The question for me in this would be, 'what does initiation entail?'
Most clans have only two initiation ceremonies for young adults - men's and women's, that is Orlanth and Ernalda. Its a pantheon wide thing, and the initiands choose their subcult and aspect in the seasons *after* initiation.
For proper initiation, boys (lets stick with Orlanth for now) should receive a mythological and ritual grounding in *all* the public aspects of their god and his tribe, so in the months before they'd hear from godar of many different aspects and subcults.
In a pinch, initiation is the hero quest journey to meet Second Son and participate in 'I Fought We Won', so almost any adult Orlanthi could guide initiands through (with suitable penalties).
Surrounding initiation there will be a number of supporting quests and rituals unique to each clan, and some of these *may* require specialist guidance. However, for me these are the icing on the cake, and while necessary to become a fully rounded clansman, are not necessary to become an adult.
For me, its in the seasons after initiation, when the young men choose their personal god, that the godar's particular initiation skill becomes important.
Cheers
John
'Since that time,' Fergus said, 'no one dares to awaken him, but leaves him to wake up by himself.'
> Bryan asks:
>
> >For example, a god-talker who follows the Finnovan the Raider sub-
> >cult of the Orlanth-Adventurous aspect of Orlanth would have:
> >a) initiate to Orlanth?
> >b) Initiate to Orlanth adventurous?
> >c) Initiate to Finnovan?
>
> I'd guess c), but with the reminder that you could improvise
> the other two with (not all that large penalties). Optimally, for a
> full initiation, you'd want a priest or god-talker (or a plain
> devotee in a pinch) representing all three aspects (and I suppose
> people to stand in for as many subcults as you could manage wouldn't
> hurt). Each would lead the section where they deal with the qualities
> of their aspect. "First I will tell you of Orlanth in his youth..."
> It's not like clan initiations are being done without a lot of
> planning. A young man's final initiation into his subcult is probably
> a more private matter. That would, preferably, involve a godi from
> that specific subcult (or again, a devotee in a pinch). That's my two
> cents.
>
> Peter Larsen
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