Me>> Why don't the sub-clans just split up and call themselves normal
>> clans?
>I run across the term sub-clan from time to time, but I've never seen a
>good definition of it. (I believe they exist in Somalia, and a book on New
>Guinea pig farmers mentioned the term in passing.)
Regardless of their existance in the RW, I think the important question is whether they exist in Orlanthi society. Extrapolating from RW cultures is tricky given the sloppiness that can occur in terms (such as the million strong Ibo of Nigeria being described as a 'tribe').
>Since a clan is technically a group of people who claim a common ancestor,
>presumably a sub-clan is a group of bloodlines with some relationship, but
>smaller than the clan as a whole? Quite possibly not viable as a clan (i.e.
>can't afford to maintain priests to the essential deities, would have so
>few animals that they could be wiped out in a bad year, etc.).
But do the Orlanthi themselves recognize such a term? About the only comparable unit that I can think of would be the Frog Valley Steeds in Dorastor and that isn't recognized as having any special status.
>Bad King Urgrain did it (though this was before Heort). (Yes, I think Bad
>King Urgrain really did exist, though perhaps not all the stories about him
>are true.)
Personally when I hear of Bad Orlanthi Kings, the first name that comes into my mind is Macbeth...
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