High Fantasy track director Jennifer Liang welcomed Anthony Liggins, Christina Goodman, Sarah Nakamura, and Marisa Wolf to the Marriott track rooms (L401-403) Saturday afternoon for a discussion of the Aiel, one of the major cultures that populate the world of Robert Jordan’s multi volume epic fantasy The Wheel of Time. The fourteen-volume series has enjoyed tremendous success with nearly 100 million copies sold worldwide. In creating a world filled with complex cultures and characters, Jordan not only acknowledged the influence of J.R.R. Tolkien but drew on his studies of mythology, anthropology, and history as well. The focus of the panel was the Aiel, a clan-based society that lives in a desert located between the Westlands and Shara. The Aiel refer to their home as the “Three-fold land” while to the rest of the world it is simply the “Aiel waste.”

The panelists considered specific characters to illuminate Aiel culture, including Aviendha and Rhuarc. Aviendha is an Aiel Maiden of the Spear. A warrior maiden archetype, she was one of Goodman’s favorite characters because of her ability to change. In an homage to Jordan, Liggins was amazed by how well written her character was and how much she grew over the course of her arc. Nakamura added that Aviendha pointed to an underlying component of these people in her curiosity and ability to adapt. Rhuarc stood out to the panel as well. The “archetypal leader,” he embodies the values and moral code of the Aiel. He is steady and reassuring, reliable and fiercely loyal. “Ji’e’toh,” which means loyalty and honor, is the underlying principle of Aiel ethics. Rhuarc manifests these fundamental values in the very best way.

The panel next turned to a consideration of polyamory in Aiel culture, a hallmark of these people that tended to draw strong reactions outside the “Three-fold land.”  Jordan played with gender stereotypes throughout the work. In the Wheel of Time, women are the most effective users of magic, which means they enjoy great power. In Aiel specifically, even though only men can rule, it is women who own property and women who propose marriage. At the same time the Aiel practice polygamy in which a man can have multiple wives. Drawn from Jordan’s studies of the history of nomadic societies, this phenomenon reflects the power dynamics of the family unit. Historically, polygamy, as well as concubinage, was used to solidify alliances and reinforce power relationships. Further, while the Aiel are defined by tribal affiliation, they focus is on their specific warrior group. There is constant intertribal conflict and thus, as Liang pointed out, a limited number of men available for mating and family building. What Jordan does in his portrayal of gender dynamics among the Aiel is to mix historical elements of patriarchal and matriarchal societies in new and creative ways. While often denigrated by other nations as “savages” by people afraid of their reputation as warriors and shocked by their polyamory, the Aiel often became objects of cultural appropriation. It wouldn’t work, Liggins pointed out, if a nation lacked the fundamental values of the Aiel. If a national didn’t understand, believe in, or commit to a notion of honor and loyalty, their efforts would ultimately fail. It was an interesting hour, and Jordan fans who attended the panel left invigorated by an engaging and dynamic conversation.