Potential Spoilers Below
The Aiel and the Dothraki seem to have most of the same characteristics. The biggest difference that I see is that the Aiel don't ride horses and prefer to walk or run. Their origins may not line up in the end but you never know as the Game of Thrones hasn't been completed.
The Aiel (pronounced:
eye-EEL) are a race of people who live between the "wetlanders" in
the Westlands and the Sharans in the east, in a desert which the Aiel call the
Three-fold Land and which everyone else calls the Aiel Waste. They have earned
a reputation as skilled warriors; little else is known about them in the wider
world. Physically, Aiel can be recognized through their unusual height,
characteristic pale eyes and light-colored hair, as well as their distinctive
clothing.
Aiel |
Modern Aiel are descended
from the Da'shain Aiel, servants of the Aes Sedai during the Age of Legends,
and sworn never to do violence (a philosophy known as the Way of the Leaf).
During the War of Power, they seem to have acquired the name "People of the Dragon". Some time after the Breaking of the World, however, the
Da'shain Aiel slowly disintegrated from one people into three: today's Aiel
(which means "dedicated" in the Old Tongue), the Tuatha'an (also
known as Traveling People or Tinkers), and the Jenn Aiel (literally, True
Dedicated).
Aes Sedai |
A female Tuatha'an dancing the tiganza |
The Aiel call the Waste
the "Three-fold Land," referring to the gifts the harsh land gives to
the Aiel people. The gifts to the Aiel are: a shaping stone to make them, a
testing ground to prove their worth, and a punishment for their sin. Aiel
prophecy states that the Aiel will leave the Waste once the Stone of Tear
falls.
Location of the Aiel Waste |
The Aiel are organized on
several different levels. There are twelve Aiel clans, each of which has a clan chief; clans are further divided into septs, and septs subdivide into holdings
(which are individual settlements; each clan and sept also has a central hold).
Aiel warriors also affiliate themselves with various warrior societies, of
which there are twelve: Mountain Dancers, Thunder Walkers, Stone Dogs, Brothers
of the Eagle, etc. The only society to accept women is the Far Dareis Mai, the
Maidens of the Spear; their members 'marry' their spears and are forbidden to
take men into their lives on a permanent basis without forfeiting membership.
Rhuarc, clan chief of the Taardad Aiel |
Maidens of the Spear |
Wise Ones are the
matriarchal leaders of the Aiel.
Three Wise Ones; Amys, Bair and Melaine |
Cold Rocks Hold is a settlement belonging to the Taardad Aiel of the Nine Valleys sept. The Taardad Aiel continued to protect the Jenn Aiel until they founded Rhuidean. They are descended from Lewin who was the first of the Jenn Aiel to be cast out for killing. Lian is its Roofmistress.
Rhuidean is a city in the
Aiel Waste built by the Jenn Aiel, some time after the Breaking of the World,
but before the Trolloc Wars. It was a large unpopulated city, but smaller than
Tear and Caemlyn. The buildings are all majestic palaces, with many unfinished.
There is a great plaza in the center of the city filled with hundreds of
objects of the One Power. Avendesora grows at the very center.
Rhuidean |
Avendesora |
The Car'a'carn
("Chief of chiefs" in the Old Tongue) is the Aiel term for the one
who will lead all Aiel, in accordance with the Prophecy of Rhuidean.
Rand becoming the Car'a'carn |
At Alcair Dal, Rand also
revealed the secret he learned in the Rhuidean test, the secret that drove two
of three Aiel to insanity: that the Aiel had once been the Da'shain Aiel,
served the Aes Sedai, and followed the Way of the Leaf. To a culture that lives
and dies by its oaths, the news that they were all oathbreakers was
devastating, and many Aiel have since succumbed to the resulting
"bleakness." Some take on permanent gai'shain white, in hopes of
paying off a debt that can never be repaid. More forsake spear and cadin'sor
and attempt to live the Way of the Leaf in the wetlander cities--or among the
Tinkers, whom Aiel call Lost Ones--as their ancestors would have.[2] Others
simply disappear. And some of them run to join the Shaido, hoping for a return
to an earlier, simpler time.
Gai'shain |
Aiel practice polygyny, a
form of polygamy in which a man has multiple wives (though not all Aiel men
do), but not polyandry, in which a woman has multiple husbands. Wives of the
same husband are referred to as sister-wives and share a close relationship.
All parties must be in agreement for a polygynous marriage.
Water Oath: A water oath is an agreement traditionally between members of the Aiel that is sworn over water. It is considered an extremely serious oath and is rarely broken.
Because of the lack of water in the Aiel Waste it is considered precious. When The Aiel left the Waste they were in awe of the lakes and rivers that they encountered.
The Fifth: When a group of Aiel take one of the holds of an enemy clan in the Waste, by custom they carry away one fifth of all it contains, excepting only food. They basically take the fifth of the valuables within a city that they conquer.
If you have read or watched the Game of Throne and if you read about the Aiel above it should be clear to you where the Dothraki got their origins.
The Dothraki are a race of
nomadic horse-mounted warriors in Essos, the continent to the east of Westeros
across the Narrow Sea. They inhabit the vast central plains of Essos, known as
the Dothraki sea. They are said to be born, fight, and die in the saddle.
Dothraki People |
Dothraki Sea |
Dothraki warriors are
commonly referred to as "horselords" but may also be derisively
called "screamers" as well.
The Dothraki are nomadic
horse-mounted warriors, who sweep across the vast central plains of Essos in
search of plunder. Most of their society is centered around their horses: even
their name for themselves in their own language, "Dothraki",
literally means "riders". Dothraki boys learn to shoot bows from
horseback when they are only four years old.
The Dothraki will abandon a sick or injured leader who can no longer
ride a horse.
Essos |
The Dothraki love horses whereas the Aiel are uncomfortable on horseback.
The Aiel live in the Aiel Waste. In Essos there is a place called the Red Waste which even the Dothraki fear to cross.
The Dothraki are divided
into several nameless clans known as khalasars, led by a single leader, the
khal . The khalasars roam the Dothraki Sea, always on the move looking for new
pasture lands and new targets for plundering. The Dothraki frequently raid
neighboring regions, such as Lhazar to the southeast or the Free Cities to the
west. The Dothraki live by taking what they need including supplies, valuables,
and new captives to serve them as slaves. The Dothraki respect force, and thus
only respect those who are able to successfully resist them, while conquered slaves
deserve only contempt. The Dothraki are
usually dismissive of infantry (with the notable exception of the elite
Unsullied warrior-eunuch legions).
A Dothraki khalasar on the move |
Khal Drogo |
The Dosh Khaleen are a
ruling group within the Dothraki social hierarchy, specifically the crones who
preside over the holy city of Vaes Dothrak. The dosh khaleen are comprised of
the widows of slain khals, and serve as seers foretelling the future and
interpreting omens for the Dothraki. In this capacity they essentially also
serve as the leaders of the Dothraki religion. Even powerful khals and fierce male
Dothraki warriors fear disobeying the will of the dosh khaleen.
Dosh Khaleen leader |
The only Dothraki city is
Vaes Dothrak, located to the far north-east of the Dothraki sea. It is ruled by
the Dosh khaleen, crones and wise women who were once the wives of now dead
khals. All Dothraki commerce (with fellow Dothraki and other Essos peoples) is
done in the marketplaces of the city, and all sacred rituals are conducted
there. Drawing weapons or shedding blood is forbidden inside Vaes Dothrak,
although there are loopholes to the unspoken rule of not killing anyone.
Vaes Dothrak |
Why no violence in Vaes Dothrak? Cold Rocks Hold and Rhuidean were simply combined to form Vaes Dothrak. I think it comes from this excerpt from the Wheel of Time: Amys tells Mat it is not permitted; Mat tries to convince them otherwise, but the Wise Ones are firm. Rand suddenly speaks up, telling them that he says Mat can come with him. The Wise Ones debate among themselves, discussing that times are changing, and finally they agree that Mat can go. Amys explains the rules to both of them, saying they may not bring food, water, or weapons to Rhuidean.
The Stallion Who Mounts the World is a prophecy in the Dothraki religion. According to the prophecy,
the Stallion is the "khal of khals" who will unite all the Dothraki
under his single khalasar and ride to the ends of the earth. The prophecy
states that "he will be the khal of khals, and all the people of the world
will be his herd."
It is said that the
Dothraki "don't believe in money", instead taking what they want
through raiding (which includes enslaving defeated peoples). The two resources
they actually have on the plains of the Dothraki Sea are miles upon miles of
grass, and horses. As people can't eat grass, the main staples of the Dothraki
diet are horse meat and fermented mare's milk.
What material wealth or
precious objects they do possess have been acquired through raiding surrounding
nations such as the Free Cities, Slaver's Bay, or Lhazar; or from raiding other
Dothraki hordes to take their plunder secondhand. The Dothraki do not so much
function on the barter system, as they use the honor system: they frown upon
"trade" but honor the exchange of gifts, such as tribute. Long ago the
Free Cities decided that it was often less destructive to just give the
Dothraki massive tributes in gold, finished products, and slaves, than to try
to fight them off (though a Dothraki horde might still attack if they find the
gift insufficient, or if they just haven't had a good fight in a while). The
Dothraki will not reciprocate these "gifts" on an immediate quid pro
quo trade system. However, they will as a rule keep their word to eventually
give a gift which they have promised, though they will do it in their own time.
In practice, however, if a
Dothraki horde has a particular need for a resource that it cannot obtain
through direct raiding, i.e. new armor and weapons, they will resort to actual
"barter" by "gifting" slaves they have captured in return
for finished products from the Free Cities or Slaver's Bay.
The Game of Thrones combines several of the characteristics of the characters within the Wheel of Time. The Maidens of the Spear were the honor guard to the Car'a'carn. So will the Stallion Who Mounts the World be Daenerys Targaryen or Jon Snow. They both share characteristics of Azor Ahai but where the show goes could go in so many different directions.
Comments encouraged. Love to hear the idea’s of others. Most believe that since I present my idea’s
as “fact like” I’m not open to change my viewpoints which is far from the
truth. I simply look at the information
presented and go from there. If you can
shine a light on another way of thinking that opens the door to debate.
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