Catching up, catching up, catching up, catching up...
Henk has two longish pieces from me that he will send out as a Digest. One is an essay on (Northern) Sartar flora and fauna, the other my contribution to the gods and heroquests etc. debate. Stay tuned...
THE NOVELS OF TONY HILLERMAN I'd like to add my voice to Nick's recommendation concerning Tony Hillerman. Nick didn't spell out the details, but Hillerman's work isn't genre fantasy or sword&sorcery. HeÕs a whodunnit crime-writer whose novels are set amongst the contemporary Navajo of SW United States, with a cast of healers, witches, shamans and anthropologists. (One of the major characters is both a cop and an apprentice shaman).
I'm usually not a whodunnit reader, but I've snapped these up. Great for for anyone interested in shamanism and the effects of mythology in everyday life, and ESPECIALLY recommended for anyone campaigning in Prax or the Wastes. Titles include The Blessing Way, Coyote Waits, Talking God, A Thief of Time, Skinwalkers, The Ghostway, The Dark Wind, People of Darkness, Listening Woman, Dance Hall of the Dead and The Fly on the Wall.
WEIGHING THE SAME AS A DUCK - WITCHES AND SOCIAL CONTROL Martin has raised some interesting points concerning the social dynamics of 'witchcraft' and witchcraft accusations.
First a point in passing - MartinÕs citing of the Nuer as having (real) sorcerers but (imaginary) witches isn't entirely correct. They have lots of real witches as well. Perhaps Martin was thinking of the Azande, who attribute EVERYTHING bad to witchcraft, and where witchcraft accusations form an important part of social process. Certainly, he's correct in the fact that if a society doesn't have enough evil, shadowy magic-users, they'll invent them.
The Nuer, according to Evans-Pritchard's ethnographies, have several types of witches ('tiet'), who are spell workers, diviners and practitioners of leechcraft. 'Tiet gweni' are augurers who throw mussel shells onto the concave surface of gourds.'Tiet me ngwet' practice love magic, find runaway wives, and make herdsmen sleepy. 'Tiet me ngwet' are women who remove sorcerous objects from the bodies of the sick. Other sorts of tiet treat barren women, impotent men, and sick calves. Lots of Pamaltelan potential here. Hostile witches who possess the evil eye are known as 'peth' - these are probably the 'imaginary' witches that Martin was referring to.
Nuer sorcerers are 'gwan kulagi', owners of a fetish, or 'gwan bila', owners of a spirit.
Despite my pedantry, I think Martin has raised an important topic that is usually overlooked - magic and social dynamics.
I always try to make magic mysterious and little understood, with lots of exceptions, mysterious or spontaneous manifestations, and 'wild' effects. None of this God Learnerish Bladesharp 6, 85% taka taka taka. For example, strong emotions (especially group emotions) almost always invoke some magical effect - that's what ceremonies and wyters are all about.
Every Gloranthan society will have occasional manifestations of 'wild magic' in a form that is not accepted or understood, and will have stories about them. The power to use this 'wild magic', (or the claim that one can use it) is one of the things that leads to accusations of witchcraft. Interestingly, improper use of 'normal' magic can also be 'witchcraft', and not using magic at all can be 'witchcraft'!
(Here I'm using witchcraft in one of its the emic senses: that of antisocial,
improper magic. My apologies to Wiccans and shapers. )
Now this is an area alive with roleplaying possibilities, and not only amongst the Doraddi. In Sartar, you can no longer kill someone for being a Lunar, (well...) but you can certainly accuse them of hexing herds, causing abortions or consorting with chaos. If a rival is becoming too powerful, or a succession is disputed, a little malicious gossip and lying can go a long way. Give your revenge fantasies some room to move, and let human nature do the rest.
In this context, 'witches' are always evil. Incest, cannibalism, nakedness, washing themselves... they engage in all sorts of unnatural pursuits. If your village has fallen upon hard times - crop failures, broo attacks, cattle barren, death and illness, Lunar tax collectors surviving - there will always be someone ready to blame practitioners of 'wild magic' (witches, sorcerers, Gorgorma priestesses etc. according to local prejudice). They will start looking for someone to blame, and its usually someone who they have a grudge against or who stands out as an eccentric. Almost always such a person is from another clan, as many tribal societies believe that witches cannot be effective against close kin. (This also helps to stop families tearing each other apart - remember Salem).
As Martin pointed out, in our world, accusations regarding witchcraft or use of 'non-official' magics are often used for purposes of social control. In a study conducted by Biedelman amongst the Kaguru of Tanzania, those suspected or accused of witchcraft were;
In Glorantha, gossip and gentle hints (your barn is burnt down as the entire village watches) will usually alert a person that they are suspected of witchcraft. If they hang around (and survive) a variety of formal measures might be taken against them, from trials by ordeal to ritual torture and lynching. Owing to the somewhat circular logic involved in Divination, the use of such spells may well confirm the accusations (The worshippers believe it, the god responds according to what the worshippers believe).
Sometimes people (including actual practitioners of magic) will use the aura of 'witchcraft' to gain possessions, cower enemies, or increase their social prestige and social control. "Don't upset me or I'll make you sterile." Its a dangerous but sometimes rewarding strategy. A powerful woman or man might be accused as a witch, but it would take an equally powerful person to make such an accusation. For a person of limited social means, malicious gossip and innuendo might achieve the same effect. Witchcraft accusations are a strong force for conformity and approved social behaviour.
SARTAR TRIBES - THE MISSING MABODER
The Maboder Tribe was not mentioned in the tribal population list
published last week, perhaps unconsciously perpetrating the sin of
omission first committed with the Sartar tribe map of TOTRM #6.
(They live east of Jonstown).
Now I know they've had a rough time lately, with the core of the tribe being annihilated by the Telmori and then having Lunar colonia taking the best of their lands, but some clans are still alive and kicking, dammit!
Are they not Orlanthi? (I know they were Lunar allies - lets not confuse the story). Do they not deserve our recognition and respect (at least as long as it costs us nothing)? Are they not a valiant people whose story has become a lesson for our children, a warning against the treachery of the Moon and its wolf minions? (Shaddap - this is myth, not history). Lets not ignore them, if only because of the many landless Maboder who've become adventurers and outlaws, seeking help to reclaim their ancient (well, moderately ancient) homeland from the (now) hated Moonsters. (They've been beaten up by everyone, so they make great PCs and NPCs.)
At a guess, I'd say only two or three small clans still survive in the Mabodi uplands around the Indigo hills, the ones the Telmori couldn't get to in a hurry. They live in less-fertile places the Lunars aren't interested in. Let's say around 800 total. There would be relatively large numbers (500+?) of Mabodi living amongst nearby tribes or as outlaws or mercenaries. Their future is uncertain, but they remain a force to be reckoned with.
X-RQ-ID: Extro
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End of Glorantha Digest V1 #3
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