Vinga's a special case, though, straddling the line between male and female in Orlanthi society. One would expect her to be odd in marriage as well. Regular men (or male gods) ought to be married. So, it's an Orlanthi "all," with the bulk of the deviants being Death cultists (in my opinion) with the odd "unmarriageable" type (Eurmali come to mind).
> Indeed
>I expect there are myths about one who Ernalda keeps trying to marry
>off without success (if not there should be).
Heh. Indeed.
>Of course given the various possibilites of Orlanthi marriage that
>doesn't mean the commitment of a permanent relationship - I can imagine
>there are times when a short marriage occurs primarily to give the
>woman a child. Maybe one of the Thunder Brothers is the mythical origin
>of that practice.
Indeed, again. Although I think the short marriages come from Orlanth, perhaps when he was Niskis. However, short marriages, are, I suspect, mostly the province of the young and restless, or done (as you point out) to provide legitimate children. Most people will be in a long-term marriage at some point in their lives, and even widowers will probably be expected to remarry (because of that likely female majority). Someone who really doesn't want to marry, male or female, can do it, but there will be societal pressure (No One Can Make You Do Anything, but Arguing with Granny Is a Bad Idea).
Peter Larsen
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