From: Alex Ferguson (alex@dcs.gla.ac.uk)
Date: Fri 24 Jun 1994 - 00:55:48 EEST
Martin Crim:
> The God Learners went everywhere and called the local sun
> god by a single name--Yelm, maybe, but more likely Elmal, the
> Good Sun of the Orlanthi.
Yelm, apparently, from the "Jrusteli Monomyth" of GoG. This isn't so unreasonable, since they knew about the Evil Emperor Yelm second hand from the Orlanthi.
> Modern Gloranthans are
> the heirs of God Learner teaching, which presents an over-
> simplified mythology.
This is doubtless true, but there's No Help For It, is there? If the people now _believe_ the GLerised version, trying to deduce what they "should" believe is a somewhat thorny, not to say academic, question.
> Although Plentonius
> probably relied on older sources, my guess is he relied on
> inspiration both divine and mundane (that is, he made it up--and
> in magic, saying it right makes it so).
He essentially says so, in fact. Or as close as he could be expected to, without having his tongue nailed to the ground with a croquet hoop.
> Before I set a game in Peloria, though, I'd
> want to have the Lunar Book, to understand the current state of
> Solar mythology.
I think this course is wise, but I wouldn't expect lots of Solar Updates in the Masks... book. Trouble is, we know so dashed little about the Lunar religion, much less how it effects the Solar stuff. Even had it not affect Solar ideology one whit, knowing this is still not a big help in playing in modern Peloria, where one can't help but trip over Lunars at every turn.
> There is a place for extrapolation, in filling in the detail
> left unsaid.
Interpolation, surely. (Pedantic grin, swift withdrawal.)
> The elves of central
> Genertela clearly worship a god whom all agree is the same as
> Yelmalio, although the elves have a different name for him.
I'm agnostic on this point. I suspect that much (and maybe all) elf Elmal/Yelmalio/whoever worship is picked up on from friendly humans, and from there spreads to mildly malcontent elves. If there is a "native" elven winter sun cult, it may not be much like Yelmalio at all.
> The Pol Joni part of the table is clearly outdated, and
> anyway all members have to worship Orlanthi cults.
They do? I thought the only real qualification was to ride a horse, and pass an undescribed initiation test.
> Maybe there are Pol Joni Elmali?
One would certainly think so. Some of whom may have converted latterly to Yelmalio, perhaps.
> The Waha style Yelmalians live among the Impala and Sable
> tribes. Like almost all Praxians, they belong to a society in
> which shamanistic worship was predominant until recent times.
> Their ancestors worshiped the Praxian solar deity Sun Hawk, as
> well as other spirits of light.
Here, I'm not sure if "Yelmalion" is being used as a shorthand for the above pattern of worship, or if some short of conversion from such to a more unified, theistic style, possibly worshipping Yelmalio qua Yelmalio. The former sounds the more likely to me.
> This puts me firmly in the "different cults for different
> folks" camp, as if there were any doubt. But the cultists all
> believe they're worshiping the same god
I dunno about that, even. Elmal and Yelmalio worshippers don't appear to think so, at least.
> just as Sikhs and Quakers worship the same God.
They do?? Sez who? I must go ask some local Sikhs this...
Somebody quoting somebody quoting somebody quoting somebody quoting somebody quoting Martin Crim (could be about to) write(s):
>>>>>> Could people please limit their use of >'s, >>'s, and especially >>>>>> >>>'s? I've read some messages four times now. Why not >>>>>> summarize (fairly, if possible), or at least quote the minimum >>>>>> number of lines that you must?
Note that even this last is not without hazard: one can be accused of being "a journalism major" (some Quaint Colonialist Insult, I understand), if one does so.
Alex.
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