Orlanthi and Lurrve....

From: Thomas McVey <tmcvey_at_sric.sri.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 13:18:47 -0800


>
> Date: 23 Feb 2000 12:12:20 -0600
> From: Theo Posselt <tposselt_at_dttus.com>
> Subject: sex and sexuality
>
>
>
> < 'Infanticide is a necessity' >
>
> Is there a gender difference - are girls killed before boys, or is it
> just most recently born or sickest that are killed?

I'd find this questionable. They've got fertility magic, they've got magic to cure disease, and they've got magic to control reproduction. Why'd they have to have infanticide?

Besides, kin-slaying of this sort would bring chaos to the clan.

I'd see this only being done if the clan thought Maran Gor needed appeasement.

>
>
> < 'Being a phenomenological culture, I don't believe Orlanthi use
> abstract terms such as bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian
> etc. Men and women are characterised and valued for more worthy things
> than who/what they rub their genitals against.' >
>
> Again, I'm perhaps 75% with you here. I agree that the Orlanthi
> wouldn't say 'he's a homosexual' - indeed, such essentialist terms are
> generally a modern phenomenom - but on the other hand I'm not sure if
> they wouldn't discriminate in terms of _actions_.

There'd also have to be a mythic precedent. Like Zeus and Ganymede in RW myths, for instance. Mind you, Orlanth doesn't get as much action as Zeus. Ernalda seems to be the one with a wandering eye in the myths.

Now, there is a very smutty story that Uroxi tell about Babesteer Gor and Vinga, which "explains" why Vingans have red hair...

And in one of the incidents in KoDP, a Vingan in your clam becomes a blood sister with another Vingan in a clan you're feuding with. Maybe something more in that relationship?

> Maybe I'm too
> grounded in the RW, but the Germanic/Nordic/Celtic world doesn't seem
> too fond of homosexual/bisexual activity.

Beg to differ on this (at least on the Celts). In the Tain Bo Cuailgne, the relationship between blood-brothers Ferdia and Cuchulainn is very ambiguous. (Cuchulainn kills Ferdia with his gae bolga, or belly-spear - fnarr, fnarr).

True enough for the Teutonic folks though. Roman-era Germanics (according to Tacitus) were pretty prudish sexually. And in Njal's saga from Iceland, an insult by one male warrior to another saying "the Troll of that mountain uses you like a woman every fortnight", is enough to get a whole family killed.

> Plus, having them be
> accepting seems to deprive Glorantha of an excellent source of
> Orlanthi/Lunar friction!
>
>
> Ok, John has taken the challenge on the Orlanthi. Anyone care to
> detail the Lunar or Solar views more? Or would someone (Peter,
> maybe?) care to take a stab at the west?

At a guess for the West:

If you enjoy it, it's a sin.

>
>
> Regards,
> Theo


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