Jeff
> >2. Hsunchen-style worship. I think you invite friendly animal
> spirits to inhabit parts of your body. You invite Razortooth to inhabit
> your teeth and Runs Like Wind to be your legs, etc. Once your whole
> >body is inhavbited, you can transform into your totem animal. I don't
> think you normally make charms of your totem animal. That would be
> unfriendly because it is the wrong kind of home in your tradition. It
> >is important to note that doing this right is something that your
> tradition teaches. A Praxian can;t jusy go up to a Telmori animal spirit
> and invite it in. It will certainly come in, but it would be a case of
> >possession. (That might explain werewolves in cultures where there are
> no Telmori.)
>
> Oooh, that's a nice touch. And, of course, other traditions might have
> teachings about how to get a telmori spirit into a charm, because for
> them that's the way to do it. Different approaches, still dealing with
> spirits.
I think one point that is continually overlooked with the Hsunchen is that they are in a very basic way, broken. One of the primary tenements of their worship is the reintegration of missing spiritual parts that they lack and once integrated these spirits become part of the worshiper until they recover all that was lost with the coming of whatever destroyed or damaged their particular people, be it Death, Wolves, or Lima Beans.
The Telmori are inhabited by telmori spirits because they *are* Telmori (of either variety of spirit or person). No one else can manage that. Though I do wonder if the Telmori might devour and assimilate prey spirits but that doesn't seem quite right somehow.
This goes hand in hand with the more usual animistic dealings with friendly (and not so friendly spirits) who are given homes or prisons until needed.
And on that note, I need to go perform some propitiatory worship of my thesis advisers.
Jeff
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