Re: Odal and personal property among the Orlanthi.

From: Lord Hennamono <lord_at_4dP7HW6u_JNVcnNIvmSsP2Qj2cT3Qm2X0f-7bchkFf8WdOK0m4nqaD9sE61_8HGIo23y672>
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:29:57 +0100


On 23/04/12 21:25, donald_at_ugw9uzIEJICXjQZi6ht1KAxC9YbfH_koFHL6ogHhLRr84I4mcKmxE9qgAKvB4mMEBsWYx425jTY7hjUZNfnrJ_I.yahoo.invalid wrote:
> Odal property law is potentially incredibly complex with all sorts of shared and joint
> ownership and possession.

I don't think it is that complex. We may see it as such because we are too hung up on modern concepts of property. Simply put odal is the property of the clan. The clan isn't the chief, it isn't the ring, it isn't some capitalist notion of a corporate entity. The clan is the people. It's like the loaf in the family breadbin - anyone can make a sandwich without seeking permission to use the bread because the bread belongs to all who live there. Of course, if you use up the bread that is selfish - which is one reason why the Orlanthi regard generosity as a major virtue.

So I think property acquired by a PC belongs to that PC unless tradition says otherwise (and tradition always trumps everything else, which is lawspeaker business) but expectation (also driven by tradition) dictates that the PC would offer most (not necessarily all) to the chief out of generosity and that the chief (again out of generosity) would then redistribute most (not necessarily all) to the rest of the clan.            

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