FoHDs

From: Julian Lord <julian.lord_at_wanadoo.fr>
Date: Sat, 06 Oct 2001 14:16:06 +0200


Peter :

> Some practical examples:
>
> 1) Yelmalio is the God of Sun County and is worshipped by virtually
> all men (plus a few women and baboons) there. One would think then
> that his cult would be a prime example of slippage of theistic
> worship into a Great God of Fire if Alex's theory of mutable FoHD
> is true. But Yelmalio is still the same old god as he always has
> been and is even weaker than Elmal.
>
> 2) Elmal in the Heortlings. Since the Heortlings have no rival god
> to Elmal's element, what's to prevent his worshippers from engaging
> in divine slippage and identifying Elmal with the FoHD otherwise known
> as Yelm and thus producing a great god cult? Since this doesn't happen,
> not even in the Elmali clans, divine slippage and mutability of worship
> does not happen.
>
> 3) Heler among the Heortlings. A similar argument for Elmal applies.
> Why haven't the Orlanthi managed to produce a great god cult from Heler
> to rival Magastan cult among the merfolk? Nothing's stopping them
> and there are Helering clans (mostly on the Wenelian Coast).

I think that there's a confusion of issues here. Whether or not specific gods have or not actual links or identification with specific FoHDs is separate from the Great God-ification of the FoHDs themselves. Clearly, all major gods have links with FoHDs, but only some of these gods have great god cults. It is entirely possible that this is a consequence of history, and not an inevitable process of nature, or manifestation of FoHD-ness. If the FoHDs are like cosmic eggs, then the GGs and their cults are like cosmic chickens ; wondering which came first (are the cults of the GGs produced by the FoHDs or is it the other way round ?) may be enjoyable perhaps, but futile IMO.

That Yelmalio, Elmal, and Heler are not worshipped as GGs in HW era Glorantha is irrelevant anyway. Yelmalio is a son and servant of the GG Yelm anyway, and hardly a candidate for GG-hood because of this (unless Yelm were to be destroyed - - not merely killed - during the Hero Wars). Elmal, like Odayla, isn't the focus of worship for a great people. Heler is no longer the chief god of a major Gloranthan religion.

Julian Lord


End of The Glorantha Digest V8 #568


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