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Old 03-08-2012, 08:27 AM   #1
lars beyer
Dojo: Copenhagen Aikishuren Dojo
Location: Denmark
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 282
Denmark
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Jante loven- The Law of Jante

In Denmark where I was born and raised, by all means a small country, we have an "unwritten law" called
"Janteloven".

Jantelovens 10 bud: / The 10 commandments of Jante.

Du skal ikke tro, du er noget. / Donīt believe you amount to anything.
Du skal ikke tro, at du er lige så meget som os. / Donīt think you are equal to us.
Du skal ikke tro, at du er klogere end os. / Donīt think you are more clever than us.
Du skal ikke bilde dig ind, at du er bedre end os. / Donīt fool yourself into believing you are better than us.
Du skal ikke tro, at du ved mere end os. / Donīt assume you know more than us.
Du skal ikke tro, at du er mere end os. / Donīt think you are more worthy than us.
Du skal ikke tro, at du dur til noget. / Donīt think you are good at anything.
Du skal ikke le ad os. / Donīt laugh at us.
Du skal ikke tro, at nogen bryder sig om dig. / Donīt think anybody cares about you.
Du skal ikke tro, at du kan lære os noget / Donīt believe you can teach us anything.

(I translated it on the fly so maybe the translation is not 100% correct..but feel free to let those words sink in for a minute..)

"Janteloven" appears in the danish writer Aksel Sandemose novel from 1933 "En flygtning krydser sit eget spor/ A refugee crosses his own path", which discusses the way people treat eachother as human beings, based on the authors personal experiences being raised in a small province town in southern Denmark.
Itīs both amusing and pretty scary in the sence it is recogniceable in everyday life allover the world I believe.

I hope itīs allright I posted this in "general" and I feel it relates to Aikido,
at least in some sence the way people sometimes communicate about Aikido or other topics.
Feel free to add any comment you like


In aiki
Lars

Last edited by lars beyer : 03-08-2012 at 08:37 AM. Reason: Making it better to read
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