Ghanima
Encyclopedia
This article is about a fictional character. For other uses of the term, see Ghanima
Ghanima Atreides (ɡɑːˈniːmə; "spoil of war" in the Fremen
language) is a fictional character
from the Dune universe
created by Frank Herbert
. Born at the end of Dune Messiah
(1969), Ghanima is a central character in Children of Dune
(1976).
and his Fremen
concubine
Chani
, and the twin sister to Leto Atreides II
. Like her aunt Alia
and her brother Leto, Ghanima is pre-born
; Chani had consumed so much melange during her pregnancy that Leto and Ghanima had awakened to full, adult consciousness before birth, receiving the genetic memories of both their male and female ancestors.
In the Bene Gesserit
ritual known as the spice agony, an acolyte ingests an "illuminating poison" called the Water of Life
which, if the initiate survives the ordeal, unlocks these Other Memories. These ego-personalities reside in the background of consciousness, but may be accessed to provide unique knowledge and insight. However, the memories unleashed in this ritual are always of female ancestors; access to the male line is unique to the pre-born, and theoretically to a specially-bred male known as the Kwisatz Haderach
.
The equally unique danger is that, because an unborn child has not yet developed a strong personal identity, the in utero
exposure to Other Memory makes that individual highly susceptible to becoming possessed by the personality of one of their ancestors. Called an Abomination
by the Bene Gesserit, a child born this way is always killed whenever possible. Unlike Alia, Ghanima never succumbs to Abomination; her mind is ultimately guarded from possession by the memories of her mother Chani.
Ghanima has a very close relationship with Leto; they work together to create the Golden Path, a plan to avoid humanity's almost inevitable future destruction. She supplies her fertile creativity to the details of the plan, and even ensures its success by performing a ritual to make herself believe that Leto is killed by Laza tigers, when in reality Leto is searching the desert for Jacurutu. Her memories are restored when Leto speaks to her the key words, "Secher Nbiw" i.e. "The Golden Path" translated into Chakobsa
, an ancient language.
Alia tries to use Ghanima as bait for House Corrino
by promising her hand in marriage to the Corrino heir, Farad'n
, which Ghanima initially resists. She relents after swearing to kill him on their wedding night.
Upon Leto's ascension to the Lion Throne, he weds Ghanima in a purely symbolic marriage. Ghanima agrees to take Farad'n as her mate, and Leto appoints Farad'n to the post of Royal Scribe. As Leto's joining with the sandworm effectively renders him sterile, Ghanima and Farad'n would thus ensure the continuation of the Atreides
line.
In God Emperor of Dune
, the Duncan Idaho
ghola notes that "the Tleilaxu
history said Ghanima had died after a relatively normal life."
Dune Encyclopedia invents an extended biography for Ghanima which states that she and Farad'n have ten children, named Trebor, Lliwis, Regor, Tismenus, Boris, Eleanor, Helene, Elaine, Jeunne and Noree.
's 2003 Children of Dune TV miniseries, Ghanima Atreides is portrayed by Jessica Brooks
as a teenager. In the novel, she and Leto are only nine years old.
, a young Alia refers to Paul's servant Harah as "My brother's ghanima." According to Fremen custom, Paul had acquired Harah after defeating her husband Jamis in a ritual battle to the death. The Lady Jessica notes:
In Dune Messiah, Harah objects when Paul chooses to name his daughter Ghanima, saying that it is "an ill-omened name." Paul responds, "It saved your life ... What matter that Alia made fun of you with that name? My daughter is Ghanima, a spoil of war."
Ghanima
This article is about a fictional character. For other uses of the term, see GhanimaGhanima Atreides is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert...
Ghanima Atreides (ɡɑːˈniːmə; "spoil of war" in the Fremen
Fremen
The Fremen are a group of people in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. First appearing in the 1965 novel Dune, the Fremen inhabit the desert planet Arrakis and are based on the desert-dwelling Bedouin and Kalahari Bushmen. In Herbert's novels, Arrakis is the sole known source...
language) is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Dune universe
Dune universe
Dune is a science fiction franchise which originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Considered by many to be the greatest science fiction novel of all time, Dune is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history...
created by Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
. Born at the end of Dune Messiah
Dune Messiah
Dune Messiah is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the second in a series of six novels. It was originally serialized in Galaxy magazine in 1969. The American and British editions have different prologues summarizing events in the previous novel...
(1969), Ghanima is a central character in Children of Dune
Children of Dune
Children of Dune is a 1976 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, third in a series of six novels set in his Dune universe. Initially selling over 75,000 copies, it became the first hardcover best-seller ever in the science fiction field...
(1976).
Dune Messiah and Children of Dune
She is the daughter of Paul AtreidesPaul Atreides
Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Paul is a prominent character in the first two novels in the series, Dune and Dune Messiah , and returns in Children of Dune . The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
and his Fremen
Fremen
The Fremen are a group of people in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. First appearing in the 1965 novel Dune, the Fremen inhabit the desert planet Arrakis and are based on the desert-dwelling Bedouin and Kalahari Bushmen. In Herbert's novels, Arrakis is the sole known source...
concubine
Concubinage
Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...
Chani
Chani
Chani is a fictional character featured in Frank Herbert's novels Dune and Dune Messiah . Known mainly as the Fremen wife and legal concubine of protagonist Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides, Chani is the daughter of Imperial Planetologist Liet-Kynes and his Fremen wife Faroula, and later the mother of...
, and the twin sister to Leto Atreides II
Leto Atreides II
Leto Atreides II is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Born at the end of Dune Messiah , Leto is a central character in Children of Dune and is the title character of God Emperor of Dune . The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
. Like her aunt Alia
Alia Atreides
Alia Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character was originally killed in Herbert's first version of the manuscript. At the suggestion of Analog magazine editor John Campbell, Herbert kept...
and her brother Leto, Ghanima is pre-born
Abomination (Dune)
Abomination, in the context of the Dune series written by Frank Herbert, refers to one who acquires full consciousness as a fetus as a result of being exposed to the ritual spice agony, gaining all their ancestral memories before birth .The spice agony ritual involves a Bene Gesserit acolyte drinking...
; Chani had consumed so much melange during her pregnancy that Leto and Ghanima had awakened to full, adult consciousness before birth, receiving the genetic memories of both their male and female ancestors.
In the Bene Gesserit
Bene Gesserit
The Bene Gesserit are a key social, religious, and political force in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. The group is described as an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and...
ritual known as the spice agony, an acolyte ingests an "illuminating poison" called the Water of Life
Water of Life (Dune)
The Water of Life is a fictional drug from Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe.In Terminology of the Imperium, the glossary of the 1965 novel Dune, Herbert provided the following definition:...
which, if the initiate survives the ordeal, unlocks these Other Memories. These ego-personalities reside in the background of consciousness, but may be accessed to provide unique knowledge and insight. However, the memories unleashed in this ritual are always of female ancestors; access to the male line is unique to the pre-born, and theoretically to a specially-bred male known as the Kwisatz Haderach
Kwisatz Haderach
In Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe, Kwisatz Haderach is a term which refers to a prophesied messiah and superbeing. In the series, the Bene Gesserit, a matriarchal secret society, hope to create a male who can survive the deadly ritual spice agony that changes a capable female acolyte into...
.
The equally unique danger is that, because an unborn child has not yet developed a strong personal identity, the in utero
In utero
In utero is a Latin term literally meaning "in the womb". In biology, the phrase describes the state of an embryo or fetus. In legal contexts, the phrase is used to refer to unborn children. Under common law, unborn children are still considered to exist for property transfer purposes.-See also:*...
exposure to Other Memory makes that individual highly susceptible to becoming possessed by the personality of one of their ancestors. Called an Abomination
Abomination (Dune)
Abomination, in the context of the Dune series written by Frank Herbert, refers to one who acquires full consciousness as a fetus as a result of being exposed to the ritual spice agony, gaining all their ancestral memories before birth .The spice agony ritual involves a Bene Gesserit acolyte drinking...
by the Bene Gesserit, a child born this way is always killed whenever possible. Unlike Alia, Ghanima never succumbs to Abomination; her mind is ultimately guarded from possession by the memories of her mother Chani.
Ghanima has a very close relationship with Leto; they work together to create the Golden Path, a plan to avoid humanity's almost inevitable future destruction. She supplies her fertile creativity to the details of the plan, and even ensures its success by performing a ritual to make herself believe that Leto is killed by Laza tigers, when in reality Leto is searching the desert for Jacurutu. Her memories are restored when Leto speaks to her the key words, "Secher Nbiw" i.e. "The Golden Path" translated into Chakobsa
Chakobsa
Chakobsa is a fictional language used by the Fremen people of the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. In the series of novels which begins with Dune, the language is said to be based on another fictitious language, the Bhotani Jib. Herbert presumably took the name from Chakobsa, the "hunting...
, an ancient language.
Alia tries to use Ghanima as bait for House Corrino
House Corrino
Imperial House Corrino is a fictional noble family from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. The Corrinos come to power after mankind's victory against the thinking machines at the Battle of Corrin , and rule until deposed by Paul Atreides approximately 10,000 years later during the events...
by promising her hand in marriage to the Corrino heir, Farad'n
Farad'n Corrino
Farad'n Corrino is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He appears in Herbert's 1976 novel Children of Dune, and his infancy is chronicled in the 2008 interquel Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J...
, which Ghanima initially resists. She relents after swearing to kill him on their wedding night.
Upon Leto's ascension to the Lion Throne, he weds Ghanima in a purely symbolic marriage. Ghanima agrees to take Farad'n as her mate, and Leto appoints Farad'n to the post of Royal Scribe. As Leto's joining with the sandworm effectively renders him sterile, Ghanima and Farad'n would thus ensure the continuation of the Atreides
House Atreides
House Atreides is a fictional noble family from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. One of the Great Houses of the feudal interstellar empire known as the Imperium, its members play a role in every novel in the series. It is suggested within the series that the root of the Atreides line...
line.
In God Emperor of Dune
God Emperor of Dune
God Emperor of Dune is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert published in 1981, the fourth in the Dune series. It was ranked as the #11 hardcover fiction best seller of 1981 by Publishers Weekly.-Plot introduction:...
, the Duncan Idaho
Duncan Idaho
Duncan Idaho is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character became a breakout character as the readers liked him and was revived by Herbert in 1969's Dune Messiah...
ghola notes that "the Tleilaxu
Bene Tleilax
The Bene Tleilax or Tleilaxu are an extremely xenophobic and isolationist society in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. Genetic manipulators who traffic in biological products such as artificial eyes, gholas, and "twisted" Mentats, the Tleilaxu are a major power in the Imperium...
history said Ghanima had died after a relatively normal life."
The Dune Encyclopedia
The non-canonCanon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
Dune Encyclopedia invents an extended biography for Ghanima which states that she and Farad'n have ten children, named Trebor, Lliwis, Regor, Tismenus, Boris, Eleanor, Helene, Elaine, Jeunne and Noree.
In adaptations
In the Sci-Fi ChannelSci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
's 2003 Children of Dune TV miniseries, Ghanima Atreides is portrayed by Jessica Brooks
Jessica Brooks
Jessica Kate Brooks is an actress. In musical theatre, she is a soprano. She has appeared in various BBC television productions, including Murder Rooms: The Kingdom of Bones, and featured in episodes of Footballer's Wives.Brooks is known for her role as Ghanima Atreides in the Sci-Fi Channel...
as a teenager. In the novel, she and Leto are only nine years old.
Origin of the name
In the original novel DuneDune (novel)
Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel...
, a young Alia refers to Paul's servant Harah as "My brother's ghanima." According to Fremen custom, Paul had acquired Harah after defeating her husband Jamis in a ritual battle to the death. The Lady Jessica notes:
In the subtleties of the Fremen tongue, the word meant "something acquired in battle" and with the added overtone that the something no longer was used for its original purpose. An ornament, a spearhead used as a curtain weight.
In Dune Messiah, Harah objects when Paul chooses to name his daughter Ghanima, saying that it is "an ill-omened name." Paul responds, "It saved your life ... What matter that Alia made fun of you with that name? My daughter is Ghanima, a spoil of war."