Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time Season 2 Episode 5.
The Wheel of Timeis a rich world with many different and interesting cultures. From the Two Rivers to places like Tar Valon, Falme, and Cairhien, there’s a lot to take in. The show has also been slowly introducing one of the most important cultures: the Aiel. The Aiel are a people who live in the desert beyond the Spine of the World. So far in the show, we have seen three Aiel. The first Aiel is dead in a cage, killed because the locals feared him — but whydoeseveryone seem to be so afraid of them?
The Aiel culture is rich with interesting ideas that are familiar, but with small twists that make them feel fresh. There is too much lore to put in here,Robert Jordanoutdid himself (as always), and also some reveals later on that are better to keep secret and unspoiled for the future enjoyment of the show. The most important visual cue to remember is the veil. When an Aiel is veiled, meaning the bottom half of their face is covered with a black cloth mask, it means that they are ready to fight, and intend to kill. They are efficient killers, often seen as vicious, even though they are not dangerous when not veiled.
The first time we see the ferocity of the Aiel is in the cold open of Season 1, Episode 7. Depicting the Blood Snow, we follow Tigraine (Magdalena Sittova), a pregnant Aiel woman who we later find out is Rand’s mother. In the middle of labor, she takes down countless soldiers. The Aiel are known for their skilled fighting, but there is much more to them than just that.
Who Are the Aiel in ‘The Wheel of Time’?
The Aiel come from beyond the Spine of the world, far to the east of where we have been in the world so far. Wetlanders, who we think of as our main characters, call the desert the Aiel come from “the Waste.” Aviendha (Ayoola Smart) explains to Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) that her people call it “The Three Fold Land,” and goes on to explain that it’s “the shaping stone to make us, the testing ground to prove our worth, and the punishment for the sin.” The sin in question was done so long ago that nobody remembers what it, exactly, but the Aiel’s culture is still shaped around it. They are also searching for the Car’a’carn, their “Chief of Chiefs” as Aviendha says, the person who will lead the Aiel.
The Aiel are easily known by their appearance — from their clothing, a shoufa (headscarf) and veil, to their hair, height, and especially their spears. Many characters in the series have mentioned time and time again that Aiel are known for their red hair. Thom (Alexandre Willaume) first points this out toMat (Barney Harris)when they bury the dead Aiel in Season 1. Loial (Hammed Animashaun), insists that Rand (Josha Stradowski) is an Aielman despite Rand repeatedly denying he is. Errol (Nasser Memarzia), the man Rand is taking care of in Season 2, is frightened of him after fighting in the Aiel war twenty years before — and more recently, even after Rand has shaved his head to blend in more, Logain comments that he can “see red at [his] roots” to taunt him. An Aiel will not go unnoticed.
The Channelers of the Aiel Are Known as Wise Ones
Much like every other culture inThe Wheel of Time, the Aiel also has women who can channel. Just like we are familiar with the Aes Sedai and Wisdoms, the Aiel call them Wise Ones. Wise Ones are the leaders of the Aiel people, andunlike the Aes Sedai, allow any woman to train to become a Wise One no matter the strength of her power or age. However, Wise Ones do not fight in battles like the women of the Westlands.
The Aiel Have Warrior Women Called Far Dareis Mai
Far Dareis Mai, translated to Maidens of the Spear, is a group of warriors within the Aiel that only admit women into their ranks. These women “wed the spear,” and are unable to marry a man without giving the spears up. They train in different types of combat, from hand-to-hand, spears, and even bows. But they will never touch a sword. If a Maiden of the Spear were to get pregnant, she would have to relinquish her spears for the duration of the pregnancy, and a Wise One would take the baby and give it to another woman to raise. They also have what they call handtalk, a secret sign language they use to communicate with each other,something we have already seen in promo for the series!We’ve just met a new Maiden of the Spear: Aviendha.Released from a cage by Perrin, the two team up to fight the Whitecloaks and escape(but let’s be honest, she did most of the work here.) Much like Tigraine’s fight in Season 1, seeing another Aiel in combat is mesmerizing, and it is just one of many we’ll likely get to watch inThe Wheel of Time.
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The Aiel Have Their Own Culture of Honor and Obligation
Ji’e’toh, literally translated to “honor and obligation” from the Old Tongue, is the system by which the Aiel live. Boiled down, it is a system of obligation toward someone for their actions toward you. It can be anything — something as simple as Perrin freeing Aviendha from the cage she was in. She now has toh, or a debt, to Perrin and must fulfill it. “My water is yours,” Aviendha says, and following Perrin is how she is paying her toh. It’s easy to understand that coming from such an arid climate, water would be an important resource to the Aiel. As we see through this interaction, Ji’e’toh does not just adhere to the Aiel themselves, but to anyone they might interact with.
The Aiel are a seemingly ferocious people who are hard set on the rules that they follow, but they are not so different from anyone else. (Well, maybe their humor is a bit different.) They are expert fighters, but they are also incredibly honorable in the end, and Aiel should not be feared unless they are veiled. Aviendha is the first of many Aiel that we are going to see across this series, and they are going to be a real treat to see on screen.
New episodes ofThe Wheel of TimeSeason 2 premiere Fridays on Prime Video.
