From: Richard, Jeff (Jeff.Richard@metrokc.gov)
Date: Mon 28 Sep 1998 - 23:07:41 EEST
Bryan Maloney wrote:
>To some extent, I would agree, however, I'm also prone to invoking vile
>monsters like the Godlearners or even the Lunars in explaining overly
>"extensive" cults. My way of looking at it was that there were about a
>gazillion different storm-related deities in the barbaric lands the
>Jrusteli came across. As part of their program to dominate the world via
>the Monomyth, they decided to invent or use a deity named "Orlanth" who
>would fold all these into a single cult. In addition, after the
>Godlearners got theirs, natural syncretism and assimilation occured, as you
>described.
Nope. The extensivity of Orlanth has nothing, and I repeat, nothing to do
with the Jrusteli. Three of Orlanth's four big aspects - king, storm god,
and warrior - were well established and recognized by the Vingkotlings.
That's during the Storm Age (or Lesser Darkness for you Jrusteli or Dara
Happans). Orlanth's farmer aspect was also probably well-established during
the Storm Age. Certainly Barntar was - and by some accounts that is the
same thing as Orlanth.
It was the Orlanthi themselves that traveled through the lands of Central
Glorantha encountering various people and teaching them of Orlanth. During
the Dawn, the "Lightbringer Missionaries" proved that the Ram god of the
Talastari is Orlanth. They proved to the Syllans that the great Sky Bear
father of Odalya the Hunter is none other than Orlanth the Grizzly. They
proved to the Ralians that Orlanth is the brother of Humath. And so on.
Don't mistake this for some kind of semantic exercise - in many cases, the
Theyalan missionaries proved these things by uttering the sacred words of
these peoples. The Talastari were amazed that the Orlanthi missionaries
knew parts of a sacred poem even though they had never encountered them
before. The missionaries then taught these Dawn Age folk how to sacrifice
to Orlanth and his tribe and how to see Elmal's light.
It is important to remember that this happened centuries before Arkat - let
alone the Jrusteli. Blame the God Learners for many things, but not
Orlanth.
Jeff
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