The Blood Rituals of the Sardaukar | Dune Lore 

This blood ritual scene was one of the most visceral scenes in the Dune movie. Helped to convey the terror and malevolent nature of the Sardaukar.

This scene so expertly shows the power of film making. Through the visuals alone we see thousands of troops kneeling for presumably hours in a rain storm still as statues, the crucified bleeding men feeding their ceremony. The throat singer standing on a massive dais with the strong presence of his voice. Even the general speaking to the Baron's servant has a deep menacing unnatural tone to his voice. This whole scene with no voice over or text conveys that these soldiers are fanatical and dangerous not to be trifled with. The threat they pose made even more potent by the fact they are about to be unleashed on our hero's.

The sacrifices might be old warriors who have passed their prime. They pass on their power through their blood like the Fremen do through their water.

Saudakar think they all gangsta til a bunch of giant worms show up to the party.

I like the idea that those crucified were selected decimation style. There is nothing special about the sardaukar, save for their constant teetering on the cliff side of death. Also being anointed with the blood of the strong could have a greater spiritual effect than being anointed by the blood of the weak.

Love how the Sardukaur is built up as super soldiers up to the scene where the Fremen and they clash in the cave with the Fremen pretty much dispatching them with relative ease. The Sardukaur learned how to survive individually on the prison planet through brutality whereas the Fremen learned how to live with Arrakis which was like a prison planet but they chose to live communally to survive and reject individualism and became fiercer soldiers than the Sarduakar could ever be.

The part with the bodies reminded me of stories about Aztec and Mayan blood bloodletting rituals Some of the architecture even looked Mesoamerican

What a fascinating parallel: The Fremen believe that a person's water belongs to the tribe (ie his lifeforce belongs to the tribe). In this interpretation, a Sardaukar's blood lifeforce belongs to the tribe. I like it!

I think it's possible the "crucified" were Sardaukar who were still being tested. It was a test of strength and endurance. The strongest would survive and move on to the next step. The ones who couldn't endure would die, weeding them out. Based on the lore in the original novels, it seems in character for them to do that.

The sardaukar blood ritual is indeed the most chilling part in the movie. The throat singing, the soldiers receiving blood in their foreheads, indeed giving them their fierce reputation. And that's another medieval concept that I'm gonna draw as of now.

These videos are easily some of the best SciFi analysis and review content I have seen. Great job!

I just wanted to point out how important a good sound track is. I'm hooked every time I hear the opening bars to your videos and I'm glued to every next word because of the background and because of how well that background accentuates your voice. Only the best channels get this part of production right - and you all *nail it.* _Thanks!_

I loved how that scene of just sixty seconds tells the viewer everything they need to know about the Sardaukar. The perfect amalgamation of a dozen warrior traditions from humanity's cultural history: absolute regimental discipline like Roman legionnaires or a Greek Hoplite Phalanx. Total devotion to their lord like Samurai. Stoically and defiantly enduring the elements like Vikings or Iroqois warriors. The priests almost look like a cross between Celtic Druids, Norse Volva and Christian Orthodox priests. The throat singing connects to the traditions of Central Asian Steppe warriors like the Mongols, Huns and Kazhaks. The blood ritual again refers to Northern Germanic and Celtic battle rituals as well as the Aztec Otontin and other military-religious orders. Yet, an arrogance and hubris has taken hold of them throughout the decades that they have remained undefeated. They feel themselves invincible and begin to underestimate their opponents. Like Bane says to Batman in `The Dark Knight Rises` : "Victory has defeated you".

That scene was awesome.…anointing the strong with the blood of the weak! Crazy.

That was a great use of taking liberties with a story. It completely fits with the concept from the books... They remind me of the Janissary elite troops of the Ottoman empire... great video

The Japanese Imperial army also has echoes in the Sardaukar and hints at a shared Achilles Heel.

I like the way you get into describing the details.

just had a thought about the Fremen: since they take dead bodies back to their sietch to be processed for water wouldn't they be more likely to fight with clubs and garrotes or something instead of knives?

Since reading Dune in the 70s, I saw the Sardaukar as similar to the SS. They never questioned their orders and carried them out with fanaticism.

The Saudaukar carry the remnants of the samurai Bushido code were their principles emphasized honor, courage, skill in the martial arts, and loyalty to a warrior's master (daimyo) above all else. It is somewhat similar to the ideas of chivalry that knights followed in feudal Europe. Likewise, indoctrinate the fanaticism of the kamikaze and utter brutality of the Mongols,Huns and Vikings.

Dark throat singing also were common among most viking cultures, therefore it fits perfectly

Another very well thought out video. Good work!

Thank you for this clip. I was originally confused about this scene in the movie because it was never mentioned in the book but now I understand that this scene wasn't meant for the book fans but was meant for people that were new to this universe.

Blood rituals were, and in some parts still are, common, not always meaning the death of the person being offered. Aztek being the most referred to. Offering your blood, painting with it and even consuming it was also assumed and sometimes recorded by historians in ancient Greece, North Africa, Rome among celts, native Americans and also scandinavians

Thats probably one of my favorite scenes ever. It interesting to note the language they used as well. Apparently it's a highly modified version of english. If you listen close enough you can hear the comparison.

This scene reminds me more of the Mayan blood rituals more than anything else.

I recently watched the Dune movie on a business trip...I got hooked so I'm reading the books now. Your videos are incredibly helpful. I really appreciate them. Keep up the good work!

Not only did berserkers use blood rituals as part of their warrior traditions, they were also devotees specifically to Odin. They were fanatics and had no fear of dying. A single berserker held stamford bridge slaughtering any warrior who tried to cross.

The moment I see that you guys have released a new video on the Sardaukar I get really excited and watch it immediately because I love the Sardaukar because they inspired some of my favorite sci-fi characters/organizations

Thank you for making this, I’m new to this universe and I was super curious about this ritual they were in. Awesome video!

I am really enjoying the depth of your videos, and greatly appreciate the research that must've gone into making them. Well done! :)

The blood ritual they were using would more than likely involved the older Sardaukar as the sacrifices. Being blessed by weak blood would be a bad omen. Being blessed by the very best warriors whose time has passed would be looked upon favorably. The background were a form of a blood eagle sacrifice. Just a little insight in to the film.

I am guessing you dont know too much about Frank Herbert, in an interview in the late 70s he explained that he got the idea of Sardaukar from Sikhs a warrior caste in India. The title to every Sikh soldier is Sardar and Kuar, hence the word Sardaukar.

I was hoping you would cover this, I had googled it and found very little lore about the ritual..this scene was just so epic and I had to know more...as I always say, great content mam

This scene was pretty cool (and gruesome) and I’ve been looking for someone to cover it. Thanks!

Uses a blood ritual to make the Sardaukar seem intimidating and menacing Also Sardaukar: Get clapped in like every peer to peer engagement with the Fremen

Anointing themselves with the blood of those "dreaming"

This is by far my favorite scene in the new Dune movie. Dénis Villeneuve clearly has a deep understanding of the source material to have come up with this short but extremely effective piece of world-building. I agree that the sacrificial victims are likely Sardaukar themselves who broke a rule or failed a test. This depiction of the Sardaukar is much better than the David Lynch version, in which they all look like characters from Among Us, and generally look more goofy than intimidating. They're also much more convincing than the court jester Sardaukar from the mini-series. Villeneuve nailed it.

odd question: are there Bene Gesserit embedded on Salusa Secundus? I can't imagine them not wanting eyes on what goes on there.

i was very curious about this scene from the movie and am glad you covered it, thank you

I know this is two years old. I watched the first dune two weeks ago. Let me clarify, watched it IN FULL. I’ve tried over the last year or so to watch dune, and I always get up or change the movie at the part where the baron is in a sauna like thing, and Glossu comes in screaming about why they were removed from Arrakis. Because at this part, I’m like I have no idea what’s going on. Until two weeks ago. I let the movie run, I get up at the same part like I always do, but I let the movie play. I had the surround sound on. What drew me back to the TV was THIS SCENE. I started hearing the throat singing and ran back into the living room, seeing this part of the film. I played the scene again. Then I started Dune over from the beginning and watched it in its entirety. Me, someone who never watched the original dune, or read the books, came away with the conclusion the Bene Gesserit and the Emperor had set up House Atreides to fall, by sending them to Arrakis, thinking they were killing off the heirs, not knowing Paul and Lady Jessica made it out the attack alive.

I think Aztec and other Mesoamerican culture is known for its human sacrifices (though numbers are much-debated), performing heart extraction for example. Also, the setting in Dune stylistically resembles ancient temples.

Oh this was a good one as I've been wanting to dig deeper into that fantastic scene. Ty!!

It's one of the best explanations I saw in the last few years based on the movies. I want to mention that the form of sacrifice take remembrance to the Roman Empire, where crucification was a common method of death penalty for slaves. In extention, the the Salusa Secundus was used a prison planet, which parallels to the gladiators too.

Thanks for these insights, I really enjoy your takes. Do you dive into these with a team or by yourself?

The ritualized brutality of the Salusa Secundus scene in Villeneuve's Dune reminded me of Jodorowsky's "The Holy Mountain" from 1973. Specifically the scene in THM where Axon is indoctrinating young boys into his warrior cult and coercing them to volunteer for ritual orchiectomy.

*Congrats on 100K!!* Can’t get enough of your videos!

Isn't Salusa Secundus a prison planet? When I saw the movie I was thinking they were prisoners. And if they're dead, they haven't been for very long if their blood is still flowing.

Finishing up Children of Dune rn. Your content is S tier. Also, the blood rituals described in the book reminded me of Mormon blood atonement.

It's interesting to note that even Duke Leto II used them as well, noting how useful they actually are.

I’m really enjoying the Dune videos. Keep up the great work!

If you read Frank Herbert’s biography you know where his inspirations for Dune come from.

The sardaukar lore vids are my favorite tbh

I think there is a huge flaw in the concept of the warrior race in fiction and it lies in motivation, as in why are they doing what they do? This becomes more apparent when asked in a different way, what happens to these super soldiers when they get old and pass fighting age (granted this could be longer than 15-40 20k years in the future but they will still get old). Military rank structures almost always form a pyramid, with the base being huge and the top being a point, as in A general that outranks all other generals. The narrator mentioned the Vikings, a warrior culture who, once they vanquished their enemies either took the spoils back home to add to their estates or settled the land (more common) that they conquered. In other words there was a payoff, a pension. For the Romans it was land to farm, for modern western militaries it is a hard pension that is cost of living adjusted, other countries it is civilian political power after their careers. All in all this payoff after fighting age has been a pretty constant incentive for nation's professional class warriors (conscripts and equivalent not included) and even includes nations with considerable religious zeal. For this group of warrior elite I can say a return to an inhospitable planet to die sooner rather than later has a lack of appeal.

I see a new Nerd Cookies video,I click and like instantly. Love the channel.

I love your Dune video’s! Hope you keep making more 👍🏾

Dune Cookies FTW!! Thank you!!

The original book made it clear that Salusa Secundus was a prison planet and a hell-world every bit as dangerous and deadly as Arrakis. The Sardaukar practiced a form of Darwinism with only the strongest surviving to be trained by veteran warriors, very much like the Spartans.

I was able to fall asleep listening to stories of blood rituals and human sacrifice because your voice is literally crack.

4:26 Very unlikely! In a society soley based on warfare, why would the better warriors feel honored to be "tainted" with the blood of the weak or the blood of the fallen?

The fact that they're upside down hearkens back to the story of the apostle Peter... "in some apocryphal texts -namely, the Martyrdom of Peter- where we find the story asserting that, when sentenced to death, Peter demanded that his cross be upside down, arguing he felt unworthy of being crucified like Jesus. Following the example of the apostle, Christians have used this cross as a symbol of humility." So this would also align with the theory that these are failed conscripts (and possibly captured POWs), and are seen as not worthy of being crucified upright in the same standing as those who had attained the status of soldier. And in a way, putting each Sardaukar soldier on the same footing as an apostle, true believer, or even a Christ-like figure. The placing of blood on the forehead is very similar to the catholic traditions of ash Wednesday where "a priest draws a cross on a parishioner's forehead and says “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” He also may say “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Using ash from the previous year's burned palms from palm Sunday." (Also from the web: Palms are used on Palm Sunday in many Christian churches to symbolize Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before his crucifixion. Residents of Jerusalem are said to have waved palm fronds to celebrate his arrival.) But in this context it's the blood of the failed conscripts, their failure attesting to the rigorous training of their order. And the blood of the sacrificed conscripts taking the place of burned palm fronds. (Burning palms also appear in the movie.) I'm not religious but have had some exposure growing up in it and around it. I definitely find it interesting how traditions can warp and change over eons. I sometimes wonder if books and stories from our age might end up taking on the same role as the bible thousands of years from now. It wouldn't surprise me if a religion based on Dune would come into existence in a thousand years.

In the books the saudakar are from a planet where humans are not the top of the food chain. They are not bad asses because of rituals or throat singing, they were chased as prey by carnivores their entire lives and became tough because of it. 7 of 13 born on selusa secundus don't live to the age of 10 thanks to the predators. I am really starting to hate Denni and his liberties.

I've not been a Dune fan, but I thought this scene was amazing, maybe one of the best in film making.

I havent read the books, but we all know adapting for the screen is difficult. The introduction of the Saudukar is a perfect example of "show don't tell". You only have so much screen time so you need to communicate effectively with what you can show in any given scene.

Do u think the crucified folks were there willingly? Like some sort of fanatical follower of their religion who offers himself for a pre-war blood offering? That came to mind when I watched that scene. It is not unheard of in terran history.

The fanaticism of this group makes me lean more towards volunteers. You don't anoint your warriors going into battle with prisoners, enemies or weak members of society. They either had a lottery, volunteered or the older warriors sacrifice themselves for the younger. In some ritualistic blood sacrifices, it was an honor to be chosen. Or older warriors that are becoming a burden to that society would volunteer for it. A warrior society similar to Sparta doesn't have old, weak, sick, or disabled people. That's one of the reasons why Spartans respected their elders. Most died before 50. They honestly remind me more of Spartans with a blood blessing before battle.

Awesome content. I'm happy to see awesomeness rewarded with subs. Keep growing.

This scene immediately reminded me of the scene in the holy mountain of the soldiers making their "sacrifice"

Ahhh been waiting for you to tackle this one!

In Islam and Judaism, human blood is considered to be ceremonially “unclean”, forbidden for use in any religious custom or ceremony.

I think you theory about the victims of the blood rituals being failed trainees is brilliant and spot on. I see a lot of weird Dune theories but this was well thought out and seems most plusable. I love your videos, kudos!

Fremin took them out easily

I at first presumed the sacrificed bodies to be those of recently defeated foes, until you introduced the idea that they could be the bodies of their own brethren who didn't make the cut. When I considered this possibility, it made sense within the types of fanatical religious cults you describe. It would be the best contender for the explanation of whose bodies are sacrificed...if it weren't for the fact that they all seem to be adults of roughly similar age and development. That would make sense if they were fallen foes, but not if they're the other children who didn't survive the harsh training regime of the Sardaukar and the punishing weather on Salusa Secundis. The bodies don't look like those of children to me.

Love the job you all are doing here!! Keep it up!

I'm Eastern Orthodox. On the day before Easter we color eggs. The first egg is always colored red. Mothers mark their children on the forehead with the red egg exactly like the priests mark the soldiers in this scene.

i started reading the books because of your videos thanks the books are amazing pieces of sci-fi

My first thought when I saw this scene where the Mongols, later I saw the influence of the Vikings - It's a very powerful scene - especially with the throat-singing and the crucifixion

It wasn't blood. It was marinara sauce divinely granted by the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Clearly this proves that the Sardaukar actually descended from ancient Pastafarians.

I could listen to that chanting scene for hours on end

One of the most memorable parts of the movie, it certainly left it's mark on me.

Until this video, I was certain the crucified were prisoners of war. The concept of failed individual S troopers is interesting and certainly believable. What bugged me about the scene was the rain. The temple structure is designed to channel the blood into collection basins. The rain dilutes the blood, thus making it very difficult to place the (clearly) blood mark on an individual's forehead. Not complaining, just observing. As always, remarkably good analysis and presentation. It's a pleasure to watch these videos, even on disturbing topics like human sacrifice.

I'm with you on the blood sacrifice comes from within the ranks of sardukar. It fits the financial warrior archetype.

My favorite part was the guy doing the “BBBRRRRRRRAA BBBBRRRRRAAAHH” shit lol

As I recall, Salusa Secundus was also a prison planet.

Very well researched. Love your writing.

Those executed are those soldiers whose knees finally give out 😂😂😂

It’s puzzling why some of them wore helmets and others did not. I can see the need for a helmet when off world if the off world atmosphere is harmful. However, after the fight with Idaho, a few of them had no helmet on 🤔. I had hoped to see them give Idaho more of a challenge. For such “fearsome” fighters, Idaho seemed to cut threw them pretty easily. Hopefully in part 2 we will get more dialogue from then. Herbert described them as exceedingly arrogant, so that would be cool to see.

Salusa Secundus was the Emperor’s prison planet - prisoners sent there became Sadukar or died - as revealed at the end of book one.

This is also a Roman ritual in Rome to honor the wolf that raised Romulus and Remus. In Rome proper they would crucify upside down make a small incision on the neck so blood would draw wolves to feed them.

Blood ritual is so death metal

Virtually every ancient culture, especially the antediluvian ones, had blood rituals that involved human sacrifice, but often with consumption which as you noted is prohibited in the Abrahamic faiths which spawned from God's disgust with the practice. This scene really provoked the resonance and ferocity of evil, and a desire to see these guys defeated by the free peoples.

Reminds me on the Vikings episode where some volunteered to be part of the ritual.

I like how Sardaukar and the Atreides army are almost equal not just by fighting but beliefs : Sardaukar in religion, Atreides in loyalty (or charisma of Leto) Harkonnen are individualists and with 0 discipline even if they have a big number Also Fremen are an other religion, with the best soldiers

Ive always wondered about the idea of sacrificing captured enemies. The idea of a sacrifice is both to make something holy, but also to give up something of value for something higher. Easiest example would be Abraham and Isaac. So dumping enemy mouths that your having to feed doesn't really fit that vibe. Unless you worship Khorne, then all bets are off.

The word Bless comes from Blot, which means "to anoint with blood". If the ritual was to be close to historical examples in history, it is very likely that the slain were the most worthy of captured enemy. A failed recruit would not be worthy of the high honor of their blood being used to anoint the veteran warriors.

It's a "Decimation Ritual". One out of every 10 will be voluntarily bled of every last drop and used to give a sense of heightened strength and an indomitable resolve. The dying men hung upside down VOLUNTEERD for this willingly to assure that their brothers would not have to die.

Those who fail in training are honored, because by their removal the strength of the unit is preserved.

A parallel can be drawn between the Sardaukar and the ancient Spartans. The Spartans were a heavily martial society, with the warrior being the most important calling of any male. Any baby born with a defect would be thrown from a cliff, and those that were allowed to live would be watched carefully. They would be taken at a very young age, usually 7, and would undergo intense and brutal training and development. The younger trainees would not be given much food, being forced to steal to survive, however, they had to do so without being caught, or they would suffer harsh punishment. They were regularly forced to fight amongst themselves, often resulting in many kids being maimed or even killed. One of the most important tasks that would be undertaken for acceptance and advancement as a Spartan warrior was for these young warriors to go into the countryside with absolutely nothing, find, overpower and murder a slave, again without being caught, and they would have to return with a token to prove their action, typically part of the slave's body or a portion of their blood. A theory portends that they used the blood of murdered slaves to mark these "coming of age" Spartans in a sort of blood ritual, and one of the iconic elements of a Spartan's uniform, their cloak, was made red through the blood of their kill, thus signifying their status as a warrior. Upon this acceptance, they would be moved to proper barracks and issued their equipment to train with. They would be granted more food, but would often still have to steal, and would constantly train, either with slaves as their tools or with seasoned warriors. The Spartan warrior ethos was the blueprint for many future fanatical martial societies, and their capacity for battle made them incredibly dangerous on the battlefield, helping them repel Persian, Carthaginian and Minoan invasions despite superior numbers, and their prowess helped enabled them to defeat the Athenians in the Peloponnesian War in spite of Athens greater population and technological and naval superiority.

I had never considered the sacrifices to be members of emperor's legion themselves! That's very interesting!

I’m surprised no one has mentioned it, but the blood anointing scene is the **exact** ritual that Catholics preform on Ash Wednesday, but with ash instead of blood. Hell, the crucifixions alone should have been a massive hint that this ritual was inspired by Catholicism. Ash Wednesday is all about human mortality, reconciliation with god, and marks the beginning of Lent, which ends in the crucifixion of Jesus.