#umbar

Tolkien OC Week: Diversity (Aug 26th)

@tolkienocweek

These aren't so much proper OCs as my personal ideas for how I'd costume each of these cultures.

(I would have done Rohan as well, but I ran out of time/it honestly would have just looked the same as the movies. And I really only put in Gondor as I like the idea of having left-overs from Numenorean (Egyptian inspired) culture mixed in with their Western Europe historical fashions)

The human inhabitants of Mordor that live around the Sea of Núrn I based on Balkan styles as I thought there could be parallels for living by the Black Sea.

Umbar fashion is broadly inspired by Indian styles, with focuses on Sea based patterns and designs due to their naval history. (I also see Umbar as being a duumvirate, due to being founded by two Black Numenorean lords).

Near Harad fashioned is inspired by the ancient Middle East, Far Harad by southern African styles. Khand I specifically based their styles on Mongolia, and I tried to mix together styles from Korea, Japan and China for Rhûn.

Realms of Men 2026 | A Middle-Earth Monthly Calendar

Not only that. I assume that after capturing Sauron, Númenor's colonial ambitions only grew, and people were moving to Umbar to get rich and what not. So. There were some people in Umbar, after the fall, living with such names.

And since the cultures merged and not everyone in the native populations there spoke Adunaic, but also, thanking the names from the dominant culture is sometimes a thing... There would be people in early TA named things like "Melkor's beloved servant" or "Melkor's jewel" or whatever and not aware of that.

And not all of then even evil or allied with Sauron.

@numenorweek

Nazgûl