Australian Flora and Fauna

From: David Cake <davidc_at_cs.uwa.edu.au>
Date: Fri, 30 Dec 1994 16:19:14 +0800

>I like to think Australia Fauna (& Flora - the ubiquitous Vegemite plant) might
>be found on mainland Pamaltela too, as well as on an island somewheres. The
>Left Hand tribes of Tarien and Jolar seem to hunt kangaroos and such like
>(see TotRM #11).

        I think this, and other details, are why I have never really liked the Left Hand Path guys as presented in TOTRM #11 - they are too obviously transplanted Australian Aboriginals. They are surrounded by Australian Fauna that we have never heard of in Pamaltela before, they are presented in some places as being of basically the same religion as the Doraddi but they are much, much more totemistic and less theistic than the Doraddi (as Australian Aboriginals are, generally). And they have few of those details that we expect in RQ cultures that distinguish them from similar real world cultures. The Doraddi are similar to savannah Africans, but have many interesting differences - the Kresh, the Jmije, the attitude to the elderly, the Ring of Pamalt concept, the tame Sikkanos outlaws. The few major cultural differences seem to be those that they inherited from the Doraddi. Basically the Aranjara are too much like Pitjanjara for my taste, and seem to have very little in common with the Doraddi that they supposedly sprung from.

        Well, glad I got that of my chest. Just something that I have been feeling for some time. I have to admit that having worked on some Pamaltelan stuff of my own, I am probably biased towards the dominant Doraddi culture, that I have put quite a bit of thought into. But I have also been interested in Australian Aboriginal myth and culture in a roleplaying context for some time - and while I thought the TOTRM #11 stuff was a good attempt at that, it was too obvious a transplant for my RQ sensibilities.

        Cheers
                Dave



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