> "Uroth the Blue Ram is the primary form taken by Heler. He has shaggy blue
> wool, brass thunder hooves, and powerful horns. In this form, he leapt from
> mountaintop to mountaintop across all of Genertela. After each leap, he
> married a goddess and fathered sheep, clouds, or other creatures." (ST,
> p.85)
>
>
> Specific question: what might "marriage" have meant in this myth, and how
> might it have been contracted? This is before Heort, before the stranger's
> wedding, and possibly even before Ernalda and Orlanth were wed. It
> obviously
> wasn't a lifelong monogamous bond, but "marriage" makes it sound like it
> was
> more than a casual fling. Maybe Uroth is polygamous. Maybe these are term
> marriages. Maybe the marriage gives Uroth a claim on the children that he
> wouldn't have if there were no marriage.
This looks as though it is Heler before he was freed by Orlanth, so it would be outside the Orlanthi setting, so the Stranger's Marriage and even Orlanth and Ernalda would not apply.
Bear in mind that even for Orlanthi there are other sources of marriage rites than Orlanth and Ernalda. Many of the Storm Tribe married before Orlanth and Ernalda did, many married independently of Orlanth and Ernalda. In Heortling culture, the Orlanth Ernalda marriage is seen as the ideal marriage not the only form of marriage possible.
Don't forget, also, that there are many types of marriage described in the Orlanthi culture. There are Summer and Winter Brides and Year Marriages for instance. The Urothi marriage seems to be temporary and location specific. Perhaps he is married to many wives and returns to their mountains periodically. That way, he could be married to a particular mountain goddess when he is on her mountain and not at other times. So, he could have only one wife at a time depending on where he is. Normally, marriage is a legal contract to give some status on a union, so perhaps the marriage indicates that he is the father of his children and has kinship with them. Perhaps it is just a phrase so as not to shock the conservatives, so they do not think that Uroth fathered children outside marriage.
> If you were sucked into this quest
> in the role of one of the goddesses, what might it be like?
Well, you wuld have power over a certain area and would be wooed by a suitor taking the form of Uroth. Presumably he would have to do various things to woo you, each mountain goddess probably has a story of how Uroth wooed her and the tasks that he had to perform. Then there would be a marriage, then a tupping, then the husband would leave. This would be a HeroQuest to gain children without having a husband who stays around. Depending whether the HeroQuestor was willingly on the Quest or was sucked into it, she may want such a marriage or may have it forced on her. Perhaps the husband must perform some duties as her husband, perhaps he returns every so often, perhaps he must defeat a foe or provide a service to her. Perhaps their children will be magically powerful and have the properties of the actual children of the Myth.
> Related general question: is there a form of words which is
> required/expected
> in Heortling marriage? Something as simple as "Where you are master, there
> I
> will be mistress" would do just fine. Or is it just about having a feast
> and
> reciting the marriage contract in public? Or primarily about a marriage
> quest? I might have asked this before, but if you wanted to get married in
> a
> hurry -- one partner was going off to a battle or duel that might prove
> fatal
> -- what's the minimum ceremony/declaration/action that would form a valid
> marriage?
It would depend on the type of marriage and the people involved. There are probably rites set out for the Orlanth-Ernalda wedding and the Stranger's Wedding, these would involve promises and vows that are fairly straightforward. However, historically people could be married by jumping over a broomstick or be wed over a blacksmith's anvil with whatever vows they wanted. Certainly in times of war, a quick marriage may be convenient. At other times, a poor couple may just have a simple marriage based on Orlanth-Ernalda but without gift giving. Or, a poor couple may spend all the money they and their families have to have a big wedding with a feast and many vows and rituals.
I honestly don't think there is a simple answer. It depends on the people in question, what their situation is, who they worship and where they come from.
> (I'm aware of http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Rampart/1481/marriage.html,
> and
> I'm particularly interested in what you do when (a) you don't have time for
> a
> heroquest ritual marriage, and/or (b) the partners are some combination
> other
> than Orlanthi and Ernaldan: perhaps Heleri, Humakti, Vingan or Elmali.)
That article was written in response to the sickening example on the Issaries website of a coutship between two Heortlings - given as a normal Heortling marriage. I wanted something different to highlight the fact that there are other types of marriage. Most people would not marry through a HeroQuest or even a magical ceremony. However, if they did then there would be some additional benefits. The sample marriage types in the article show how marriage can be legitimised by a quest, even if the bride was abducted and married against her will, it could still be a legal marriage according to the cults of Orlanth.
In answer to the question, the Stranger's Marriage was created for Elmal and his bride, I believe, so that is always possible. But, I would think that each cult has its own form of marriage ceremony. Most Orlanthi/Ernaldan subcults use a form of Orlanth-Ernalda, but they may have different forms for different marriages. For instance, Urox married Eiritha using a completely different form of marriage that the Urox and Eirithan cults would have retained. Tada married one of the Storm Tribe using other rites. I can't remember all of the Storm Tribe and who they were married to, but there are many examples of non-Orlanth-Ernaldan marriages. Vingans would probably use a form of Orlanth-Ernalda, Heleri may also use this or other rites depending on who was to be married.
What about marriages involving the Esrolans? They have an enormous number of marriage rites, depending on which earth goddess married which god. If an Esrolan married a Heortling what rites would they use? Whatever they had available to them, I would think.
I hope that helps, although I am by no means knowledgeable about Orlanthi marriage.
Simon
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End of Glorantha Digest, Vol 11, Issue 35
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