From: Michael Raaterova (michael.raaterova.7033@student.uu.se)
Date: Wed 24 Jul 1996 - 03:12:13 EEST
Mark wonders:
>Speaking of calendars, Saravan Peacock delurks (hi, welcome!) and mentions a
>Far Point Stead Calendar in "Questlines" (aargh, something else to track down
>after finally getting GRaOY and FS); if memory serves, didn't that wind up
>getting posted to the digest at some point -- the author being John Hughes?
> Maybe Michael Raaterova? If I'm right, does anyone remember what digest
>that appeared in by any chance?
(First some comments to Saravan on her initiation ideas: good stuff!)
The Far Point Stead Calendar in Questlines was written by John, with
nonimportant input from me. It first appeared on the digest a long time
ago, and it was available for ftp as a separate document (i don't know if
it still is).
I did some other stuff in Questlines partially applicable to the calendar,
namely some Far Point rituals.
Regarding ritual calendars i think David Dunham has one, but i might be
wrong. I have also posted substantial bits of my own (orlanthi) ritual
calendar on the digest. I don't remember which issues. My calendar is
eternally a work in progress, especially since i can't make up my mind
about the Gloranthan Year and its Rune Weeks and five seasons and holy
days.
The basic idea about my ritual calendar is that the year is constituted by
The big problem is to decide if the Gloranthan year consists of the usual
Another, intertwined, problem is whether the Runes of the calendar have
seasonal communal rituals and festivals, and that cult holy days also have
a societal function. Asrelia's HHD, frex, is traditionally the day to repay
debts and take loans and make economical agreements. Most communal rituals,
such as Walking the Boundaries, First Ploughing and the Tribal Moot, are
also holy days to some deity or other or even several deities.
four seasons (spring/sea; summer/fire; autumn/earth; winter/dark) and an
extra, non-RW, storm season, or if the gloranthan year follow the
traditional seasonal progression, but split up in five parts.
actual impact and actually shape the year or are just nifty, though
ultimately arbitrary, ways of keeping track of time.
If the gloranthan year have RW solstices and equinoxes, as Received Wisdom
seems to imply, i think the runic year is nothing more than a descriptive
system and we can work out the ritual calendar from RW examples. If the
five runic seasons actually have impact, we would probably have to create a
fifth seasonal phenomenon to go with the equinoxes and solstices.
Personally i find that it would be too much work figuring that one out - it
is after all a game setting and i want to keep it reasonably simple.
As i tend toward assuming that the runic calendar is descriptive and that
the gloranthan year is analoguous with the RW year, i offer the following
as food for thought:
For the orlanthi year i think there are six major communal festivals during
a year, the most important being the two New Year Sacred Time weeks around
the vernal equinox, and the Sacred Week centered on the autumnal equinox.
The other four are the week-long festival equivalents of imbolc, beltane,
lugnasad and samain. I don't think midsummer and midwinter are communal
festivals as the orlanthi are out warring or raiding during the summer, and
stay indoors during winter.
Sacred Time is of course sacred to all deities, as the world is forged
anew, but this is when Lhankor Mhy, Voria, Gustbran, Eurmal and Humakt
celebrate their HHDs. The beltane festival or Tree Week incorporates HHDs
of Odayla, Uleria and Heler. The lugnasad festival or Harvest Week has HHDs
of Elmal, the Grain Goddess and Barntar. It could also be the time for the
tribal moot. Sacred Week incorporates Ernalda's and Maran Gor's HHD, and is
another candidate for the tribal moot. The samain festival or Smallfire
Week is sacred to Mahome, Asrelia, Gustbran and Ty Kora Tek. Sometime
during the winter the Ghosting and Gagarth's Wild Hunt commences, lasting
until Orlanth defeats the darkness during his HHD. The imbolc Thunder Week
incorporates Orlanth's and Stormbull's HHD.
The festival weeks (by 'week' i don't mean precisely seven days - it can be
less or more depending on location of the festival and the culture) are the
time for markets, seasonal rituals and communal ceremonies. There are lots
of other communal ceremonies and rituals, like cult HDs, during the year,
but they tend to be much shorter, rarely lasting more than a day or a
night.
(Talking of cult HDs: i doubt that all deities have the same number of HDs.
Marginal deities may even have only one HD - their HHD. Central deities
like Ernalda and Orlanth could have up to ten HDs per year. This may seem
unfair to PCs belong to culturally marginal cults like Donandar and
Gustbran, but that's the way i run it.)
Even though midsummer and midwinter aren't major festivals, stead/communal
This is a tentative proposal with one major problem - it disregards most of
rituals are still performed during these times. The Wild Market (trading
with the uz of skyfall lake) takes place after midwinter.
the published stuff that is related to the Gloranthan Year, and it sucks
the Runic Calendar almost dry of life.
I will now prepare myself to be shot to pieces for this thorough Mikeing
(to coin a self-important verb on the verge of hubris) of the Gloranthan
calendar.
- -------
Michael Raaterova <Sig omitted on legal advise>
------------------------------
End of Glorantha Digest V3 #62
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