From: "Julian Lord" <jlord_at_free.fr>
>What we *do* know is that the cosmos was organised according
>to the rules of a primal Cosmic Duality (or Multiplicity) :
>cosmic sex is an attribute or devolution of this original
>separation and rejoining.
>
>> Do we? The implication is there but the actual mechanism is undefined
>> in everything I've read. KoS actually says that Grandfather and
>> Grandmother Mortal were created by *all* the gods which is nothing
>> like sexual reproduction, not even an enormous orgy.
>
>From one POV at least, it is *exactly* like an enormous orgy.
Not from the point of view of the mechanics of sexual reproduction. However big the orgy a baby is created by one sperm fertilising one egg.
>This is a universal cosmogonic activity best understood
>as cosmic sex.
>
>> Then the Red
>> Godess was created (or reborn) by seven heros
>
>... seven *mothers* ...
.. of both sexes ...
>> and Gbaji was created by
>> committee. So at the very least we know that there are alternatives to
>> sex in Glorantha.
>
>But the concept of not-sex is a Ulerian Mystery ...
>
>The difficulty here is that, in general, the original Cosmic Sex
>is unattainable, and there are only broken, Inner World small
>sexes available, particularly in people's limited understanding
>of what "sex" and "not-sex" are.
>
>Most people can't personally feel the activity of the daffodils
>as sexual, let alone Maker or Grower or other such beings.
I'm afraid you've lost me with this talk of "Cosmic Sex". Are you suggesting that all forms of reproduction are variations on sex? Even when the creatures are completely asexual?
>> Not necessarily, accidental pregnancy is generally a far more risky
>> thing that one occuring within the rules of the society.
>
>Don't accept this either : if there are Instinctive HQs, then they
>are part of the foundations of society/anthropology/biology,
>not outside the rules.
>
>The kind of biological control that modern Western society
>encourages, that is 99.9 % effective contraception, very
>effective abortion techniques, the interchangeability of
>gender rles, should be seen not as the norm,
>but as an historic mutation of our perceptions.
>
>Then again, the generally excellent health care and correspondingly
>high age expectancy are similar mutations.
>
>The point being, that accidental pregnancies are a normal
>feature of group survival, in Glorantha as in RW.
This depends on what precisely is meant by "accidental pregnancy". With the exception of modern Western society an accidental pregnancy is one which is outside the social rules of the culture. Such a pregnancy risks exclusion of the mother and child from the essential support of the father and other relatives. While today that sort of exclusion is seen as an unfair punishment for mother and child, in less technically advanced societies it a social selection mechanism to protect the group. That it dramatically increases the chances of mother or baby dying is not a problem for the society.
From: Trotsky <TTrotsky_at_blueyonder.co.uk>
>
>If its seriously being suggested that there is some way in which concepti=
>on in Glorantha is observably different than in the Real World, which flo=
>ws from considering conception as an 'instinctive heroquest', then, well,=
> run with it if it works for you, but all I can see is 'Not In My Glorant=
>ha' :-)
I was floating the idea that conception in Glorantha is fundamentally different from the Real World. It came from two angles of thought, firstly that the "humans" in Glorantha were not actually human at all (I forget who suggested that) and secondly that there are some "heroquests" which are performed by everyone - initiation sprang to mind for this. The instinctive heroquest idea wasn't what I had in mind at all although I'm happier with Greg's explanation of it as a heroquest with instinctive elements but also significant culturally dependant learnt elements.
I'm not convinced this is true, even IMG, but I can see interesting possibilities from a gaming point of view and the discussion has refined my ideas.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/ --__--__-- End of Glorantha Digest
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