Posted: June 15, 1999 at 04:16:22: by Martin Read
: : : I can't think of any references right now. This is my last
: : : post here for the evening. "Haradrim" just means "peoples of
: : : the south", and does not refer to any one race or tribe. The
: : : only black-skinned men we encounter in THE LORD OF THE RINGS
: : : are (what appear to be) a fantasy race devised by Tolkien
: : : which merit only two mentions in "The Battle of the Pelennor
: : : Fields". These are the "black men like half-trolls with
: : : white eyes and red tongues", later called "Troll-men".: : Melanistic relatives of the Druedain, corrupted by Sauron?
: :
: : I hadn't noticed before but the white-eye reference would tend
: : to rule out any straight equation with Sub-Saharan Africans who
: : often have a yellow-tinge to the sclera of the eyes -
: : interesting observation. : I don't know about that, but unless all other inhabitants of Middle-earth DON'T have white around their irises, Tolkien was saying the eyes of these creatures were white -- meaning, they had WHITE EYES. I don't know how to express it any plainer than that. No man has a white eye. I believe that even albinos have pink eyes, though I've never met an albino so I'm not positive (and would all albinos have the same eye colors?). Off hand I cannot think of any mammal with white irises. I always thought that the reference was to the more apparent contrast you would get of white sclera against a black skin. Albino humans (there are a variety of causes) have pale blue to red irises. I've met an albino of the blue-eyed variety, the lack of pigment gives a very arresting impression. : Also, trolls were very tall. I wouldn't think of the Troll-men as being short and fat. Tolkien apparently decided they resembled trolls in some fashion. They must have therefore been unusually large and strong. I've always thought of them as being massive in all directions - large and squat - like a bipedal humanoid rhino (without the nasal attachment). : : This description of the Far Haradrim reminds me of the ugly
: : Ancient Egyptian god Bes. He is usually represented as a squat
: : dwarfish (not Dwarvish) thick-limbed, pot-bellied character
: : with a grimacing face and protruding tongue, wearing a
: : leopardskin kilt and ostrich feathered head-dress. He was
: : associated with war and, curiously, childbirth. As Tolkien was
: : well aquainted with ancient mythologies a connection would not
: : be impossible. : Perhaps, but as with making the "hobgoblins" large Orcs (essentially Uruks, I propose), he would indeed be twisting the tradition around in using it for his Troll-men. I have a blue faience Ancient Egyptian amulet (about an inch in height) of Bes and he is certainly grotesque enough to be called troll-like. I wouldn't like to meet him on a dark night!
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