[Glorantha] Re: String maps

[Chris Lemens]

Jamie sez:
> In "My Varied Glorantha" these string maps
> are sequences of string figures taught by elders.

That's not far off from my Glorantha.  The knot
language must have a whole lot of complexity to
communicate everything needed about a place.  So, I
see "knots" that require components other than one
piece of string to keep them comprehensible.  For
example, you might need to tie off two corners of one
of your string figures to its connecting rope, then
add weights to the bottom.  This might be why complex
Praxian knots often have feathers, stones, and sticks
in them.

>From an MGF perspective, it lets the narrator have
someone "mis-read" a knot at a critical juncture or
have the knot become ambiguous.

The most important knots (the distance to chaos knots,
for example) should be so simple that they cannot
become ambiguous.

So, for example, the knot for Fanzali and Hyena
Grasslands has to indicate:
(a) the name of the place (which will include the
knots for Fanzali, or at least "pathfinder", and
Hyena);
(b) an indication that it is a grassland, its size,
and its regularity (maybe all one knot, but probably a
combination);
(c) the distance to Chaos.

Take a piece of string and try to represent all of
that with the knots you know from Boy Scouts.  I can't
do it.  That said, I saw a bit on PBS about how the
Incas sent complex messages from town to town using
lengths of string ties to another rope (ar maybe a
stick).  Those did not seem like complex knots -- but
there sure were a lot of them.

> With a little imagination Praxian Knot
> Writing becomes a vibrant tradition in its
> own right as well as an aid to oral
> tradition; a method of navigation; and also
> an analogy and guide to Arachne Solara's web.

Right on!  Add in the many other uses, such as knots
tied in beast manes or tails to indicate ownership.


Chris Lemens

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