GRoY, Orlanthi from Carlson, Pam on 1997-01-21 (Glorantha Digest Vol 04)

From: Carlson, Pam <carlsonp_at_wdni.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1997 11:28:00 -0800

First, some GROY fluff, then I'll get to Stephen Leuck's Orlanthi religious hierarchy questions - succinctly, I hope.

Stephen Martin:
> But according to this other info, GRoY was found or brought out of Alkoth
after Sheng Seleris was slain and the nomads finally driven out. It may be that Yelmgatha used GRoY to write FS, but that it was not made generally public until the Fifth Wane.

Whoa! I thought FS was written LONG AFTER Yelmgatha died, that is, in 1500 something. Yelmgatha supposedly found GRoY in Alkoth, which makes sense because it was one of the few places in DH that had NOT been conquered by the Carmanians. One could presume that Alkoth had been cut off from the rest of DH by the Carmanians, so GRoY may have been new to Yelmgatha, but maybe not to the Alkothi.

Yelmgatha: "I have braved the Spolite hordes to travel here, for the Almighty Godfather has given me a Golden Vision. In your ancient vaults is a Tome of Truth, which illuminates the creation of the Rich Land by the Emperor of the Universe!

Alkothi Librarian: "Ah. Our Shargash collection is in these six buildings..."

YG: "No! The Emperor! Yelm! I'm looking for the 'Glorious Re-Ascent of Yelm'".

AL: "That old thing? You want that? It's full of the squeamish rantings of some boot-licker from Raibanth. Doesn't even have any of the IMPORTANT events in it - the Tearing of Kazkurtem, the Triumph of the Dead. In fact, the noble decendants of Eusibus have been clamouring for centuries to have it burned..."

YG: "No! I must have it to restore the Justice of the Emperor! Then we can unite our ancient lands and drive the foul Spolites from our land!"

AL, (muttering): "All you need up there are some decent warriors and a little spine. You Northerners spend too much time wringing your hands and begging the sky for stuff. You want inspiration? Go a few rounds with the spirits in the War Enclosure. They'll put you right..."

YG: "Er, no, thank you. I think the book will do just fine for now..."

But I think you are right that Alkoth would also be a source of information in the restoration after Sheng.

Stephen L asks why, with so much ofthe population being initiates, the Orlanthi are not a theocracy.
The briefest answer lies in two themes largely explored only at RQ/Gloranthan cons and on the digest:

magic = physics in Glorantha
pantheon initiation
Initiates have expended point of POW to join the entire pantheon - Ernalda, Orlanth, Bartar, Issaries, etc. The POW is their link to the magic powers of their world, a prerequisite to funtion as a member of society in an inherently magical world. They must be initiates to participate in clan fertility rituals, sacred time rituals, harvest rituals, etc. Don't think of "initiates" as an elite few, steeped in powerful and arcane knowledge. Inititates are farmers, shepherds, warriors, traders, mothers, healers, etc.

Furthermore, Sartarite Orlanthi do not form tight religious or secuar hierarchies. If a priest from outside the clan or town shows up, they will get repect and hospitality, but never blind obedience. Remember - "No one can make you do anything." Loyalty is usually directed only to kin and clan members. Also, acolytes and priests are often "ordained" by their own clans. Therefore, little concept of external religious authority exists.

Other Orlanthi have a more hierarchical secular structure, the Aolean Heortlings and the Naskori in the West, for example. These may also have a more hierarchical religious structure, but you can bet that it's closely tied to the secular hierarchy. Joerg Baumgartner has done a lot of work on the Heortlings - he can give you more info.

The closest thing to "lay members", are members of a pantheon who participate in rituals that are lead by priests or acolytes of gods the worshippers do not call on often. For examples, if a clan decided they were in really desperate straits and needed to help some wandering Storm Bull specialists perform a big ceremony to smite choas better, they would act as players in the ritual, taking minor roles (perhaps playing the endangered children of Storm Bull, while the Bullies took the active roles), and providing MP to the god. These folk may otherwise never directly worship SB, as they don't know his specific rituals very well.

Confused?

Pam