[Glorantha] Gunda

[Donald R. Oddy]

In message <20060222190411.7375.qmail at web25711.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Jane Williams writes:

>What we seem to have is hand-maidens of Odin/Wotan,
>who inspect the dead warriors and choose the good ones
>(for certain values of "good"), also linked to
>weaving, the fates, and ravens.
>
>The nearest analogue to Odin in Glorantha is probably
>Humakt, true. 

I'd go for Orlanth Allfather as the analogue myself but
the Valkyries do belong to Humakt.

>We can have Valkyries as immortal beings
>of some sort, serving Humakt. My guess would be that
>they judge each dead warrior's honour and if he
>passes, take him off to the appropriate place. Unless
>you want major inter-deity arguments, they had better
>stick to judging Humakti. And you don't normally see
>them because they never come onto the mundane plane.

Or they only appear to dying heros as the Norse ones do.

>Gunda's dad must have set an interesting trap to
>manage to rape one of these ladies. And she dropped
>her resulting sprog in the mortal world, somehow...

He was a berserk still standing having killed all his opponents
but dying from his wounds when she appeared. He does sound rather 
more Uroxi than Humatki though.

The mortal child tied her to the mundane world until it was born.

>That spear of Gunda's that we're told takes all the
>sins of the person killed - what would that have done
>in her mum's hands, used on a dying Humakti? Sounds to
>me like a way for a Valkyrie trying to cheat the
>selection process.

Depends what it classifies as a sin. A lot of what Humakti do
would be described as sins by ordinary folk. From a Humatki
viewpoint it might well take the responsility for killings
from the individual. It is thus a reward and a coward or liar
does not receive it's benefit.

>How one gets the Fates link into it I'm less sure.
>"Spinning and weaving the Fates of men". Possibly we
>don't?  Leaves the Gloranthan Valkyries as less deep
>and powerful than Norse ones, which is a shame.

Doesn't really fit with the Norse pantheon either. Since Odin
is subject to Fate it doesn't make sense for his handmaidens
to be spinning and weaving the Fates of men. Sounds like an
amalgamation of mythical figures to me.

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