Ghân-buri-Ghân
Ghân-buri-Ghân, the great headman of the Wild Men of the Drúadan Forest, is a figure who emerges from the margins of the War of the Ring to play a decisive, if fleeting, role in the salvation of Gondor. He and his people are the last remnants of a race that dwelt in the White Mountains before the coming of the Númenóreans, a folk so ancient and secretive that they are known to the Rohirrim only as the Woses, the Wild Men of the Woods. Ghân-buri-Ghân himself is described as a short-legged, fat-armed, thick and stumpy creature, gnarled as an old stone, with a scanty beard straggling on his lumpy chin like dry moss, and clad only in grass about his waist. To the Riders of Rohan, he appears like one of the old Púkel-men of Dunharrow come to life, a living relic of a forgotten age. Yet beneath this uncouth exterior lies a shrewd intelligence, a deep knowledge of the land, and a clear understanding of the war that threatens to engulf his hidden realm.
Role in the War of the Ring
Ghân-buri-Ghân's intervention occurs at a moment of extreme peril for the Rohirrim. King Théoden's host, marching to the relief of Minas Tirith, finds the main road blocked by a superior force of Orcs and men. The Wild Man appears before the king and Éomer, offering his services not as a warrior, but as a guide. He explains that his people do not fight, but hunt, killing Orcs in the woods. He has counted the enemy and knows their strength, stating plainly that the Horse-men have fewer numbers. His proposal is to lead the Riders by a forgotten road, the Stonewain Valley, which was made by the Stonehouse-folk (the Men of Gondor) in ages past and is now known only to the Wild Men. This path, he claims, will bring them out behind the enemy's lines, near the Rammas Echor, allowing them to take the besiegers by surprise. In return for this service, he asks only that, should the Rohirrim survive the darkness, they leave the Wild Men alone in their woods and hunt them no more like beasts.
Character and Motivation
Ghân-buri-Ghân speaks the Common Speech in a halting, uncouth fashion, but his words are direct and devoid of flattery. He is a pragmatist, motivated by a clear-eyed assessment of his people's interests. The coming of the Orcs and the spreading shadow of war have disturbed his ancient peace, and he fears the return of the Dark Years. He offers his aid not out of loyalty to Gondor or Rohan, but because he hates the Orcs—the 'gorgûn'—and because he sees that the victory of the Dark Lord would mean the end of his own way of life. His bargain is a simple one: guidance for future peace. When Théoden accepts, Ghân-buri-Ghân insists on leading the king himself, stating that if he leads them wrong, they may kill him. This is not a gesture of trust, but a cold, practical guarantee. He is a creature of the wild, with senses attuned to the land; he can feel the changing wind and knows the time of day even under the perpetual gloom of Mordor's shadow. His final act is to sense the wind shifting, a sign of hope, and with that, he and his fellows vanish back into the glooms, never to be seen by any Rider of Rohan again.
Significance and Legacy
Ghân-buri-Ghân's guidance is the crucial factor that allows the Rohirrim to arrive at the Pelennor Fields at the critical moment, turning the tide of the battle. Without his knowledge of the hidden Stonewain Valley, Théoden's host would have been delayed and forced to fight a costly battle against the enemy's blocking force, likely arriving too late to save Minas Tirith. The Wild Man's role is a powerful reminder that the fate of Middle-earth is not decided solely by the great and the wise, but also by the small, forgotten peoples who choose to act. His people, the Drúedain, are a living link to a deeper past, and their intervention underscores the theme that all free peoples, no matter how strange or isolated, have a stake in the war against Sauron. Ghân-buri-Ghân himself is a figure of stark, unadorned heroism, a guide who asks for nothing but the right to be left in peace, and who, in a single act of guidance, helps to save a kingdom.
