[Glorantha] Worshiping specific ancestors

I've been in a discussion on the MRQ forum, and would like to ask opinions here as it's getting quite technical. The question is concerning ancestor worship, specificaly the difference between worshiping ancestors genericaly and worshiping specific ancestors such as tribal founders.

My understanding of the cycle of birth and death is that the surface world and underworld are both mixed worlds, and that all mortals are mixed beings. Dead souls go to the udnerworld and lose their personal identity over 7 days, when they are judged and go to the part of the underworld reserved for them ( if they were good girls or boys).

This implies that such ancestors cannot be worshiped as individuals because they lose their individuality. (As an asside I think what this means is that don't just forget their individuality, they actualy have no individuality, but that's getting even more technical). They can only be contacted as part of the geenric host of ancestors, and are eventualy reincarnated.

But what happens to heroes who become immortal? My theory is that they do this by purifying themselves so that they are nolonger mixed beings. They are pure spirits, theist souls or essences and that's why they are immortal . They are now realy denizens of the appropriate otherworld, and are nolonger bound by the cycle of birth and death. Hence they are immortals. In other worlds mixed being and mortal are the same thing. An excelent example would be Theist saints, who we know work like this as they have ther own Nodes on the Essence plane.

However does this apply to specific ancestors contacted through ancestor worship? Is it actualy possible for ancestors who are still part of the cycle of birth and death to maintain individuality somehow? What happens if they are reincarnated? This possibility seems very problematic, and I don't see how it could work.

Simon Hibbs Received on Wed 14 Feb 2007 - 17:14:23 EET