Chani Kynes

This article or section refers to elements from Original Dune There are separate pages for this subject as it appears in the other canons, the reasons for this are explained here Chani Kynes in Expanded Dune Chani Kynes in the Dune Encyclopedia

Chani in the Dune encyclopedia

Chani Kynes, also known by her intimate name Sihaya, (10177 AG - 10205 AG) was the Fremen bound concubine of Paul Atreides, and the mother of his three children: Leto Atreides II the Elder, and the twins Leto Atreides II the Younger, God Emperor of Dune and Ghanima Atreides.

Upbringing

Chani was born on Arrakis, the daughter of the half-Fremen planetologist Liet Kynes and his full-Fremen wife. She gradually developed into a formidable fighter, and by the time of her father's death was serving under naib Stilgar.

Introduction to Paul

When Paul and his mother Jessica escaped from Arrakeen after the invasion of House Harkonnen they quickly found themselves in the deep desert of Arrakis. There, while sheltering in a cave system from a sandworm they were intercepted by a group of traveling Fremen, which included Chani.

Her introduction to Paul came during a tense stand-off. Chani was familiar to the Atreides heir because of her appearance in his prescient visions prior to his arrival on Arrakis. But to her Paul was initially a stranger.

Life with Paul

After the integration of Paul and Jessica into the Fremen by Stilgar, Chani began her long-lasting love affair with the young Duke, and eventually bore him a son, Leto. However, their first born was murdered by a House Harkonnen raiding party while Paul, Chani and Jessica were away visiting another sietch.

After the defeat of House Harkonnen and House Corrino on Arrakis, and Paul's subsequent ascent to Emperor and marriage to Irulan Corrino, Chani became his official concubine and remained his exclusive partner.

Pregnancy and Death

Twelve years later, when Chani became pregnant once again, Irulan sought to usurp her and become the bearer of Paul's children. She found support with the Bene Gesserit, who feared the impact of Chani's largely-unknown bloodline on their breeding program.

However, Irulan's attempts to terminate Chani's pregnancy through drugs failed. After a traumatic pregnancy, (the pregnancy was accelerated by Spice, taking only five months instead of nine) Chani gave birth to twins, who Paul named Leto and Ghanima.

Irulan's treachery did, however, bring a secondary result. Chani died shortly after giving birth to the twins, due to complications stemming from the drugs Paul's titular wife had been surreptitiously feeding her.

The Tleilaxu Scytale offered immediately to resurrect Chani in an Axlotl Tank. Yet despite the temptation, Paul refused, knowing the impact such an event would have on the Golden Path.

Physical appearance

Chani was a young woman, dark skinned, very skinny with an elfin face with big eyes all blue like black pits with no white in them.She had long tawny-red hair.

Images of Chani

Sean Young as Chani in the 1984 dune movie

Chani in the Dune (video game)

Barbora Kodetová as Chani in the Dune miniseries

Chani (left, played by Barbora Kodetová) threatens Irulan (played by Julie Cox) in the Children of Dune miniseries.

Zendaya as Chani in Dune 2020

Behind the Scenes

• In the original Dune novels, Chani's birth year was 10,178. However, in the Prelude to Dune prequel novels, her birth year was given as 10,174, making her older than Paul.
• Chani was played by Sean Young in the 1984 movie and by Barbora Kodetová in both the 2000 Dune miniseries and the 2003 Children of Dune miniseries.