Zensunni Wanderers

Mixed Canonicity

This article or section refers to elements from both Original Dune and Expanded Dune.

This Article still being edited by Lisan Al-Gaib

The Wandering Zensunni, also known as the Zensunni Wanderers, were the ancestors of the Fremen, who traveled from one world to another in search of freedom from persecution and enslavement by the Imperial raiders. They followed the Zensunni religion, which was based largely on the Sunni branch Islam, with Buddist influences.

"Jessica recoiled, fearing she would become lost in an ocean of oneness. Still, the corridor remained, revealing to Jessica that the Fremen culture was far older than she had suspected. There had been Fremen on Poritrin, she saw, a people grown soft with an easy planet, fair game for Imperial raiders to harvest and plant human colonies on Bela Tegeuse and Salusa Secundus. Oh, the wailing Jessica sensed in that parting. Far down the corridor, an image-voice screamed: "They denied us the Hajj!" Jessica saw the slave cribs on Bela Tegeuse down that inner corridor, saw the weeding out and the selecting that spread men to Rossak and Harmonthep. Scenes of brutal ferocity opened to her like the petals of a terrible flower. And she saw the thread of the past carried by Sayyadina after Sayyadina--first by word of mouth, hidden in the sand chanteys, then refined through their own Reverend Mothers with the discovery of the poison drug on Rossak . . . and now developed to subtle strengthen Arrakis in the discovery of the Water of Life. Far down the inner corridor, another voice screamed: "Never to forgive! Never to forget!""

―Dune,page 235

Migration of the Wandering Zensunni

Though much of the history of the Wandering Zensunni was lost to the Fremen, some information was kept alive through oral tradition. However, even prior to the emergence of the prescient Paul Atreides, many non-Fremen expressed doubts over the validity of the stories, thanks to linguistic and mythological traditions.

According to Fremen legend, the migration of the Zensunnis saw them move through the following planets:

1. Poritrin
2. Salusa Secundus
3. Bela Tegeuse
4. Rossak
5. Harmonthep
6. Ishia
7. Arrakis

Wandering Zensunni Theories

According to some historical accounts such as those recorded in the Shah-Nama, the Zensunni ancestors of the Fremen arrived on Arrakis from many different planets. The last group escaped to the desert world from Poritrin, having originally been kidnapped from numerous worlds as slaves.

Wandering Zensunni Facts

Regardless of the true path of the Wandering Zensunni's migration, it is clear that their migration is more complicated than their tradition states.

The actual route was probably diverse and non-sequential, and was often unique to an individual or group of individuals. The only certainty is that the Wandering Zensunni have originated on Earth, like all other humans.

Appearances

• Dune (Mentioned only)