C1 and the Real Olman Homeland

C1 and the Real Olman Homeland Theory: An Examination
By Maria Deltorre

Now I began the lengthy task of reconciling my theory with the material from C1. I will simply go through the module, addressing the points as they appear, referencing the encounter area numbers given in the book.

Area 1: The Vault of Chicomoztoc (The Place of Seven Caves)

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The display appears to be a diorama depicting a hunting party of Olman warriors, in feathers and deerhide garments, in a mountainside scene. Some have successfully pulled down a stag with the aid of a dog, another group is cleaning a small mule deer and the last party has cornered a puma with their spears. A scout watches the the puma hunt from an outcropping above. He holds a metal staff with a loop in its end. It looks like a shepherd's crook.


This scene is documenting early Olman wanderings into the Flanaess. The key to realizing this is the presence of stags and dogs, neither of which are
found in any appreciable numbers in the Jungle. The fact that the hunters are wearing deerskin garments reveals that this is not a unique event, but that these Olman subsisted at least partially on hunting deer.

The truly peculiar item in this scene is the crook weilding "scout". At first glance, all is as it seems, until the presence of a puma, which is a Jungle animal not likely to be found further north where deer are commonly hunted. The puma, in actuality, is symbolic here. Apocatequil, the Olman god of the sun, is often represented with pumas and jaguars, and over time, these animals came to represent divinity in general, so the presence of a puma in the scene suggests that the Olman hunters there are in the presence of a god, in this case, obviously Rao. Due to his close similarity in dogma and outlook to the Olman god Kukulcan/Quetzalcoatl, the priests and shamans of those two gods among the Flan and Olman were able to find common ground and communicate enough for the Olman to realize that this was not Tamoachan, but the realm of some unnamed Flan group, causing them to peacefully abandon further large scale forays into the
Flanaess, fearing the wrath of of the Flan gods, who they came to understand and respect, through the faithful of Rao, in a way they never did with the gods of the Touv.

The description of Rao as a scout can be attributed, in the trend of treating canon as the point of view of some in character narrator recently started by Tzelios and GVD, as the misinformed explanation given by Rhialle, who is established plainly as a sort of narrative voice in this same encounter area when he idly informs the party that the air in the temple complex is poisoned and dangerous.

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A. The first alcove contains a river scene. Olman women and children are busy gathering rushes, fishing with nets and carving a dugout.


This scene is actually depicting the exodus from Kaxkichan at the climax of that nation's war with the Makinpal people. The noted lack of males in the scene is representative of this, suggesting that while the males were off fighting the war, the women and children were left to build rafts and canoes to cross the great river that flows south from the Hellfurnaces into the Pearl Sea, as well as gathering supplies to ready them for that journey.

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This recess portrays native farming. They are planting maize and harvesting wheat. There are several warriors standing guard and a priest in a bird costume is blessing the fields.


This scene is intended to symbolize the importance of the gods in relation to the prosperity of the Olman people. The bird priest represents Kukulcan/Quetzalcoatl, the lord of the Olman gods, and with his presence, the fields of Kaxkichan yield a bountiful crop. The soldiers are intended to potray the stability and security of that ancient kingdom.

I propose that wheat, not a likely crop in the climate of Kaxkichan, was brought to the region by traders from Kaxkichan who ventured north to trade with the early Suel and Makinpal people, before the expansion of the former caused the early Olman tocome into conflict with the latter. Wheat is a hardy grain, and though not native to Kaxkichan, could reasonably be grown there by skilled farmers, but maize should be considered the staple crop, with wheat filling a secondary role.

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The third niche portrays a temple upon a tiered pyramid. Natives are bringing small offerings of gold and jade. Before the temple stands a priest handling a constrictor snake. Around him stand three costumed warriors - one dressed as a winged serpent holds a spear; another is dressed as a bear with razor sharp claws; the third represents a coyote holding a torch. There are also several stone statues of the gods.


Again, the snake wielding priest is a servant of Kukulcan/Quetzalcoatl, and represents the authority of that priesthood over the thriving city state of
Tamoachan. The kings of Tamoachan were chosen from
faithful of K/Q of noble bloodline, and the other figures are meant to represent the other tribes and city states of the Olman "Empire" coming to pay homage to the lords of Tamoachan at its height of power.

The winged serpent warrior represents the people of the Amedio Jungle.

The bear warrior represents the scattered tribes then living in the southwestern Flanaess.

The coyote warrior represents the Olman then living in the southerly, dryer areas of Hepmonaland.

The statues of the other gods are included as is typical in Olman myth. Even when revering one god in particular, the Olman believe it is important to acknowledge all the gods, to prevent them from becoming jealous and punishing the trangression

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The fourth niche holds a scene of tribal warfare. All the figures depict warriors carrying spears, clubs, handaxes or daggers. The warriors of one side are painted black, while the other side is done in red.


In Olman art, black skinned figures of humans represent evil, or those tainted with the darkness of the underworld. In a broader sense, they represent the enemies of the Olman people, who are depicted as red to reflect their goodness and wholesome as symbolized by their skin being colored by the heat and light of the sun.

It is probable that this scene depicts war with the Touv, who were stereotyped by the Olman as wicked and godless, though it could also be interpreted to show the war with the Makinpal.

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The fifth display is that of the creation of the world. All the of the statuettes are stylized and obviously non-human. A god, adorned in green
quetzal feathers is mixing ashes with blood to form sculptures of a man and woman. Four towering figures painted red, black, blue and white are standing about a fire committing suicide with their daggers. Two smaller figures are ringed by the four - the modest "Pimply One" is being consumed by the fire, while the braggart "Lord of Snails" cowers in fear


More accurately, this shows the creation of the Olman "Empire" from the ruin of kaxkichan. K-Q is combining the symbolic "ashes" of Kaxkichan with the blood of the four Quinametin heroes to create Olman man and woman.

The four heroes are as follows:

Red - Lumpaal (Loom-pay-all, Son of the Earth), who travelled to the ends of the Oerth to defeat the wicked gods who dwelled there.

Black - Aktunpaal (Ok-toon-pay-all, Son of the Underworld) who travelled to the depths of the underworld to defeat the wicked gods who dwelled there.

Blue - Baabchupaal (Bay-obb-shoe-pay-all, Daughter of the Sea) who travelled to the ends of the pearl sea to defeat Chunkantik (shoon-can-teek, Eater of Boats).

White - Kaanalchupaal (Cane-al-shoe-pay-all, Daughter of the Sky) who rode a feathered serpent into the sky to slay the red dragon Taatukaana (Tay-ah-too-cane-ah, Father of the Skies Fire).

Olman legends hold the deeds of these four heroes as the redeeming quests set forth by the gods to give men a chance to atone for the sins of Kaxkichan's final days.

Once all the heroes returned, their quests completed, they committed ritual suicide in order to provide the sacred blood needed by K-Q to complete the reshaping of men. During this sacred ceremony, the other gods brought the Lord of Snails and the Pimply One, mischevious instigators who stirred the wicked gods and beasts of the sea and sky into the furor which lured the men of Kaxkichan to their sins, forth and cast them into the pyre of sacred maize husks.

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The sixth hollow shows native men and women engaged in different crafts - weaving rugs and baskets, carving totems, making pots, grinding stones for weapons and making clothes


This scene is rather mundane, but highlights two points that are worth considering. First is the fact that in Olman society, all work, except warcraft, is shared by both sexes and all ages. Little sexism or bias exists in this regard.

Second, the illustration of shaping stone into weapons (such as, one can assume from the tribal warfare diorama, axes, spears, daggers and arrows) is the foundation of my claim that the Olman people are a primarily stone age culture. This does not mean that they are any less advanced than their peers in Oerik, they simply have very limited metalworking technology.
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