Why no name for Randland?

[clutzyninja]

Does anyone else find it strage that it was the fans that had to name Randland?  I can't imagine the people not having a name for the land that they live on.  But just as strange is that no one in 14 books mentions it by name.  Is there some long lost interview where RJ explains this?  And if not, theories?

 

I'm predicting this has been answered before, but I didn't see it in the search...

[Barid Bel Medar]

RJ did. 

 

They call their own planet "earth" or "world", just like humans in real life. Perhaps they did in the AoL, but it has been lost. 

 

If you mean the continent specifically, they don't have a "world map" like we do. The world is split up into the different kingdoms and nations, and that's the name they go by. They don't have an official continent name, most likely because they didn't know much beyond their own borders, certainly not enough to figure out that there were different continents and where those continental borders were to give them names. 

[clutzyninja]

RJ did. 

 

They call their own planet "earth" or "world", just like humans in real life. Perhaps they did in the AoL, but it has been lost. 

 

If you mean the continent specifically, they don't have a "world map" like we do. The world is split up into the different kingdoms and nations, and that's the name they go by. They don't have an official continent name, most likely because they didn't know much beyond their own borders, certainly not enough to figure out that there were different continents and where those continental borders were to give them names. 

I get that, but they have a name for The Aiel Waste, for Shara, for Tremalking, for the Seafolk Isles.  I still think it's odd that they have names for other entire sections of the continent, but not for the section they live on.  What would they say if they needed to refer to it?  "We need to unite all the kingdoms of...of this large area in which all of our kingdoms are in!"

[Barid Bel Medar]

They name those large places because they don't know the kingdoms/nations/states that are inside that. 

 

The Aiel Waste is named that because all they know is that the Aiel live in that part. Similarly, they don't know anything about Shara, so they just call the place "Shara" as a whole. 

 

The Sea Folk Isles are just that. "Isles that we don't really know anything about, but the Sea Folk live there or whatever". 

 

They don't have the concept that their little area of the globe is put together under a continent or sub-continent. 

 

Cairhienin and Andor have always been separate, just as Illian and Tear have always been individual nations, and they wouldn't even think to class them in the same category. 

 

When they are thinking of uniting their little area, they think of uniting Illian, Tear, Cairhien, Andor, the Borderlands, Murandy. etc... Not an overall "area" type thing. 

 

That may very well change now they are aware of the wider world, but so far everyone has barely known anything about other places. 

[clutzyninja]

OK.  I see what you're saying, and I think you are right within the story, but personally, I still think it's odd....

Although I am now considering afghanistan, where I'm at.  Many villages don't consider themselves part of anything other than their village.  They don't have much concept of afghanistan as a whole, so that kinda helps.  But at the same time, these villages have little to no contact with other areas of the country, so they have no practical reason to care about afghanistan as a named area.

The kingdoms of Andor DO communicate with each other, so it still seems strange they wouldn't have a name for the landmass they occupy.

I accept your explanation for why, just find it strange, is all.

 

If only for ease in conversation.  Instead of, "I looked all over Far Madding and Illian and Tear and Andor and Cairhien for you!" it could be, "I looked all over Randland for you!"

You figure within the imaginary lives of the entire population of Randland, conversations would have had to come up where having a name for the landmass as a whole would be convenient, and that's where language stems from.

[Barid Bel Medar]

I know what you mean, and I do agree with what you are saying. I'm not too fussed either way, both make sense. 

 

It is a little hard when you are trying to talk about Randland (which some call the Westlands) but it has a reasonable enough excuse. 

[clutzyninja]

Yeah, I'm only fussed in so far as curiosity.  Curiosity is like an itch between the shoulder blades, for me.