Main character index can be found here.
Hadumai
A relatively isolated tribe found in Central Europe near the Danube River, not far from the S'Armunai, whom Jondalar and Thonolan encounter and briefly stay with on their Journey. They are led by and named after a very old woman named Haduma.
open/close all folders
In General
- Everyone Is Related: It's implied that many members of the Hadumai are descended from Haduma, as she had sixteen children and is the mother of five generations. This causes a bit of an issue when Noria comes of age and is ready for her Rites of First Pleasures; Noria is related to just about every man she lives with, disqualifying them from being chosen for her Rites, but the Hadumai also live pretty far away from other tribes. Luckily for them, Jondalar shows up at their camp and he's considered more than suitable for Noria.
- Hufflepuff House: They show up in The Valley of Horses and again briefly in The Plains of Passage, but don't really have a significant impact on the plot. Although, their inclusion in second book does help to explain the 'Rites of First Pleasures' in more detail, while in the fourth book, some Hadumai hunters attempt unsuccessfully to warn Ayla and Jondalar about the dangers of the Three Sisters Camp, serving as Foreshadowing of their unpleasant encounter with the tribe.
- Your Normal Is Our Taboo: Amongst the Hadumai, a man posessing a Mother figurine is considered bad luck, while for women it is considered good luck. As a result, most people are uncomfortable or downright shocked when they see Jondalar with such a figurine, although Haduma and Tamen are more understanding that the Zelandonii have different beliefs around them.
Haduma
Haduma
Appears in: The Valley of Horses
The matriarch of the Hadumai, who take their name from her. She is related to almost all the Hadumai.
- Apron Matron: She holds a lot of power and respect within the Hadumai and her word is law, even though she's no officially their leader.
- Character Death: She finally dies of old age sometime between The Valley of Horses and The Plains of Passage.
- Cool Old Lady: She's a cantankerous but wise and benevolent old woman, with a cheeky sense of humor. She's mentioned as being highly unusual for having lived so long and despite her advanced age and being a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother several times over, she shows no signs of slowing down.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: She had sixteen children, all of whom survived to adulthood. It's therefore not surprising she's the ancestress of most of the Hadumai.
- Miniature Senior Citizens: She's incredibly old and is also very small and hunched; she's described as being almost child-sized and when Jondalar, who is 6'6", is sitting down, she is almost level with his eyes while standing up.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She won't allow the others to intimidate or restrain Jondalar and Thonolan and shows them the courtesy that is traditionally due to visitors.
- Secret Test of Character: When she first meets Jondalar and Thonolan, she takes the donii that has been in their family for generations and flings it to the ground to see their reaction. When Jondalar is angry at the desecration of the sacred figurine and runs forward to grab it despite being surrounded by spears, Haduma deduces he is a good and trustworthy man.
- Troll: When she catches Jondalar and a group of Hadumai men jokingly referring to a giant sturgeon they caught as Haduma, she initially pretends to be annoyed before joining in the joke.
- Young Face, Old Eyes: Inverted. Haduma looks to be the oldest person Jondalar has ever seen, but he notes that her eyes still look young and bright, standing out even more because of her advanced age.
Tamen
Tamen
Appears in: The Valley of Horses | The Plains of Passage
One of Haduma's grandsons, who is the only Hadumai fluent enough in Zelandonii to communicate with Jondalar and Thonolan, acting as a translator.
- Cunning Linguist: As a young man, he went on a Journey to Zelandonii territory and learnt their language. As a result, he's able to communicate with Jondalar and Thonolan well enough to act as a translator and prevent any hostility or accidental faux pas.
- You No Take Candle: He speaks the Zelandonii language in a broken but intelligible manner.
Noria
Noria
Appears in: The Valley of Horses
A Hadumai girl who is ready to have her Rites of First Pleasures to become a woman. Jondalar agrees to Haduma's request to carry out the Rites with her.
- Ambiguous Situation: Haduma believes that Noria will have a son fathered by Jondalar, with his blue eyes. When Jondalar and Ayla encounter the Hadumai a few years later, Jondalar tries to ask if Noria did have a baby but due to the language barrier he cant be certain (and he doesn't want to be more specific in case it upsets Ayla, who has no children with him yet despite them being betrothed).
- Sex as Rite-of-Passage: Her whole inclusion in the story is to better explain how First Rites work (and include another sex scene).
- Shrinking Violet: She seems quite shy, though it's not clear if it's just because she nervous about having sex for the first time.
- Smitten Teenage Girl: She is very smitten with Jondalar.
- Their First Time: She's a virgin who is ritually deflowered by Jondalar. He being a Sex God, her first time is pretty awesome as far as it goes.
