I'd like to say that as a Highly-Paid Expert, I am happy to answer "reasonable" Orlanthi questions. Feel free and ask away.
>>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.
This is correct. Nonetheless, every Orlanthi "understands" that screwing over close kin (i.e. members of your bloodline) threatens just that. Few who aren't psychotic take such a risk.
>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.
This is exactly how it works.
>> 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!!"
Sure, but you have the basis of a very nasty feud and possibly nasty magical ramifications as well.
>> 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?
Each Orlanthi clan is likely to have its own laws regulating marriage. A new clan may well relax the exogamous requirement - particularly when the marriage involves people who recently joined the clan. More established clans with a stronger sense of traditional idenity are likely to take the exogamous requirement very literally and often have lists of prohibited and favored clans.
>> 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.
Many lawspeakers are literate - not necessarily most. The Orlanthi are not illiterate, they are quasi-literate. Many sagas, geneologies, legal precedents are written down BUT written in a fashion that is easy to memorize and orally recite.
As for sacred knowledge, especially initiatory secrets - these are NOT written down, nor even communicated to non-initiates. They are secrets.
Jeff
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