Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

Notes on Shamans

Posted on March 25, 2023

Shamans are an “elect” found in many Gloranthan religions. They are often outside but adjacent to the cult structure, although some cults do make use of shaman-priests (for example, Aldrya, Daka Fal, Gorakiki, Hykim and Mikyh, Jakaleel, Kyger Litor, Waha, and Yelm). Such shaman-priests are integral parts of their religion.

More common are shamans that are simultaneously initiates of a given cult and shamans of the Horned God. Such shamans might be known as Earth Witches (Ernalda and other Earth cults) or kolatings (Orlanth and other Air cults), they typically hold no official position within the cult hierarchy and are not supported by the temple (any more than any other initiate is).

Other shamans are tied to no cult except the Horned God and any spirit cults they choose to found.

What all shamans have in common is their ability to interact directly with the Spirit Plane, be it through Discorporation, their Fetch, or other shamanic abilities. A mortal, corporeal being, a shaman can communicate with the dead, “demons”, and other spirits without being possessed or becoming their instrument.

I find the incorporation of shamanism into the Yelm cult (the Golden Bow) particularly fascinating. We have a great celestial entity (the Sun God) who has several sons and messengers who are charged with watching and helping mortal beings. The shaman is an initiate who specializes in dealing with the spirit world, in particular fire elementals and celestial beings, and whose spirit can rise up to the celestial realm.

The Golden Bow is a path for a Yelm initiate who becomes a shaman. It is common among the horse lords, not very common among the Dara Happans of the 7th Wane. It was likely more common in the 3rd and 4th Wanes though…

Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
Golden Bow, shamans, Yelm

Sections

  • Search Tips
  • Current RuneQuest Glorantha Publications
  • RuneQuest Glorantha Corrections and Q&A
  • Catalogue
  • References for Glorantha
    • Gloranthan Canon
  • Gloranthan Documents
  • RPG Systems & Versions
  • Gallery
  • About This Site
  • Get involved!

Latest Posts

  • Thog the Giant

    In 870, Thog the giant appeared with an army of …
  • The Nine Good Giant Mountains

    The Nine Good Giant Mountains are about 60 km or …
  • Why Most Sartarites Hate the Lunar Empire

    From time to time it is worth reminding people why …
  • Suntown and the Eiskolli

    Suntown has always been in the hands of the Sun …
  • A Few Notes on the Grantlands

    To the south of Sun County are the former Grantlands, …
  • Sartar Cities

    Sartar can be thought of a confederation of small cities …
  • Catalogue of the Gods revisited

    This piece from the Mythology book is among my absolute …
  • Thunderbolts in Art

    One of the things that really got me down the …
  • RuneQuest Art

    So let’s talk RQ art for a moment. For the …

Links

  • Chaosium
  • Chaosium’s RuneQuest RPG Wiki
  • Glorantha on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on Discord
  • Prince of Sartar Webcomic
  • Glorantha G+ Archives on Tapatalk
  • Search mailing list archive

Latest from BRP Central

  • Rain spell vs Dancer in Darkness
  • Jonstown Compendium release: Old Owl Tower
  • Dine 'n Dash in Dragon Pass: A Culinary Tour of Geo's Inns
  • ENNIES 2025 Spotlight – Lands of RuneQuest: Dragon Pass is nominated for Best Setting
  • Odayla Initiation Heroquest
  • Copy of the Guide to Glorantha for sale on eBay
  • Gender in Glorantha
  • Unnamed Kitori town?
  • Who is Rufelza?
  • Lodril in Dragon Pass

Popular Tags

1625 ST Boldhome (large city) Chaosium Colymar (Sartar tribe) Contents Cult demographics Cults of Runequest (preview) Ernalda Esrolia (homeland) FRA Furthest (large city) G+ post Gods Wall Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha (preview) Humakt Jar-eel Lunar Empire Lunar Pantheon Magazine Malkioni pantheon Map Michael O’Brien Mongoose MRQ1 New Pavis (small city) Old Glorantha Q&A Orlanth Orlanthi pantheon Photo reference Population demographics Prax (homeland) RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Spirit Cult Star Subcult Tarsh (homeland & Lunar province) Troll Pantheon Yelm Yelmalio Yelm Pantheon Youtube

Recently added or updated

  • Avarnia

  • Ancient Bird Mother

  • Dove

  • Daka Fal

  • Thog the Giant

  • Mercario

  • Gerendetho

  • Erissa the Healer

  • Ω Destor the Adventurous

  • Buserian

  • Arkat

  • Argan Argar

  • Nightcult

  • Only Old One

  • Dragon Pass Maps

  • The Holy Country after 1616

  • Notes on the Holy Country II

  • Sartar Map Closeups

  • Pavis: Gateway to Adventure Index

  • ISS2007 HeroQuest Glorantha (2015)

©2025 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme