The Onion Knight
2 years 2 months ago - 2 years 2 months ago #1183
by Sasha
~Sasha
The Onion Knight was created by Sasha
Over the course of the past few months I have been working on developing my green thumb. I've always struggled to keeps plants alive, but my luck appears to have turned around. In addition to a few house plants that I have managed to bring back from the brink of death, I also rescued a willow tree that was growing just inside the entrance to our barn, and have also started a vegetable garden which is doing quite well at the moment.
My journey began with an onion that sprouted in our kitchen. This isn't the first time this has happened, and I'm sure that some of you have experienced the same thing. But rather than throwing it out, I felt compelled to plant and nurture it. I did some research and soon discovered that it was likely not one, but two onions growing from the same bulb. You see, when an onion is harvested and then exposed to an extensive dry period, it splits and then begins to germinate two onions within its core. If properly separated and planted, these two sprouts will grow into fully fledged onions of their own, which is what I set out to accomplish.
I would like to report that my onion children are doing very well right now, thriving even! Their names are Frank and Cleo (short for Cleopatra), and if you would like details on how I planted them and their progress, just let me know and I would be happy to share (I am also chronicling their progress on Facebook if we are friends there). Being a doting parent, and feeling a strange, almost spiritual connection with these particular plants, I have been exploring not only how to properly care for my onion babies, but also the symbolism, mythology, and metaphorical implications of onions throughout history.
For example, did you know that onions were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt? They were seen as a symbol of eternity, and often onions were wrapped in cloth like mummies and buried with the dead. There's even a cultivar of onion known colloquially as the "Egyptian Walking Onion" (even though it's not actually from Egypt). It is a perennial onion that is thought to be native to India or Pakistan and is known as a "top-set" onion for its peculiar method of propagation. Rather than developing seeds, it grows a long stem which produces several smaller onion bulbs. When the weight of the bulbs becomes too much, the stalk bends over and the bulbs (or "sets") then root into the ground and begin growing new plants. In this way, the onion "walks" across the land.
Most people, though, are more familiar with the domesticated onion. There are several varieties—yellow, white, red, etc.—but ultimately they are the same plant. Each is a biennial (meaning that their lifespan is only two years long) which produce an edible bulb in their first year and then a cluster of flowers on the end of a stem in their second year. That's right, onions have flowers! You may have already known that, but it was news to me!
The life cycle of the domesticated onion is actually quite interesting. Onion seeds are carried by the wind to a new location to germinate. They overwinter in the ground, eventually sprouting a bulb on the end of a long stalk. This bulb begins to root, and the seed casing is thrust out of the ground and falls off. From this point until around the end of summer, the young onion concentrates on growing leaves called feathers. Now, I knew that onions had layers, but I didn't know where they got them from. What I have learned from observing Frank and Cleo is that onions produce new feathers from the center of their bulbs, pushing them upward toward the sunlight. Each of these feathers is responsible for creating a corresponding layer in the onion. Most onions produce between 8 and 12 feathers at a time, though Frank is currently sporting 15 (not to brag, but I am a proud papa). Another observation I have made is that as onions produce new feathers, they sometimes cannot support their original feathers anymore. At this point, the old, outermost feathers wither and turn brown. The layer they created on the bulb is still there, but the feather is gone forever. Usually these are the thin, papery layers you peel away when preparing an onion to be used for culinary purposes.
It is at this point in an onion's life that it is typically harvested. As fall rolls around and the temperature drops, the onion prepares to overwinter. As it does, all of its feathers die back and fall off, leaving only a bulb underground. These bulbs are then harvested and consumed. However, if left to overwinter an onion does something amazing! When spring rolls around, it once again sprouts feathers (though not as many), seemingly resurrecting from the dead! Shortly after this, a long stalk emerges with an onion-shaped pod on the end. This eventually blooms and produces either a beautiful white or purple flower. These flowers are beloved by pollinators, and they are beautiful to look at. Some are even sold as decorative "annuals" for yards and gardens. As autumn once again begins to fall, the onion's flowers turn to seeds, which are once again dispersed on the wind, and the entire plant—bulb, feathers, stalk and flower—withers and dies, never to resurrect again.
No doubt my favorite literary character of all time is Don Quixote. Moreso than any Shakespearean paramour or picaresque rogue, Don Quixote stands apart in my mind as a true hero for the ages.
My first exposure to the Quixote, oddly enough, came as a youth. I remember watching a cartoon on cable called "Don Coyote," and I remember thinking to myself how delightfully silly this show was. Every episode, Don Coyote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panda, would get wrapped up in some nefarious plot, purely by accident, and through a combination of the Don's madness and blind chance, they would somehow manage to save the day.
It wouldn't be until much later in my life that I came face-to-face with the inspiration for this whimsical character in my Medieval Spanish Literature course at University. My professor had written his doctoral dissertation on the Quixote, and so was very knowledgeable. He once told me that everyone should read the Quixote at least three times in their life—once when they're young, to experience the whimsy and comedy of the work; once in their adulthood, so they can see the absurdity of the Don's actions the way others in the fiction do; and once when they are old, so that they can finally see things from Don Quixote's perspective. So far I've read it all the way through once, and I plan to read it again soon.
For those unfamiliar with the story, let me give you the Readers' Digest version. Alonso Quixano, a low-ranking, idle noble from an unimportant region of Spain called "la Mancha" (meaning "the stain") grows weary of his life. Little is said about his youth, but we are informed that he was a hunter, and that his family owned quite a bit of land. Alonso never married, though he is entrusted with the care of his niece, Antonia. Alonso's not-so-secret passion is for books, particularly those pertaining to tales of chivalrous knights in shining armor and their notorious exploits. It is said that he has squandered his family's fortune and sold large swaths of land to procure rare editions of hard-to-find books and, after devoting his time entirely to the reading of these books, he goes quite mad due to lack of nutrition and sleep!
He is soon hit with the most wonderful idea! He will embody the spirit of the bygone heroes of his books and once again bring the world to bear for its wickedness. Of course, such a mythical time never actually existed, and Alonso's madness prevents him from seeing the world as it truly is. He dubs himself Don Quixote de la Mancha, dons his great-grandfather's armor, and then mounts his "noble stead," Rocinante, and sallies forth in search of adventure!
During his travels, he meets with a great deal of misfortune. Nearly everyone is familiar with the tale of the windmills. Don Quixote, believing a group of distant windmills to be flailing giants ransacking the land, rides against them only to be knocked from his horse by one of their sails. He often confuses those he meets on the road for fiends and evildoers, and more than once he is beaten in his attempts to vanquish them. It doesn't help that his "squire," a poor laborer named Sancho Panza, is far too lazy and ignorant to really give Don Quixote much assistance. Still they venture forth, Don Quixote in pursuit of justice and valor, and Sancho in hopes of monetary gain.
While there are hundreds, if not thousands, of wonderful quotes from the Quixote, I think this one from the Broadway show based on the novel captures its essence best:
“I have lived nearly fifty years, and I have seen life as it is. Pain, misery, hunger...cruelty beyond belief. I have heard the singing from taverns and the moans from bundles of filth on the streets. I have been a soldier and seen my comrades fall in battle...or die more slowly under the lash in Africa. I have held them in my arms at the final moment. These were men who saw life as it is, yet they died despairing. No glory, no gallant last words...only their eyes filled with confusion, whimpering the question, 'Why?'
"I do not think they asked why they were dying, but why they had lived. When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. To seek treasure where there is only trash. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”
The term "Onion Knight" is a relatively new one. While onion motifs can be found throughout Medieval heraldry and religious sects, the first instance (at least that I can find) of the term 'onion knight' is in the Final Fantasy games. Here it refers to a character of humble origins (onions are associated with poverty in Japan) who seeks to become a knight. The only other instance I can find of this term's use is in the Song of Ice and Fire books, where it refers to Sir Davos, who is pejoratively called an Onion Knight due to him being knighted after smuggling in onions to help feed a starving populous during a siege. This once again uses the term in a way which connotes negativity and humble origins.
Neither I nor my hero Don Quixote began our lives in poverty. I am the son of a physician, and Alonso Quixano was a child of nobility. However, neither I nor Alonso were really aware of our privilege. Alonso was a noble, true, but he was the lowest rank that one could be and still be considered one. I grew up in a small village where I was surrounded by poverty, and I was raised as though I was no better than anyone else in our community.
And yet, I rejected this place for most of my life. I saw being here as a sign of being unsuccessful in life. I had been taught that I must go to college and I must get a high-paying job and I must do the things which make one successful in the eyes of society. Even if that meant giving up who I truly was and what I truly wanted.
In many ways, the first half of my life was analogous to that of an onion. When farmers grow onions, they give them everything they need to be successful. They provide them with ample space, plenty of fertilizer, pest control, everything they need to grow big and healthy. However, this has nothing to do with the altruism of the farmer. The expectation is that when the time comes, the onion will be violently uprooted, dried out, sold, and consumed. To draw a metaphor to a human life, it would be like being given everything as a child, sent off to a prestigious university and provided with an excellent education, just to be sat down in front of a computer to have your soul slowly drained from you over the course of the rest of your life. That is not a life I am willing to live anymore.
You see, I've had a bit of an epiphany since growing my onion friends. I have meditated on them quite a bit, and they have taught me much. I came to realize that my life previous to the sabbatical I have been on the past year was draining me of the will to live. I was being consumed by my job, by my roommate, by my family, and sometimes by my friends. The stress was killing me, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to get out.
But that begs the question: What now? Like my onion friends, I am currently in the process of overwintering. This is a painful process for onions, if indeed onions can feel pain. For them, the freezing temperatures of winter cause the water in their cells to expand, erupting through their cell walls and forcing the onion to repair itself with harder, woodier material. That's why you never see overwintered onions in the grocery store. Still, this process allows the onion to enter the second phase of its life. From this point, the onion is able to grow its flower stalk and produce great beauty for others to see. It allows the onion to spread its seeds and produce new little onions for the future.
As I overwinter, I have started to come to terms with things from my past that I have avoided until now. My father and I are reconciling after decades of animosity. My mother and I are working on our relationship and once again gaining each other's trust. I am working on developing my sisters' trust in me after being an unreliable brother for many years. Not to mention working in therapy to navigate the decades of trauma I have sustained throughout my life. It is a terribly painful process, but it will make me a better person.
When this phase of my life has passed, I want to bring beauty to the world. I want to provide others with everything I have to offer, but I refuse to be consumed ever again. I will produce beauty on my terms, and if others gain something from that then all the better, but it will be for me first. I hope to pass on my "seeds" (reflections, experiences, wisdom) to create a new generation of little onion knights. I want my life to be useful and meaningful, but in a way that is sustainable for me.
For this reason, I hereby dub myself Sasha, the Onion Knight. May I help others by first helping myself.
My journey began with an onion that sprouted in our kitchen. This isn't the first time this has happened, and I'm sure that some of you have experienced the same thing. But rather than throwing it out, I felt compelled to plant and nurture it. I did some research and soon discovered that it was likely not one, but two onions growing from the same bulb. You see, when an onion is harvested and then exposed to an extensive dry period, it splits and then begins to germinate two onions within its core. If properly separated and planted, these two sprouts will grow into fully fledged onions of their own, which is what I set out to accomplish.
I would like to report that my onion children are doing very well right now, thriving even! Their names are Frank and Cleo (short for Cleopatra), and if you would like details on how I planted them and their progress, just let me know and I would be happy to share (I am also chronicling their progress on Facebook if we are friends there). Being a doting parent, and feeling a strange, almost spiritual connection with these particular plants, I have been exploring not only how to properly care for my onion babies, but also the symbolism, mythology, and metaphorical implications of onions throughout history.
For example, did you know that onions were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt? They were seen as a symbol of eternity, and often onions were wrapped in cloth like mummies and buried with the dead. There's even a cultivar of onion known colloquially as the "Egyptian Walking Onion" (even though it's not actually from Egypt). It is a perennial onion that is thought to be native to India or Pakistan and is known as a "top-set" onion for its peculiar method of propagation. Rather than developing seeds, it grows a long stem which produces several smaller onion bulbs. When the weight of the bulbs becomes too much, the stalk bends over and the bulbs (or "sets") then root into the ground and begin growing new plants. In this way, the onion "walks" across the land.
Most people, though, are more familiar with the domesticated onion. There are several varieties—yellow, white, red, etc.—but ultimately they are the same plant. Each is a biennial (meaning that their lifespan is only two years long) which produce an edible bulb in their first year and then a cluster of flowers on the end of a stem in their second year. That's right, onions have flowers! You may have already known that, but it was news to me!
The life cycle of the domesticated onion is actually quite interesting. Onion seeds are carried by the wind to a new location to germinate. They overwinter in the ground, eventually sprouting a bulb on the end of a long stalk. This bulb begins to root, and the seed casing is thrust out of the ground and falls off. From this point until around the end of summer, the young onion concentrates on growing leaves called feathers. Now, I knew that onions had layers, but I didn't know where they got them from. What I have learned from observing Frank and Cleo is that onions produce new feathers from the center of their bulbs, pushing them upward toward the sunlight. Each of these feathers is responsible for creating a corresponding layer in the onion. Most onions produce between 8 and 12 feathers at a time, though Frank is currently sporting 15 (not to brag, but I am a proud papa). Another observation I have made is that as onions produce new feathers, they sometimes cannot support their original feathers anymore. At this point, the old, outermost feathers wither and turn brown. The layer they created on the bulb is still there, but the feather is gone forever. Usually these are the thin, papery layers you peel away when preparing an onion to be used for culinary purposes.
It is at this point in an onion's life that it is typically harvested. As fall rolls around and the temperature drops, the onion prepares to overwinter. As it does, all of its feathers die back and fall off, leaving only a bulb underground. These bulbs are then harvested and consumed. However, if left to overwinter an onion does something amazing! When spring rolls around, it once again sprouts feathers (though not as many), seemingly resurrecting from the dead! Shortly after this, a long stalk emerges with an onion-shaped pod on the end. This eventually blooms and produces either a beautiful white or purple flower. These flowers are beloved by pollinators, and they are beautiful to look at. Some are even sold as decorative "annuals" for yards and gardens. As autumn once again begins to fall, the onion's flowers turn to seeds, which are once again dispersed on the wind, and the entire plant—bulb, feathers, stalk and flower—withers and dies, never to resurrect again.
No doubt my favorite literary character of all time is Don Quixote. Moreso than any Shakespearean paramour or picaresque rogue, Don Quixote stands apart in my mind as a true hero for the ages.
My first exposure to the Quixote, oddly enough, came as a youth. I remember watching a cartoon on cable called "Don Coyote," and I remember thinking to myself how delightfully silly this show was. Every episode, Don Coyote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panda, would get wrapped up in some nefarious plot, purely by accident, and through a combination of the Don's madness and blind chance, they would somehow manage to save the day.
It wouldn't be until much later in my life that I came face-to-face with the inspiration for this whimsical character in my Medieval Spanish Literature course at University. My professor had written his doctoral dissertation on the Quixote, and so was very knowledgeable. He once told me that everyone should read the Quixote at least three times in their life—once when they're young, to experience the whimsy and comedy of the work; once in their adulthood, so they can see the absurdity of the Don's actions the way others in the fiction do; and once when they are old, so that they can finally see things from Don Quixote's perspective. So far I've read it all the way through once, and I plan to read it again soon.
For those unfamiliar with the story, let me give you the Readers' Digest version. Alonso Quixano, a low-ranking, idle noble from an unimportant region of Spain called "la Mancha" (meaning "the stain") grows weary of his life. Little is said about his youth, but we are informed that he was a hunter, and that his family owned quite a bit of land. Alonso never married, though he is entrusted with the care of his niece, Antonia. Alonso's not-so-secret passion is for books, particularly those pertaining to tales of chivalrous knights in shining armor and their notorious exploits. It is said that he has squandered his family's fortune and sold large swaths of land to procure rare editions of hard-to-find books and, after devoting his time entirely to the reading of these books, he goes quite mad due to lack of nutrition and sleep!
He is soon hit with the most wonderful idea! He will embody the spirit of the bygone heroes of his books and once again bring the world to bear for its wickedness. Of course, such a mythical time never actually existed, and Alonso's madness prevents him from seeing the world as it truly is. He dubs himself Don Quixote de la Mancha, dons his great-grandfather's armor, and then mounts his "noble stead," Rocinante, and sallies forth in search of adventure!
During his travels, he meets with a great deal of misfortune. Nearly everyone is familiar with the tale of the windmills. Don Quixote, believing a group of distant windmills to be flailing giants ransacking the land, rides against them only to be knocked from his horse by one of their sails. He often confuses those he meets on the road for fiends and evildoers, and more than once he is beaten in his attempts to vanquish them. It doesn't help that his "squire," a poor laborer named Sancho Panza, is far too lazy and ignorant to really give Don Quixote much assistance. Still they venture forth, Don Quixote in pursuit of justice and valor, and Sancho in hopes of monetary gain.
While there are hundreds, if not thousands, of wonderful quotes from the Quixote, I think this one from the Broadway show based on the novel captures its essence best:
“I have lived nearly fifty years, and I have seen life as it is. Pain, misery, hunger...cruelty beyond belief. I have heard the singing from taverns and the moans from bundles of filth on the streets. I have been a soldier and seen my comrades fall in battle...or die more slowly under the lash in Africa. I have held them in my arms at the final moment. These were men who saw life as it is, yet they died despairing. No glory, no gallant last words...only their eyes filled with confusion, whimpering the question, 'Why?'
"I do not think they asked why they were dying, but why they had lived. When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. To seek treasure where there is only trash. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”
The term "Onion Knight" is a relatively new one. While onion motifs can be found throughout Medieval heraldry and religious sects, the first instance (at least that I can find) of the term 'onion knight' is in the Final Fantasy games. Here it refers to a character of humble origins (onions are associated with poverty in Japan) who seeks to become a knight. The only other instance I can find of this term's use is in the Song of Ice and Fire books, where it refers to Sir Davos, who is pejoratively called an Onion Knight due to him being knighted after smuggling in onions to help feed a starving populous during a siege. This once again uses the term in a way which connotes negativity and humble origins.
Neither I nor my hero Don Quixote began our lives in poverty. I am the son of a physician, and Alonso Quixano was a child of nobility. However, neither I nor Alonso were really aware of our privilege. Alonso was a noble, true, but he was the lowest rank that one could be and still be considered one. I grew up in a small village where I was surrounded by poverty, and I was raised as though I was no better than anyone else in our community.
And yet, I rejected this place for most of my life. I saw being here as a sign of being unsuccessful in life. I had been taught that I must go to college and I must get a high-paying job and I must do the things which make one successful in the eyes of society. Even if that meant giving up who I truly was and what I truly wanted.
In many ways, the first half of my life was analogous to that of an onion. When farmers grow onions, they give them everything they need to be successful. They provide them with ample space, plenty of fertilizer, pest control, everything they need to grow big and healthy. However, this has nothing to do with the altruism of the farmer. The expectation is that when the time comes, the onion will be violently uprooted, dried out, sold, and consumed. To draw a metaphor to a human life, it would be like being given everything as a child, sent off to a prestigious university and provided with an excellent education, just to be sat down in front of a computer to have your soul slowly drained from you over the course of the rest of your life. That is not a life I am willing to live anymore.
You see, I've had a bit of an epiphany since growing my onion friends. I have meditated on them quite a bit, and they have taught me much. I came to realize that my life previous to the sabbatical I have been on the past year was draining me of the will to live. I was being consumed by my job, by my roommate, by my family, and sometimes by my friends. The stress was killing me, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to get out.
But that begs the question: What now? Like my onion friends, I am currently in the process of overwintering. This is a painful process for onions, if indeed onions can feel pain. For them, the freezing temperatures of winter cause the water in their cells to expand, erupting through their cell walls and forcing the onion to repair itself with harder, woodier material. That's why you never see overwintered onions in the grocery store. Still, this process allows the onion to enter the second phase of its life. From this point, the onion is able to grow its flower stalk and produce great beauty for others to see. It allows the onion to spread its seeds and produce new little onions for the future.
As I overwinter, I have started to come to terms with things from my past that I have avoided until now. My father and I are reconciling after decades of animosity. My mother and I are working on our relationship and once again gaining each other's trust. I am working on developing my sisters' trust in me after being an unreliable brother for many years. Not to mention working in therapy to navigate the decades of trauma I have sustained throughout my life. It is a terribly painful process, but it will make me a better person.
When this phase of my life has passed, I want to bring beauty to the world. I want to provide others with everything I have to offer, but I refuse to be consumed ever again. I will produce beauty on my terms, and if others gain something from that then all the better, but it will be for me first. I hope to pass on my "seeds" (reflections, experiences, wisdom) to create a new generation of little onion knights. I want my life to be useful and meaningful, but in a way that is sustainable for me.
For this reason, I hereby dub myself Sasha, the Onion Knight. May I help others by first helping myself.
~Sasha
Last edit: 2 years 2 months ago by Sasha .
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