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Calormen
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This book-related article or section describes an aspect of the book in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. |
In C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series of novels, Calormen (pron. "CAH-lor-men" [ˈkaːlɔ(r)ˌmen]) is a large country to the southeast of Narnia. Lewis derived its name from the Latin calor, meaning "heat". When used as an adjective Lewis spelled the name with an 'e' at the end (e.g. a Calormene (pron. "CAH-lor-meen" [ˈkaːlɔ(r)ˌmiːn]) soldier). Narnia and Calormen are separated by a large desert and the country of Archenland. In The Horse and His Boy Calormen is described as being many times the size of its northern neighbours, and it is implied that its army is always either conquering more land or keeping down rebellions, in wars with which neither Narnia or Archenland are involved. The border of the Calormene Empire extends from the Western Mountains to the Great Eastern Ocean. The Calormene capital city is Tashbaan, a vast, walled metropolis near the northern desert separating Calormen from its northern neighbors, located near the mouth of the Calormen River.
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The origins of Calormen and the Calormenes are not made clear during the Chronicles (unlike the human inhabitants of Narnia who are identified as the descendants of pirates or outlaws from our world). According to the Narnian timeline published by Walter Hooper, Calormen was founded by Archenlander outlaws, who traveled over the Great Desert to the south some 24 years after Archenland's founding; however, some have disputed the 'authenticity' of that timeline. The Calormenes speak a flowery version of the standard English favoured by both human and animal Narnians, which might support this argument; however, Jadis also speaks English. The reason for the ancient Persian, Mughal, and Ottoman Turkish aspects of Calormene culture, or the origin of their religion, has not been satisfactorily explained; this might be seen as supporting an argument that Calormen was founded, at least partially, by an independent group of travelers from Earth, who possibly intermarried with the English-speaking Archenlanders and took their language. (It should be noted that there is no trace of Islam in Calormene religion, which actually appears to be closer to paganism, and in particular Carthaginian religion, than Islam.)
Throughout the times covered by the Chronicles of Narnia, Calormen and Narnia maintain an uneasy, albeit generally peaceable, coexistence. The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle contain plot lines that focus on Calormen, while some of the other books have peripheral references. In The Horse and His Boy the main characters (one a young member of the Calormene nobility) escape from Calormen to Archenland and Narnia whilst the Calormene cavalry under Prince Rabadash attempts to invade Narnia and capture the Narnian Queen Susan for his bride. The rather small (200 horse) Carlomene invasion force is rebuffed at the gates of the Kingdom of Archenland. In The Last Battle, some level of trade and travel exist between Narnia and Calormen, and a successful invasion by the Calormene military precipitates the end of the Narnian universe.
Calormenes are described as dark-skinned, with the men mostly bearded. Flowing robes, turbans and wooden shoes with an upturned point at the toe are common items of clothing, and the preferred weapon is the scimitar. Lavish palaces are present in the Calormene capital Tashbaan. The overall leitmotif of Calormene culture is portrayed as ornate to the point of ostentation. The people of Calormen are concerned with maintaining honour and precedent, often speaking in maxims and quoting their ancient poets. Veneration of elders and absolute deference to power are marks of Calormene society. Power and wealth determine class and social standing, and slavery is commonplace. The unit of currency is the Crescent. Narnians hold Calormenes in disdain for their treatment of animals and slaves. Conversely, Calormenes refer to the human inhabitants of Narnia as "barbarians", perhaps because of their friendly association with their animal compatriots.
The ruler of Calormen is called the Tisroc and is believed by the Calormene people to have descended in a direct line from the god Tash, whom the people worship in addition to other gods and goddesses. The Calormenes express a conventional desire for the current Tisroc to be immortal. Below the Tisroc are his sons (princes), a Grand Vizier, and the nobled class, who are addressed as Tarkaans and Tarkheenas. Beneath them are soldiers of the empire's vast army, merchants, and the peasantry, with slaves being the lowest rung on the social ladder. The Calormene leaders are portrayed as quite war-like, and the Tisrocs generally seem to have a wish to conquer the "barbarian" lands to their north.
A Tarkaan is a Calormen nobleman while a Tarkheena is a noblewoman. This rank of Calormene is first mentioned in the book, The Horse and His Boy. There are many Tarkaans in Calormen, the first mentioned is Anradin Tarkaan. Tarkaans are characterized by a band of gold on their arm that signifies their nobility. They serve under the Tisroc, or the king of Calormen and the Grand Vizier, or right-hand man of the Tisroc. Some, or perhaps even most, Tarkaans seem to be related to the royal family, at least distantly; however it seems possible to be promoted to the position, as Ahoshta was. The weapons of a Tarkaan include a curved scimitar and a lance. Tarkaans can also dye their beards crimson as seen with Anradin in the opening of the Horse and His Boy.
It is customary for Tarkaans to marry Tarkheenas (Calormene noblewomen), the marriages usually being arranged at an early age. Their children also bear the name of Tarkaan or Tarkheena. Unlike in English, the title goes after the Tarkaan/Tarkheena's personal name (for example, "Kidrash Tarkaan" instead of "Tarkaan Kidrash"). It is possble that most Tarkaans are descended from previous Tisrocs; Aravis, for example, is a great-great-granddaughter of the Tisroc Ilsombreh.
The poetry of Calormen is prolix, sententious, and moralizing, "full of choice apophthegms and useful maxims". It includes such pithy sentiments as the following, which doubtless lose something in the translation:
- Application to business
- is the root of prosperity
- but those who ask questions
- that do not concern them
- are steering the ship of folly
- towards the rock of indigence.
- Natural affection is stronger than soup
- and offspring more precious than carbuncles.
- He who attempts to deceive the judicious
- is already baring his back for the scourge.
- Swords can be kept off with shields
- but the Eye of Wisdom pierces through every defence.
- Deep draughts from the fountain of reason are desirable
- in order to extinguish the fire of youthful love.
Interestingly Calormenes disparage Narnian poetry, contending that it is all about things like love and war and not about useful maxims; however, when the Calormen-raised Shasta and Aravis first hear Narnian (or Archenlandish) poetry, they find it much more exciting. Calormen also prizes the art of story-telling, which, according to Lewis, forms part of the education of the nobility. The talking horse Bree, though not fond of most things Calormene, thoroughly enjoys a story told in Calormene style by Aravis.
C.S. Lewis has been accused of racism, particularly in his depiction of the Calormenes. The novelist Philip Pullman has been particularly aggressive, calling the books "blatantly racist"[1] and in an interview with The Observer, criticised the film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by saying, "if the Disney corporation wants to market this film as a great Christian story, they'll just have to tell lies about it." He added, "it's not the presence of Christian doctrine I object to so much as the absence of Christian virtue," and that the books contained "a peevish blend of racist, misogynistic, and reactionary prejudice".[2]
[For Lewis] “Death is better than life; boys are better than girls; light-coloured people are better than dark-coloured people; and so on. There is no shortage of such nauseating drivel in Narnia, if you can face it” [3]
The racism critique is based on a negative representation of other races and religions, particularly the Calormenes, as enemies of Aslan and Narnia.[4] The Calormenes are described as a dark-skinned people who live in a desert, wear turbans and pointy slippers, and are armed with scimitars. Such descriptions have been compared with the historic attire of peoples throughout the Middle Eastern and Asian regions, upon whose physical appearances the Calormenes were obviously based. The Calormene also conform to a number of racist stereotypes of Arabs as well - they are cruel, greedy, cowardly, backstabbing, lazy and prone to gross indulgence, as well as owning slaves. However they are praised for their storytelling, compared with the 'essay writing' of Western cultures.
Yet the Calormene religion is not modelled on any of the monotheistic religions - such as Islam or Sikhism - that are commonly practised in these regions; indeed, Lewis praises certain Islamic attitudes in the theological work "Mere Christianity." Instead, the Calormenes are polytheistic and worship a plethora of gods, including the primary god Tash (meaning "stone" in Turkish), who is portrayed as a corporeal, stereotypical Satanic being requiring human sacrifices from his followers. The religion of the Calormenes seems more likely to have been based on early Canaanite and Carthaginian religion, which also required human sacrifice, and was portrayed as the ultimate in diabolism in G. K. Chesterton's The Everlasting Man, a book which Lewis admired. The unimaginative and business-minded nature of the Calormenes may also have been based on Chesterton's portrayal of Carthage. In the purely literary sense, however, the depiction of Calormene religion may owe something to the bogey image of Islam found in medieval romances: see Mahound and Termagant.
The Chronicles have a British Victorian era flavour that was much in fashion during his lifetime, but may now be seen as politically incorrect. Of Lewis, Kyrie O'Connor writes: "In his time, people thought it was amusing to make fun of other cultures. We don't. Read the stories, ask questions, and remember that the person who wrote this story was altogether too human." [5] Claims of racism can be seen as countered by Lewis's positive portrayal of two Calormenes and the lack of racism shown to them by Narnian nobility. In The Horse and His Boy, the female protagonist Aravis is a Calormene noblewoman who is accepted whole-heartedly by the Archenlanders and Narnians, and comes to marry Cor, a prince of white ethnicity; a progressive and bold statement by Lewis in a time when mixed-race relationships were neither as common nor accepted as they have been in more recent years. In The Last Battle, the Calormene Emeth is deemed a worthy person by Aslan regardless of his skin colour and despite the fact that he was a worshipper of Tash.[6]
- ^ Ezard, John. "Narnia books attacked as racist and sexist", The Guardian, June 3, 2002.
- ^ "Pullman attacks Narnia film plans", BBC News, 16 October 2005.
- ^ Pullman, Philip. "The Darkside of Narnia", The Guardian, October 1, 1998. [1].
- ^ Hensher, Philip. "Don't let your children go to Narnia: C.S. Lewis's books are racist and misogynist", The Independent, December 4, 1998.
- ^ O'Connor, Kyrie. "5th Narnia book may not see big screen", Houston Chronicle, December 1, 2005.
- ^ Nelson, Michael (December 2, 2005). "For the Love of Narnia". The Chronicle of Higher Education 52 (15): B14.
