Sandy Petersen (GD V5#127):
> One of the central important facets of duck
> existence, in my opinion, is that they fluidly adapt the local human
> culture to their needs. The ducks of Sartar are good Orlanthi. (...)
> Of all species in Glorantha, ducks are the best at
> slipping into the local society and fitting in perfectly. This is one
> reason they're such a mystery - they actually abandon whatever past =
and
> whatever gods they used to have in favor of the local ones. NOTE: if =
the
> Lunars actually manage to take over Sartarite culture, I predict that
> within three generations the ducks will all be good Lunars (...).=20
- Why is the adaptability of ducks such a mistery? Ducks are weaker =
then humans and other intelligent races so they must adpt to survive. =
Why do you consider that such behaviour when taken by ducks is a mistery =
and don't make the same reasoning when thinking about humans? The truth =
is that humans are even more misterious: they are the only race that =
worships ALL major panteons in Glorantha. This is realy weird.
- IMG what you say is the typical example of human myopia when =
analising duck's behaviour. Ducks adapt and change... at the skin level. =
At a deep level they are very resilient. IMG ducks' behaviour is very =
similar to what you see in some RW colonised cultures. Think about =
africans: they were forced to incorporate catholicism so they go the =
church and they are true believers... but they keept their traditional =
beliefs in spirits, magic, etc. The same happened in south america where =
the same person that goes to the church in the morning goes to the =
candomble (Brazil) or the voodoo (antilles) ceremony at night.
Ducks have their beliefs and culture which is basically the same ever =
since thay came into existance. Those beliefs fit with the major trends =
in gloranthan cultures and myths. When a new power cames and imposes on =
them they will pay lip service to it, only to continue with their =
traditional practices. In a sense, this is not very different from what =
humans did and do in places lake Tarsh after the lunar invasion.
Sergio Mascarenhas