Links between Aiel and Freeman

[Scarloc99]

As someone who loves both the Wheel of time series and the Dune series I have always wondered if RJ ever stated if Dune influenced him at all, or if he and Frank Herbert had the same root influences. 

 

There are lots of things that are similar but the one that stands out to me are the Freman and the Aiel. Both are a dessert people, and both are considered the greatest warriors of there universes. Both have links to weapons, and a large culture around the use of water. Both also practive Polygamy and a form of indenture (Paul kills a man and then takes over his wife and children given the ability to claim the wife either for his bed, or as a slave). Both also have a messiah based religion, waiting for a saviour to free them, or lead them from the dessert. 

 

Even the eye colour, the Freman are blue eyed and the Aiel have light coloured eyes. 

 

Has this ever been clarified? 

[Kalessin]

Well, both the Dune Fremen and the Randland Aiel are survivors of a long period of exile from previous societies, both have religious backgrounds that involve non-violence (Fremen being Zensunni - related no doubt to Buddhislamic faiths mentioned elsewhere.) and yet are now capable of extreme violence wherever considered necessary, and both hold their current straightened circumstances are justifiable because of both previous circumstances and future outcomes.

[Harad the White]

They were both based on the Bedouin. Wiki sez,

 

"The Bedouin, Beduin or Bedu (/ˈbɛduɪn/; Arabic: بَدْو‎, romanized: badū, singular بَدَوِي badawī) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. However, the Arabian Peninsula is the historic and original homeland of the Bedouin Arabs. The English word bedouin comes from the Arabic badawī, which means "desert dweller", and is traditionally contrasted with ḥāḍir, the term for sedentary people. Bedouin territory stretches from the vast deserts of North Africa to the rocky sands of the Middle East. They are traditionally divided into tribes, or clans (known in Arabic as ʿašāʾir; عَشَائِر), and historically share a common culture of herding camels and goats. The vast majority of Bedouins adhere to Islam, although there are some fewer numbers of Christian Bedouins present in the Fertile Crescent."

 

Desert-dwelling, nomadic, and at one time, badass fighters. The fremen had spice. The Bedouin had oil (simplistically). The Aiel had the sun in the morning and the moon at night.

[Harad the White]

On 11/21/2021 at 9:57 AM, Sir_Charrid said:

Both are a dessert people,

As T.E. Lawrence said, picking up his fork, "My people are the people of the dessert."

[DojoToad]

On 12/5/2021 at 6:59 PM, Harad the White said:

They were both based on the Bedouin. Wiki sez,

 

"The Bedouin, Beduin or Bedu (/ˈbɛduɪn/; Arabic: بَدْو‎, romanized: badū, singular بَدَوِي badawī) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. However, the Arabian Peninsula is the historic and original homeland of the Bedouin Arabs. The English word bedouin comes from the Arabic badawī, which means "desert dweller", and is traditionally contrasted with ḥāḍir, the term for sedentary people. Bedouin territory stretches from the vast deserts of North Africa to the rocky sands of the Middle East. They are traditionally divided into tribes, or clans (known in Arabic as ʿašāʾir; عَشَائِر), and historically share a common culture of herding camels and goats. The vast majority of Bedouins adhere to Islam, although there are some fewer numbers of Christian Bedouins present in the Fertile Crescent."

 

Desert-dwelling, nomadic, and at one time, badass fighters. The fremen had spice. The Bedouin had oil (simplistically). The Aiel had the sun in the morning and the moon at night.

Agreed to a point.  I always thought they were both a mix of cultures with Fremen being more heavily influenced by the Bedouin and the Aiel less but still there.

[bringbackthomsmoustache]

On 12/8/2021 at 5:27 PM, DojoToad said:

Agreed to a point.  I always thought they were both a mix of cultures with Fremen being more heavily influenced by the Bedouin and the Aiel less but still there.

The Aiel also appear to be heavily influenced by the Apache (stealth, running ability and the the tendency to treat all other peoples as enemies - also the sweat bathing) and the Zulu (use of short stabbing spear and buckler and the description of the head and horns tactic).