Dogs in Prax

From: Chris Lemens <chrislemens_at_odzInJdznPSR_LntzqptLPS5QkDiv2HDfNSuKk-FcrnJ0fNOm94V195xfphkcm5E>
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2010 06:47:47 -0700 (PDT)


Bryan Thexton asks:
> PS.  Praxian's have dogs?  Is there associated mythology of note to go along with that,

> or is it more one of those incidental things (as in: everything in Glorantha has mythology,
> but this would be around the level of common magic rather than a spirit practice)?

Yes, Praxians have dogs. Remember that their culture is a composite that Waha assembled from the fragments of many dead cultures that he never really lived in himself. Almost all of those fragmentary cultures had become hunter-gatherer cultures after the Devil wastes the Greatlands. There is still a strong component in Praxian life where some men worship Foundchild and some women worship Helpwoman. Worship of Dogbrother came with worship of Foundchild. But, if anything, Dogbrother fit better with herding than Foundchild did.

The material wealth of Praxians varies. Some are rich (for a Praxian) and some are poor (by anyone's standard). The poorest often do not have enough herd beasts to support themselves, so entrust their beasts to a wealthier patron family and specialize in hunting. Of course, some of those prefer the life style and pass it on to their children. Further, since marriage prospects in Praxian society depends on the bachelor capturing beasts as gifts to marriagable women, someone raised in a hunter family may not have the skills to capture enough beasts to woo any woman he wants. He may end up marrying the daughter of a hunter, who comes with no herd (or a small herd) of her own. So, you can see that there would be considerable social mobility, but also some tendency for families to engender more like themselves.

All of this works, of course. Hunter families swap fresh meat for milk, cheese, etc. Wealthier families want a few hunter families associated with them, because the fresh meat that the hunters bring in subsititute for diminishing their own herds. And when the hunting is lean, the wealthier families feed the hunters. It's a complex, but mutually beneficial, relationship. It can also be abused by the lazy or greedy, which gives rise to stories.

Chris Lemens

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