Sietch
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- For a lake wave caused by an earthquake, see seiche.
A sietch is a Fremen desert settlement in the Dune stories.
"A place of refuge in time of danger," the sietch became the standard gathering place/community of the desert Fremen who lived in a constant state of danger. The Fremen, being the descendants of a tribe of Zensunni wanderers, used a language derived from Arabic. Sietch is very close to the Arabic Seeq, the long, narrow canyon that is the only access to the desert town of Petra. It is possible that Frank Herbert derived the word from this canyon.
The word may have been taken from a real place called in Russian Сечь (Sech') and in English sometimes "The Sietch", which was a Cossack fort on Abramov Island in the river Dnieper. It was built as a defence against the Tatars. Its name is Russian for "to cut", and may refer to felling trees to clear the site and use their trunks to make a stockade. A 'Sitch' was, for the Zaporogue Cossacks a sort of home, but it seems likely the origin of the word is Arabic, because of the considerable presence of the Arabic world in Dune.
Two names are given to all Fremen, a broad name to be known by all and a Sietch name to be known only by members of the Sietch. Paul Atreides' Fremen name was "Paul-Muad'Dib" and his Sietch name was "Usul."
