ORIGINAL ENGLISH PASSAGE
The intricate mystic rites with which the Fremen surrounded almost every contact with water are made far more understandable when one considers the environment which inspired them: the harsh, sand-covered surface of Arrakis, possibly the most inhospitable world ever colonized by human beings. Water, which made life possible, was seen as being the carrier of that life. It was something to be fought for, conserved, treasured — and in the eyes of the Fremen, descendants of the Zensunni Wanderers and shaped by the trials those outcast mystics had suffered, it was holy beyond all other things.
While reading this passage
The Sayyadina’s ceremonial role shows that water management is more than technical work. Ecological necessity, social authority, and religious knowledge work together.
The Dune Encyclopedia ↗
Willis E. McNelly (editor)
FREMEN WATER CUSTOMS.
Selected from the supplied English EPUB. The commentary is Dunepedia’s reading note.