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Yes, there are big differences between the two. For instance, if you described a postal worker on a murderous rampage as “going berserk,” you’d likely be wrong: “going postal” is actually a classic example of running amok. OK, so what about those opiate-induced rampages we see in Vietnam flicks, in which doped-up soldiers run screaming into the jungle, engaging the enemy with little regard for their own safety? Definitely not running amok: that’s some classic berserking right there. Let’s break it down.
Running amok
To get to the bottom of this one, we’ve got to go on an etymological carpet ride, all the way back to the probably ancient Malay word “mengamuk,” meaning “to go mad with rage.” But mengamuk was a peculiar form of going mad with rage that was — at the time Western observers began to record such things in the 19th century, in any case — native to Southeast Asia. Here’s how it went down, according to the Britannica:
“A Malay will suddenly and apparently without reason rush into the street armed with a kris or other weapons, and slash and cut at everybody he meets till he is killed. These frenzies were formerly regarded as due to sudden insanity. It is now, however, certain that the typical amok is the result of circumstances, such as domestic jealousy or gambling losses, which render a Malay desperate and weary of his life. It is, in fact, the Malay equivalent of suicide. The act of running amuck is probably due to causes over which the culprit has some amount of control, as the custom has now died out in the British possessions in the peninsula, the offenders probably objecting to being caught and tried in cold blood.”
There seems to be a direct link between such behavior — the end result of which is usually the death of the amok-runner — and massacres like Columbine and the murder-suicide rampages of postal workers. Which puts all this squarely in its own category, and distinctly apart from
Going berserk
Most closely associated with the Norse Berserkers, gangs of warriors who fought in an uncontrollable rage. The difference between their uncontrollable rage and that of Malay amok-runners is that the Berserkers — prized by the Scandinavian kings who commanded them for their ferocity — generally loosed their inner beasts only in battle, and directed it toward the enemy rather than indiscriminately. They are depicted in Icelandic sagas as wearing bear pelts on their heads (”berserker” loosely translates to “bear skin”) and wielding throwing axes with deadly precision.
Yet many modern theories attribute their ferocity to the ingestion of everything from the psychoactive fly agaric mushroom to wolf’s blood — though how you throw an axe precisely while being hopped up on ancient goofballs is beyond me (and many experts). Another (hilarious) theory posits that the Berserkers were manic-depressives, and their deadly rages were actually manic episodes. (I have some manic friends, and none of them have thrown an axe at my head … yet.)
Anyone got a better explanation — or better yet, a deep indwelling of insatiable rage they’d like to share?
Comments (16)
Comment
Great post! I studied the Berserkers a while back, and you nailed it. Some accounts say their enemies would flee the moment they saw the bear skin heads. Always made me wonder if they just tossed some skins on a bunch of screaming grannies in the later days.
posted by Johnny Cat on 8-31-2007 at 10:31 am
A loose translation is an understatement, ber- is a form of björn (bear) but the -serkur is cloth, perhaps down to the knees (nightgowns are náttserkir) they didn’t wear it just on heads but as some sort of a vest or coat as well.
posted by JBJ on 8-31-2007 at 11:00 am
that picture makes me laugh!
posted by laurel on 8-31-2007 at 11:09 am
Tribal chiefs could point berserkers at their enemy. Enemy all dead, berserkers go drink mead. Berserkers all dead, enemy drink mead. Everybody who dies valiantly in battle goes to Valhalla anyway, so there’s little difference to the fighters as to the outcome, other than how many of their opponents are in their honor guard to Hella…
Amok are not at all discriminating about their targets. School massacres come to mind.
“Postal” refers to those with specific targets in mind against whom the creator of mayhem has a grudge, i.e former co-employees, supervisers, et al. Anybody else who’s killed/injured in the process is more or less collateral damage.
posted by Doc on 8-31-2007 at 12:20 pm
Amok is a term used to describe a culture bound syndrome, which occurs most frequently in Malaysia, but has also been described in Thailand, Laos, and other Southeast Asian countries. It is quite different than most American school massacres in several key ways. First, a person who runs amok is usually an adult male, not an adolescent, who is reacting to a public shaming or humiliation. Second, when someone runs amok it is, by definition, an impulsive act, free of any planning or stockpiling of weapons. Third, Malays typically consider the episode to be a one-time act, and if the individual is able to be disarmed without killing them, they are not considered to be a public threat any longer. This has resulted in some people in Malaysia trying to use amok as a murder defense, although actual cases of amok in Malaysia are extremely rare, especially since the 1930’s.
posted by anthro_girl on 8-31-2007 at 1:42 pm
ah, it’s good to know that the time I went tearing through the camp of drunk people ready to murder someone was amok-ing and not berserk-ing
posted by Korin on 8-31-2007 at 3:14 pm
Let’s not be anal about it. Crazy is crazy. Anything else is just details.
posted by gus on 9-1-2007 at 2:37 pm
I feel enlightened. Boy, that feels good.
posted by Mike Foster on 9-2-2007 at 1:11 pm
Anyone can be riled up to a controlled fury if they’re motivated enough– all the easier if there’s a tight-knit group of trained warriors. That’s how the berserkers did it, so think my Norse Reenactor friends.
Watching a wall of men banging their shields with their swords before rushing headlong into mock battles where the injuries aren’t fake?
Yeah, I think they might be on to something.
posted by Brammimonde on 9-2-2007 at 7:04 pm
A swedish scientist in the 18th century suggested that the mushroom Amanita muscaria might have been consumed by berserkers to get “into the mood”. It can cause hallucinations and alter the mood, perhaps even make someone very angry.
No contemporary writings confirm this and it is now considered a very wild guess made by the Swede, a sort of urban legend. However this mushroom is named berserkjasveppur (mushroom of berserkers) in Icelandic.
posted by JBJ on 9-3-2007 at 6:53 am
Yeah, yeah, blame it on drugs. Like “assasins” is a bastardized version of “hashish”.
Dunno about you, but when I used to smoke hash and eat mushrooms, all I wanted was a box of Twinkies and some Doritos. Wasn’t prepared to paint myself blue and kill somebody for them, tho….
posted by Doc on 9-3-2007 at 7:30 am
Been there, done that.
posted by Rex Havok on 9-3-2007 at 3:11 pm
Doc- the Nords went berzerk because they didn’t have Twinkies and Doritos.
posted by Mike on 9-4-2007 at 7:30 am
I’m half Scandinavian… Half Italian..
It’s funny..
I have brown hair..
My ancestors would be proud.
posted by Mickey on 9-4-2007 at 12:33 pm
doc
nice try if you ate anything that even resembled any strain of mushrooms the last thing you’d touch is Twinkies and Doritos. in fact that combination would probably cause you to involuntarily evacuate your stomach considering the nausea one would normally experience as well as the unbalanced ph that is most certainly achieved in all cases of ingestion
as far as the ax throwing aim and considering they were seasoned vets. i’d say with my experience, my balance and accuracy could not be any more dialed in then when i’ve traveled the road that is psilocybin and psilocin. so i wouldn’t doubt that neat feat for a minute
great article
posted by thequack on 9-5-2007 at 2:32 pm
I think as far as berserkers go its a combination of two things, One which I forgot the exact name for involves the fact that if you look at professional sports players they are freaks, their bodies are naturally far stronger, quicker, and their reactions are quicker as well. So think of these Berserkers as the NFL players going against say a high school football team. Then add the fact that they would work themselves into a frenzy, which has been medically proven. So now you have a group of NFL players competley jacked up on addrenaline, going up against a high school team whos is ready to crap themselves. Take that and change it over into actual battle and you have norse berserkers.
posted by SonOfAGunn on 9-26-2007 at 8:44 pm