Wyters and animists

From: mdawson_at_...
Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2001 22:18:34 -0000

> At 10:34 1/03/01 +0000, you wrote:
>

>
> Ancestors are worshipped as a group by the Heortlings. They don't
> have normally have any individual identity (TR p94-95). When the
> Orlanthi worship their ancestors, all ancestors are worshipped
> together. That said, if a bloodline ancestor was suitably heroic,
> then yes he could be a wyter for his descendants. But it isn't
> an everyday occurence.
>

I'm very curious what the paralells to wyters are among animists. Is it just an integrated spirit whose fetish is a huge area or a group of people? That seems pretty kludgy.

Or to animists just use something that isn't like a wyter? Lots of friendly little spirits that come and talk to the shaman, rather than a single large spirit who looks after the whole clan and speaks through the chief?

Mike