>More seriously very little would be actually written. Why write when you
>have direct access to the spirit of the person who origionated the info?
>& their mother & hers etc. "Written in Darktounge" IMHO is shorthand for
>'extensivly illistrated in a manner likely to convey more to Uz than to
>other bodies'
I had had been thinking in these directions as well. I don't think any of the Elder Races need to be literate. Certainly the uz spend a lot of time raising their children, teaching them the correct ways for the family, the clan, etc. I'm not sure what they really need writing for, especially since they are usulaly shown as having a fairly crude material culture. Uz who become "urbanized" probably adopt the script of whatever area they live in, most likely Lunar. The only exception might be the Kingdom of Night, where literacy would have been an aid to uniting the kingdom, but those Argan Argar cultists will do anything.
I actually don't have anything against Mostali, Uz, Aldrayami, etc having written languages; I just don't think they are necessary, despite our literate 20th C. Western ideas. Why do trolls need written records? If they don't have them, access to Uz history (and law, etc) is in the hands of the trolls with access to the most ancestors -- Uzuz mothers who, no doubt, work their advantage as much as possible.
Peter Larsen
End of The Glorantha Digest V8 #76
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