Re: Orlanthi bloodlines

From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_yeats.ucc.ie>
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 00:28:41 GMT


Good to see I'm not the only Highly-Paid Expert working hard for their money. Happy now, Trotsky? ;-) Jeff writes:

> The constant coercive threat that the
> bloodline will remove its protection and support from that member, leaving
> him/her alone and impoverished is the strongest incentive a member of a
> bloodline has to go along with the decisions of his family leaders. Beating
> up Hroddr the Otter for threatening his brother is infinitely less
> threatening than having the members of his family threaten to disassociate
> him from the bloodline.

That's true, but it's such a drastic threat that you'd hardly use it on a quotidian basis. Though in the sense that kin is so instinctively and pragmatically important to your typical clansbloke that he wouldn't _want_ to transgress against them, sure. If some other geezer from your clan comes and complains that Hroddr stole his lamb, then you cite ancient precedent of grazing rights that entitled him to do so, and shoo him away whilst stoutly defending Hroddr's honour. Then when you see Hroddr next you give him a boot up the arse and yell at him to mend his dodgy-yinkini-geezer light-fingered ways, before someone complains to the clan ring about him, brings a suit against the bloodline, raids, or otherwise makes real trouble.

> >>How often would a new bloodline be established?
> pm>Whenever irreconcilable differences occur. The two factions have
> >a huge punchup and go their separate ways.

> Usually they split up before there is any violence between bloodline
> members. Remember the Orlanthi believe that violence within the bloodline
> is a VERY BAD THING.

OTOH, if there is violence, perhaps breaking up the bloodline is seen as ameliorating the offence somewhat? "You fought against your kin!" "No kin of mine!!"

> Now given that most Orlanthi tend to marry women from outside of
> the clan

Is this not (at least supposedly) a legal requirement of marriage, or at least of some types of marriage? (Obviously it doesn't apply to sex or "cohabitation", and presumably not to bed-spouses.) Or am I taking "exogamous" too literally?

> Orlanthi society is often quasi-literate, with the Lhankhor Mhy lawspeakers
> keeping written records of geneologies and law claims.

Hrm, interesting. While I think that most lawspeakers must be literate (and half the cvlan fancies themself as a hearthside lawspeaker, sure), I reckon there's a prohibition about writing anything that's considered to be sacred. (Now they get to argue about what is or isn't sacred, natch...) Plus of course that being able to recite all this stuff from memory is a sort of Macho Lawspeaker thing.

Slainte,
Alex.


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