This is a major theory, not like the Lunar Parties or the Lunar/Islam parallelism.
I assume that human cultures (I am no socyologist, you know, but I studied
some manuals back at the University) are similar, in some respects, to the
human ages of an individual.
There are childish, young, adult, elder and ancient human cultures. I recall
someone stated that human cultures can be male or female, so I suppose I am
not completely mad. I am at least farther from the red line than Greg is and
I am content of this.
How can you define a human culture? By two dimensions, I assume.
Geography and Language.
If you can define a human aggregation by meaning of both a geographical
specification AND a linguistical one, you have a human culture, in my own
humble assumption.
e.g.: The British One is a culture, the English one is not: it has no
Geographical limitations because it is in England, in the USA, in Australia
etcetera.
e.g.: The Canadian One is not a culture, the USA are: they have a linguistic
unity (very debatable, but in broadest terms correct) while Canada has not.
So I say: when a culture is born, it is childish, then it becomes young and
so on. The passage requires ten times and more the ageing rate of a living
person, both in Glorantha and in the RW.
I say: Italy has an elder culture; it was born around 1000 a.d.; it is an
envious, slow, egoistical culture, very deep and wise but also decrepit in
some aspects and decadent; it envies younger cultures (such as the USA's
one) but is more wise than those ones.
China, probably, has an ancient culture. So has India and perhaps Ireland
(refferring to gaelic language, not to English): note that very ancient
cultures can resemble childish ones, the cicle could be, well, cyclical.
England has a culture slightly younger than the Italian one (XII century);
France slightly older (IX century).
Australia is a very young/childish culture (XVIII century).
Younger cultures are more pragmatical than elder ones, are more explorative,
more fun-searching and less inside-referred; have less history and
experience and so can make worse mistakes. They are more aggressive, also,
than elder ones.
Usually, if two are present in the same territory, the younger culture
crushes the elder one, but takes from the crushed some elements which make
it older and wiser.
In Glorantha? The Lunar Culture is adult (5 hundred years); the Sartarite is
younger (3 hundred years): the Lunars can beat the Sartarites, but can't
beat their culture.
The Dara Happan culture is old or ancient, but it has been largely replaced
by the Lunar one and so has disappeared as an independent entity.
The Heortland culture is childish (Malkioni and Orlanthi) so it is naive,
but very vital and the Lunars can't overcome it.
The Praxian culture is ancient and is being replaced by Lunar and Orlanthi
ways.
Please, note that cultures and armies are not always the same. The force of numbers, technology and magics are factors which influence the sheer force of sociological and cultural contrast, but cannot ignore it altogether.
I'd like comments. Do not nail me too soon.
Ciao
Gianfranco
End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #326
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