Drúedain

"Ghan-buri-Ghan squatted down and touched the earth with his horny brow in token of farewell. Then he got up as if to depart. But suddenly he stood looking up like some startled woodland animal snuffling a strange air. A light came into his eyes. 'Wind is changing!' he cried, and with that, in a twinkling as it seemed, he and his fellows vanished into the glooms, never to be seen by any Rider of Rohan again. Not long after far away eastward the faint drums throbbed again. Yet to no heart in all the host came any fear that the Wild Men were unfaithful, strange and unlovely though they might appear."

- J.R.R. Tolkien. RotK. "The Ride of the Rohirrim"

Nomenclature:

A bit like Dwarves in stature and endurance, the Drúedain were a little taller than Hobbits, though otherwise not at all like Hobbits in appearance. They were stumpy, clumsy-limbed (with short, thick legs, and fat, "gnarled" arms), had broad chests, fat bellies, and heavy buttocks. According to the Elves and other Men (Atani), they had "unlovely faces": wide, flat, and expressionless with deep-set black eyes that glowed red when angered. They had "horny" brows, flat noses, wide mouths, and sparse, lanky hair (unlike Hobbits' abundant, close curls). They had no hair lower than the eyebrows, except for a few men who had a tail of black hair on the chin (i.e. Ghan-buri-Ghan's "scanty beard straggled on his lumpy chin like dry moss"). Drúedain look extremely similar to one another in the eyes of other races.

They delighted in merriment (like Hobbits), and had a rich, rolling, and contagious "gurgling" laughter - free from malice or biting wit. Drúedain vocalize a shrill "whistle" to alert others of danger (which is loud and painful to hear close at hand); otherwise their voices were deep, gutteral, and "throaty". The Drûg-folk shared a language with the Haladin (plus added a few words of their own, and spoke with an "accent"). They were able to speak the Common tongue to converse with the Sindar and other Men, but spoke it "haltingly" and used few words. They had no written language, other than a few symbols. They used drums to communicate over long distances. They were frugal - only eating as needed and drinking only water - and went mostly barefoot, but wore high buskins with laces for rough, thorny country. Otherwise, they simply wore skirts of grass about the waist.

The Haladin of the First Age lived mainly in wooded areas apart from other races of Men. Most Drughu lived in homesteads within their own lands or amongst the people of Haleth. The Drughu were a hardy and rugged people who needed very little shelter, using tents and shelters around the base of trees. They kept secret refuges in guarded mountain caves for extreme weather and for storage, to which not even the Haladin were welcome.

Places of Importance: Crossings of the Teiglin River (1st Age), Dunharrow (est. 1st Age), Drúadan Forest (1st through 3rd Age)

Historical Overview

Much is unknown of the ancient and primitive race that calls themselves "Drughu". It is said they were the first Men to cross northwest over the Anduin via Ithilien in the First Age, originating from south of Mordor. They had a relatively short life span and were never very numerous. Most remained in the White Mountains on both its northern and southern vales; there it is thought they met the ancestors of the Haladin, who may also have been the ancestors of the later inhabitants of Dunharrow, Dunland, and the Men of Bree.

First Age of the Sun

In the First Age, a segment of Drughu journeyed north. With the Haladin (people of Haleth), the Drughu were among the first Men to traverse Ered Luin (the Blue Mountains) into Beleriand. They lived amongst one another much like the Hobbits and Men of Bree. From Ossiriand, they gradually journeyed through southern Thargelion, Estolad, and Brithiach. They traveled west then to the Crossings of Teiglin and spread out into the woods of Talath Dirnen (west of Amon Rûdh), then migrated towards Nargothrond, and finally into Brethil Forest where the Sindarin King, Elu Thingol, allowed them to stay if they guarded the Crossings of Teiglin from Orcs. These Drû-folk served as excellent and loyal guards for the Haladin, hating Orcs above all else for their tortuous cruelty. Upon hearing this, the Elves admitted to the Drughu the rank of Atani (Man), and called them "Drúedain" in the Sindarin tongue. The Men of Brethil (of which Brandir the Lame became leader) were of the race of Haleth. Túrin Turambar (Brandir's cousin) was once mentored by Sador Labadal - a servant in the House of Húrin. It was Tolkien's intention to eventually transform Sador into a Drûg.

Second Age of the Sun

At the start of the Second Age there were only a few families (mostly women and children) left in Beleriand; few went to Númenor with the Haladin because they dreaded the sea. There on Elenna they throve, but during the reign of King Aldarion (2nd Age: 883-1075) they "foresaw" Númenor's downfall, and began to leave the island early, one by one, or in twos or threes - before it fell into wickedness (and into the sea). (*It is possible that some Drúedain who fled from Númenor rejoined their ancient kin in the White Mountains, but of this no tale tells.) None were left on the island during The Downfall.

During the Second Age, the mainland Drúedain became estranged from the pre-Dunlendings of Enedwaith. Furthermore, despite having living kin in Númenor, the Drúedain were persecuted by the tall Men upon their return to Middle-Earth. They were driven from the White Mountains and from the coastlines of Enedwaith into the promontory of Andrast; a small segment also survived in the Forest of Anorien (eg. Ghan-buri-Ghan's ancestors).

Third Age of the Sun

After 2510 of the Third Age, the Drúedain were hunted by the Rohirrim, who were ignorant of the Drúedain's ancient past. The Rohirrim used the Dunlendish term, "Púkel-men", for the statues at Dunharrow, but did not identify these with the "Woses" whom they may have believed to be beasts (or possibly related to goblins). At the end of the Third Age, few remained in the Drúadan Forest and Drúwaith Iaur (although some possibly still abode in Andrast for these Drúedain attacked the remnant of Saruman's forces after they fled south from the Fords of Isen). In return for guiding Théoden's army through Anórien, King Aragorn gave them all the Forest of Drúadan as their own.

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