The night lands[1] or nightlands[2] are the afterlife of the Dothraki religion.
Culture
[edit]Tradition dictates that when a rider of the Dothraki dies, his horse is slain and the two bodies are burned on a funeral pyre so they can ride together to the night lands,[3] which are said to have endless black grasses.[4] The Dothraki believe that the night lands are visible in the night sky, and the stars are the honored dead riding fiery steeds.[5] When a khal dies, his bloodriders must die with him as well so they can ride at his side in the night lands.[1]
Dothraki who have not learned to ride, such as young children, must be born again instead of going to the night lands.[4]
Recent Events
[edit]A Game of Thrones
[edit]
After Khal Drogo dies, Daenerys Targaryen cleans his body in preparation for the night lands. Daenerys then burns the khal's body and that of a stallion in a funeral pyre.[5]
A Clash of Kings
[edit]Daenerys's khalasar struggles in the red waste. When an old man collapses and dies, Daenerys has the weakest horse in her herd killed so that the fallen man can ride to the night lands. When an infant girl dies, Daenerys thinks the babe cannot yet go to the night lands.[4]
Quotes
[edit]When a horselord dies, his horse is slain with him, so he might ride proud into the night lands. The bodies are burned beneath the open sky, and the khal rises on his fiery steed to take his place among the stars. The more fiercely the man burned in life, the brighter his star will shine in the darkness.[5]
—thoughts of Daenerys Targaryen
The child had been too young to ride, poor thing. Not for her the endless black grasses of the night lands; she must be born again.[4]
—thoughts of Daenerys Targaryen
And what man could hope to rival Drogo, who had died with his hair uncut and rode now through the night lands, the stars his khalasar?[4]
—thoughts of Daenerys Targaryen
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 36, Daenerys IV.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 52, Daenerys IX.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 64, Daenerys VIII.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 12, Daenerys I.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 72, Daenerys X.