The Podlings of Kira's village.
The Podlings, also known as Pod People,[1][2] were a sentient race native to Thra. In their own language, they referred to themselves as apopiapoiopidiappididiapipob, which translated as "master gardneners who live in bulging plants."[1] They were a rural and hedonistic race, who lived only to sing, dance and tend to their plants.
Description
The Podlings were a diminuitive people, who were a full head shorter than Gelflings with potato-shapes heads. Their voices were alto in their natural state, though skekTek the Scientist experimented on captured Pod slaves over hundreds of trine in order to create baritones for the Pod choir.[2]
Culture
The Podlings were an agrarian people who grew many different kinds of plants, especially the Pod plants, from whose giant seeds they made their homes.[1] They were pacifists by nature, and would not kill anything other than Crystal Bats, which they dispatched with bolas.[2] Unlike the Gelflings, the Podlings left no records of their own, as they had no system of writing.[1] Indeed, their concept of time was deeply rooted to the cycle of seasons, thus they found change and the hunger for it to be incomprehensible.[2]
They had domesticated the Nebrie, from which they collected milk. When a Nebrie died, its skin was used for making drums, and the fur around its ears and face was used to fashion clothes for young Podlings.[2] They had also domesticated the Fizzgig, which served to guard the Podlings' plant tendrils.[1] Their ease with taming animals stemmed from their skill in Animal Soul Speaking.[3]
The Podlings were skilled musicians, who used a variety of different instruments, including reed pipes and gourd drums. Being a jovial race, the Podlings frequently held banquets and celebrations, even outside important events.[2]
According to Podling folklore, the Three Suns were brothers who once fought over the daughter of the moon. When she drowned herself out of grief, the three brothers would do battle every nine hundred and ninety nine and one trine.[2]
History
The Podlings lived in peace with the Gelflings for centuries, and knew each other's languages.[2]
[3] Aside from the destruction of Noy, the Podlings were initially unaffected by the rule of the Skeksis, and continued with their idyllic lives. This changed when the Skeksis' true nature revealed itself, and they began to be captured in large numbers to serve as slaves.[1]
Behind the scenes
- The Podlings are voiced by Suzy Westerby.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Froud, B. & Llewellyn, J. J., The World of the Dark Crystal. Pavilion Books. ISBN 1-86205-624-2
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Smith, A. C. H., & Odell, D. (1982). The Dark Crystal. Holt, Rinehart and Winston . ISBN 0030624363
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Froud, B., Dysart, J., Sheikman, A. & John, L. (2012). The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, Vol. II. Archaia. ISBN 978-1-936393-80-0
External Links
Podling on the Muppet Wiki