WoT countries resembling real countries

[Brandegoris Al'Mor]

hahah TRUE! Almost everyone in Camelyn calls the Two Rivers folks Backwards farmers and other disparaging things!!! And im scotch ( well somewhere down my line!) and am very stubborn..so...yeah... :P

 

[Ealandrelle Melyma]

You're not Scotch You're Scottish. Scotch = whiskey, or porridge. Or broth

 

[Brandegoris Al'Mor]

LOL Oh no..I m DEFINITELY 32% Scotch!! hahaha
Also after reading some of the 4th book last night i changed my mind!! I was reading about Egwene dreaming into Tanchico, and met Amys etc etc.... but...I NOW see Tanchico as being more Roman/Byzantine!!!!! For sure! They had a Colisseum. MUST be Roman, right?? LOL

 

[Irinia Argyvni]

I thought of some countries for the Borderlands but I have forgotten them Anyway,I think they have a lot of elements from many countries of our world.

 

[Keisha al'Benn]

I just read Eaters of the Dead and found many similarities between the Vikings and Ebou Dar customs.

 

[Vale Cauthor]

I think the most visible are
Andor = England
Cairhien = France

I'm pretty sure Aiel are some people form the arabian desert, Shara = a mix of China and Japan, and the continent of Seanchan is America

 

[Mattrim al'Korin]

Hmmm, I actually always found the Aiel to have similar customs to First Nations (or Native Americans, if you are from the US). Did anyone else get that feeling?

Yeah I thought so, too. Matriarchal society with strong respect for ancestors and code of honor. I agree with Seanchan being like Asia. Are omens a part of eastern beliefs? I can't recall. I always pictured The Two Rivers as Scotland.

 

[Aran Cherubim]

Let me see if I can take this off the top of my head:

Andor:
A strong Queen - typically associated with England.
The "norm" country - since RJ was an Anglophone, it makes sense that his "baseline" country, to which all other countries are compared, is based on England in some capacity.
Lions - England is filled with references to lions. To be fair, a lot of European nations are, but to Americans England probably comes first to mind.
The color red - Again, England is commonly associated with the color red.
A region of longbowmen - In this capacity, the Two Rivers essentially becomes to Andor what Wales was to medieval England, if I recall correctly.
Domed buildings, beautiful architecture - Cairo, Baghdad, Florence, perhaps.

Cairhien:
Andor's rival - Yeah, France.
Emotionally repressive, expected stoicism - Feudal Japan, possibly.
Intense court intrigues - The court at Versailles, France.
Highly segregated social classes - Eh, take your pick of virtually any European country in late medieval times.
Cons - these back-mounted banners that are filled with individual heraldry is almost identical to the Japanese sashimono.
Short - I wouldn't add this if it weren't pointed out so often, buuut... to Europeans, Asian people have often been noted as being short.
Pale - Not any particular country, per se, but women of high nobility in Europe were expected to be very pale, as a sign of beauty (and wealth).
The Sun Throne - France's "Sun King". Alternatively, Japan is the country of the rising sun.

Tear:
Poofy shoulder-sleeves - Spain. Strictly speaking a lot of Europe used this fashion, but I think the Iberian countries pioneered it.
Conquistador-style helmets - Again, the Conquistadors were from spain.
Name styles - A lot of noble characters have Spanish-style names.
Conical hats - China.
Bamboo - China.
Carpet weaving - Persia(?)
Famous horses - Spain [edited]
Single-dominant City - European city-states.

Illian:
Name - Illian is similar to Illium/Illion, an alternate name for Troy. Which was (probably) Greek in culture. So, Greece.
Olive oil - Greece, Italy, Crete.
Canals, swampland - Venice. Or perhaps some Dutch city?
Council of Nine, Assemblage - Similar in essence to some of the republican features of some Italian city-states.
Laurel Crown - Roman Empire.
Single-dominant City: European city-states.

Too tired to go on. :yawn

 

[Brandegoris Al'Mor]

ARAN! Awesome! I would only add that Spain was known at one point in history ( and maybe still? I don't know) to be the breed the Best horses aas well. :P So That still lines up for Tear being Spanish flavored.

 

[Aran Cherubim]

Edited. I'll probably look through some other countries as well.

 

[Brandegoris Al'Mor]

I find that I LIKE that Jordan seemingly smashed together different cultures, But at the same time I dont. Maybe as I get older I am losing my imagination? LOL
I find that I LIKE an author to basically tie things in lil packages. Like " Okay ..these people are english. these ones are french. Etc etc" LOL I am depressing myself! :P

 

[Megana Vallentin]

Well it IS a lot of effort to learn a whole new set of cultures and rules and such for each book you read. It's a lot easier if you can just go "Ah, these are the Asian people!" and go back to enjoying the story. Being able to create your own full, robust world is awesome, but the simpler worlds have their place as well. Sometimes it just depends on what you're in the mood for.

 

[Aran Cherubim]

To me, sci-fi and fantasy are at their best when they take familiar elements and mix them up so we as readers are forced to reconsider or view of the world - that's why I vastly prefer when cultures aren't flatly transplanted from the real world, but fit into the story with their own historical and cultural narratives that play into the world at large.

 

[Brandegoris Al'Mor]

im glad im not alone! hahaha

 

[Lunara al'Kiera]

I always saw the Aiel as being very similar to the Native Americans. So much of their culture rings of various tribes, the wars and the alliances. The Native Americans also used a form of hand to hand combat that the Aiel way of fighting reminded me of.

 

[Aran Cherubim]

I always saw the Aiel as being very similar to the Native Americans. So much of their culture rings of various tribes, the wars and the alliances. The Native Americans also used a form of hand to hand combat that the Aiel way of fighting reminded me of.

I've heard this a lot, and it makes sense, since I think I've heard that Robert Jordan was very interested in Native American culture and history - but I've honestly always associated them with Zulus, or Tuaregs even.

 

[Almira ni'Caldazare]

Mant Seachan customs remind me of China:
1) hair styles and nail length signifying rank
2) royal family drama (rulers in China would "disappear" to see who was loyal to them and murder in the royal family was common)
3) the warriors who displeased Tuon begged to be put on the front line to get their honor back (sounds like something from the book of the warrior to me)

This is only my opinion and I am no expert on Chinese customs but that is the first place my mind went to.

 

[Almira ni'Caldazare]

I agree that the Aiel are the Native Americans and I see the Traveling People as the Israelites.

 

[Aran Cherubim]

I agree that the Aiel are the Native Americans and I see the Traveling People as the Israelites.

I see them more as Romani people (ie. Gypsies), and other European travelling people such as Irish Travellers, Rôm, etc.

Mant Seachan customs remind me of China:
1) hair styles and nail length signifying rank
2) royal family drama (rulers in China would "disappear" to see who was loyal to them and murder in the royal family was common)
3) the warriors who displeased Tuon begged to be put on the front line to get their honor back (sounds like something from the book of the warrior to me)

This is only my opinion and I am no expert on Chinese customs but that is the first place my mind went to.

I wasn't able to find any historical text called the Book of the Warrior. Are you Referring to the Way of the Warrior - ie. Bushido? That's Japanese - which goes quite well together with the Seanchean "bug-style" helmets. Which look kinda like Japanese samurai helmets called 'kabuto'.

Senchean is also, ostensibly, quite culturally diverse, so it'd be interesting to see if anyone could pick apart different regionalisms.

 

[Almira ni'Caldazare]

My first thoughts are this
Andor is England. Seanchan is China or Japan. Aiel are Native Namericans. Traveling People are Jewish/Israelites. picture Tear as America because the fighting nobles remind me of American politicians.