Glorantha: Cult of Daka Fal 
Cult of Daka Fal
Ancestor Worship in Glorantha
originally published in Cults of Prax and River of Cradles

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.
Mythos and History
There are no known tales of Daka Fal before the Great Darkness. Ancient 
philosophers connect him with the primeval being called Grandfather Mortal, who 
is the Rune-ancestor of the Man Rune, and thereby the common ancestor of all 
humanoid creatures.
The tales of Grandfather Mortal explain the current position of mankind in the 
cosmos through a series of legends and fables. Briefly told, they mention the 
origin of the first man, called Wanderer in those days, in the Court of Creation 
of the Celestial Court. His origin was held in common by many gods so that he 
contained some of all the world within him, and so he could work for all of the 
gods.
Grandfather Mortal had many adventures, but most important was his encounter 
with Death. The destroying god was still an infant, a small sharp thing cradled 
in the palm of Humakt, when Grandfather Mortal was invited to test the 
newcomer's powers. When he agreed, he was the first to know Death. Since then 
all men have been destined to die, and follow in the path of their great 
Ancestor. Thus disappeared Grandfather Mortal from the tales of the gods.
When the Darkness came it was the time for all mortality to join in with their 
ancestor, but many resisted. They lived in hopeless fear amid the disintegrating 
world where chaos seeped or howled in, unable to separate life from death 
anymore. It was then that Daka Fal appeared and taught them how to separate the 
living from the dead. He taught the living how to test a creature to see if it 
is truly alive or if it is a phantom spirit. He also taught the first burial 
rites to keep the deceased from harassing the living afterwards. He also taught 
the basic cult spells which allow communication to the Other Side. Thus, by aid 
from their ancestors some people survived the dark.
Daka Fal was named by the gods to be the Judge of the Dead, for it was he who 
first knew that power and who holds all of the secrets of Death. In Prax his 
worship has had no actual power in the face of the gods. In times of crisis, 
when the gods fail their worshippers, this cult gets very popular.
(Such was the situation in Prax, anyway. Other distant lands [such as Seshneg in 
the Dawn ages] developed this form of worship until they made their ancestors 
surpass the mighty gods in power, or else reduced the immortals into mere 
superhuman heroes or multi-national ancestors. Such developments are outside the 
immediate scope of this book.)
The cult assures its worshippers that they will continue to have a personalized 
existence after death. They cannot guarantee any quality, nor any future for 
that existence. Al' magics and functions of the cult prove those facts to 
worshippers.
The cult also insures that the living will never be bothered by the souls of the 
dead if they follow their priest's rituals and rules.
Funeral Rites are non-specific except that they must include some variation of 
this chant. It is a spell and prayer which must be spoken over the dead to 
separate them from the world of the living. It goes:

      Go! Go! Don't be Slow,Flee! Flee! Flee from me.
      To the place that Life don't know.Your kind here can never be.



      Stay Away! Stay Away!I am free. Not thee.
      Night is there, this is Day.Go, you can't touch me.

At the end of the ceremony the people place their hands over their faces so the 
spirit cannot recognize them, then turn their backs and run away from the 
funeral site, and must never look back under pain of death.
The cult is associated with the runes of Man and Spirit.


See also:
The Travels of Biturian Varosh: A Baboon Ritual
Gods in Prax: Nomad Gods
Tales of the Wastes


[ New Here? | Greg Sez! | Main Page | Product Listing | Coming Events | Cool 
Links ]