Re: Make up new Gods, dang it!

From: donald_at_ekkpCygEdhgCfBz_6MRMWmZABoAdQZAhpCcn1VJl30N1jzJFCQdVfy6V5XxKvSHsfNb5_
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 15:04:17 GMT


In message <f7bb9f+gngn_at_eGroups.com> "ttrotsky2" writes:
>Donald Oddy:
>
>> My view is that devotees are specialists, they are extremely good
>> at one particular thing and don't do much else particularly well.
>> So if we think about a Heortling clan what jobs are important
>> enough to require that level of specialism? A grain priestess,
>> a farmer, a healer, a herder and maybe a warrior. That's a total
>> of five out 1200 - less than half of one percent.
>
>I said earlier that I thought the Heortlings probably have more
>devotees per head of population than the Pelorians. Having thought a
>bit more, I suspect I may have been wrong, and that the number may not
>be all that different (although, of course, there are far more
>initiates among the Heortlings). So my estimate for the typical
>Heortling clan is around 10% of the adults - many of whom, of course,
>would actually serve the tribal king. Which I think all adds up to
>about a 12-fold disagreement here.
>
>Which isn't to say you're wrong, of course, just to put a different
>perspective on things.

I have difficulty with the idea that a pre-industrial society should have anything like 10% of the adult population being specialists. I don't think productivity of essentials is anything like high enough for that. I'd expect the Lunar Empire to be not more than 5% and other cultures to be lower. And we know from OiD that many of those specialists (e.g. leaders and warriors) are initiates. A precise figure depends on how far above subsistance level Heortling society is. We know that the society as a whole is although some individuals and possibly some clans are not.

>> And yes the healer will neglect her children, if she has any, to
>> attend the sick and injured.
>
>I'm not so sure this would be so. For disciples certainly, but for a
>devotee its only a 50% time commitment. Sure, that's quite a lot, but
>it's not *that* bad, especially if you have a husband.

That's a minimum of 50% and I can see several young children taking up more than 50% of someone's waking hours. As I said the deficit will be taken up by other women in the extended family, rather than her husband. Still the devotee will be seen as strange because she puts healing others before her children. In that case it is probably less strange to us than the Orlanthi. We are used to women choosing to put their work before children.

-- 
Donald Oddy
http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/

           

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