HOME | DD
Mara999 — Woses of Druadan Forest
Published: 2012-06-02 22:29:41 +0000 UTC; Views: 3896; Favourites: 44; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description
My take on the Drúedain, the wild men of the forest. The way they are described in "Return of the King" and other writing by Tolkien, I imagine that they´re supposed to represent all the different real-world hunter-gatherer peoples that have at some point been pushed aside from their native land by technologically superior invaders. Sort of a manifestation for "the white man's guilt", as the Drúedain are slowly becoming extinct and their unique culture is disappearing with them, which the otherwise positively portrayed human civilizations are to blame for.Physically I picture the woses as looking like a mix of Dwarves and Hobbits both in size and appearance, in that they look hardy as the former and pudgy as the latter at the same time.
Related content
Comments: 10
this might sound a little weird but I think they almost look Hawaiian or Polynesian and it's an effect that's very effective and fitting for them.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Not weird at all, since the description of the woses matches with a multitude of groups in the Pacific. While I've thought of them as closer to Papuans, they are also very similar to many Polynesian societies. The blow-darts and grass-skirts will inevitably make them seem like islanders of some sort.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
The Woses get few takers, so it's nice to see you illustrate them. As you have mentioned in the comments, they are not pretty people, so it counts against them. Tolkien does seem to have used a melange of traits from various primitive cultures to describe them. (Or maybe primitive cultures tend to be the same, since they haven't made it to a point where cultural diversification can occur?) Now, I felt the pudgy nature was mainly due to old Ghan, who was well past his prime and thus inclined to have a tummy tire. Then again they might have a Samoan-like build with fleshiness covering bands of muscle. I must include my standard carp about blowguns in M-E. Tolkien's use of archaic English meant that "dart" indicated an arrow or a light, vaned javelin. (Some Medieval or Renaissance art depicts the latter.) I suppose the woses used the javelins and arrows with stone heads, relying on envenomed points to make up for a lack of range and penetrating power. (Not to mention ensuring better luck on the hunt! A poisoned deer won't just run away into the thickets with an arrowhead in its flank. The Wose hunter need only follow the direction of flight, confident in finding the stricken prey.)
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I picture them as also being an amalgamation of various prehistoric peoples, particularly the ancient ancestors of Native Americans mixed in with more sympathetic portrayals of Neanderthals.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
There's something in those elements as well, and they contribute to your Woses' appearance. Definitely llike men, but definitely not like the other Men of western M-E.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I was always under the impression that the woses were just another race of Men, albeit a browner one than the Rohirrim or Men of Gondor. Good work on these guys.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you. The way they are described, as short pudgy people with heavy brows and otherwise broad features, reminds me very much of Papuans and other dark-skinned ethnic groups in that part of the Pacific. What little is told of their reclusive lifestyle, they sound like they should be from a tropical region, even though I imagine the climate of Gondor to be vaguely Mediterranean.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It's great to see a picture of the Drúedain, they are being forgotten by many...
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks for the fave! I believe the main reason is that they are one of the more obscure factions in the story, even more since they weren't in the movie. Another one might be that they are not conventionally pretty or handsome, so they get less attention than Elves and others that might have bishie-fangirls fawning over them.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0