Glorantha: Cult of Pamalt 
Cult of Pamalt
by Greg Stafford and Sandy Petersen
originally published in Wyrms Footnotes #11

This document is Copyright  1998 Issaries, Inc. It may be freely linked to, and 
one copy may be printed for personal use, but any other reproduction by 
photographic, electronic, or other methods of retrieval, is prohibited.
Table of Contents
  Mythos and History 
  Chieftain Membership 
  Variations on the Theme: Different Cultures' Ways of Worshiping the God 
Mythos and History
In elder days the world was inhabited by many gigantic and potent beings. Pamalt 
was one, a son of Ancient Grandmother. He took to wife Faranar the earth mother 
and they had many children. They lived among the other immortals.
In those days everyone had plenty of free time to do whatever they wanted. 
Pamalt wandered around, making friends and learning about the world, while 
everyone else practiced new magics or studied hard. Artmal, a pompous god, 
condemned Pamalt as no more useful than Trickster, and the people of Artmal 
shunned Pamalt afterwards. Pamalt instead turned his attention to a new race of 
mortals, called Agimori.
The old trees were jealous that the Agimori could walk and talk. One day Pamalt 
found some bad trees trying to break the heads of the oldest Agimori 
grandparents. Pamalt rubbed his fingers together and showed the grandparents how 
to make a fire which punished the trees. The Agimori were pleased with the place 
they had made to live, and Pamalt became known as the Land Clearer. Pamalt gave 
his secret to Firebearer and that friend created the great wide plains for the 
Agimori to live and hunt in. In vengeance, the trees created their own people, 
called elves, to fight the Agimori and replant the hated jungle.
In those days the world was divided into two parts. Lodril, the good god, ruled 
the south, while Yelm ruled the north. When Yelm was killed, his realm was 
conquered by fierce and wild gods. Ever since then only bad has come from the 
north.
One time many invaders came from the north -- trolls, elves, dwarfs, and pale 
humans in an unholy alliance against the Peace of the South. Pamalt told his 
friend Assegai to make weapons for the Agimori, and ordered his friend Lodril to 
protect the land. Lodril raised a barrier mountain against the foes, which held 
them back until the Agimori gained strength enough to defend themselves. Since 
that time the world becomes ever less calm as one travels north, and even the 
coastal fringe of Pamaltela is partly hostile or disbelieving of Pamalt's 
powers.
The Meeting Contest was popular then, just as it is now. When two great men meet 
they introduce themselves and offer a challenge to each other to use some skill 
or another. If one man is notably better at his skill, he wins and the other 
loses. To refuse a challenge is acceptable only if the foe refuses as well, for 
then both opponents lose nothing. Refusing a challenge when yours was accepted 
is an insult. In those early days, unlike our decadent times, there was never 
any guile or ill-will involved in these contests.
Pamalt always lost the first contest of each pair, because he was the oldest god 
and could not offer the first challenge. But every opponent lost to Pamalt in 
the second contest, and so no one lost any honor. This also showed that, though 
every god excelled Pamalt in some way, Pamalt excelled over everyone in another 
way.
One day a new challenger came to the land, and his challenge was for all skills 
against all skills as the initial challenge. Worse, no one could think of what 
they might do to challenge the newcomer back. The stranger called himself 
Surprise-From-The-North.
One courageous god, who is remembered now only as First Lost, went to meet the 
challenge. He was so badly beaten that no one remembers anything about him now, 
except that when the women of Pamaltela heard of his doom, half of them died of 
grief. Second Lost was no luckier. When he disappeared all the food of the world 
changed to an inferior flavor. Third Lost left no trace at all. Some wise men 
say others also opposed the newcomer, all of whom perished forever. None of them 
went to the Land of Death, none became ghosts, no corpses were found. All the 
gods gathered in their meeting grounds to discuss the problem coming their way. 
"Who will meet this one?" asked Mouse.
"I am the One," spake Pamalt, "I am He to take this task." He stamped his spear 
thrice on the field, shook his shield, and called the name of his grandmother 
and his tools to help.
He tried everything against his foe, and sometimes he lost and sometimes the 
monster lost. Pamalt was aided by his friends and neighbors. Kolat helped him 
hear a secret. Slor helped him douse a fire. The outsider was helped by his 
monster cronies, too. In the end, both were equal in wins and losses.
"My challenge to you, Filth-Which-Walks, is this: make something new, as I can." 
And Pamalt made a living necklace, and each shell, stone, and bead in it was one 
of his assistants. That is why his council of gods is called the Necklace of 
Pamalt.
The invader could make no such thing, but he and his minions exposed fearful 
weapons and attacked. All of Pamalt's friends were slain in that treachery, and 
only the god escaped alive to his home. Ever since that time anyone who attacks 
at a Meeting Challenge is also called Vovisibor, Filth-Which-Walks.
Pamalt took his newly made necklace and called out the powers which he had 
hidden there. The spirits of his friends came alive again, and together they 
plotted the downfall of his enemies. Ever since that time the gods of the south 
have followed Pamalt as king.
Two armies of foes left from the Ground of Evil Challenge. One of them absorbed 
the life from the dirt and rock, and so when they left the whole land 
disappeared from the world. The main army, under Vovisibor, went south, seeking 
Pamalt. They met and fought at the Field of Jaranpor, where all the friends and 
allies of Pamalt worked under his command, and fought the foes to a standstill. 
Then, Pamalt made the sky break and vomit endless eternal flame upon the enemy 
army, whose enormous capacity for absorption was cancelled out with a terrible 
thunderclap which ignited the whole land and left behind the Scorched Earth, 
which separates the realm of Pamalt from that of mortals.
The other army from the Ground of Evil Challenge were defeated by the dark 
warriors of Qualyorni, the Cold One. The remnants from that defeat were then 
crushed again at the battle of Sporebore, whose chaotic survivors fled into the 
Scorched Earth. But the fight was not over. Chaos armies crossed to Pamalt's 
land over a bridge of slime and broke upon the land like waves of acid. In the 
midst of destruction, Pamalt held true. Though realms of beauty perished 
forever, he fought valiantly to protect their dead shells. His persistence and 
refusal to admit the defeat bore fruit. All the wretched inhabitants of the land 
girded themselves and flung themselves into the face of the fearsome Enemy. With 
the variegated armies of Pamaltela behind him, he exposed the hollow horror of 
Seseine, healed the suppurating wounds caused by Krjalk, burnt out the 
impurities of Pocharngo, and slew the undead hordes of Gark.
When the carnage ended, Pamalt discovered that most of his powerful allies 
survived, and so did many of his mortal followers. Through the long gray age 
which followed Pamalt guided his peoples to survive and prosper, and personally 
conducts the annual Dance of Twenty-Seven which limits the growth and curse of 
the Scorched Earth.
The only threat which followed the defeat of chaos was Usurper Qualyorni, the 
Cold One. In Qualyorni's wake came a long train of ice-demons and other frigid 
beings. Qualyorni claimed that he was rightful ruler of the South because he, 
too, had conquered chaos and saved the land. He came to bring winter to 
Pamaltela.
King Artmal said, "I will beat him alone," and went to meet the Usurper. 
Qualyorni gave Artmal seven unhealable wounds and threw him off the top of the 
Tarmo Mountains.
Then Pamalt said, "I will beat him," and went with his friends to meet the Cold 
One. He took the spear of Stingray, the club of Ankylosaur, the shield of 
Tortoise, the armor of Pangolin, the magic drink of the Earth Witch, and the 
stomach of Molandro. Thus prepared, amalt struck down the troll god, wounding 
him and making him a weak shell of what he had been. But the ice demons which 
Qualyorni had brought with him were able to live on in the lands where Artmal 
had been conquered. This is why Enkloso and Vralos are cold in the winter.
Pamalt has survived intact since then, relatively unchanged. His strength, and 
interest, lies with the vast grasslands and the common free man of Pamalt. The 
northern coast, while rich and diverse, is far from the heart of his realm.
Upon death, Pamalt grants loyal worshippers a choice: either to join him as an 
Earth Dancer to care for the land, or (when one's body has rotted away) to be 
reborn in one's tribe under the same conception totem. This is dependent in part 
on the rituals performed in one's present or past lifetimes. If a worshipper is 
reborn, usually Pamalt takes away their memories, but leaves the knowledge of 
their Song of Power.
Pamalt's Runes are Earth and Mastery.
Chieftain Membership
Not just anyone can be a chieftain. Almost all Doraddi follow the rule that only 
folk from very specific lineages can be chief. The exact lineage varies from 
tribe to tribe, and sometimes other requirements are in order. When a tribe's 
chieftain is killed or deposed, the Women's Circle gathers together to decide 
upon his replacement. No woman who belongs to a chieftain lineage may vote, nor 
may any woman who has married anyone in a chieftain lineage (however, such women 
can speak in the Circle). The Women's Circle can summarily remove a cruel or 
incompetent chieftain and replace him at any time.
Sometimes the voting and negotiating for a chieftain takes weeks, and haggling 
can be very crass, to the point that one woman promises blankets or other goods 
to other women to buy their vote for her candidate. If one (or two) woman proves 
recalcitrant about a chieftain which the rest of the women agree on, she can be 
kicked out of the tribe on a temporary or permanent basis, so the others can get 
the chieftain elected. On very rare occasions, it proves impossible for the 
women to agree on a chieftain, in which case the tribe may split, following two 
chieftains, or part or all of the tribe may merge with some other tribe.
In some tribes, chieftain lineages are few. A few tribes have been forced to 
merge with others because all qualified chieftains actually died out. But in 
other tribes, the bulk of the tribe qualifies for chieftainhood. Some tribes, 
such as the Neckring clan of southern Jolar, have as many as 90% of the tribe 
qualified for chieftainhood. In these tribes, the voting women (those few 
belonging to non-chieftain lineages) have great power, and sell their votes 
accordingly.
Variations on the Theme: Different Cultures' Ways of Worshiping the God
Arbennan
The Arbennan people of the Pamaltelan savanna worship Pamalt pretty much as 
described above. The Pamalt pantheon has a large variety of different gods with 
highly useful spells -- yet most individuals are nomad huntsmen, with only a 
limited access to great temples. This problem is resolved by the existence of 
oases. When an Arbennan becomes too old or too crippled to continue in the 
hunter-gatherer life, he or she retires to one of these oases. Most 
oasis-dwellers are at least acolytes in one or more cults, and they hold large 
or even great temples services for the benefit of any tribe that passes by. In 
this way, relatively imposing temples to even the most minor gods are generally 
available to worshipers at the price of one or two week's walk.
For those familiar with Genertelan customs, the contrast between the 
oasis-dwellers of Prax and those of Pamaltela savanna is striking -- in both 
cases, nomad life would be nearly impossible without the oasis-dwellers, but in 
Genertela, the oasis folk are oppressed slaves, while in Pamaltela, they are 
highly honored members of all tribes.
Kresh
The Kresh are a nomadic Agimori people. They ride in gigantic wagons across 
Kothar and northern Zamokil and rule a savanna empire which is based on trust 
and custom rather than conquest and domination.
The Kresh social structure is different from that of the Arbennan, but they, 
too, worship Pamalt. Their enemies claim that Pamalt is not truly worshiped and 
this claim probably has some truth to it, at least insofar as the wagonmasters 
appear to be required to worship a secret deity, though Pamalt is often 
worshiped, too.
The Kresh are not the only people in Kothar -- the bulk of the inhabitants are 
typical Doraddi folk, who belong to the Kresh Empire and fulfill their 
responsibilities to them.
Coastal
Along the jungle coasts of Pamaltela, the worship of Pamalt has taken many 
strange routes. The city folk of Elamle and Flanch almost all recognize Pamalt's 
supremacy, but he is rarely the dominant religion in any city. Each city is very 
individualistic, approaching the worship of Pamalt in its own way.


See also:
The Chieftain Speaks


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