>While I agree in the need for Secret Cult Lore in some cases, I'm not sure if
such a thing should be really wide-spread.
From a PC/rules/Cults as we know them POV, it doesn't seem like it, I agree. But when I think about RW examples, for many cultures, religious mystery is power - or at least uniqueness. It is also very personal. Frex, at Ayre's Rock, we saw some Aboriginal holy places at a distance. They were considered mysterious; women never went to the men's site, men never went to the women's site. Tourists, who of course weren't allowed in either place, weren't even supposed to photograph them from a distance. Sure, anthropologists describe the basic facts about the rituals that took place there; they are sometimes talked about by the participants. The stories about Kangaroo Man and the Giant Dingo Women are sold in bookshops. But I seriously doubt that it is possible to understand the _mysteries_ of the Aboriginals' beliefs by casually talking to one or reading in a bookshop. Similar examples could be found in most religions.
I think the parallel hold is Gloranthan religions. Just because all the Orlanthi stories are known by everyone, and everyone can see the tatoos the boys get after initiation, doesn't mean that there are no _mysteries_ known only by the initiates. Or that a Pelorian could show up, spend two weeks with the Colymar, (read the 'cult description') and know just how everyone feels about their deities.
>the cyclical, help-you hurt-you nature of the Great Mother would
actually be common knowledge,
That would be, yes. But what about the rituals which allow one to change one's relationship to the Goddess? (Swapping the victim/child roles, frex.) Or even the extent, speed, and times at which the paths can be interchanged? This may be reflected in the bafflement Snorri suffers in trying to understand the mood changes in his wife! It's _Glorantha_. _Everything_ is magical and mysterious.
MS>-- and the notion of the "Ragnalar in every
Orlanthi" actually strikes me as the preachings of a true mystery cult,
the
secret teachings of the Orlanthi Mysterium Cult, rather than the stuff
of
High Holy Day festivities common to Orlanthi everywhere.
In my Glorantha, there is a public (community based) aspect to the Orlanth HHD, and a private one (men only). This holds true for all the lifepath cults.
Sure - the women know that Ragnalar can manifest in their husbands - but the men may have rituals where they learn to summon or supress Him. (On another level, this isn't the first aspect of Orlanth you present to the visiting Pelorian.) I think of the word "mystery" in this sense as meaning "ritual of connection ".
>The description of the holy days seems to imply that Lodril is the head of
this Pantheon with deities such as Yelm and Dayzatar having a peripheral
role.
Sure, read the cult description of Urox. Urox is associated with his mealy little brother - Orlanth, God of Puffy Little Clouds. But how does is work in Sartar?
My point is that Peloria has _lots_ of deities, many of whom are worshipped throughout the land, in many different cultures. Different cultures emphasize different dieties, and rank them in different hierarchies. But I think the Oslir Valley people (both urban Dara Happans and the rural farmers) as having one pantheon: Yelm/Lodril/Oria/Dendara and their associates. This pantheon is bimodal, but shares many myths, customs, language, rituals, etc. Call it two seperate ones if you like, but I still bet that if a Yelm priest shows up at a country Lodril temple, the Yelmie still has a lot of weight to throw around.
> Maybe the goddesses ratified the claim in the matriachal areas, but in
Dara Happa they don't give
two hoots about what the Goddesses think, I am afraid.
I didn't make my original point clearly. The goddesses chose Brightface as to rule over the male gods because he was the best of the lot; he was clever, had a knack for leadership, could organize activites, knew how to eat with a fork, etc. The point is that there was something inherent even in the ancient Brightface that made him suited to rule over the other men's gods - even the goddesses recognized it. (As John Cleese's Lancelot would have said, "It's in my idiom".) How BF got to the top is irrelevant; the point is, even _rural women_ recognize he is _at_ the top.
Pam
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