[Glorantha] Psychopomps

[Donald R. Oddy]

In message <20061214125456.12509.qmail at web27213.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Jane Williams writes:

>> Donald Oddy points out
>> > Ty Kora Tek is the psychopomp for the Earth Tribe. After all the
>> > funeral rites are different for men and women (TR pg.87) so a
>> > different psychopomp is hardly surprising.
>> 
>> And Issaries is the one for the men, no? 
>
>No, he's the one for the Orlanthi. The whole culture
>of which Orlanth is King. Issaries is not a
>gender-specific deity, any more than Humakt is.

Actually I don't think it's anything like as clear cut as
this. It may have been back in the Godtime but in Heortling
culture there is a mixture of sometimes conflicting rituals
and beliefs. They won't even be the same from one clan to
the next and even bigger differences with non-Heortling
Orlanthi.

Typically I'd expect Humakt, Issaries and Ty Kora Tek to
be involved in the rituals particularly for an important
person. Then there is another problem - the shortage of 
Humakti and Issaries worshippers to perform the rituals
for the typical cottar. In a lot of cases I can see a Ty
Kora Tek initiate performing the ritual with an old sword 
and a staff filling the other roles.

>> Interesting interpretation. Of course, we don't really 
>> know what the Earth Tribe religion was like, do we? It 
>> only exists as a hold over in pieces incorporated into 
>> the Storm Tribe (mostly) and a bit in the Fire Tribe 
>
>Esrolia?

Possibly, although from various things Greg has said I get
the impression Esrolian culture is more a reconstruction of
what they think the Earth Tribe religion was before the men
mucked it up.

-- 
Donald Oddy
http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/