Re: The term "Orlanthi"

From: TTrotsky_at_aol.com
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 13:53:17 EST


Gazza:

<< Now, I _thought_ that the term "Orlanthi" referred to "a racial subtype of people who worship the Storm pantheon" (more or less). To be specific, you can be an Orlanthi and worship (say) Ernalda, or Storm Bull, or Humakt, or (according to Sun County) even Yelmalio. >>

     Correct.  

<< However, the terms I'm seeing banded about ("Humakti", "Elmali", and so on) suggest to me that, in fact, you're only "Orlanthi" if you actually worship Orlanth as your primary deity. >>

     Also correct. The fact that the word can be used in these two quite different senses has lead in the past that the racial group should be termed 'Orlanthings' to reduce confusion, but it hasn't really caught on. Using the more specific racial term 'Heortling' is perhaps the most advisable way out of the conundrum unless you really do mean to include those out-of-the-way non-Heortling storm barbarians as well (and then you can say 'storm barbarians' :-)). But, as it stands, most people use the two meanings interchangeably - just as not all 'Lunars' (inhabitants of the Lunar Empire) necessarily have a lunar deity as their primary cult.

     Besides, all Orlanthi (the race) *do* worship Orlanth, if not necessarily as their favoured deity.

Forward the glorious Red Army!

     Trotsky


End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #211


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