Some more thoughts on the Basmol thread (apologies for sparking it off if anyone is really bored). Also apolgies if I am a little short tempered, it is a stinking hot day here.
>David Cake says:
>>from Sandy we know that the Basmoli favour dreadlocks, ...
>
>That was me, unless Sandy repeated it somewhere. All the
>hairstyle and clothing notes on Praxians in Codex #1 were mine.
[Martin Crim]
Apologies for misattribution.
Now that Greybeard fellow again, who appears to work on the same philosophy as the Bellman from the Hunting of the Snark ('what I tell you three times is true') ie if it is repeated often enough, eventually we will believe it.
But sorry, no.
>_at_ Well, you're sorta right, but there are also cults that don't have gods --
>_at_ Basmol is dead, frex.
>
>Basmol isn't dead, at least not in Prax, in other places he is.
>Mythology isn't consistent nor is it universal.
>
The mythology of the Basmoli of Prax, who are a pretty small group, is probably pretty much consistent on the major points.
I quote from Gods of Glorantha -
"The Basmoli Berserkers live in the Wastelands as well as on the
Pamaltelan Veldt. Their lion god was defeated by the natives of the
Wastelands, and the Basmoli there hire themselves out as mercenaries,
always glad to fight the folk who slew their god. In Pamaltela, the Basmoli
only know that their god marched northward with a horde of followers, and
still await a triumphant return."
BASMOL IS DEAD. This is not the only official Chaosium publication that mentions Basmol, but the others say that he is dead as well. It is possible to posit that there are secrets of the cult that he is not really dead, or whatever, but the fact remains that the Basmoli Berserkers of Prax generally believe that their god was killed by some native god of the Wastelands (who I beleive to be Tada). If you ask one, that is what they will tell you.
In Greybeards Glorantha it may be different, but in Chaosiums Glorantha and my Glorantha it is different, and if you have a theory that goes directly against published stuff, at least acknowledge it.
>The Basmoli of Prax are still close to the lions, and as such they have
>cats eyes, carnivorous incisors, auburn/red hair and vestigial spinal
>hair (mane). They are not kzinti but show obvious lion attributes.
>
People disagreed with this last time, but for the record I definately disagree with it. Basmoli are humans who know some magic that allows them to talk to lions (if they could find any) and magically temporarily transform part of themselves into lion like form. They are humans, with human teeth, human eyes. Some of them might start to change their physical form a little if exposed to strong magic, but most of them do not even worship Basmol as their main cult (FoundChild is more practical).
Also, in my world they have black hair, for other reasons.
>Glorantha is a magical world, and the evolutionary effects of massive
>levels of powerful myth/magic allow peoples/beasts to change/evolve
>in non-Terran ways.
>
I have never heard of it affecting people this way, though. Even the Cursed Telmori seem to have no noticable non-human attributes.
>Now in Glorantha people and myth are intertwined. Mythical changes make
>physical, mental, and social changes. Similarly intellectual, social changes
>make mythical changes.
I want to reiterate the point that I made in response to John Hughes once again, though. Changes in myth effects reality because it is a great magic, or because it effects the magic. Reality and myth are not mirrors of each other. Thus if the Lion people worship Basmol, they have magic to turn into lions, and perhaps that magic will affect the way they look sometimes. But if the lion people worship Basmol but use none of his magic, they will not change. A story or a belief is not enough in GLorantha to change the muth and make magical changes to the world. You need to cast magic yourself.
Basically, myth plus worship and belief creates the potential for the magic, but the magic does not cast itself. And until someone does use that magic, reality does not change.
> Remnants of Basmoli elsewhere are less lion
>and more man, the Cattle Hsunchen peoples are still broad shouldered and feisty
>but they no longer grow horns.
>
Actually, the Cattle Hsunchen do not exist according to GoG. Of course, I do not think that they ever grew horns, except when they cast their mighty magics.
>As to whether Hsunchen humans are bestial humans or human beasts is just one
>of those lovely unanswerable questions that we must never look to resolve.
>
They are humans who believe themselves to be descended from beasts, and have some nifty magic. Various people will tell you great variety of stories of the origin of humanity, and I am not sure I believe any of them (especially those Brithini, and their stories that mean they are the only real human beings). Don't confuse myth and history.
>- --
>Greybeard
End of Glorantha Digest V1 #49
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