On 22/02/2012, at 8:47 PM, Richard Hayes wrote:
> Is it now pretty much settled that the Cannibal Cult, like the Basmoli and the Men and a Half, are part of the Praxian furniture without being part of the Waha/Eiritha tradition? If so, are they a variation on Found Child, a variation on Basmol or completely sui generis? Or is there no canonical version?
>
They are an extension (and perhaps abuse) of a ritual for dealing with ghosts.
And while I suggested that the Basmoli are probably more inclined to finding cannibalism a reasonable practice than others, I don't think they are the origin of the Cannibal cult at all - there is more or a correlation than a direct link between the two practices, just on the basis of the whole 'eating people is ok' thing (plus both being shamanic).
> I quite like the idea of a 'main' Cannibal Cult that is a lesser independent tribe, as well as smaller secret soceities of cannibals inside and/or exiled from other Praxian tribes.
It could work that way, though I think the societies of exiles thing is most common.
> I quite like other areas of Glorantha having their own 'cannibal cults' -- as an animist heresy, or within the practice of a predatory, carnivorous Hsunchen tribe (though the latter would probably only call it cannibalism if you were eating a fellow tribesman, because humans outside their tribe are of another race), or within a post-Hsunchen religion (like the Pendali).
The Cannibal Cult is an informal name for what should probably be called the Hungry Ghosts Spirit Practice, which can crop up just about anywhere. But they certainly don't have a monopoly on cannibalism. There are a whole bunch of other cannibal practices in Glorantha. The most common, albeit non-human, cannibal practice is probably Kygor Litor.
> Whilst this means that the Cannibals are okay for most of the year if they keep close to their haunted oases or other safe havens, what happens to them when they come out to hunt? (Perhaps especially if their cannibalistic rites take place on the same cult holy days each year)
Much the same as happens to anyone else when they leave their safe havens to hunt - usually not much, occasionally bad things. Prax is a dangerous place.
> Is David's practice a holdover from pre-Waha times, a different approach to the crisis that led Waha to set up the Survival Covenant, an anomalous development connected to the Survival Covenant myth, or a later deviation/innovation from the Praxian norm?
It is not mine. I'm just talking about something that has been part of Glorantha for ages, and I had no part in creating.
Cheers
David
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