The Cultural Influences in Planetos

[Gasp of Many Reeds]

I assumed that the people of Andalos were meant to be the Israelis, what with inventing the dominant Western religion, but we didn't really spend any time with them (assuming they're distinct from Rhoynish folk, that is).

Pretty sure Andals=Angles, i.e. Anglo-Saxons, and that the Faith of the Seven is based on a version of archaic Germanic religion (Father=Woden, Warrior=Tyr, Smith=Thor Stranger=Loki, Mother= Frigg, Maiden= Freya, Crone= the Wyrd) that has developed a version of Christian consubstantialism (except with a septagy instead of a Trinity).

EDIT: Though I see your point of the Israelite comparison if we're talking the myth of Hugor of the Hill's vision of a new land for his people.

[Reginald blackfield]

I always assumed that the seven was Christianity and the Great shepherd was Judaism. Thing is though neither have a Jesus figure to make them Christian enough.

[HeWhoMustNotBeUsernamed]

Huh? The Andals are completely distinct from the Rhoynar; they were two completely different societies and cultures and the people don't even look the same.

... You know when something that you knew completely just slips your mind? Then someone more lucid points it out and suddenly you realize you just made a fool of yourself?

Just, hypothetically speaking.

Thanks.

[HeWhoMustNotBeUsernamed]

I'm an not saying that the dothraki do not resemble both Hun and Mongol culture but the Hittite, Lakota, Sioux, Comanche, and even the Apache.

Hear and agree. However, while their culture is not clearly an analogue of any one real-life people, they fit the same mold of Mongols.

The Jogos Nhai, on the other hand, seem to be specifically a hodgepodge of peoples living in the Caucasus. Their "yurts" are Hunnic and their cranial deformation is both Hunnic and Alanic (Alanish. Alan. Whatever). Of course, no tribes in that area bred FREAKING ZEBRAS... as far as I know, anyway.

Pretty sure Andals=Angles, i.e. Anglo-Saxons, and that the Faith of the Seven is based on a version of archaic Germanic religion

Oh, totally. Just figured GRRM would take the easy way out and make them both Saxons (hijacking British culture) AND Israelis (keepers of the Holy Land).

[Reginald blackfield]

I don't agree with the Dothraki Native American thing. The native Americans didn't even have horses before the Europeans arrived. Although horses did evolve in America, they were wiped out by the first humans there. Plus Khal Mengo is clearly based on Genghis Khan in many ways.

[Gasp of Many Reeds]

I don't agree with the Dothraki Native American thing. The native Americans didn't even have horses before the Europeans arrived.

Yes, but by the 18th/19th century, you have a large number of tribal polities in which the horse plays a major role in skirmish, warfare and general economic and cultural life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plains_Indians#The_horse. Without the horse, the Plains Indian culture would never have developed the way it did. And the Dothraki use of light as opposed to heavy cavalry resembles these Native American groups more than they do the Mongols, so i thik that's the argument for inspiration from this source.

[Reginald blackfield]

Yes, but by the 18th/19th century, you have a large number of tribal polities in which the horse plays a major role in skirmish, warfare and general economic and cultural life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plains_Indians#The_horse. Without the horse, the Plains Indian culture would never have developed the way it did. And the Dothraki use of light as opposed to heavy cavalry resembles these Native American groups more than they do the Mongols, so i thik that's the argument for inspiration from this source.

Still see a much larger Altaic influence.

[HeWhoMustNotBeUsernamed]

I don't agree with the Dothraki Native American thing. The native Americans didn't even have horses before the Europeans arrived. Although horses did evolve in America, they were wiped out by the first humans there. Plus Khal Mengo is clearly based on Genghis Khan in many ways.

There's no real reason for the parallels to be centered on medieval Europe. And I'm pretty sure their rituals regarding death are explicitly from Sioux culture, like not touching the corpse (and cutting off scalps... was that only the TV adaptation? I can't remember now)

[Lord_Pepsi_Cupps]

The Dothraki are the Huns. They were renowned riders (it's said they slept on their horses). Attila the Hun sounds like the Stallion Who (Almost) Mounted the World - he led the Huns in conquering other migratory peoples and then led his huge host against Rome.

The Dothraki "rose up" out of the blue after the fall of Valyria (rather than contribute to it, like the Huns did with the fall of Rome by weakening it) - but that in itself is similar to how the Great Migrations at the start of the Middle Ages triggered the appearance of the previously unknown and formidable Huns in Europe.

The cultural aspects may indeed be infused with Native American sources, but the core of who the Dothraki are (a huge, terrifying, formidable nomadic horselord horde) is 100% the Huns.

[Byfort of Corfe]

I read that GRRM said that the Dothraki were a little bit Hun and Mongol with Plains Indians thrown in While the Native Americans didn't have horses until the Spanish they very quickly adopted mounted warfare. As John Ford said in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", they were the finest light cavalry in the world. If you want to see the influence of say the Comanche, read "Empire of the Southern Moon", which is a history of the Comanche people centered on Quannah Parker.

[HeWhoMustNotBeUsernamed]

Anyone know any good historical inspirations for any of the following:

-The Bog Devils

-The Boltons (any families or ethnic groups famed for skinning? The Mexica, sure, but I doubt that's what he's going for)

-The bravos. (I'm sure hot-blooded Italian duelists were common enough, but did they have a name or something?)

-Volantene triarch system

-Unicorn riders on Skagos

I'm pretty sure most of them are pure fantasy but I'm interested to see what people's responses are.

[Lion of the West]

Anyone know any good historical inspirations for any of the following:

-The Bog Devils

-The Boltons (any families or ethnic groups famed for skinning? The Mexica, sure, but I doubt that's what he's going for)

-The bravos. (I'm sure hot-blooded Italian duelists were common enough, but did they have a name or something?)

-Volantene triarch system

-Unicorn riders on Skagos

I'm pretty sure most of them are pure fantasy but I'm interested to see what people's responses are.

- The Boltons are a kind of mirror to the Starks' warging

- The Volantene triarchy seems to be inspired by the Roman consuls

That's far as I'll go.

[Gasp of Many Reeds]

- The Volantene triarchy seems to be inspired by the Roman consuls

This +plus the later triumvirate system.

-Unicorn riders on Skagos

Likely not, but would love it if there was an inspiration from Ashitaka and the Emishi elk-riders as mythically presented in Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke.

[Lord_Pepsi_Cupps]

Braavos is a weird cross between Venice and a Dutch port city (Amsterdam is known for its canals, like Venice). The conscientious business-mindedness of the merchant upper class (and their somber dress) is meant to be more Dutch, while the lower classes and the more colourful customs (masks, festivals) are meant to be more Venetian.

I'm not sure if the bravos have a direct link to the real world (the colourful clothes, actively looking for fights), but they're like a combo of classical Northern European literary stereotypes of Italian and Spanish young men.

[Reginald blackfield]

Can anyone find an inspiration for these:

Asshai

The Thousand Isles

N'Ghai

[HeWhoMustNotBeUsernamed]

Can anyone find an inspiration for these:

Asshai

The Thousand Isles

N'Ghai

-As has been said elsewhere on this thread, the dominant perception is that Asshai is meant to be Persia (since RedGod-ism is pretty similar to Zoroastrianism) but its reputation as a shadow land makes it sound more like Mordor...

-Thousand Isles: Absolutely no idea. Thinking they have to be pure fantasy.

-N'Ghai: would like to have more info on them before I commit, but proximity to Jogos Nhai (likely Caucausian raiders themselves) points to any local tribes in Iran, Armenia, or the like. Assuming they have to be any real tribe in the first place.

[Ocelot]

I always assumed that the seven was Christianity and the Great shepherd was Judaism. Thing is though neither have a Jesus figure to make them Christian enough.

I agree.

[Ocelot]

Can anyone find an inspiration for these:

Asshai

The Thousand Isles

N'Ghai

Asshai isn't based on any RL place; seems inspired by Mordor (shadow).

N'Ghai is Central Asia b/w steppe & taiga (by location; we don't really know anything about their culture).

Thousand Isles, like Asshai isn't based on a RL place but on Lovecraft monsters and probably some other fantasy/horror stuff I haven't heard of.

[TheSovereignGrave]

Asshai isn't based on any RL place; seems inspired by Mordor (shadow).

N'Ghai is Central Asia b/w steppe & taiga (by location; we don't really know anything about their culture).

Thousand Isles, like Asshai isn't based on a RL place but on Lovecraft monsters and probably some other fantasy/horror stuff I haven't heard of.

I don't think N'ghai is really based on the Central Asian steppe/taiga, because from what little we know they do have cities. Or rather, a city. So they're probably not a nomadic group of people.

[Ocelot]

I don't think N'ghai is really based on the Central Asian steppe/taiga, because from what little we know they do have cities. Or rather, a city. So they're probably not a nomadic group of people.

There were/are cities in Central Asia along the Silk Road.