Galanini

The Galanini are horse Hsunchen. They're nomadic horse herders, and trace their ancestry to Galanin, Father of Horses. In addition to Galanin, they worship Ehilm the Sun, and many claim to be descended from him.

The Galanini are similar to the other Hsunchen tribes (though they are the only Hsunchen to have organized cult worship, and are the only riders). They are primarily hunter-gatherers.

Galanini horses are a breed of the sturdy Ralian pony, well adapted to the hilly terrain of the East Wilds. Their coloring is a distinctive skewbald.

The Galanini were the original inhabitants of lowland Ralios. For centuries, they aided the World Council in their wars against the highland Ralians, who belonged to other Hsunchen tribes or had converted to Orlanth. They also aided the Council against the Pelorian horse nomads, to whom they are unrelated.

Methe the Traveller, an Issaries worshipper from the Belovaking clan, has more to say about the Galanini.

In my game, the Galanini are usually enemies of the Belovaking clan, since the Belovaking thane, Ekel Field-Destroyer, is an avid rider, and maintains a shrine to Elmal Horse-Thane. The Galanini claim that only relatives of the horse can ride. Most of the Orlanthi clans get around this by hitching their horses to chariots. The Galanini often ally with the Orlanthi against the Naskori and other Safelstrans to the west.

"The Galanini of Ralios are horse-riding folk with some civilized conventions. All clan chieftains and many tribespeople are Yelm initiates. These folk also worship Hyalor and Hippoi, goddess of horses, and some of the chieftains are superstitiously believed to be able to transform themselves into horses. The Galanini believe themselves to be kin to their mounts.

"Each small Galanini clan has its own minor temple. The largest clans have major temples to Yelm." [White Wolf 16]

Shannon Appel has several Galanini myths in Tradetalk 3.

David Dunham Page East Ralios