<< Do you know of something called the Kolat in reference to Glorantha? A friend was asking me about it...>>
Kolat is the Orlanthi wind god, father of the wind spirits/sylphs. He is one of Orlanth's brothers, along with Storm Bull (desert hurricane), Humakt (now severed from his wind powers), Vadrus (bad, angry, wind) and the-one-who's- -we-don't-mention-any-more (Ragnaglar).
In typical Orlanthi society, a 'Kolating' is a shaman. Obviously, Orlanthi shamans deal with wind and air spirits a lot, hence the name - Kolat does not IMO have a divine cult with priests and the like, but rather a shamanic one like Hsunchen or ancestor worshippers. Kolatings aren't very common, and they don't really have anything like initiates - just the odd assistant shaman - so followers of Kolat form a very small proportion of the overall Orlanthi population. They live out in the wilds, go half-mad from eating wierd substances, jump about through flames, wear lots of talismans and generally act peculiar. Only the most backward Orlanthi clans will consider them at all normal, and the more civilised ones don't have them at all. But there's always times when a shaman is more useful than a priest, so they can still make a living of sorts.
Forward the glorious Red Army!
Trotsky
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #70
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