> I don't think the fact that shamans can contact her
> proves she is a spirit. Shamans can contact Orlanth
> as Rain Man and Humakt as Sword Man. The HQ rules are
> pretty express that shamans can actually go to an
> otherworld (I can't recall whether it is the god plane
> or the hero plane, but logically, it must be the god
> plane) and have a "safe zone" created by the god that
> they worship with ecstatic rites as if it was a
> spirit.
I agree. As I said before, Inora is not a core aspect of Glorantha - unless your campaign takes place in the high Rockwoods. Her main role (as I see it) is as one of the opponents in the High of Gold Heroquest and as a source of ice powers for Kolatings and Praxian shamans. Although I am inclined to think she is a spirit (for nontextual reasons), I'd just go with whatever works best for your Glorantha.
> > The Praxian Yelmalio is a spirit called Sun Hawk.
> Is there a textual reference for this?
I don't have one, but I have been playing around with these sorts of concepts. For example, the citadel Balazarings worship a sky god they call Tharkantus (contrary to the great work that Oliver Bernuetz has done, I do not think that the Balazarings worship Tharkantus as a spirit). The Heortlings in Balazar call Tharkantus "Yelmalio" or the "Balazaring Yelmalio" - and Tharkantus would easily substitute for Yelmalio (or any other tyrannical son of the Evil Emperor) in ceremony and ritual. Tharkantus has many of the same geasa and gifts that the Sartarite Yelmalio has. However, there are many differences as well - they don't fight in a phalanx, they aren't disciplined, loyal fighters, and they don't have the same sexual taboos that the Sartarite Yelmalions have.
As a result, my Yelmalio-hating Heortlings are uncertain exactly how to treat the priests of Tharkantus. Even the Elmal worshipper (who thinks of Yelmalio as the Great Betrayer) is a little uncertain.
Herodotus is a great source for these sorts of ideas. For example, check out the description of Egyptian religion in Section 2.42 of the Histories:
"All [Egyptian cities] that have a temple of Zeus of Thebes or are of the Theban district sacrifice goats, but will not touch sheep. For no gods are worshipped by all Egyptians in common except Isis and Osiris, who they say is Dionysus; these are worshipped by all alike. Those who have a temple of Mendes1 or are of the Mendesian district sacrifice sheep, but will not touch goats. The Thebans, and those who by the Theban example will not touch sheep, give the following reason for their ordinance:[1] they say that Heracles wanted very much to see Zeus and that Zeus did not want to be seen by him, but that finally, when Heracles prayed, Zeus contrived to show himself displaying the head and wearing the fleece of a ram which he had flayed and beheaded. It is from this that the Egyptian images of Zeus have a ram's head; and in this, the Egyptians are imitated by the Ammonians, who are colonists from Egypt and Ethiopia and speak a language compounded of the tongues of both countries. It was from this, I think, that the Ammonians got their name, too; for the Egyptians call Zeus "Amon". The Thebans, then, consider rams sacred for this reason, and do not sacrifice them. But one day a year, at the festival of Zeus, they cut in pieces and flay a single ram and put the fleece on the image of Zeus, as in the story; then they bring an image of Heracles near it. Having done this, all that are at the temple mourn for the ram, and then bury it in a sacred coffin."
[1] The Greeks identified with Heracles an Egyptian god Shu (called at Thebes Chonsu-Neferhotep,aagathodaimôn).
Just food for thought!
Jeff
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