Re: Bestiality in Prax?

From: Andrew Larsen <aelarsen_at_YzkfKWIy6yeT02bS5GvKLmCMSAOfsEdLUa5DbxQqo8rAFTFYglz528VFEN6-n9aAlPi>
Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:30:49 -0600


But I wonder if Praxians really see morokanth as a different race. Or to put it differently, I think race/species is a less important category than 'person' for them. The winners of the Survivor Contest are people/meat-eaters/worshippers of Waha, while the losers are animals, plant-eaters/children of Eiritha. I think that categorization is much stronger than humans vs non-humans in the Praxian worldview. So the morokanth are people, and the gern are animals. That doesn't mean that Sable Riders think of morokanth as just the same as them, but they don't think of Llama Riders as the same either. I think their view of world looks something like this, in order of descending identification:

My family/sept
My clan
My tribe
Other worshippers of Waha
The beasts of Eiritha
Everything else that is not Chaos
Chaos

Yes, the Sable Riders find the morokanth a little more distasteful than Llama Riders, but I don't think they see them as drastically Other the way our modern category of race/special would seem to suggest.

Andrew E. Larsen
On Feb 17, 2012, at 12:18 PM, bernuetz wrote:

> >it seems to make sense that if a morokanth copulates with a human, >the act would be considered 'normal sex' rather than bestiality, >whereas a human or morokanth copulating with a gern would qualify as >bestiality.
>
> I think both races would disapprove of any such couplings. The properly bipedal Praxians don't really like the Morocanth and vice versa.
>
> > The Storm Khan of the Block is the husband of the High >Priestess of Eiritha at the Paps, and in the early 16th century, the >High Priestess is a morokanth. Given the importance of fertility >rituals to the Praxians, it seems likely that these two copulate at >some point (in other words, it's not just a simple ceremony, but on >some level a genuine union).
>
> Stand-ins would be used in such cases. Instead of one sacred coupling you'd have two of them that would meet the religious needs without offending social mores.
>
> > And given the magical ecology of Glorantha, it seems to me >that a human/morokanth union would be fertile (although the >offspring might or might not be). So would the child follow the >mother or the father's race? I'm thinking the father's, just >because it seems more interesting (a morokanth mother giving birth >to a human baby). But perhaps it's only fertile if there's a ritual >involved.
>
> Doubt this would be possible without some major, and I mean really major mojo. I suspect any such offspring would be shunned by both races.
>
> > Given that culturally taboo actions in Glorantha often lead >to chaos, and given the powerful importance that Praxians attach to >the distinction between people and herd animals, this suggests that >for Praxians, bestiality might be considered a chaotic act, >something that gives rise to broo or its own special form of chaos. >Perhaps there is a chaotic spirit associated with bestiality, the >way that Urain is associated with kinslaying among the Sartarites.
>
> Probably more a case of wasting semen and an example of youthful indiscretion rather than a chaotic act. Young Red Feather can stick it where he wants he ain't going to produce any offspring unless he does it the proper way.
>
> > But what about the Cannibal Cult, which commits cannibalism >but is not 'objectively' chaotic? I think that perhaps normal >Praxians (that is, non-cannibal cultists) consider the Cannibals >chaotic. Or perhaps the Cannibal Cultists heroquested to establish >their practices as sanctioned by Waha and therefore not chaotic (I >seem to remember something about them claiming that Waha had allowed >their rituals, so perhaps they have a myth/quest for it).
>
> I'd think they hate and fear the Cannibal Cult but there's probably a religious/mythic reason for its existence that makes it acceptable to a degree. You wouldn't want your daughter marrying one but when you need their services you're very welcoming. Like most Orlanthi feel about followers of Urox. You need them occassionally but you want them gone as soon as possible.
>
> Exactly what their powers and abilities are I have no idea. Maybe sin eaters?
>
> Oliver
>
>

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