What crafter deities are there in Glorantha?

[Brootse]

I know only of the smith god Lodril, and Humakt has bladesmithing and armoring as cult skills, and I have a vague recollection of some East Islander barber god, but are there any others?

[Akhôrahil]

Gustbran, for smithing. Minlister, for brewing. Ernalda does a lot of weaving. Flintnail in Pavis.

Edited October 3, 2019 by Akhôrahil

[Jeff]

23 minutes ago, Brootse said:

I know only of the smith god Lodril, and Humakt has bladesmithing and armoring as cult skills, and I have a vague recollection of some East Islander barber god, but are there any others?

Gustbran is the god of Bronze-working and Pottery. Among the Triolini, Magasta is their crafting god (!). Dormal functions as a carpenter god for sailors. Minlister is the god of brewing beer and wine. Ernalda and the Grain Goddesses are the patrons of some crafts, and Lodril is the patron of nearly all crafts. Mahome is a patron of cooking. Iphigios is a god of sculpture.

[Brootse]

10 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

Gustbran, for smithing. Minlister, for brewing. Ernalda does a lot of weaving. Flintnail in Pavis.

 

2 minutes ago, Jeff said:

Gustbran is the god of Bronze-working and Pottery. Among the Triolini, Magasta is their crafting god (!). Dormal functions as a carpenter god for sailors. Minlister is the god of brewing beer and wine. Ernalda and the Grain Goddesses are the patrons of some crafts, and Lodril is the patron of nearly all crafts. Mahome is a patron of cooking. Iphigios is a god of sculpture.

Thanks! Had mixed Lodril and Gustbran, and forgotten about Minlister and Flintnail. And Pavis is a mason god too. By the way, how do Merfolk craft their metal items?

[Bill the barbarian]

38 minutes ago, Brootse said:

I know only of the smith god Lodril, and Humakt has bladesmithing and armoring as cult skills, and I have a vague recollection of some East Islander barber god, but are there any others?

Flintnail from the dwarfs of Pavis is a smith saint, perhaps? What about Piku from Apple Lane and his mysterious smith cult Third Eye Blue?

[Akhôrahil]

Just now, Bill the barbarian said:

Flintnail from the dwarfs of Pavis is a smith saint, perhaps? What about Piku from Apple Lane and his mysterious smith cult Third Eye Blue?

I don't think we know what Third Eye Blue worships.

[Jeff]

1 minute ago, Brootse said:

 

Thanks! Had mixed Lodril and Gustbran, and forgotten about Minlister and Flintnail. And Pavis is a mason god too. By the way, how do Merfolk craft their metal items?

With magic - they sing it into shape if I recall.

[Brootse]

Just now, Bill the barbarian said:

Flintnail from the dwarfs of Pavis is a smith saint, perhaps? What about Piku from Apple Lane and his mysterious smith cult Third Eye Blue?

Weren't the Third Blue Eye a cimmerianish folk up north west?

[Bill the barbarian]

1 minute ago, Brootse said:

Weren't the Third Blue Eye a cimmerianish folk up north west?

Have not heard that one but it sounds interesting. For some reason I always thought they came from Pamalt.

[Akhôrahil]

4 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said:

Have not heard that one but it sounds interesting. For some reason I always thought they came from Pamalt.

IIRC, they're Westerners, hunted by the Dwarves for stealing the... let's call it the Riddle of Iron, then. 😉

https://sixages.fandom.com/wiki/Third_Eye_Blue_Encounter

Edited October 3, 2019 by Akhôrahil

[Joerg]

Lodril / Turos and his sons and daughters are the workers and crafters throughout Peloria. I am less certain about Veskarthen, although he did create the Obsidian Palace when chained by Argan Argar.

In Pamaltela, Balumbasta appears to occupy a crafter role, too, although there may have been more when the Doraddi still had their urban culture at Tishamto. But then, there is a good chance for these specialist crafters to have been demigods. Perhaps even Agitorani.

Orlanth the Everyman has his crafter aspects/sons/subcults/heroes/whatever. Orstan the Carpenter is the Dureving master craftsman, and continues to be attributed into Vingkotling times.

Mostal may receive some worship or reveration by humans, even outside of Slon. E.g. among the masons of Sartar. (There is Flintnail of Pavis, of course.)

Drona(r) and his offspring likely provide a similar role in Malkioni lore as founders of the jobs, along with Kadenit the Builder and Tadenit the Scribe for the white-collar crafts.

Kralorela has the sons of Aptanace the Sage as occupational patron deities, and probably two or three independently emerged sets of occupation patrons from other regions than Hanjan and Wanzow, too.

Minor occupational deities should be just the thing the people of Maslo might worship, as they shun worship of the greater entities.

 

The mysterious craftsman and the incredible artificer are two mythical memes that find their expression in many a myth, sometimes combined in a single person (e.g. Wayland), sometimes kept apart. The Volcano god as smith or just maker of stone blades is fairly widespread in myths, too. Smelting metal from non-metallic ores is a mysterious process beyond the baking of clay in already elaborate kilns.

 

[Sir_Godspeed]

To elaborate on the crafter-goddesses, one of Ernalda's most important pieces of regalia is her loom, probably making her the goddess of weaving and spinning as well (one of her divine names is literally "the Spinner", which might be literal or allegorical, or both, as often is the case). I don't know about tailoring, but if the Orlanthi has any god dedicated to this, I'd suspect it'd be Ernalda, or one of her many daughters/aspects.

Ernalda might also be the goddess of basket-weaving, not only because it's another form of weaving, but because of its social role. However, since baskets are often associated specifically with food-keeping in Orlanthi myths, it's also likely that it's associated with Esrola.

Mahome is the goddess of the hearth, which makes her the goddess of "cooking", which I realize might not entirely fall under the semantic field of "crafting" but oh well. More pertinently, she should be the goddess of actually making and maintaning a hearth, so there's that.

In Peloria, Oria occupies much of the same roles as Esrola and possibly Erlanda as well, with some of her regalia being a basket (basket-weaving) and a needle (cloth-working, although whether only covering sewing or also covering spinning, weaving, tailoring, etc. I don't know).

In Pamaltela among the Doraddi, Aleshmara, "the Earth Witch", another version of the Great Earth Goddess archetype along Ernalda/Esrola, Oria, etc. (to the best of my knowledge), is the goddess of weaving, building huts (which I understand to be made of sticks, twigs and long grasses, unless they're adobe huts which is entirely possible) and... pottery? I think?

Aside from Dormal as the open-sea shipwright deity, there is also the much older Diros, Orlanthi god of boating, and presumably making them. The Diroti were a seafaring people during the Storm Age, to the best of my knowledge, but not so much in Time, I think. Coastal and riverine boat-travel, either by rowing or sails is probably more his thing, I'm guessing. Pelaskos is his son, the god of boat-fishing, and Povarri another son, the god of... land-based fishing, I guess. Either or both of these might be the gods of making nets, lines and hooks. (EDIT: the making of fishing tools might also be relegated to their wives, such as Poverri's wife, Nutella Natelna. It seems sort of the Orlanthi thing to do.)

I'd be interesting in knowing if there are any gods specifically dedicated to leatherworking anywhere in Glorantha. Seems like it'd be sensical for a pastoral culture to have a dedicated tanner god at least, since it can be a fairly specialized task, and an important byproduct of their livestock, although maybe not a very high-ranking or prestigious one.

EDIT: Also I suspect maybe Odayla is the god of bowry and fletching, though this is entirely spurious.

Edited October 3, 2019 by Sir_Godspeed

[scott-martin]

29 minutes ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

"cooking", which I realize might not entirely fall under the semantic field of "crafting" but oh well.

If it ain't cooked, it's raw.

Mostal is master and patron of all technologies, which we receive as innovation but it's just conservation to his people. I do not know if he is ever worshipped alongside Lodril or vice versa, whereby may hang a kind of enigma.

There Are Those Who Believe that the sorcerer god of the West originally had leatherworking aspects or originated in that kind of craft function. Likewise Buserian as tent maker, etc. A primitive form of Issaries comes to the Storm Tribe as the tattoo artist but this is now barely a footnote.

Dendara's textile monopoly in Dara Happa is probably politically fraught, especially when you get out into the countryside and the ten thousand Orias take over. Arachne Solara is obviously the queen of weavers while the scepter the goddess Glorantha carries in imperial art may actually be a distaff (or "addi"), concealing obvious mysteries.

Some Lanbrils are not just artisans but tool makers.

Edited October 3, 2019 by scott-martin
bait

[Sheliak]

Pella and Venurtera are both goddesses of pottery; Pella's husband Pananala (god of the kiln fire) might also count. Venurtera is another of Lodril's children. 

Six Ages has Tepekos, god of redsmiths, and Perondeto, god of glassmaking. Also Nocheli, goddess of the red dye insect (cochineal?), who is at least craft-adjacent. 

[Revilo Divad Of Dyoll]

Hi!

If you're not limiting the question to the Dragon Pass area, the 17 (?) brothers and sisters of Garangordos in Fonrit are all essentially gods of various crafts.

Thanks,

David.

[alakoring]

The Gods Wall has
Alfostios (Cooper)
Ostevius (Carpenter)
Venurtera (Potter)
Gerendetho (Spear Shaper)
Dendara (Spindle Goddess)
Yestendos (Reed Boats)

[Qizilbashwoman]

30 minutes ago, alakoring said:

The Gods Wall has
Alfostios (Cooper)
Ostevius (Carpenter)
Venurtera (Potter)
Gerendetho (Spear Shaper)
Dendara (Spindle Goddess)
Yestendos (Reed Boats)

... if we believe Plentonius, which we often don't because he was wrong, confused, or lied to please Khordavu.

His Dendara is probably not a weaving goddess; that's not a distaff but an addi, a phallic symbol of authority and perhaps a thunderbolt. We don't exactly know who Dendara is but she's a rain goddess to the Dara Happans, not a weaving one. Plentonius is pretty clearly wrong here.

[Joerg]

4 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

... if we believe Plentonius, which we often don't because he was wrong, confused, or lied to please Khordavu.

His Dendara is probably not a weaving goddess; that's not a distaff but an addi, a phallic symbol of authority and perhaps a thunderbolt. We don't exactly know who Dendara is but she's a rain goddess to the Dara Happans, not a weaving one. Plentonius is pretty clearly wrong here.

Except that he was perfectly right in a lot of cases at the same time, too. Mythic reality is malleable, and while unchanging, the way and direction you approach it from will influence your perception. Blind men describing an elephant by touching parts of it.

[EricW]

I remember reading somewhere the axe maiden Barbeester Gore has magic which helps brewers, after Trickster seduced her by turning himself into an intoxicating drink. Not sure if that is still canon...

[Qizilbashwoman]

14 minutes ago, EricW said:

I remember reading somewhere the axe maiden Barbeester Gore has magic which helps brewers, after Trickster seduced her by turning himself into an intoxicating drink. Not sure if that is still canon...

Babeester Gor, like Sekhmet, was only subdued from murdering all life by tricking her with beer dyed the color of blood. I don't know if she's a patron of beer or not.

[Jeff]

5 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

Babeester Gor, like Sekhmet, was only subdued from murdering all life by tricking her with beer dyed the color of blood. I don't know if she's a patron of beer or not.

She is very rarely a patron of brewers.

[JanPospisil]

In "Six Ages" the Hyalorings have:

Nyalda, the Earth Mother and wife of Elmal. (she gives a Crafting blessing, so I assume it's an Ernalda equivalent of weaving, pottery and whatnot)

Tepekos, the Smith. 
Perondeto, god of glass.
(maybe also Nocheli, goddess of the red dye insect?)

[Qizilbashwoman]

2 hours ago, JanPospisil said:

In "Six Ages" the Hyalorings have:

Nyalda, the Earth Mother and wife of Elmal. (she gives a Crafting blessing, so I assume it's an Ernalda equivalent of weaving, pottery and whatnot)

Tepekos, the Smith. 
Perondeto, god of glass.
(maybe also Nocheli, goddess of the red dye insect?)

Nyalda is Ernalda, yes. Nocheli counts because cochineal is used for extremely superior textile production.

[alakoring]

On 10/4/2019 at 10:35 AM, Qizilbashwoman said:

... if we believe Plentonius, which we often don't because he was wrong, confused, or lied to please Khordavu.

His Dendara is probably not a weaving goddess; that's not a distaff but an addi, a phallic symbol of authority and perhaps a thunderbolt. We don't exactly know who Dendara is but she's a rain goddess to the Dara Happans, not a weaving one. Plentonius is pretty clearly wrong here.

Hard to defend Plentonius, though it resembles a spindle whorl and that line looks like thread. Also, in Entekosiad [p.6, p.27, p. 98] Addi is a goddess. I don’t remember if her stick association is due to digging sticks (often associated with women foragers).

Whether or not that image is actually Dendara, I think Plentonius’s claim that she is the Spindle Goddess is right (if only because she has so many aspects).

I didn’t immediately find the rain goddess aspect, can you remind me where that is?

[Qizilbashwoman]

2 hours ago, alakoring said:

Hard to defend Plentonius, though it resembles a spindle whorl and that line looks like thread. Also, in Entekosiad [p.6, p.27, p. 98] Addi is a goddess. I don’t remember if her stick association is due to digging sticks (often associated with women foragers). Whether or not that image is actually Dendara, I think Plentonius’s claim that she is the Spindle Goddess is right (if only because she has so many aspects).

Addi is the Darsenian name of Entekos, the breath woman, who gives speech. She's very perplexing, as she's a phallic Air deity (the addi is otherwise a very unsubtle symbol of Turos' phallos) and even has a male name in Dara Happa: EN+TEK+OS.

The Entekosiad is the story of Valare, who sought Entekos and found her and brought her back as "the Addi", which speaks. Valare took her name.

2 hours ago, alakoring said:

I didn’t immediately find the rain goddess aspect, can you remind me where that is?

Um... I can't remember off the top of my head. Might be G2G. It says something along the lines of 'The worship day of Dendara-Entekos is rain-bringing ceremonies.' Sorry, still unpacking. In the Entekosiad, Dendara is a water deity in the beginning: Karanda, the Striped One, called Fa Elsor and Feder. She is the mother of the seven phases of the moons.

Edited October 7, 2019 by Qizilbashwoman