Jump to content

FELINE deities of Glorantha ?


Agentorange

Recommended Posts

6 minutes ago, Agentorange said:

Besides Yinkin are there any named or detailed ?

Are you including lions, etc, in your query? If so, we know Basmol (aka Pendal, Durbaddath, and probably a few other names).

At various times (though I think non-canonical), there have been various children of Yinkin: Gavren, Murni, and a couple others.

My Hearthmother goddess in Imther favors 'domestic' cats, not necessarily the alynx of Yinkin (I had one cat spirit named Mooraw in the past there).

And in Katrin Dirim's artwork we get Moon Cat. 🙂 

image.png.662f60cca49c653e969379f86365a178.png

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Basmol's the lion god, but I don't think "felines" really exist as a distinct group of animals in Glorantha, since Basmol, Brother Dog, Rathor, Telmor, and Yinkin are all children of Fralar. Gloranthan cats and lions are as closely related to bears, dogs, and wolves as they are to each other!

I wonder if all of them are half-brothers, or if Yinkin is the odd one out by his connection to Kero Fin?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We also have the (officially unnamed) gods or ancestors of the jaguar people (Te Huantal), jungle cat people (Chumbari), snow leopard people (Chen-ga), tiger people (Hsa), etc. In Anaxial's Roster, the ancestress of the bobcat folk, the Rinkoni, is named Rinkona.

And there is also Sakkar, the sabretooth, God of Fear, Hunter of Men.

20 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

I wonder if all of them are half-brothers, or if Yinkin is the odd one out by his connection to Kero Fin?

Yinkin is the odd one out because he betrayed his beast kin and chose instead the Storm tribe (The Book of Heortling Mythology, page 38, although this myth reeks of the three-worlds bollocks of that era). All the other children of Fralar are recognised as spirit-ancestors by the Hykimi / Hsunchen.

For yet more ex-canonical felines (including some names of deities), see Anaxial's Roster and Anaxial's Annex.

  • Like 5

--

An Unofficial Buyer's Guide to RuneQuest and Glorantha lists everything currently available for the game and setting, across 60 pages. "Lavishly illustrated throughout, festooned with hyperlinks" - Nick Brooke. The Voralans presents Glorantha's magical mushroom humanoids, the black elves. "A wonderful blend of researched detail and Glorantha crazy" - Austin Conrad. The Children of Hykim documents Glorantha's shape-changing totemic animal people, the Hsunchen. "Stunning depictions of shamanistic totem-animal people, really evocative" - Philip H.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

Gloranthan cats and lions are as closely related to bears, dogs, and wolves as they are to each other!

I wonder if all of them are half-brothers, or if Yinkin is the odd one out by his connection to Kero Fin?

While we know they are all fathered by Fralar, we only know the mother of Yinkin so unclear how close the others are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Nick Brooke said:

Upvoting Moon Cat!

IMG_4117.thumb.jpeg.f17dce98ac9d4f501ff5407e21fbae4b.jpeg

Katrin Dirim wrote:

“Moon Cat is the daughter of the Red Goddess and Yinkin, the Alynx God. She was conceived when Yinkin came upon the Goddess during her Otherworld journey. He found her wounded and bleeding after her defeat at the hands of Wakboth, the Devil. Taking pity on this stranger and smitten by her otherworldly beauty he approached her carefully, and she let him come close and curl up in her lap. He stayed with her for a night, licking shut her wounds and filling her with warmth. Though he himself was too restless to stay long, Yinkin left her with a gift, a child to warm her within and fend off the cold spirits of death. This child is known as the Moon Cat, and accompanied her mother throughout her quest. She kept her warm with her fur while she was cold, hunted spirit mice for her when she was hungry, and played with her to fill her with joy when sorrow threatened to take her over. Now Moon Cat roams the palaces and landscapes of the Red Moon, and is said to guide those lost on its strange and ever-changing surface to safety.

Moon Cat is a minor goddess with no cult of her own, and is usually worshipped in conjunction with other Lunar deities. She has become unexpectedly popular among the rural barbarians of the Lunar Provinces, where she is often worshipped together with her father. Her worshippers act as intermediaries between their villages and the Lunar administration, as Moon Cat is in the rare position of being part of both the Lunar and Storm Pantheons.

... sometimes you get a silly idea and just can't help spending the entire day on it.”

  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/12/2024 at 3:34 PM, jajagappa said:

While we know they are all fathered by Fralar, we only know the mother of Yinkin so unclear how close the others are.

Mother Mammal is given as an associate of both Basmol and Telmor on the Well of Daliath, so I assume she's their mom. Rathor and Brother Dog don't have a named mother though.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Richard S. said:

Rathor and Brother Dog don't have a named mother though.

Rathor's mother is Frona - CoRQ: The Prosopaedia, page 41.

  • Like 1

--

An Unofficial Buyer's Guide to RuneQuest and Glorantha lists everything currently available for the game and setting, across 60 pages. "Lavishly illustrated throughout, festooned with hyperlinks" - Nick Brooke. The Voralans presents Glorantha's magical mushroom humanoids, the black elves. "A wonderful blend of researched detail and Glorantha crazy" - Austin Conrad. The Children of Hykim documents Glorantha's shape-changing totemic animal people, the Hsunchen. "Stunning depictions of shamanistic totem-animal people, really evocative" - Philip H.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/13/2024 at 7:38 AM, Nick Brooke said:

Katrin Dirim wrote:

“Moon Cat is the daughter of the Red Goddess and Yinkin, the Alynx God. She was conceived when Yinkin came upon the Goddess during her Otherworld journey. He found her wounded and bleeding after her defeat at the hands of Wakboth, the Devil. Taking pity on this stranger and smitten by her otherworldly beauty he approached her carefully, and she let him come close and curl up in her lap. He stayed with her for a night, licking shut her wounds and filling her with warmth. Though he himself was too restless to stay long, Yinkin left her with a gift, a child to warm her within and fend off the cold spirits of death. This child is known as the Moon Cat, and accompanied her mother throughout her quest. She kept her warm with her fur while she was cold, hunted spirit mice for her when she was hungry, and played with her to fill her with joy when sorrow threatened to take her over. Now Moon Cat roams the palaces and landscapes of the Red Moon, and is said to guide those lost on its strange and ever-changing surface to safety.

Moon Cat is a minor goddess with no cult of her own, and is usually worshipped in conjunction with other Lunar deities. She has become unexpectedly popular among the rural barbarians of the Lunar Provinces, where she is often worshipped together with her father. Her worshippers act as intermediaries between their villages and the Lunar administration, as Moon Cat is in the rare position of being part of both the Lunar and Storm Pantheons.

... sometimes you get a silly idea and just can't help spending the entire day on it.”

It's official, Moon Cat has displaced her father as my favourite Gloranthan deity.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/15/2024 at 9:54 PM, Byll said:

Threre is also Durbaddath  the Lion god of Pelanda and Peloria. Presumably the Lunar Lasadag Lions regiment has some link to him

He is the patron god of that regiment, and their special magic c9mes from him. 
I vaguely recall that he is a different type of lion, and I think has a black mane?

Also was the patron god of the lion shahs of Carmania I think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2024 at 9:15 AM, davecake said:

He is the patron god of that regiment, and their special magic c9mes from him. 
I vaguely recall that he is a different type of lion, and I think has a black mane?

Also was the patron god of the lion shahs of Carmania I think?

The Bestiary says that Pelorian lions have a black mane while Seshnelan ones have golden manes. I think the lion shahs probably had a closer relationship to golden-maned Pendal than black-maned Durbaddath, since they came from the west, but they probably could've switched to using the new name.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Richard S. said:

The Bestiary says that Pelorian lions have a black mane while Seshnelan ones have golden manes. I think the lion shahs probably had a closer relationship to golden-maned Pendal than black-maned Durbaddath,

I thought the Pelorian Lions had black manes, and the Seshnelan (and Praxian, originally Pamaltelan) lions had golden manes though the  Prosopedia implies Durbaddath has a golden mane.
I would instead go for the more obvious connection that Carmania overlaps Peloria. The Lion Shahs and the Bull Shahs both are long after the original migration of the Westerners to Pelanda, and there is little reason to have brought lions with them given the Pendali lion people are traditional enemies of the Malkioni. Both the lion shahs and Bull shahs are drawing on parts of the story and imagery of Carmanos, who invoked the aid of the ancient Pelandan bull god Bisos to defeat the Spolites, and who hunted the Lion of Brass (a local lion, so Pelorian, and possibly some sort of incarnation or servant of Durbaddath) as a youth and wore its skin afterwards. I think the lion shahs were so called because they would try to imitate Carmanos by hunting a lion (as noble hunting parties still try to do in the Brass Mountains - guide pg 325) and would wear its skin if successful, and/or because the Durbaddath worshipping Lasadag Lions were their bodyguards. 

Just to confuse things, Safelster now seems to have two species of lions. 

Edited by davecake
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

These children of Yinkin are cat deities:

  • Alusar the Spy: Alusar was the son of Yinkin and a goddess known only as Eyes in the Dark. He is dark, with long whiskers and large 
  • eyes, and quickly gained a notorious reputation for independence and for spying. He could track down any being he wished, and he often did so simply to learn their secrets. It was Alusar who saw where Yelm went after he was killed, and told Orlanth about the Western Gate. Book of Heortling Mythology p 144.
  • Gavren the Hunter/Lurker: Gavren is the son of Yinkin and Velhara, the Lady of the Wild and is sometimes called the Early Alynx. He is the best hunter from among the family. He is reddish brown in color. Their child inherited the solitary nature of each deity, and he spent most of his time far from settled lands, hunting. He always came back when needed though and when Yinkin was severely wounded, it was Gavren who brought him food. He once clawed great Karrg, the troll war god, who in turn killed several of his litters. Gavren’s worshippers hate trolls. Book of Heortling Mythology p 149.
  • Hevren the Chaser: Hevren is the son of Yinkin. He is tawny with stripes across his shoulders. He has long legs and can chase down almost anything, and big teeth to kill with a single bite. Book of Heortling Mythology p 151.
  • Murni the Mouser: Murni is the daughter of Yinkin, and was born the runt of a litter and with a bobbed tail. Once Ernalda had to leave her home, and Voria hid Murni in the granary. She kept it clear of mice, so the food was there when Ernalda returned.  (Book of Heortling Mythology p155)
  • Tolar the Cloud-Yinkin: Tolar is the son of Yinkin and Tarhelera, a cloud goddess. He is the cloud alynx, the clouds of the middle air. Book of Heortling Mythology p 161.
  • Like 3

Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

www.soltakss.com/index.html

Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, soltakss said:

These children of Yinkin are cat deities:

  • Alusar the Spy: Alusar was the son of Yinkin and a goddess known only as Eyes in the Dark. He is dark, with long whiskers and large 
  • eyes, and quickly gained a notorious reputation for independence and for spying. He could track down any being he wished, and he often did so simply to learn their secrets. It was Alusar who saw where Yelm went after he was killed, and told Orlanth about the Western Gate. Book of Heortling Mythology p 144.
  • Gavren the Hunter/Lurker: Gavren is the son of Yinkin and Velhara, the Lady of the Wild and is sometimes called the Early Alynx. He is the best hunter from among the family. He is reddish brown in color. Their child inherited the solitary nature of each deity, and he spent most of his time far from settled lands, hunting. He always came back when needed though and when Yinkin was severely wounded, it was Gavren who brought him food. He once clawed great Karrg, the troll war god, who in turn killed several of his litters. Gavren’s worshippers hate trolls. Book of Heortling Mythology p 149.
  • Hevren the Chaser: Hevren is the son of Yinkin. He is tawny with stripes across his shoulders. He has long legs and can chase down almost anything, and big teeth to kill with a single bite. Book of Heortling Mythology p 151.
  • Murni the Mouser: Murni is the daughter of Yinkin, and was born the runt of a litter and with a bobbed tail. Once Ernalda had to leave her home, and Voria hid Murni in the granary. She kept it clear of mice, so the food was there when Ernalda returned.  (Book of Heortling Mythology p155)
  • Tolar the Cloud-Yinkin: Tolar is the son of Yinkin and Tarhelera, a cloud goddess. He is the cloud alynx, the clouds of the middle air. Book of Heortling Mythology p 161.

Somewhere we get Doubleshadow the Worthless, as seen in KoDP, but (s)he might just be an ancestor of crappy alynxes and is hopefully not a direct offspring on Yinkin.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...