>I get the distinct impression that the "political technologies" of the
>Storm Folk tend to be pushing their boundaries at the tribal level; a
>lot is made about how clans are good and strong and right because we
>are all related and appreciate each others perspectives in some way -
>whereas tribes are convenient political structures that are a lot more
>prone to internal division and cynical political maneuvering. I sort
>of got the idea that Sartar cut through all that and made something
>different and that was part of his magic and wonder? I could be waaaay
>off though.
>
>I have been thinking about how the political technologies of the clan
>apply to tribes, tribal confederations, and "kingdoms"; and I get a
>feeling that in some ways they are far from ideal. I don't think that
>"we are all reasonable, surely" is a magic bullet for political
>problems and I *like* the idea that the Storm People do something less
>well than other people (i.e. manage larger scale political entities
>where bonds of kinship and personal relationship start to wear pretty
>thin).
>Maybe I getting a bit to Hayek about defining people's abilities to
>give a meaningful toss about other people, and I am sure that Ernaldan
>and Orlanthi myth help extend that, but surely there are limits?
>
>I think that there are in My Glorantha - I like that Ernalda and
>Orlanth's "laws" might start to fail a community once it grows too far
>beyond the clan unit. I get the feeling that Esrola has problems like
>this and I've certainly alluded to them in our game (although the
>players have been too busy to go check it out so far).
I don't think the structure starts to fail at tribal level. It's more that tribes have only two functions - to resolve disputes between clans and to present a united front to enemies. Anything else is nothing to do with them. Even getting agreement on how to deal with enemies is dependant on the abilities of the tribal king or queen. Sartar was just *very* good at resolving disputes and getting clans to follow him.
I should probably have added sarcasm tags to "we are all reasonable, surely". It seems to me that the Ernaldan way would be to reach agreement with covert pressure rather than the open confrontation of a trial. The subtext is to the effect that disagreeing with the speaker is being unreasonable. Will happen far more in Esrolia than in Sartar but IIRC they have much bigger tribes.
>Bit of an aside re Rinliddi:
>> I don't think the Rinliddi come from an Ernaldan base at all. I see
>> their women as part of the Sun/Sky tradition rather than Earth.
>> Darsani is an Earth tradition but may have little in common with
>> the Ernaldan one.
>
>I could very well be misrecalling - and now I can't reference it since
>I am at work (and Unfinished Works are not considered to be "archival
>resources of the Commonwealth") - but wasn't Deezola an
>earth-affiliated priestess from Rinliddi? I understand she lost her
>"specifically earthy" powers though?
I'd missed the mention in ILH2 "Queen Deezola was a reluctant ruler of Torang in Rinliddi, a famed healer and Earth Priestess...." Deezola may not have had any Earth Magic other than healing magic.
I was going off the entries in ILH1 where most deities are birds. The two specifically female are Basekora the hen and Azura the Gentle Mother. While the latter is not necessarily a bird neither does she fit into anything I've seen of the Earth pantheon. Maybe I'm wrong but I have trouble seeing birds as part of the earth tribe.
One explanation would be that Deezola was not a follower of the Vrimak pantheon even though she became queen of Torang. After all the Rinliddi only make up 22% of the population of First Blessed and they have often be ruled by other peoples.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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