Hi Ian,
I've just attempted to send the following to the REH-fans group, but the
other day my attempts at replying to Jesse's posts never showed up so I had
to have him forward it. If my reply to you doesn't show up within a
reasonable time, how about sending this to the group?
Rusty
Ian Sturrock wrote:
Anyway, quick query for the group: what nationality do you think Khemsa is, in The People of the Black Circle?
I tend to agree with your inclination toward Vendhyan. In his Exegesis of
Howard's Hyborian Tales (Amra, v2n5) de Camp suggests the name is "From the
Khamseh, a tribe of Arabian origin in southern Iran", but that's de Camp's
usual half-assed speculation. Howard tended to borrow his names for
reasons, and usually they suggest the character's nationality. A quick
Google search turned up this:
http://www.wildquestindia.com/ranthambhoreplaces.html
Khemsa Kund The road to Khemsa Kund circles the side of the Fort that was
always attacked over the last thousand years. Khemsa Kund itself is an
ancient water tank and well worth seeing. According to tradition there was
an underground tunnel that led from the Fort to Khemsa Kund. The Forts
residents used this in times of draught for the Kund always had water.
My guess is that Howard probably found "Khemsa" in a Talbot Mundy or Harold
Lamb story and liked the name, and figured it would be okay for a Vendhyan
(i.e., Indian) adept.
Rusty
-- "Every winner is a villain, every loser is a hero. Just put on your two step shoes and lose the blues. . . and dance like it's year zero. . ." (Alabama 3)
