From: Alex Ferguson (abf@cs.ucc.ie)
Date: Tue 25 Jan 2000 - 22:37:29 EET
Nick Brooke spoke barbarously:
> All of the plants and wild animals on the
> "tula" belong to the clan (this is the only game-compatible interpretation
> of "odal property" I have been able to come up with).
You mean that it's problematic in some game sense to have some broader
meaning of odal property? In particular, say, domestic animals and
produce? I'm not sure I see the problem, though I admit I've never
run a game in which 'domestic economics' was a strong thread. (I
doubt in such games the distinction between 'that apple is my property'
and 'that apple is mine to scoff by established custom and tradition'
would be exactly unbridgable, however.)
> The "stead" is a building, usually fairly large and sprawling, in which an
> extended Orlanthi family lives. Most clans I know are composed of several
> steads, which can mean "households", "families" or "bloodlines" by
> association.
In our clan, each bloodline (or the larger ones, at least) corresponds
to a number of different steads. I'm not sure how typical this is,
though. Perhaps out steads tend to the itsy-bitsy side, or maybe
our bloodlines are larger than is sometimes the case. Some references
I've seen imply that the model is something like the Irish derbhfine,
a four generation kinship group, whereas in other cases they seem
more like 'perpetual bloodlines', perhaps bordering on being sub-clans.
> Most Sartarite clans nowadays (1620s) do not include worshippers of Elmal:
> most of them left in the last half of the sixteenth century to resettle the
> Sun Dome Temple in Dragon Pass (and avoid a terrible civil war between
> Elmali and Orlanthi).
Though conversely if they _haven't_, they're proportionately more
likely to be 'Elmali' rather than 'Yelmalians'.
> Greg nowadays pretends that to Orlanthi Yelm is more the "Evil Emperor" than
> the "Sun God", but I think he's fooling nobody.
This was certainly the _original_ 'casting' in the myths, I assume there's
little dispute about that. Ever since they learned about 'Yelm qua Yelm'
in the Dawn Age, the degree to which they're identified him with the
sun (touchy-feely 1st Council stuff), and to what degree they're happier
to emphasise the Evil Emperor part ('Wipe them all out...') has, I'd
imagine, varied considerably. And to a degree I'm sure it varies with
local conditions: if you _are_ an Elmali clan, the answer is pretty
clear; if you're on good terms with your Elmali neighbours, then
doubtless some formula constrasting the Winter Sun, valiant defender
against the Dark, with the Oppressive, harsh summer sun (with its
evil, harshly-bland MOR Vale-of-Leven-originated soundtrack...). If
you have no sun-worshippers in your tribe, or among your neighbours,
or if you hate 'em utterly, then your mythology can be as rude about
them as you like...
> "Weaponthane patrols" are not regular, IMO: they'd be sent out if there was
> a reason to go.
Only when their hunters have been encroaching on your land, or their
weaponthanes have been beating up your hunters, or you think they're
about to raid you, or you're about to raid them, or there are Lunar
patrols in the area, or incursions of Darkness or Chaos, or... Pretty
much all the time, really. Though certainly not constantly: I don't
know about your clan, but we don't have anything like enough weaponthanes
for that sort of stuff. But if we didn't send them off fairly often
to lour dramatically at passing goats and other such threats to clanic
security, our supplies of beer (and worse, mead: do you know how
expensive that is to buy, at this time of year!) would be even more
on the slide than they are...
> Or else the ruling clan in a tribe.
I think that no[*] Orlanthi tribe has a ruling clan in a strict sense
(better not say that in Latin). I trust you have in mind something
on the lines of, the king's clan, or the clan which customarily/often
supplies said king...
Cheers,
Alex.
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