Orc

The Orcs (S. "Uruk" Q. "Orcor" A. "Yrch") were a warlike tribal race which dwelt in the Westlands of Middle-earth and other territories of Arda. Tales of their origins varied, though most accounts agreed that the rebel Vala Morgoth had some hand in their creation and thus they were also known as the Children of Melkor. However, it was not until his captivity that they grew to greater numbers under his lieutenant, the fallen Maia Sauron. The Orcs worshipped them as their deities and slavishly toiled for them, filled with both loyalty and loathing for their overlords. Orc society was rigidly divided into two castes - a slave caste composed of common Orcs (or Snaga, pl. Snagai) and a warrior caste (or Uruk, pl. Uruk) composed of the socially privileged and physically strong. The appearance of Orcs varied considerably depending on their region of habitation, culture and caste, though most had either dark or sallow skin and were between three and six foot in height.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Physiology, Biology, Appearance Orcish appearance could vary greatly between the different Castes, Tribes, Breeds and even one single clan however the typical Orc was always described as squat, stout, square and generally at least a bit shorter than the average man.They were depicted as dark, swarthy, swart ,sallow, black or grey-skinned, had slant, catlike eyes red, green or yellowish in color,braided dark hair, hairy ears, wide mouths, flat noses, claws and fangs like beasts of prey.Some of the Men of the Westlands felt that Orcs resembled degraded, degenerated and repulsive versions of the (to Men of the West) least lovely types of the Men of the East.The early orcs seem to have still been far more close in appearance to Elves as the Sindar of Beleriand mistook them for savaged and barbarous Avari on their first encounter (which probably was at least to some part true).

Biological Traits

Height Orc height varied considerably depending on breed and tribe, with some particularly large Orcs being as tall as the average adult Man and others being below three foot. The average Orc height was generally five to fife-and-a-half feet.Three foot shortness was a trait of only the smallest Snaga-breeds while a height of six feet was only achieved by the tallest Uruk-hai.The earliest Orcs in the first age had roughly the same body proportions as the Eldar, but their bowed walk and posture made them seem about 1'3 shorter than the tall Elves.
Strengths and Weaknesses Orcs were intolerant of sunlight and traveled by night so as to avoid it, some Orcs were only weakened and slowed down by the Sun, but others could pass out or even turn blind if suddenly exposed to sunlight. Only breeds which emerged in the late Third Age showed greater tolerance for the rays of the sun although they still despised it. Orcs otherwise showed tremendous endurance, needing to rest but once every three days if necessary. Orcs were also highly resistant to the extremes of heat and cold, and could function in nearly any climate, allowing them to make their habitations in even the most desolate of settings.
Orcs also possessed superior night-vision, capable of seeing in starlight what other races could only perceive during the light of day. Orcs were even capable of discerning shapes in absolute darkness. In daylight, by contrast, Orc eyesight was seriously impaired, leaving the Orcs confused and disoriented. An Orc could compensate for this disadvantage by using their heightened sense of smell. With proper training, an Orc could even track by scent alone.

Genetics and Reproduction

Reproduction It was stated in the Quenta Silmarillion that Orcs "multiplied after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar". Unlike the other peoples of Middle-earth, Orcs did not marry, they simply bred. Orcish females of child-bearing age were kept together in a secluded area of the Orcish domain, guarded and accessible only to the stronger males. Foreigners were never permitted to see the female Orcs, explaining their general absence from historical accounts and even suspicion among other races as to whether or not female Orcs existed at all.
Some Orc females were kept as part of harems and would procreate exclusively with the warrior caste. Others were kept as the personal possessions of Orc lords, as an emblem of their power. Although these practices were undoubtedly cruel and inhumane, it did allow Orcs to reproduce at a startlingly greater rate than the other peoples of Arda. Orc pregnancies lasted less than five months, quadruplets were common and male births were twice as common as female births. Orc females were also capable of twice as many conceptions as human females.This meant that Orc tribes could replenish their numbers within a few generations, even if the majority of the tribe had been decimated in battle, provided the females remained unharmed.
Throughout their history, Orcs interbred with competing groups and different Orc strains. Orcs who were the result of interbreeding between lesser Orcs and the Uruk-Hai were known as Gusmûras, while those who had Mannish blood were known simply as Half-Orcs. While in the service of Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman, Orcs were the subject of numerous breeding experiments. For example, although Orcs were not naturally adept at wielding sorcery, Sauron attempted to breed a race of Orc mages. These sorcerer Orcs were regarded as Uruk or Snaga on an individual basis, as they were not strictly born into either caste.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Diet Orcs were said to have been constantly hungry. They frequently consumed the flesh and blood of their enemies and that of traitors, though it may have been taboo to consume the flesh of other orcs or at least that of allied fellow Orcs. The Uruk-Hai especially praised human flesh as desirable food.

Biological Cycle

Lifespan The average lifespan of Orcs is uncertain, though the chieftain Bolg, son of Azog, was approximately 150 years old, suggesting that, like Dwarves, Orcs may have been able to live extremely long lives. If Orcs were the descendants of Elves, as the Quenta Silmarillion suggested, it is also possible that they were immortal and may even have been capable of reincarnation. However, due to the constant in-fighting which prevailed among Orcish tribes, the lifespan of the average Orc often proved to be considerably shorter than that of other peoples. Although it is certain that some Orcs led extremely long lives, most would meet their end in the rebellious, combative social structure of Orc tribes.It was also stated that common or lesser Orcs had short lifespans in comparison to common Men.

Civilization and Culture

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Languages Orcish Orcish was a collection of guttural tribal dialects spoken among the Orcs. There was great linguistic and grammatical variance between Orcish tongues and many of them were mutually unintelligible. Because of this, most Orc tribes used Westron as a lingua franca. The origins of these tongues can be traced as far as back as the ancient Melkian, though later forms of Orcish were derived from the Black Speech.
Westron A heavily accented, guttural version of Westron was used by many Orcish tribes as a trade language. The Orcish inhabitants of Gundabad and the Misty Mountains adopted Westron as their native tongue, with tongues such as the Black Speech and Orcish being reserved for ritualic purposes.
Black Speech The Black Speech was a tongue devised by Sauron during the Dark Years to be the sole language of all his servants, replacing the many different varieties of Orcish. Inspired by Melkian and Valarin, though not an offshoot but a proper organized language on its own, it had the greatest impact on the Orcs' communication and though it fell out of use outside Mordor it remained the core of most Orcish dialects that appeared since.
Melkian Melkian was an ancient tongue devised by Morgoth during the early First Age as the court language of his servants. Mostly a debased form of Valarin, it was a crucial influence for both the Black Speech and the Orkish dialects that the Orcs developed in later years, even though it fell out of use long ago.

Common Dress Code

Clothing and armour While about female orcish clothing is not much known,the standard piece of clothing seems to have been a half-long leather dress ("Grugulu") or just a simple leather loin-cloth ("Palhur"), male orcs dressed very uniformally.They commonly wore iron-studded high leather boots ("kapuk"), short Leather Breeches ("Shali") and a Leather tunic ("balbush") fastened with a Broad leather belt ("Broz").Above their tunic they sometimes wore a Leather jerkin ("lakur") or vest ("usti") and covered their body from cold with a Woven Cape ("Bruk"), a cape of fur ("Kamog") or another outer robe ("Potak") of thick leather.On their heads they often wore Cowls ("Tlum") or caps ("Kasul"), also mostly made of skins. They also often wore a type of leather gauntlets ("Dorashak"). Their most common type of armour was a type of ringmail ("kalkan"), though more rarely they also wore types of Leather armour ("múr") or even splinter-amour ("stashyab"). The most common type of orc-helmet was the wide brimmed, beaked "Pakronar" while a less common variant was the "Hurgak".

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Culture
The Orcs were a warrior race who respected strength of arms above all things. Orc society was divided into two large castes: the smaller, more numerous slave caste (or Snaga, pl. Snagai) and the larger, less numerous warrior caste (or Uruk, pl. Uruki) Although there was some regional variation in the culture of Orc tribes, this hierarchical pattern was consistent to them all. For example, a northern tribe, known as the Hiisiis, who were quite isolated from their southerly dwelling kin, were also divided into greater and lesser Orcs. Even the secretive Fel, who resided in the distant deserts of Far-Harad, divided themselves in this way. Young Orcs, referred to as "imps", were raised jointly by older females who were no longer capable of bearing children. Orcs were divided into one of the two castes at birth. The young Snagai subsisted within large, overcrowded "breeding pits", where craftiness, cunning and brute force alone assured a young Orc's survival. The considerably stronger Uruki were raised apart from the Snagai, which they would undoubtedly have slaughtered had they been raised together. The Uruki would then be educated in their superiority over the Snagai and trained to occupy the roles of officers, priests and healers or bodyguards (Hoirk) of their Orc lord. A young Orc's upbringing emphasised the values of strength, aggressiveness, combat and heavy labour over and above more peaceful or nurturing values. The weakest of imps would be consumed by the stronger, which Orcs regarded as a way of relieving the community of "unnecessary burdens". When a young male Orc reached the age of full maturity at nine years old, he was assigned to a regiment, or lurg, composed of ten to fifteen Orcs. Though most were relegated to general purpose lurgs (responsible for hunting, foraging, mining, or raiding as required), those who displayed a special aptitude in certain fields at an early age were assigned to more specialized lurgs. Among some clans there were castes of hunters (Gayutari), herdsmen (Graugai), chanters (Kangtari) and miners (Garmogi). Some of the more civilized tribes even maintained a class of learned scribes and scholars, the Lamoshgongi. There also existed a small bloodline of Orcish sorcerers and sorceresses, the Dushi. Some tribes included a small caste of masterful craftsmen, organised within the Nazg-artha. Of this caste, smiths (or Tûtûli) were especially prized, as were engineers (or Zongoti). The distinction between Uruk and Snaga should not, however, be confused with the distinction between Orcs in general and the Uruk-Hai of the late Third Age, which were bred and trained by the rulers of Mordor and Isengard with the purpose of conquering the Westlands. These Uruk-Hai, who first revealed themselves to the world with their assault on Ithilien in T.A. 2475, were believed to have all been destroyed by the time the War of the Ring had ended, while the common Orcs fled eastward or continued to dwell in secret beneath the Misty Mountains.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Society Orcs lived in tribes, called Hai in Orcish. While some tribes had a strict militaristic hierarchy, others suffered from constant inner strife and chaos. Orcish tribes and clans were ruled by the strongest males and weaker members of the tribe were held as slaves. From early childhood on, male Orcs were favored above female Orcs, who were reduced to the status of mere cattle. Gender roles were rigidly defined within Orcish society, with common female Orcs working exclusively within the confines of the tribe's territory, performing domestic and personal duties such as weaving, preparing meals, mushroom-harvesting and reproduction (as well as childcare, if it can be described as such). Female Orcs were generally not trained in the use of arms. Matriarchal tribes were also known to exist, however. In such tribes, the "breeding pits" associated with patriarchal tribes were replaced with slightly more humane "schools" for young orcs, and males participated in child-rearing. The females of these tribes occupied private chambers and engaged in public activities usually reserved to males in patriarchal tribes. In either arrangement, paternal or maternal feelings were almost non-existent. Females would only nurse young Orcs because the suckling of their toothy jaws relieved the pain associated with swollen mammaries, while male Orcs would perform parental duties only when compelled by higher-ups or when it was acknowledged to be in the collective interest of the Hai. Orc-children suffered painful and brutal lives, and were often treated lesser than animals. They were raised in large, crowded, almost hive-like groups, where they were given the scraps and remains of food and resources. Even slightly deviant or rebellious Imps were slain. They, as well as women in most tribes, were sheltered, or more accurately hidden, from the outside world and were kept in the very heart of Orc-settlements. Band of orcs in military or labor service, for example, never included females or children. Nonetheless, Snaga-orcs were often confused with Orc-children, and indeed it is possible that some orc-tribes subjected their local offspring to service in the slave-caste.
Snagai did not labour for pay or pleasure, but solely at the compulsion of their rulers, who would reward them with only the resources necessary to sustain them in their toil. In spite of this exploitative slave system, the Orcs were nonetheless capable of producing superior, though not especially beautiful, goods and weapons. Though not rewarded for good work, Snagai were severely punished for shoddy work. Within Orcish society, material well-being was a direct function of rank. Looting was the main source of Orcish currency and treasure, and was distributed based on status; the majority of the treasure going to upper caste and the leavings given to the lower caste. Every Orc was entitled to a ration of food, clothing, and in the case of males, weapons and armor, though quality and quantity varied with social status. With what resources or currency a common Orc had, he or she could barter for meager pleasures, such as liquor. The upper caste enjoyed a much more varied range of pleasures, including superior drink, fine garments and herbal drugs. Some tribes would gather large mushrooms, plants and fish in subterranean rivers and lakes, but most tribes herded animals such as pigs ("Bûbi"), Orcish Kine ("Dorût") and Black goats ("Dagri"). Orcs did not typically engage in agriculture, though a few tribes held plantations (Kuflagi) tilled by foreign slaves. These non-Orc slaves held the lowest social position within the tribe and were often abused by even the lowliest Orc. Typically these slaves were clad in rags and lived on a subsistence diet. Although both Uruk and common Orc were entitled to care if injured, these non-Orc slaves were usually abandoned.

Common Myths and Legends

Faith and Worship Religious feeling among Orcs took on a very different character than that found among the other peoples of Arda. Orcs universally feared and reviled the object of their worship, regarding them as a great tyrant to be placated with sacrifices and offerings. Orcs believed the godhead Ilúvatar (Orc."Dhgú") to be a malevolent entity and even just a fiction to keep them in chains devised by the Valar, whom in turn they named Armauki (meaning "the Enemies") and regarded as vile demons - beliefs that were also held by the Men of Númenor before the catastrophes recounted in the Akallabêth buried their island homeland beneath the sea. Orc faiths made no claims of an afterlife. The bodies of common Orcs were typically disposed of without ceremony, while noble-born Uruki were entombed within ritually prepared crypts.
Most Orcs - those that hailed from the North - initially held the Vala Morgoth in fear and reverence as their creator and ruler. Later, these black-blooded creatures took to worshipping the Maia Sauron as their deity. Their capacity to induce terror was considered a highly worshipful quality among the warlike Orcs. In Gundabad there existed an ancient priesthood whose duty it was to placate Sauron by conducting rituals, maintaining tribal records, chanting, human sacrifice and the burning of pyres.
But there were also a few Orcs - mainly among those who inhabited far eastern lands - who paid no heed to either of the Dark Lords and felt they owed them no devotion. They deemed that the defeats of Morgoth and his lieutenant at the hands of their adversaries proved them weak and some perceived Sauron's assuming of a fair hue as demeaning or laughable. These reclusive tribes had instead embraced other superficial cults and faiths (which they had mainly inherited from neighboring Mannish peoples) as their religion, honoring other evil entities or made-up gods as their divine masters.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Quendi

Related Organizations

• Angmar Shadow of the North

Discovered by

Morgoth Melkor