The Galanini became Orlanthi
is that as of 1621, the inhabitants of what was once core Galini territory are now Malkioni. So the Galanini were not Orlanthi throughout much of their mythology, were not Orlanthi at the Dawn, became Orlanthi after contact with the World Council but lost their Orlanthi status and became Malkioni and remained so despite its association with the God Learners whom the Safelstrans have good reasons to hate. That to me is a culture change rather at odds with what is known about the rest of Glorantha.
The Praxians for example are not Orlanthi despite a long history with the Heortlings and shared elements in their mythology (Tada's daughters, Storm Bull/Urox, worship of Humakt).
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN ORLANTHI? If I understand Jeff right, an Orlanthi culture is one that adopts the worship of Orlanth and related mythology (such as the Lifebringer's Myth).
I however take the view that more is required. It is not enough to simply worship Orlanthi gods alongside one's own, one must also integrate the Orlanthi mythology at the basic religious level/pantheon worship ie accept Orlanth as the King of the Gods. The Galanini took the first step but I don't believe they took the second.
By way of comparison, I look at the societies of the Lunar Provinces. Most of them have accepted the Red Moon to the extent of banning Orlanth's worship but they have not thoroughly integrated her worship within her society - hence the Lunar Provinces are still Orlanthi.
On the other hand, the people of Safelster worship Orlanth today but Safelster as a whole is not an Orlanthi society.
WHAT DID THE GALANINI BELIEVE? The following statements are what I can find about religious worship in Ralios, in addition to the known statements about the Galanini (ie they were pony-riding "hsunchen" who worshipped Ehilm).
When the Seshnegi captured the land around the area [of Hrelar Amali - PHM], they added temples to Orlanth and Magasta. Later temples to all the greater deities were added, as well as many to lesser gods. RuneQuest Companion p9
Although this is an in voice statement by a Jonstown Sage rather than a statement of fact, I do find his belief that the Orlanthi temple at Hrelar Amali came from the Seshnegi and not the World Council to be highly significant.
Around 350, the [Second - PHM] Dari Alliance rose to strength in the centre of Ralios. This nation used many secrets learned from the distance Second Council, and though, no ally to Dorastor, the Alliance was at least a foe to the [Ralian - PHM] Hill Barbarians. Dorastor: Land of Doom p7
The hill barbarians are the Vustrians soon to become the Orlanthi of the eastern wilderness (Delela, Keanos and Saug). That the Dari Alliance and the hill barbarians hate each other isn't evidence that the Hill Barbarians aren't Galanini. But the distance between all three groups is unusual if the Galanini are enthusiastic adopters of World Council customs.
This is a typical speech given by the White Wizards of First Age Seshnela and Ralios. Revealed Mythologies p1 [...] Nysalor taught [...] the Ralians that thought is not the only reality; that their laws were not Eternal Truths; and that instinct was neither good or evil. Fortunate Succession p78
These two statements are pretty much strong support for Malkioni thought among the Ralians being present in the first age and it's not something that arrived with the Gbaji Wars/Autarchy/God Learners.
Now I can't claim 100% accuracy for these statements but in order to do the least violence to the sources, my best impression is as follows.
Now in the Dawn Age, the Galanini were fierce opponents of the Seshnegi and so the statement that the Seshnegi put temples to their Gods in the City of the Gods and that the Galanini didn't immediately tear these monstrosities down is a valid point. Also although the Seshnegi were pagans for a couple of centuries in the Dawn Age, the dating is extremely tight and verges on implausibility.
However the Jonstown Compendium extract doesn't say _when_ the Seshnegi erected the temples to Orlanth and Magasta. If they were added in the Storm Age by riverine people who would have to arrive from Seshnela (in a fashion similar to the Blue People of Pelanda) then the chronology becomes a lot more plausible. Capturing the lands around the area could refer to the flood. To support this I can add the following bit of early gloranthan lore:
One of the most famous followers of Vadrus in this period was a Kolati named Aerlit. He was assured fame when he spied Warera Triolini sunning herself on the shores the the Neliomi Sea. Rather than rape, he carried her away with love, as is befitting the sea women. Their child was Malkion [...] Wyrms Footprints p67.
Since Aerlit has the same consonantal form as Orlanth (the Dara Happan manglings of his name are worse), my opinion is that Aerlit is a form of Orlanth and that when the World Council reached the Galanini they recognized the storm god.
WHAT WERE THE GALANINI LIKE? The sources describe the Galanini as a nomadic society but I think that an error. In my opinion, the Galanini were the warrior aristocracy of the more diverse Enerali with most of the lowlanders favouring other gods such as Orlanth, Magasta, Ralia, Xentha, Flamal and Malkion. Some were town-dwellers, others riverine folk and still others dry farmers but they all worked for the benefit of the Ehilm worshipping Galanini.
When the World Council came, the Galanini kept their distance because the humans among them promoted the worship of Orlanth who was in their eyes a god of walkers and not the divine Ehilm. Some Galanini may have accepted Elmal but I don't think the majority did - he wouldn't have been as grand as Ehilm. The Lightbringer Missionaries may have been tolerated but I think the Galanini kept true to the myths of the risen Flamal at Hrelar Amali.
When the God Project is announced and completed, Estorex is in Ralios preaching to the Galanini with the hope of bringing them into the Nysaloran empire. He's preaching to the rulers first with the hope of reaching their inferiors later on. He never gets that chance.
WHAT ARKAT DID. The changes in Ralian society look too dramatic to me to be the result of peaceful conversion and I prefer to ascribe them to the acts of a Great Hero - Arkat.
Firstly Arkat must have razed Hrelar Amali. In doing so, he broke the power of the Galanini imposed religious order.
Secondly Arkat became an Orlanthi. Not in worshipping the Heortling God but worshipping the native Enerali deity - Aerlit. I presume he was Questing under the Felster and became involved with the Lady of the Lake. He then became as a champion of the walkers against the Galanin aristocrats and their Dorastran allies much to the disgust of his Seshnegi allies.
Arkat's conversion is wildly successful in mobilizing support from the lowlands in sweeping away the Galanini social order and expelling the nysalorans back to Kartolin. He is killed by Nysalor/Palangio and resurrected by Harmast. It is this act which makes Orlanth and not Ehilm the warrior god of Safelster. Arkat dedicates himself to Harmast's God further alienating his allies and the native cult of Aerlit was abandoned.
--Peter Metcalfe
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