From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily)
Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Fri, 15 Jul 1994, part 3
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From: tsl@cs.mu.OZ.AU (Tim Leask)
Subject: Subscribe
Message-ID: <9407150011.9198@mulga.cs.mu.OZ.AU>
Date: 15 Jul 94 20:11:15 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5166
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From: RobMH@aol.com
Subject: Peter's Humakti Hearts
Message-ID: <9407142054.tn432813@aol.com>
Date: 15 Jul 94 00:54:48 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 5167
Peter,
I like the concept that Humakti sacrifice Hearts corresponding to values and
emotions they no longer find necessary as Humakti. My constructive comments
are these:
a. Might it be possible to rephrase the 'sacrifice' and 'protection' in
death/killing/life/living language? I think it likely that Humakti would
think of the 'sacrifice' of a Heart as the killing of the Heart; the ritual
or small heroquest involved would be phrased and perhaps experienced as a
death; perhaps the individual offers their Heart to Humakt, who does the
killing Himself. In this case the pledge of the Heart of Life is a promise
that when the time comes, the death blow belongs irrevocably to Humakt, he
will not be cheated of the Death.
b. The repeated statement that Humakt sacrifice Hearts they think of as
'useless' causes me to wonder whether the sacrifice of something useless is a
worthwhile sacrifice. This is probably just a semantic issue, I'd invite you
to rephrase the offering...
c. You're correct that Gloranthans (and individuals from different
Gloranthan cultures) might choose a different organ (or something else
entirely) but since we don't really have any clues that that should be the
case, I say use the Heart and its associated imagery without shame. Human
hearts make nice targets for sword points, in this case I say stick to what
we know.
d. I like the idea that not all Humakti end up having their Hearts killed
out from under them. There may be ritual requirements and adventurous
complications that see to it that many Humakti never manage to arrange the
sacrifices.
The Praxian inversion of the terms is apt (Life Heart, Mercy Heart),
and I can see that non-Praxians trying to speak coarsely of Humakti might
adopt the Praxian phrasing to point out their semi-contempt for Humakti
practices.
Later,
Rob Heinsoo
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