Stephen Martin:
> Nick Brooke mentioned worship of "Yelmalio" in Prax since the Second Age.
> May I suggest that the name of their deity was not Yelmalio, that this
> name is something they gained from Monrogh after he convinced them that
> his vision applied to them as well? Isolated as they were, and
> oft-invaded, I could believe the Praxian Yelmalions would no longer
> remember the true name of the deity they worshiped.
I was thinking about all this discussion on the relation between Elmal and
Yelmalio and here are my two cents (in fact, four) on the issue:
- Differences in language
In the RW you find SUn (English), SOLeil (French), SOL (Portuguese). All
this words meen the samething in different languages developed by different
peoples. Why shouldn't ELMal, YELM, YELMalio represent the same patern of
different - but similar and with the same root - words to designate the
same entity? And, Stephen, I'm certain that in Prax they don't say Elmal,
Yelm, or Yelmalio but have their own variation to call their god.
- Differences in cult (wether the different cults worship the sun in its
full power - light and eat - or in a limited way)
These could represent cultural differences resulting from different needs
to adapt to different environments. For instance, in Prax you don't need to
worship the 'eat' aspect of the sun since it is always warm. In colder
places it becomes very important. A RW example: once I read an explanation
to why european cristianity allowed people to drink alchoolic beverages -
these beverages are almost parasit free while water was contaminated most
of the time (before we were able to purify it). It was possible to musslins
to forbid alchoolic beverages because they had the abit of dinking tea and
cofee (boiled drinks) or non-alchoolic fermented drinks - in other words,
they had different ways to deal with the problem of contaminated waters.
Here we have a common problem - the need for safe drinks - different mores
to deal with it - alchool vs. other possibilities - resulting in opposite
religious practices.
- How the different sun cults relate
The first Portuguese to arrive in India in the 15th century thought that
Hindus and Budists were cristians given the apparent similarities in cult,
because translators mistakenly confirmed that idea, and because they
expected and wished to find cristians in India. Why wouldn't an Elmal
worshiper going to Prax be confused in the same maner and think that the
Yelmalio cultist were in fact Elmali? Or a Pelorian Yelmalio worshiper
mistake Elmal for Telmalio?
- Do the different sun cults have the same origin?
There are two possibilities: the historian and archeologist aproach could
demonstrate that maybe, maybe not. Te problem is that I doubt you can find
a cientific historian or archeologist in Glorantha.
The uncientific aproach would certainly be to try to find some
connections... if they are politicaly useful. Some RW examples: in the
middle ages most kings were able to demonstrate their direct linage to Adam
and Eve! The copt cristians in Etyopia demonstrated that their king -
called throughout the middle ages the Prest John - descended from the Queen
of Saba and the king Salomon. Ask a Macedonian nationalist and he will show
you is direct linage to the followers of Alexander the Great.
Conclusion: Lunars may try to demonstrate that all types of sun worship
have a common Dara Happan origin and that barbarian cults should search to
return to their original purity...
A completely different mather: in the end of October while I was outside of
Lisbon someone sent me a message asking me my Mini-Duck Pack (that is
hibernating for the time being). Unfortunatelly I deleted the message and
was unable to recover it. If you are reading this, please, contact me again
so I can answer your request.
Best,
Sergio Mascarenhas
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #231
WWW at http://rider.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html