Kangaroo mouse
the desert rodent the Fremen called Muad'Dib
The kangaroo mouse was a small hopping rodent of Arrakis that the Fremen knew as Muad'Dib. Admired for its survival in the open desert, it lent its name to Paul Atreides when he was taken into the people of Sietch Tabr.
The kangaroo mouse, called Muad'Dib in the Fremen tongue, was a small rodent of the planet Arrakis that moved by hopping. It was bound up with the Fremen earth-spirit mythology, and its figure was visible on the planet's second moon as well as in a constellation.
A creature of the open desert#
The kangaroo mouse was a small rodent native to Arrakis that moved by hopping across the sand. The Fremen admired it for its ability to survive in the harsh conditions of the open desert, and because of this it became known among them as the instructor-of-boys. Young Fremen were required to learn from its ways of survival. The creature held a place in Fremen earth-spirit mythology, and its figure could be seen on the second moon of Arrakis and in a constellation.
The name of Muad'Dib#
The Fremen called the kangaroo mouse Muad'Dib. When Paul Atreides was welcomed into the tribe of Sietch Tabr, he took Paul-Muad'Dib as his name of manhood. Although the name literally meant The Mouse, on a more figurative level it meant The Teacher.
Preserved on Chapterhouse#
Long after the era of Arrakis, kangaroo mice were brought to Chapterhouse by the Bene Gesserit, who sought to replicate the environment of Rakis after its destruction by the Honored Matres.
Frequently asked questions
- What was the kangaroo mouse?
- The kangaroo mouse was a small rodent of the planet Arrakis that moved by hopping. The Fremen called it Muad'Dib, and its figure was seen on the planet's second moon and in a constellation.
- Why did the Fremen admire the kangaroo mouse?
- The Fremen admired the creature for its ability to survive in the harsh conditions of the open desert of Arrakis. For this reason it became known as the instructor-of-boys, and young Fremen were required to learn from its ways of survival.
- How is the kangaroo mouse connected to Paul Atreides?
- When Paul Atreides was welcomed into the Fremen tribe of Sietch Tabr, he took Paul-Muad'Dib as his name of manhood. While the name literally meant The Mouse, in a figurative sense it meant The Teacher.
Sources
- WikiKangaroo mouse — Dune Wiki entry
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Related entries
Fremen
The Fremen were a culture of humans descended from the Zensunni Wanderers who made the desert planet Arrakis their home. Hardened by water scarcity and generations of persecution, they became the finest fighters in the Known Universe and the foot soldiers of Paul Atreides and his jihad.
Arrakis
Arrakis, known as Dune and later as Rakis, was a harsh desert world in the Canopus system and the only natural source of the spice melange. Home to the Fremen and the sandworms, it became the seat of the Atreides empire and the center of the known universe.
Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides was the last Duke of House Atreides and the prophet Muad'Dib of the Fremen. The long-awaited Kwisatz Haderach of the Bene Gesserit, he toppled Emperor Shaddam IV, founded the Atreides Empire, and unleashed a jihad across the Known Universe before walking blind into the desert.
Sietch Tabr
Sietch Tabr was a major Fremen community on Arrakis, led by Naib Stilgar. It was the first sietch to shelter Paul and Jessica Atreides after the fall of House Atreides, and it became the foundation of the Arrakis Revolt that launched Muad'Dib's jihad.
Bene Gesserit
The Bene Gesserit were an ancient order of women who wielded power from the shadows of the Imperium through a millennia-long breeding program, mastery of body and mind, and the religious engineering of the Missionaria Protectiva. Their goal was the Kwisatz Haderach, and through him the guidance of humanity.
Chapterhouse
Chapterhouse was the Bene Gesserit term for the planet that served as the Sisterhood's home base. In its final form it was a hidden, deliberately unsettled world shielded from prescient eyes and, in the end, remade into desert to shelter the last sandworm.
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