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Ghân-buri-Ghân
Names:
Ghân-buri-Ghân is the great headman of the Wild
Men, according to his own words to the Rohirrim in Drúadan Forest.
Use of the second capital G is according to "The Ride of the
Rohirrim" in The Return of the King, and index ii
"Persons Beasts and Monsters" in RotK.
The name "Ghân-buri-ghân" without the second
capital G is used by a Gondorian herald in "Many Partings" in The
Return of the King.
It appears in context that "buri" might mean "son
of", so it is likely that both "Ghâns" should be capitalized.
He is referred to less formally as "old Ghân" in
the narrative.
His people live in what he calls Drúadan Forest.
This place is also spelled Druadan Forest without the diacritical
mark when spoken of by Elfhelm the Marshall of the Rohirrim, before
they meet Ghân.
The Wild Men of the Woods, the Woses, are also
called the Drúadain, with adain meaning men and Drúa
referring to the forest's name, thus "the men of Drúadan Forest"
Importance to the story:
As headman of the Wild Men, also called the Woses
by the Rohirrim, Ghân-buri-Ghân knows Common Speech well enough to
communicate with the Rohirrim, speaking with King Théoden whom he
refers to as the "father of the Horse-folk". The Wild Men want the
orcs, that they call gorgûn, removed from the Drúadan Forest
where the Wild Men live, but could not force them out on their own,
and to have the "bad dark" of Sauron's reeks driven away by bright
iron. They might be able to remove them by helping the Rohirrim and
Gondorians do it for them, by providing information on numbers,
placement, and a safe path to what the headman calls the
"Stone-city" of the "Stonehouse-folk", meaning Minas Tirith.
Ghân meets with Théoden in the Drúadan Forest
March 13. They come to the Grey Wood March 14, so that Théoden's
Rohirrim arrive in time to fight in the Battle of the Pelennor on
March 15 with their horns first being heard at cockrow.
Not only does Ghân-buri-Ghân provide the
information of the safe and therefore quicker route, but he
personally leads King Théoden along it and says that if he takes
them into a trap or even leads them wrong, they will kill him. More,
each patrol also has a Wose guiding it. The guides, including Ghân,
pass along information as their scouts passed it to them. They put
out a "screen of wary hunters so that no orc or spy would tell of
them.
Of their specialities, drumming is one of their
long-distance ways of communication and lets the Rohirrim know that
they were coming, preventing friendly fire.
The Woses, including Ghân who informs Théoden,
feel the Sun come up even unseen through Sauron's reeks, and refer
to the Sun as "she" (probably for Arien). Ghân told this to Théoden,
letting him plan his riding time.
They are respected as guerrilla-style fighters by
the Rohirrim for being very woodcrafty and their use of poison
arrows. They keep out small numbers of orcs, but the armies are too
much and the Woses fear the return of the Dark Times. As Ghân said:
"Wild Men have long ears and long eyes; know all paths."
The reward requested by Ghân is for his people to
be left alone and to no longer be hunted like beasts.
As High King, Aragorn fulfills this request while
taking Théoden's body for burial in Rohan, while accompanying the
hobbits, Celeborn, and Galadriel part-way home. As the party,
including the rest of the Fellowship, pass through Anórien and come
to the Grey Wood under Amon Dîn, they hear drums beating in the
hills. Aragorn let the trumpets be blown and the heralds cried:
"Behold, the King Elessar is come! The Forest of Drúadan he
gives to Ghân-buri-ghân and to his folk, to be their own forever;
and hereafter let no man enter it without their leave!" "Then the
drums rolled loudly, and were silent."
Ancestry:
Meriadoc recognizes on sight that the Wild Men
strongly resemble the ancient carvings they had seen of the
Púkel-men in Dunharrow, so much so that they seemed to be the images
come to life.
Appearance:
Ghân-buri-Ghân, as any Wose, has the basic
appearance of a Púkel-man.
When he meets King Théoden to act as his guide
through the woods to Minas Tirith, he is wearing only "grass about
his waist". He has a strange, squat shape "gnarled as an old stone".
He is short-legged and fat-armed, thick and stumpy. His beard on his
lumpy chin is straggly and looks like dry moss. He has a flat face
and dark eyes and short, gnarled arms. His voice is deep and
guttural. His Common Speech is halting with "uncouth" words mixed
into it.
When scouts report to Ghân, they look almost
exactly like him. They speak together in a "strange, throaty
language".
Ghân's farewell gesture to Théoden: "squatted
down and touched the earth with his horny brow in token of
farewell".
References:
The Return of the King: "The Ride of the
Rohirrim", "Many Partings", index ii "Persons Beasts and Monsters"
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