From: John Hughes (nysalor@primus.com.au)
Date: Sun 03 Sep 2000 - 15:12:14 EEST
David, lawspeaker of the Cake clan:
> Surely, if the clans are exogamous, there will be members of
> your bloodline that are part of other clans? I presume that you can
> be part of only one clan, but are part of the bloodline of both
> parents.
> Even if they are part of another clan, marryin' your cousins
> still ain't right.
[Once again, I'm using the shorthand of the base Heortling patrilineal,
patrilocal model: "Most Orlanthi clans are patriarchal clans, and trace
their bloodlines through the male side."]
'Part of' as in living with, yes, 'part of' as in members, no. Except in
exceptional circumstances, bloodline and clan membership doesn't change, and
it certainly doesn't change automatically on marriage. Heortlings
distinguish between 'family' and 'bloodline'. This is what ROTO says about
families:
"Family is an informal (non-legal, but practical) term which includes the
immediate relatives of an individual. It always includes his wife, parents,
siblings, and children. It often includes any uncles, aunts, or first
cousins who live within the same stead. Families have no official legal
standing, and are a matter of biology and affection rather than law and
custom."
However, your married sisters will certainly be living with husbands on
other tulas, and their children will be members of their father's bloodline.
If bloodline membership is patrilineal, its passed from father to son, and
wives retain their original clan and bloodline membership. If ego is of clan
A, and we're using the 'base' Heortling patrilineal model, then M[um] is
clan B, MM (Mother's Mother) may be clan C, and FM (Father's Mother.. ...
you get the picture) may be of clan D. Do this for a few generations and you
can see why women can be so effective as peaceweavers - they maintain the
bonds between different clans. By contrast, the cooperative and enduring
patrilineal and patrilocal bonds between brothers are emphasised, and this
is the strength of a Heortling bloodline across the generations.
In most RW patrilineal clans, lineage (bloodline) membership is normatively
patrilineal - you are of your Father's bloodline. The variations in
Heortling marriage patterns mean that some variation *must* exist, depending
on the marriage contract. The clan (and bloodline) identity of children will
be contracted before birth, or in the case of out-of-wedlock birth, belong
to the mother's bloodline. And yes, I agree there will prescriptions on
marrying close affinal kin.
As I've said in other postings, they will certainly be some flexibility in
bloodline eligibility, but if there is too much flexibility, then in several
generations the well defined patrilineal clan gets replaced by a rather
amorphous blob where everyone can claim bloodline membership with everyone
else, and location rather than descent becomes the prime indicator of
indentity. Since well-defined clan structures are central to most recent
writings, I have to assume that this doesn't happen, and despite the
plethora of variants listed in ROTO, these remain a minority in 'real-life'.
This discussion may seem to be getting esoteric, and the way ROTO presents
the many variations on Heortling kinship makes it seem somewhat daunting.
There are variants on everything! However, if we concentrate on
understanding the 'base model' of patrilocal, patrilineal clans, I think we
can gain insight into the Orlanthi worldview in ways that make for stronger
and more creatively challenging game play. Some of us (quite legitimately)
get our kicks from exploring the complexities of Glorantha for its own sake,
but the end result always has to be something that can be translated into
enjoyable game play. I think that to do that properly for kinship we have to
stop talking in the theoretical abstract and provide some concrete
descriptions of a number of different clans and steads in detail. TOTRM made
a good start! In so far that this is a fairly compelling project for me
personally and something I'd like to build on cooperatively, I can only say
stay tuned for future announcements/calls for help.
Cheers
John
___________________________________________
nysalor@primus.com.au John Hughes
johnp.hughes@dva.gov.au
- -.. a flying arrow, a crashing wave, night old ice,
a coiled snake, a bride's bed talk, a broken sword,
the play of bears, a king's son.
- Havamal 86.
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