Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki - User contributions [en]

Mad Stoat

2019-08-31T00:41:49Z

Aragonite:

The village of '''Mad Stoat''' would probably be part of [[Lancre Town]], were it not for the violent geography of the country. The horizontal separation is negligible, but in [[Lancre]], horizon and horizontality are scarce, and the two villages are displaced vertically by enough mountain to discourage frivolous visits.

Mad Stoat is the site of the cottage of Lancre's third witch, once [[Goodie Whemper]], then [[Magrat Garlick]], and recently, [[Agnes Nitt]].

Either the dwarfs of Copperhead Mine are geographically beneath Mad Stoat, or close by, as they asked [[Magrat Garlick]] to examine the sword found with the infant [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]] and she was close enough to tell them how to stop spelling 'recommendation' in [[Guards! Guards!]] and was consulted on his most non-magical sword.

==Annotation==
The stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small mammal of the family Mustelidae - also known as the short-tailed weasel and the ermine.

[[Category: Discworld geography]]
[[de:Verrücktes Wiesel]]

Hoki

2019-05-17T04:21:25Z

Aragonite: /* Annotation */

Hoki the Jokester, a [[Ramtops]] god of practical jokes. He most commonly manifests himself in the aspect of a flute-playing half-goat/half-man (a la {{wp|Pan_(mythology)|Pan}}), though [[Granny Weatherwax]] considers him a bloody nuisance ({{ER}}). He was banished from [[Dunmanifestin]] after pulling the old exploding mistletoe joke on [[Blind Io]], chief of [[the gods]] (see ''[[Book:The Discworld Companion|The Discworld Companion]]''). Hoki has not yet featured in a ''[[Discworld]]'' novel, though [[Rincewind]] does swear by him ("or my name isn't Rincewand, by Hoki", intentionally mis-stating his name) in [[The Last Continent]].

==Annotation==

The reference is to [[Roundworld]] deity {{wp|Loki|Loki}}, the [[Trickster|trickster-god]] of the Nordic pantheon. Among other [[Monster Fun Grimoire|terminally effective practical jokes]], he slew the naive and trusting god Baldur with a dart fashioned from mistletoe, after spotting a loophole in the rules of the Game. Apparently no living thing with its roots in the earth was capable of slaying the beloved god. But Loki realised that mistletoe, a parasite on oak trees, does not have its roots in the earth. So during a jolly game where the rest of the gods amused themselves by seeking to slay Baldur with spears (made from trees which root in the earth) swords (made from iron which is drawn from the earth) and rocks (the very roots of the earth) to no avail - Gods everywhere have a sense of humour akin to that of rugby club members - Loki sidled up and offered to try out ''his'' weapon. Laughing and expecting it to bounce off, Baldur bared his breast, and was slain on the spot. The rest of the Gods immediately sobered up, and Loki's penance was to be chained to a rock for all eternity, fending off venom dripping on his face and body. So Hoki got off lightly with mere banishment...

All pantheons appear to have their trickster god, whose function appears to be to teach and drive home lessons through painful and embarrassing practical jokes. The Greeks had [[Errata|Eris/Discordia]], who was responsible for the Golden Apple stunt which got the Gods fighting among themselves and was indirectly responsible for the Trojan War. The Celts had Morrigan, a similarly vicious practical joker who manifested as a Raven (even today, the raven is a bird treated with wary respect in rural Ireland), and the Raven as [[Trickster]] motif is also to be found in Africa. In West African, West Indies and South American folklore, Anansi, the spider, fills the niche, and South-Western American Indians talk, although not very loudly, about Coyote.

It is possible the Trickster on Discworld is one of ''those'' Gods who moonlight under many guises to garner more believers, even if all they believe is "that bloody nuisance is back again". Hence the cynical disbelief on the kangaroo-god's face when Rincewind swears his oath "or my name isn't Rincewand, by Hoki"... he might as well be talking to Hoki himself!

In the Discworld SNUFF the riverboat captain [[Gastric Sillitoe]] swears to [[Samuel Vimes]], "Nevertheless, I can see you're a man, sir, who does what he sees needs doing, and by Hokey, I can't argue with that!"

[[Category:Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Supernatural entities]]
[[de:Hoki]]

Hoki

2019-05-17T04:20:39Z

Aragonite: Addition of Hokey (sp) in SNUFF

Hoki the Jokester, a [[Ramtops]] god of practical jokes. He most commonly manifests himself in the aspect of a flute-playing half-goat/half-man (a la {{wp|Pan_(mythology)|Pan}}), though [[Granny Weatherwax]] considers him a bloody nuisance ({{ER}}). He was banished from [[Dunmanifestin]] after pulling the old exploding mistletoe joke on [[Blind Io]], chief of [[the gods]] (see ''[[Book:The Discworld Companion|The Discworld Companion]]''). Hoki has not yet featured in a ''[[Discworld]]'' novel, though [[Rincewind]] does swear by him ("or my name isn't Rincewand, by Hoki", intentionally mis-stating his name) in [[The Last Continent]].

==Annotation==

The reference is to [[Roundworld]] deity {{wp|Loki|Loki}}, the [[Trickster|trickster-god]] of the Nordic pantheon. Among other [[Monster Fun Grimoire|terminally effective practical jokes]], he slew the naive and trusting god Baldur with a dart fashioned from mistletoe, after spotting a loophole in the rules of the Game. Apparently no living thing with its roots in the earth was capable of slaying the beloved god. But Loki realised that mistletoe, a parasite on oak trees, does not have its roots in the earth. So during a jolly game where the rest of the gods amused themselves by seeking to slay Baldur with spears (made from trees which root in the earth) swords (made from iron which is drawn from the earth) and rocks (the very roots of the earth) to no avail - Gods everywhere have a sense of humour akin to that of rugby club members - Loki sidled up and offered to try out ''his'' weapon. Laughing and expecting it to bounce off, Baldur bared his breast, and was slain on the spot. The rest of the Gods immediately sobered up, and Loki's penance was to be chained to a rock for all eternity, fending off venom dripping on his face and body. So Hoki got off lightly with mere banishment...

All pantheons appear to have their trickster god, whose function appears to be to teach and drive home lessons through painful and embarrassing practical jokes. The Greeks had [[Errata|Eris/Discordia]], who was responsible for the Golden Apple stunt which got the Gods fighting among themselves and was indirectly responsible for the Trojan War. The Celts had Morrigan, a similarly vicious practical joker who manifested as a Raven (even today, the raven is a bird treated with wary respect in rural Ireland), and the Raven as [[Trickster]] motif is also to be found in Africa. In West African, West Indies and South American folklore, Anansi, the spider, fills the niche, and South-Western American Indians talk, although not very loudly, about Coyote.

It is possible the Trickster on Discworld is one of ''those'' Gods who moonlight under many guises to garner more believers, even if all they believe is "that bloody nuisance is back again". Hence the cynical disbelief on the kangaroo-god's face when Rincewind swears his oath "or my name isn't Rincewand, by Hoki"... he might as well be talking to Hoki himself!

In the Discworld SNUFF the riverboat captain [[Gastric Sillitoe]] swears to [[Samuel Vimes]], "Nevertheless, I can see you're a man, sir, who does what he sees needs doing, and by honey, I can't argue with that!"

[[Category:Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Supernatural entities]]
[[de:Hoki]]