Winkie Country
Encyclopedia
The Winkie Country is a division of the fictional Land of Oz
. It is distinguished by the color yellow
; this color is worn by most of the local inhabitants and predominates in the surroundings.
This was the country ruled by the Wicked Witch of the West
before Dorothy "melted" her with a bucket of water in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
. Since then, the Tin Woodman
ruled over the Winkies as their Emperor. The Winkie Country is separated only by the Deadly Desert
from the underground Dominions of the Nome King
.
The most famous depiction of the Winkies is in The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
where they appear as the regimental army of the Wicked Witch of the West, marching in formation and chanting "Yo E Oh, Yo Ho" repeatedly. In the film, the Winkies bear little or no resemblance to their literary counterparts, dressing in blue uniforms and having green skin and pointed noses. The Winkie Country is only shown at night in the film, with the main colors being blue, black and gray. The scenery is very bleak and barren, with many mountains and rock formations.
Like all the countries of Oz, the Winkie Country contains various unusual sights and places. Among them are:
From The Emerald City of Oz
From The Road to Oz
From The Patchwork Girl of Oz
From Tik-Tok of Oz
From The Lost Princess of Oz
's revisionist Oz novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
and Son of a Witch
, this area is called the Vinkus, and it is revealed that "Winkie" is considered a derogatory term. The Vinkus is inhabited by several semi-nomadic tribes, including the Scrow, the Yunamata, and the Arjiki. Fiyero, a major character in Wicked, is a Prince of the Arjikis, and the Wicked Witch's (Elphaba
's) castle (here named Kiamo Ko) is actually Fiyero's ancestral home.
Metallica
sampled the chants of the Winkie guards outside the Wicked Witch's castle from the film The Wizard of Oz
on the intro to the track "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" on their 1988 album ...And Justice for All
. The chants were also heard in the Experience Unlimited
song "Da Butt".
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
. It is distinguished by the color yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
; this color is worn by most of the local inhabitants and predominates in the surroundings.
This was the country ruled by the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
before Dorothy "melted" her with a bucket of water in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
. Since then, the Tin Woodman
Tin Woodman
The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...
ruled over the Winkies as their Emperor. The Winkie Country is separated only by the Deadly Desert
Deadly Desert
The Deadly Desert is the magical desert that completely surrounds the fictional Land of Oz. On maps, the Eastern quadrant of the desert is called the Deadly Desert, while the other three quadrants of desert are called the Shifting Sands, the Impassable Desert, and the Great Sandy Waste.The desert...
from the underground Dominions of the Nome King
Nome King
The Nome King is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's Oz books. Although the Wicked Witch of the West is the most famous of Oz's villains , the Nome King is the closest the book series has to a main antagonist.-In the novels:The character called the Nome King is originally named Roquat the Red...
.
The most famous depiction of the Winkies is in The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
where they appear as the regimental army of the Wicked Witch of the West, marching in formation and chanting "Yo E Oh, Yo Ho" repeatedly. In the film, the Winkies bear little or no resemblance to their literary counterparts, dressing in blue uniforms and having green skin and pointed noses. The Winkie Country is only shown at night in the film, with the main colors being blue, black and gray. The scenery is very bleak and barren, with many mountains and rock formations.
Like all the countries of Oz, the Winkie Country contains various unusual sights and places. Among them are:
From The Emerald City of OzThe Emerald City of OzThe Emerald City of Oz is the sixth of L. Frank Baum's fourteen Land of Oz books. It was also adapted into a Canadian animated film in 1987. Originally published on July 20, 1910, it is the story of Dorothy Gale and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em coming to live in Oz permanently...
- The Scarecrow's house, which is shaped like an ear of cornMaizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
- The house of Jack PumpkinheadJack PumpkinheadJack Pumpkinhead is a fictional character from the Oz book series by L. Frank Baum.-In Baum:Jack first appeared in The Marvelous Land of Oz. Jack's tall figure is made from tree limbs and jointed with wooden pegs...
, a giant hollowed-out pumpkinPumpkinA pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
From The Road to OzThe Road to OzThe Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz. is the fifth of L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz books...
- The palacePalaceA palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
of the Tin Woodman, created because the Wicked Witch's castle was too damp - The Truth Pond, which anyone can bathe in and be freed of an enchantmentMagic (paranormal)Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
, but must always afterward tell the truth
From The Patchwork Girl of OzThe Patchwork Girl of OzThe Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum, is a children's novel, the seventh set in the Land of Oz. Characters include the Woozy, Ojo "the Unlucky", Unc Nunkie, Dr. Pipt, Scraps , and others. The book was first published on July 1, 1913, with illustrations by John R. Neill...
- The Tottenhots, small sprite-like people who sleep during the day and play at night
From Tik-Tok of OzTik-Tok of OzTik-Tok of Oz is the eighth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum, published on June 19, 1914. The book actually has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man to rescue his brother, and his resulting conflict with the Nome King.The endpapers of the first edition...
- OogabooOogabooOogaboo is a fictional small kingdom in the Oz series of novels created by L. Frank Baum. A mountain range separates it from the rest of the Winkie Country in the Land of Oz. It is ruled by Queen Ann Soforth, daughter and successor to King Jol Jemkiph Soforth, who abdicated...
, a monarchy where items of value grow on trees; it is separated from the Winkie Country by a mountain range
From The Lost Princess of OzThe Lost Princess of OzThe Lost Princess of Oz is the eleventh canonical Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 5, 1917, it begins with the disappearance of Princess Ozma, the ruler of Oz and covers Dorothy and the Wizard's efforts to find her...
- Merry-go-mountains, mountains that whirl swiftly and are made of rubber
- ThiCity of ThiThe City of Thi is a fictional city in the Winkie Country of the Land of Oz, from the Oz Books by L. Frank Baum. Thi appears in the book The Lost Princess of Oz.-Area:...
, where bipeds with heart-shaped chests subsist only on thistles and use mechanical dragonDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s to pull their chariots - Herku, where the natives are extremely thin and muscular, strong enough to keep giantsGiant (mythology)The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
as slaves - Bear Center, in a forest where stuffed bears are ruled by the Lavender Bear and guided by the wind-up Little Pink Bear
- Yip Country, a republic advised by the Frogman and separated from the Winkie Country at the top of a mountain
In Other Works
In Gregory MaguireGregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire is an American writer. He is the author of the novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and many other novels for adults and children...
's revisionist Oz novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a parallel novel published in 1995 written by Gregory Maguire and illustrated by Douglas Smith. It is a revisionist look at the land and characters of Oz from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its sequels, and the...
and Son of a Witch
Son of a Witch
Son of a Witch is a fantasy novel written by Gregory Maguire. The book is Maguire’s fifth revisionist story and the second set in the land of Oz originally conceived by L. Frank Baum. It is a sequel to Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West...
, this area is called the Vinkus, and it is revealed that "Winkie" is considered a derogatory term. The Vinkus is inhabited by several semi-nomadic tribes, including the Scrow, the Yunamata, and the Arjiki. Fiyero, a major character in Wicked, is a Prince of the Arjikis, and the Wicked Witch's (Elphaba
Elphaba
Elphaba Thropp is a fictional character in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway and West End adaptations, Wicked. In the original L. Frank Baum book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is unnamed and little...
's) castle (here named Kiamo Ko) is actually Fiyero's ancestral home.
Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
sampled the chants of the Winkie guards outside the Wicked Witch's castle from the film The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
on the intro to the track "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" on their 1988 album ...And Justice for All
...And Justice for All (album)
...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on August 25, 1988 through Elektra Records. It is the first full-length Metallica album to feature bassist Jason Newsted following the death of Cliff Burton in 1986...
. The chants were also heard in the Experience Unlimited
Experience Unlimited
Experience Unlimited is a Washington, D.C.-based go-go band that enjoyed its height of popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s. Fronted by lead singer/bassist Gregory "Sugarbear" Eliot, the group has had a fluctuating membership over the years, but they have maintained a fairly loyal following...
song "Da Butt".