[Glorantha] Esrolian Earth Tribe

[Jeff Richard]

Joerg -

>>>> Greg and I have written a lot on Esrolia recently - some of it will be
>>>> published in the Unfinished Work coming out next year.  Esrolian
>>>> culture is definitively not a "reconstruction of what they think the
>>>> Earth Tribe religion was before the men mucked it up."
>Now how is that different to the Heortlings after Lokamayadon, the EWF,
>and the Pharaoh on one side and Harmast, Alakoring and the Larnsti on the
>other?

I am afraid I do not understand your question.

>They are, however, not the rebellious, unruly, raid-your-neighbors type of
>highland Heortlings but rather those docile, well-behaved and taxable
>lowland people who have had cities and lords for way too long. In a
>certain sense, "There is always another way" and "Violence is always an
>option" seem to sound the same to Esrolians, since _the_ way is determined
>by the Grandmothers.

The Esrolians have a saying "Only Your Grandmother Can Make You Do Something."

>Which doesn't contradict the idea that the Esrolians believe that
>they have recreated the original Earth Tribe religion.
>Indeed - again not different from the modern Heortlings.

My objection is on the word "recreated".  The Esrolians don't think
they have recreated anything - nor do the Heortlings.  They worship
the gods and goddesses as the gods and goddesses wish.  They tell
their sacred stories of the gods and goddesses to those allowed to
hear those stories.  They haven't recreated anything - they are just
doing what the gods and goddesses have told them.

>The Esrolians do seem to encourage other husband cults more than the
>Orlanthi - (Y)Elmali, Helerings, worshippers of Vestkarthen, Argan Argar
>and lots of lesser ones.

Not Yelmalio!  The Esrolians like Elmal, but Yelmalio is a Bad
Husband.  And his worshipers are always eventually screwed by the
Grandmothers.

>I think that the more sophisticated Grandmothers will see that they
>reconstructed not the original Earth Tribe religion but the time of
>Orlanth in Exile.

Again, they haven't reconstructed anything.  They've been sacrificing
to the goddesses and gods of Esrolia since the Dawn (and Imarja longer
than that).  There is nothing to reconstruct.

BTW, there is absolutely nothing to say that social and religious
systems should correlate.  For example, the Greek pantheon was still a
royal court even under Athenian democracy and the pastoralist's reed
hut was still prominent in Mesopotamian rituals well into the Iron
Age.  Orlanth is still Orlanth in Esrolia - even if his cult is not as
popular in Esrolia as it is amongst the Heortlings.  Then again,
Dionysos was still recognized in Rome - even if his cult was severely
restricted by the Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus.

Jeff