andyr
Kai Lord
Posts: 122
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Post by andyr on Jun 24, 2004 7:58:46 GMT
After the borrowed names thread has rolled for a while, I just feel like rising one of my big questions on Magnamund...
Clearly Joe Dever devised the different races with some (loose and free) inspiration from Earth's cultures. Some cases are obvious, but others are a bit more confusing. The MC is quite scant (even with the Newsletters' different Postscripts) and the new RPG just talks about the races without explaining them at all. So I would like to pose a list of possible Magnamund-Earth connections and see what you people think:
Starting with the obvious:
Vassa: a mix of Arabic, but also Middle Asian (Persian, Turkish and even Indian)
Mythenish / Tianese: They sound quite Far Asian, I guess Bhanar is supposed to look more Japan-like and Chai and the others more China / Corea / Thai...
Nael: different Slavic cultures???
Vaderish: I thought they could be Mediterranean feudal cultures, like Middle Ages France, Italy and Spain.
Aluvian: No idea... maybe they're a Germanic-like culture? But then, why do Lourdenites speak with some kind of Irish accent? Maybe they're Celtic/Germanic.
Ulnarian: Norse-like, maybe Danish, Swedish or even Finnish.
The so-called "primitive" cultures are quite self-explanatory... Kaltesse are Eskimo/Lapp, some of the South Magnamund plains barbarians could be Tartar-like... the Vakeros are Sub-Sahara Africans... and I guess the Elder Races are purely fantastic, with no Real World paralells, though the Sommlending probably were affected by strong cultural influences and inbreeding with the Ulnarians.
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Post by Peregrine on Jun 24, 2004 8:38:04 GMT
Aluvian: No idea... maybe they're a Germanic-like culture? But then, why do Lourdenites speak with some kind of Irish accent? Maybe they're Celtic/Germanic. Culturally, the accent doesn't really matter. There really isn't any particularly close association with Germanic culture and a given accent. I'd say you're right on the Germanic culture (giving you full benefit of the doubt, as I'm no expert), and Dever just wrote them with an accent that came off Irish. |
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Post by ramthelinefeed on Jun 25, 2004 6:08:54 GMT
Isn't there a picture in the Magnamund Companion of someone from southwest Magnamund, looking rather Zulu?
I always like the sound of the Telcharim myself ;-)
Sounded like Amazonian Atlanteans to me ;-)
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Post by KaiLord on Jun 25, 2004 7:39:45 GMT
The pages with the Mythentish/Tianese nations on them have two warriors squaring off face to face. One is tribal African in appearance, the other Asian samurai-like.
KL
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andyr
Kai Lord
Posts: 122
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Post by andyr on Jun 25, 2004 8:36:44 GMT
Yeah, and the foottext describes the Zulu-looking guy as a Bhanarian... but the Bhanarian warriors in LW23 have a definite Asian-like look, both in their faces and their outfit (don't know about LW27 and 28, I don't have the illustrated editions...).
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Post by Wild Horse on Jun 25, 2004 15:09:13 GMT
Yeah, and the foottext describes the Zulu-looking guy as a Bhanarian... but the Bhanarian warriors in LW23 have a definite Asian-like look, both in their faces and their outfit (don't know about LW27 and 28, I don't have the illustrated editions...). I have LW 27 and 28, as well as the MC... Well, the Bhanarians and the Chainese in LW 27 and 28 carry a Japanese look. Definitely the Bhanarians in LW 27/28 don't look the same as the Bhanarian in the MC |
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Post by outspaced on Jun 25, 2004 16:23:22 GMT
Interestingly, on page 15 of the Magnamund Companion, it shows a Imperial Chai Guardsman, refers to him as Mythenish, and yet he looks Oriental. I think the label on page 22 about the Bhanarian should read: 'A Lissanian challenges his foe with ritual insults.' Any thoughts?
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Post by Ghost of Landar on Oct 23, 2004 11:50:21 GMT
If you look at the words "Bhanar" and "Sejanoz" they have a much more African(not Mandinka, maybe Wolof?) sound to them. I think, honestly, that Joe just went against his earlier notes and decided to make Bhanar more..well Japanese with some elements of Mongols?
But I think the initial intent was to make Tianese=Asian, and Mythenish=African.
But are the Lissanese a separate grouping? And are they the only dark-skinned people in Southern Magnamund(the Vakeros are in the North?)
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Post by Black Cat on Oct 24, 2004 0:33:49 GMT
Is it possible for two really different races to have babies together? For example, is it possible, in an organic way, for a Drakkar man to have a kid with a dwarf woman (although the Drakkar would surely kill the woman instead of letting her having a kid from him) or a Kundi man to have one with a Durenese woman?
Just curious about it...
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Post by outspaced on Oct 24, 2004 9:23:48 GMT
If you look at the words "Bhanar" and "Sejanoz" they have a much more African(not Mandinka, maybe Wolof?) sound to them. I think, honestly, that Joe just went against his earlier notes and decided to make Bhanar more..well Japanese with some elements of Mongols? Yes, exactly. Or the fact that certain Tianese migration patterns were not shown on the map on p15 of the Magnamund Companion. Both Chai and Bhanar sound more Oriental in origin than African, and The Hunger of Sejanoz bears this out by having the population and culture of the two countries as Mongolian- and Chinese-inspired. Exactly. No, the Lissanians are Mythenish (i.e. dark-skinned African-type), since they are the Masbate tribesmen from the Grey Star series. However, it is not the race, but the country of origin that is being referred to in the original caption: "A Bhanarian challenges his foe with ritual insults." Since the Bhanarians have been shown to be Oriental in appearance and culture, more like the Magnamund Tianese peoples, I think "Lissanian" should be substituted for "Bhanarian". I'd actually forgotten all about this. I'm off to make a proper note of it somewhere so I'll be able to find it more easily in the future!  |
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Post by Ghost of Landar on Oct 24, 2004 11:03:10 GMT
A slight quibble, outspaced, but Occidental refers to Western civilization.
You're looking for(and in this case would be correct) Oriental or at least East Asian(for those that think Oriental should only be applied to study of the near-East as was originally the reality.)
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Post by outspaced on Oct 24, 2004 15:08:03 GMT
Ha! You're right. [Just checked http://www.dictionary.com]
It's hardly a slight quibble, I was completely bloody wrong! ;D
Modified both posts above to reflect this for the sake of accuracy. I was trying to avoid using 'Oriental' since it can often refer to India and surrounding non-"Eastern" countries (from the point of view of a westerner), but it appears to be the best word available. *shrug*
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