ge and gained their devotion, Kynes never controlled the Fremen as an entire people, nor did he control any of the sietches Each sietch maintained its autonomy under its own naib The Naib personified the ideal virtues of the people and is perhaps best exemplified by Stilgar As depicted m the crystals, Stilgar manifested the ascetic, militaristic qualities of the Fremen His strength, moral certitude, and total devotion to Sietch Tabr comes through forcefully He obeyed the necessities of tribal preservation and evaluated all possibilities m terms of his duty to his people Important decisions were made by him, but since the criteria for deciding were so clear and firmly established, it was likely mat any other Fremen serving as Naib would have made tile same decision The Naib's prime responsibility was to provide both water and security for the sietch These two duties encompassed all other requirements, and every other responsibility was subsumed under mem There seems to have been implicit consensus on all specific acts directed to ward these two provisions While much has been made of the dial lenge of combat procedure used for selecting the naib closer examination reveals that any challenge to unseat a naib was preceded by an implicit popular vote of no confidence While a naib was properly carrying out his responsibilities, he remained unchallenged If a naib maintained his vigor and sagacity, no male could effectively pose a challenge Only when he faltered could a challenger garner the popular support to call out the naib Contemporary scholars argue quite convincingly that the challengers were men of suture who combined the qualities of potential leadership with a strong sense of commitment to the verities of Fremen life They were not merely the finest hand to hand fighters but were men who believed they could effectively guide the tribe in its trying struggles Each sietch had its council of wise men who would advise the Naib While not a compelling source of authority, the council had significant influence because it embod led and expressed the shared myths and traditions of the Fremen Since all Fremen deeply identified with their people s history of grief the council s interpretations were almost always accepted, and no evidence of any serious unresolved disputes between Naib and council has been unco\ered The course of necessary action was generally clear cir cumstance combined with precedent, and an informal consensus would arise All Fremen had the right to express them selves before the council and the persuasive power of the speaker mattered Statements that resonated with the collective yearnings of the Fremen would gam the highest influ ence with the council Speakers before the council would seek to link their contentions with the meaningful imagery of Fremen traditions It has been said that even Paul Muad Dib could sway the council from its reluctance to break with custom only by revealing the complexity and dynamism of custom The role of the Reverend Mother in the sietch has not yet received sufficient atten tion in the literature that has emerged from Dar es Balat As spiritual leader in a spmtu al commumt), the Reverend Mother wielded the authority of history She was intimately and deeply in contact with all Fremen who had preceded her No Naib could contradict her, nor could the council confound her wisdom While the Reverend Mother could establish the overall framework of meaning SPACING GUILD FOUNDATION 461 SPACING GUILD FOUNDATION within which specific decisions would be made, she never sought to usurp the powers of the Naib or the council While schisms and power struggles among naib, council and Reverend Mother were theoretically possible, they did not seem to occur Each constituent of this authority structure carried out its function toward the put-pose of preserving the Fremen as a people who faced the eenocidal policies of die Harkonnens as well as the deprivations of life on the planet Dune As each sietch strove to maintain its autonomy while seeking to coordinate with other sietches in the interests of the common struggle, the Council of Leaders eventually came to play a significant role Under the leadership of Muad'Dib, die Council brought together the powerful forces which finally defeated the oppressors However, once the victory was achieved, the Fremen authority system was transformed utterly under the absolute rulership of Paid and the Regency that followed M 0 Further references: HIEMEN comes, REVEREND MOTHER, Daiwid Kuuan, Monuments of the Zenswni Migrations (Salusa Secundus Morgan and Sharak), Defa 1 Fanim Too] I Fremen esp Vols 5 6 (SafaSa Secundus Morgan and Sharak) SPACING GUILD, FOUNDATION.