History
Clans
Ji'e'toh
Wise One's
Culture
Relationships

    In the Age of Legends, a group of people swore to peace and to served the Aes Sedai.  These people were known as the Da'shain Aiel, or "Dedicated to True Peace" in the Old Tongue.  These people were useful, even though they would not lay a hand on anyone, in the War of Power.  They just stood in one place not letting anyone by.  Even if someone hurt them, they would still stand unmoving.  This helped the Aes Sedai to get more space between them and the Forsaken.  One of the Aes Sedai of that time had a Foretelling that a man would come from the Aiel to save the world.  The Aes Sedai realised that the Aiel would all be killed if they did not leave the cities.  The Aes Sedai asked them to leave for their own safety but they would not.  The Aes Sedai devised a plan to get the Aiel hidden.  They found some sa'angreal and ter'angreal that needed to be hidden from the insane male Aes Sedai.  They gave them to the Aiel and told them to take them to a far away place so they would be safe.  The Aiel never knew the real meaning of their campaign.  In time, some of the Aiel got fed up with just being slowly killed of and took up the spear.  Although the rest of the Aiel shunned them, they stayed slitely behind the Aiel caravans to protect them.  The Aiel who became warriors were still called the Aiel but the Jenn Aiel, as the pacifists came to be called,  became what people know today as the Tuatha'an.  The Jenn Aiel travelled around the land until they came to a mountain called Chaendaer.  They stopped here and decided to make a city to protect the artifact given to them by the Aes Sedai.  The Jenn Aiel worked on  the city for years and eventually began to die out.  By this time the warrior Aiel had spread out in the land surrounding the city, Rhuidean.  The Aes Sedai that had travelled with the Jenn Aiel realised that the saviour of the world would not come from the Jenn Aiel but from the other.  The Aes Sedai told all the clan chiefs that they had to come to Rhuidean.  The clan chiefs that came, signed a treaty called the Peace of Rhuidean.  It said that no one was allowed to do any fighting within sight of the city and the mountain.  They also made a ter'angreal that told anyone that past through it the true history of the Aiel.  The Wise Ones and Chiefs had to pass through ter'angreal to become Wise Ones or Chiefs.  In this way, the Aiel would always know their history and would be prepared for whe the saviour of the world would come.

    The Aiel have twelve clans among them.  They are: the Chareen, Codarra, Daryne, Goshien, Miagoma, Nakai, Reyn, Shaarad, Shaido, Shiande, Taardad and Tomanelle.  There is also a thirtennth clan only known to the chiefs and wise ones.  It is the Jenn Aiel.
    The Aiel have, over the years, grown to have many blood fueds between the clans but, when trouble strikes, they are always there for eachother.  A great example of this is when Artur Hawkwing attacked them.  They put all hates for eachother aside and fought against him unified.  One of the reasons they stay unified through all the years is because of the warrior societies.  There are also twelve of these. They are the: Black Eyes, Brothers of the Eagle, Dawn Runners, Knife Hands, Maidens of the Spear, Mountain Dancers, Night Spears, Red Shields, Stone Dogs, Thunder Walkers, True Bloods and Water Seekers.  The Red Shields are the police for the Aiel, the Stone Dogs act as a rear guard and the Maidens are usually scouts.

    Ji'e'toh is the Aiel's Code of Honor.  In this code, you gain very little honor by killing someone in battle and if you touch an enemy without causing harm you gain great honor.  Another way of gaining honor is to capture a enemy and make them gai'shain. Gai'shain are the Aiel form of servants.  When captured, they must dress in white and serve their master for 1 year and 1 day.  After this period of time is served they are let free and may go wherever they please.  Blacksmiths, pregnant women and children under ten are not allowed to be captured as gai'shain.

    The Aiel, just like any other race has channelers.  The women channelers that are found are taken in by the Wise Ones and trained to become a Wise One.  Wise Ones are much like the Wisdoms of Andor.  They are the sept or clans healers.  Wise Ones are not allowed to take part in a battle in any way.  The Wise Ones avoid any contact with the Aes Sedai to prevent them from finding out that there are channelers among them.  In the main part of the land, only two Dreamers have been found in the last 500 years but in the Waste, many Wise Ones can Dreamwalk.

    The Aiel are among the most fierce fighters of the land, probably because they believe children should be taught to fight at a very young age.  The children are also taught about ji'e'toh, politics, and have basic schooling.  Anyone who doesn't know the Aiel personally would think they are very barbaric people but in fact they are well educated and value books and peotry very highly.
    Their clothing is the cadin'sor, or "working clothes" in the Old Tongue.  Around their head they wear the imfamous shoufa, and on their feet they wear knee-high boots.  All men, and the Maidens of the spear, wear their hair short except for a pony-tail at the back of their neck.  The other women wear their hair however they like.  The women wear some jewelry but the men possess none.

    In Aiel society, it is not unusual to have more than one wife.  Because of this, people with the same mother are considered closer related than those with the same father.  A first-sister or -brother is someone with the same mother as you.  Second-brothers and -sisters are your cousins on your mother's side and sister-mothers and -fathers are your mother's brothers and sisters.  If you have a friends that is very close to you they are called near-sisters and -brothers.  Often near-sisters or -brothers will considered themselves first-sisters or -brothers.  The Aiel use many more terms but, as you are not Aiel, you would never understand them all anyway.