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Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Thu, 17 Nov 1994, part 2
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From: John.Hughes@anu.edu.au (John P Hughes)
Subject: She Turned Me Into A Newtling
Message-ID: <199411170157.MAA25460@huxley.anu.edu.au>
Date: 17 Nov 94 23:57:32 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 6920
Catching up, catching up, catching up, catching up...
Henk has two longish pieces from me that he will send out as a
Digest. One is an essay on (Northern) Sartar flora and fauna,
the other my contribution to the gods and heroquests etc. debate.
Stay tuned...
THE NOVELS OF TONY HILLERMAN
I'd like to add my voice to Nick's recommendation concerning Tony
Hillerman. Nick didn't spell out the details, but Hillerman's work isn't
genre fantasy or sword&sorcery. HeÕs a whodunnit crime-writer whose
novels are set amongst the contemporary Navajo of SW United States,
with a cast of healers, witches, shamans and anthropologists. (One of
the major characters is both a cop and an apprentice shaman).
I'm usually not a whodunnit reader, but I've snapped these up. Great
for for anyone interested in shamanism and the effects of mythology in
everyday life, and ESPECIALLY recommended for anyone campaigning
in Prax or the Wastes. Titles include The Blessing Way, Coyote Waits,
Talking God, A Thief of Time, Skinwalkers, The Ghostway, The Dark
Wind, People of Darkness, Listening Woman, Dance Hall of the Dead
and The Fly on the Wall.
WEIGHING THE SAME AS A DUCK - WITCHES AND SOCIAL
CONTROL
Martin has raised some interesting points concerning the social
dynamics of 'witchcraft' and witchcraft accusations.
First a point in passing - MartinÕs citing of the Nuer as having (real)
sorcerers but (imaginary) witches isn't entirely correct. They have lots
of real witches as well. Perhaps Martin was thinking of the Azande,
who attribute EVERYTHING bad to witchcraft, and where witchcraft
accusations form an important part of social process. Certainly, he's
correct in the fact that if a society doesn't have enough evil, shadowy
magic-users, they'll invent them.
The Nuer, according to Evans-Pritchard's ethnographies, have several
types of witches ('tiet'), who are spell workers, diviners and
practitioners of leechcraft. 'Tiet gweni' are augurers who throw mussel
shells onto the concave surface of gourds.'Tiet me ngwet' practice love
magic, find runaway wives, and make herdsmen sleepy. 'Tiet me
ngwet' are women who remove sorcerous objects from the bodies of
the sick. Other sorts of tiet treat barren women, impotent men, and sick
calves. Lots of Pamaltelan potential here. Hostile witches who possess
the evil eye are known as 'peth' - these are probably the 'imaginary'
witches that Martin was referring to.
Nuer sorcerers are 'gwan kulagi', owners of a fetish, or 'gwan bila',
owners of a spirit.
Despite my pedantry, I think Martin has raised an important topic that
is usually overlooked - magic and social dynamics.
I always try to make magic mysterious and little understood, with lots
of exceptions, mysterious or spontaneous manifestations, and 'wild'
effects. None of this God Learnerish Bladesharp 6, 85% taka taka taka.
For example, strong emotions (especially group emotions) almost
always invoke some magical effect - that's what ceremonies and wyters
are all about.
Every Gloranthan society will have occasional manifestations of 'wild
magic' in a form that is not accepted or understood, and will have
stories about them. The power to use this 'wild magic', (or the claim
that one can use it) is one of the things that leads to accusations of
witchcraft. Interestingly, improper use of 'normal' magic can also be
'witchcraft', and not using magic at all can be 'witchcraft'!
(Here I'm using witchcraft in one of its the emic senses: that of anti-
social, improper magic. My apologies to Wiccans and shapers. )
Now this is an area alive with roleplaying possibilities, and not only
amongst the Doraddi. In Sartar, you can no longer kill someone for
being a Lunar, (well...) but you can certainly accuse them of hexing
herds, causing abortions or consorting with chaos. If a rival is becoming
too powerful, or a succession is disputed, a little malicious gossip and
lying can go a long way. Give your revenge fantasies some room to
move, and let human nature do the rest.
In this context, 'witches' are always evil. Incest, cannibalism,
nakedness, washing themselves... they engage in all sorts of unnatural
pursuits. If your village has fallen upon hard times - crop failures, broo
attacks, cattle barren, death and illness, Lunar tax collectors surviving -
there will always be someone ready to blame practitioners of 'wild
magic' (witches, sorcerers, Gorgorma priestesses etc. according to local
prejudice). They will start looking for someone to blame, and its
usually someone who they have a grudge against or who stands out as
an eccentric. Almost always such a person is from another clan, as
many tribal societies believe that witches cannot be effective against
close kin. (This also helps to stop families tearing each other apart -
remember Salem).
As Martin pointed out, in our world, accusations regarding witchcraft
or use of 'non-official' magics are often used for purposes of social
control. In a study conducted by Biedelman amongst the Kaguru of
Tanzania, those suspected or accused of witchcraft were;
1. economically successful persons (owners of large huts, herds or
gardens)
2. village chiefs and headmen
3. 'independent' wives whose husbands could not easily control them
4. non-conformists
5. women envious of their co-wives
6. people who had refused to meet important obligations to their kin.
In Glorantha, gossip and gentle hints (your barn is burnt down as the
entire village watches) will usually alert a person that they are
suspected of witchcraft. If they hang around (and survive) a variety of
formal measures might be taken against them, from trials by ordeal to
ritual torture and lynching. Owing to the somewhat circular logic
involved in Divination, the use of such spells may well confirm the
accusations (The worshippers believe it, the god responds according to
what the worshippers believe).
Sometimes people (including actual practitioners of magic) will use the
aura of 'witchcraft' to gain possessions, cower enemies, or increase
their social prestige and social control. "Don't upset me or I'll make
you sterile." Its a dangerous but sometimes rewarding strategy. A
powerful woman or man might be accused as a witch, but it would take
an equally powerful person to make such an accusation. For a person of
limited social means, malicious gossip and innuendo might achieve
the same effect. Witchcraft accusations are a strong force for conformity
and approved social behaviour.
SARTAR TRIBES - THE MISSING MABODER
The Maboder Tribe was not mentioned in the tribal population list
published last week, perhaps unconsciously perpetrating the sin of
omission first committed with the Sartar tribe map of TOTRM #6.
(They live east of Jonstown).
Now I know they've had a rough time lately, with the core of the tribe
being annihilated by the Telmori and then having Lunar colonia
taking the best of their lands, but some clans are still alive and kicking,
dammit!
Are they not Orlanthi? (I know they were Lunar allies - lets not confuse
the story). Do they not deserve our recognition and respect (at least as
long as it costs us nothing)? Are they not a valiant people whose story
has become a lesson for our children, a warning against the treachery of
the Moon and its wolf minions? (Shaddap - this is myth, not history).
Lets not ignore them, if only because of the many landless Maboder
who've become adventurers and outlaws, seeking help to reclaim their
ancient (well, moderately ancient) homeland from the (now) hated
Moonsters. (They've been beaten up by everyone, so they make great
PCs and NPCs.)
At a guess, I'd say only two or three small clans still survive in the
Mabodi uplands around the Indigo hills, the ones the Telmori couldn't
get to in a hurry. They live in less-fertile places the Lunars aren't
interested in. Let's say around 800 total. There would be relatively large
numbers (500+?) of Mabodi living amongst nearby tribes or as outlaws
or mercenaries. Their future is uncertain, but they remain a force to be
reckoned with.
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