vortelling, dår dit een direkte transkryptsy is van wat een vrouw an vorsåmler Engelbertink vorteld hev in 1977. Dit is geyn skyr upskreaven vortelling, mor ho as een vortelling oft wirklik geit: völ med syspöären, haperings, hakkelns, en seakers geyn skyr dichtwark. Mor des to autentyker.

Ik glööv my dat disse vrouw höär oaver höär jöygd vorteld, ho as see vrower thuus in skup an et spöylen is. Lekker oaver de bönders klautern en sükswat meyr, machtig mooi altomål. Up een dag seet sy een fel licht buten, en vrågt höär of wat as dat now is. Geyn vleegtuug, dår de lichten neet knippert. See segt et noch neet glyk, mor bringt doch vleegende skuttels up.

Good, mor now weyten wy eyglyks noch niks een bült. Der bünt lichten seen, en disse vrouw seet see as vleegende skuttels of UFOs. Vornåmlik in 70er jåren van 20. eyw bünt der een heyle bült UFOs, of UAPs (Unidentificeerde Luchtfenomenen), seen. In et freeske De Gordyk güng et heyldaal lös in 1974, dår een bült lüde wat in de lucht seen hebt. Mor ouk de leste jåren geit et wyder hard dermed: vöärig jår (2019) bünt der meyr UFOs meldet dan et jår dervöär (2018), beident in Oost-Nedderland as in Düütskland. Nowdestyds hest noch immer aktyve UFO-beminnelingen in disse umråden, dee vornåmlik vanuut et Grönnegske Stadskanaal opereart (see Meder’s book In Graancirkelen, dår ik et leste mål ouk al oaver had heb).

Der sit noch eyn andre kodearing in disse vortelling hyr. De vorteller nöömt vleegtugen en ofweergeskut, vordedigingswåpens. Hyrmed wurdt der een link legged tüsken de UFOs en et leger. Dit is een bekinde link dee oft döär konspiråtsy-denkers anhåld wurdet. Regering en leger sol hogenåmd an de loup weasen med et untwikkelen van geheime teknology süks as vrümde vleegtugen. Dee UFOs bünt neet van buten de aerde, mor bünt ny-untwikkelde vleegmaskines dår regering et volk nikswat um segt. Villicht is et süks een geheimnis dat sülvs regering en leger der sülv niks um weyten. In Amerika hev et Pentagon der nåmlik $22 million teagenan gooid tüsken 2008 en 2011 um al dee vrümde vleegmaskines en lichten boven höär luchtruum to undersöken.

Beste lüde, ik weyt my et anter der ouk neet up. Der bünt een sood wårnemings, mor wat moten wy der med? Sümmigen bünt vast feilende wårnemings, dår lüde eyglyks een voagel, satellyt, of meteoryt neet good identificearen künt, en dat is best. Up etsülve momint bünt der ouk lüde binnen et Amerikaanske leger dee wirklik neet weyten wat as see dår in de lucht seen hebben, sülvs dår see een bült ervåring hebt med vlegen en vleegmaskines. As weatenskopper kan ik my et ouk neet tolåten, dit vorskeinsel direkt to negearen. Lüde nimt wat wår in lucht, en dat wårneming is de empiry, dee undersöked wurden moot. Et eynigste wat ik doon kin as folklorist is kyken når ho as lüde höär vortellings um disse wårnemings döärgivt, en wår as gelyknissen en vorskeidenheid der in kümt. Wat now wirklik wår is, tja, wat düt et der eyglyks to? Vöär lüde kin de ervåring heyl waerdevül en wichtig weasen, en dat is my et wichtigst.

English

Last time, I quoted Jeff Kripal’s stern words at the end of the blog post. There are nowadays a lot of phenomena that we shruggishly conflate with each other, while they might not be a simple connection in the real world  (Strieber and Kripal, The Super Natural: Why the Unexplained is Real (2016), p. 9-10). We often think that extra-terrestrials and UFOs are the same phenomenon, but are they really? I showed last time that what we often consider to be UFOs were construed in some places as the soul of those who ran out of time. And how is that connected to extra-terrestrials?!

No, when we look at another story from the same area and time as the story from Twente from last time, then we see that things can be quite different, without any dead this time:

“… and then I heard some rustling one time. And I thought ‘that could be a hare or rabbit,’ in a manner of speaking, but I didn’t see anything and then I went along, but then, just like other years with airplanes with those anti-aircraft guns, then a couple of those flying saucers would pass by every day, you couldn’t see anything else than light, like a light, it wasn’t an airplane, those lights blink most of the time, it was quite light outside and I stood there on the beam of the barn, I looked through the window … I saw it, ‘What in the – what is that?’ …”

Collection Engelbertink, 14^th folder, 5^th story

What did we actually read just now? The story is a bit cryptic, since it is a direct transcription of what a woman told to collector Engelbertink in 1977. It is not a fancified narrative, but how a story is actually often told: filled with side tracks, stutters, obstructions, and definitely not a fine work of the purest poetry. But all the more authentic.

I believe this woman is talking about her childhood, how she was playing in the barn in the past. Climbing over the beams and all that stuff, pretty neat. One day she sees a bright light outside, and asks herself what that could be. No airplane, since the lights aren’t blinking. She doesn’t spell it outright, but still brings up the topic of flying saucers.

Good, but now we still don’t know anything. Lights were seen, and this woman categorizes them as flying saucers or UFOs. Especially in the ‘70s of the 20^th century a whole bunch of those UFOs, or UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), were witnessed. In the Frisian town De Gordyk things went berserk in 1974: a whole group of people saw strange phenomena in the sky. But the phenomenon is gaining strength during the last couple of years: last year (2019) there were more sightings reported than the year before (2018), both in the east of the Netherlands as well as in Germany. There are still active UFO-lovers nowadays in these areas, who mainly operate from Stadskanaal in the Groningen area (see Meder’s book In Graancirkelen, about which I spoke last time as well).

There is yet another coding in this here story. The narrator talks about airplanes and anti-aircraft guns, defence weapons. Through this a link is laid between the UFOs and the army. This is a known connection which is often employed by believers in conspiracy theories. The government and the army are apparently involved in developing of secret technology like strange aircrafts. These UFOs are not extraterrestrial, but they are newly developed aircrafts, about which the government keeps quiet towards the larger populace. Perhaps it is such a secret that even the government and army don’t know anything about it. In the United States, the Pentagon even threw $22 million between 2008 and 2011 into researching all those strange aircrafts and lights in their airspace.

Dear people, I also don’t know the answer to all this. There are myriad sightings, but what are we to do with them? Some might surely be false sightings, in that people actually saw a bird, satellite, or meteorite, for which they are not skilled enough to identify them otherwise, which is okay. At the same time, there are people within the US army who truly have no clue whatever they saw in the sky, even though they have a lot of experience with flying and aircrafts. As scientist I cannot permit myself simply to ignore this phenomenon. People see something in the sky, and that sighting is the empirical fact that needs to be investigated. The only thing I, as a folklorist, can do is to investigate how people narrate these sightings and pass them on, and at which points we find similarities and differences in the narrative. What is really true about any of this, well, why would that even matter? For the experiencer, these experiences can be extremely valuable and important, and that is the most important fact to me.

Spoukplåtkepråt

Um et måken van de foto

Spooky Spectral Speculations

About creating the picture

Sökend når een råm, kykend döär een råm, een old råm, med düüster an andre kant. Ik kwam by dit, best abstrakte, neet Twentsk mor Grönnegs råm torecht, in een styv old gebouw, et skathuus (en now restaurant) van et olde Grönneger kasteal de Menkemaborg (vorsök et to besöken, as du kinst ;-)). De UFO is gewoan een ovalen selektioon van een lüddek deyl van de foto, dee ik vurddån heb. Dat is alles. Niks meyr nöydig vöär een prachtige UFO-wårneming!

Looking for a window, through a window, an old window, with darkness on the other side. I ended up with this, rather abstract, not from Twente but from Groningen, old window. In a very old building, the treasure house and restaurant of an old Groninger castle The Menkemaborg. (Be sure to visit it, if you can ;-)). The UFO is simply a oval selection of a small part of the picture, which I deleted. thats it. No more to be done to make a great UFO sighting!