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Gillikin Country | |
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The Oz series location | |
![]() Map of Oz, with Gillikin Country in the North | |
First appearance | The Marvelous Land of Oz |
Created by | L. Frank Baum |
Genre | Juvenile fantasy |
In-universe information | |
Type | Fairy country |
Ruled by | Good Witch of the North |
Ethnic group(s) | Gillikins |
Locations | Forest of the Winged Monkeys, Forest of Gugu, Palace of Good Witch of the North, Loonville, Pumperdink |
Character(s) | Jellia Jamb, Mombi, Gayelette, Mrs. Yoop, Kabumpo |
The Gillikin Country is the northern division of L. Frank Baum's fictional land of Oz. It is distinguished by the color purple worn by most of the local inhabitants as well as the color of their surroundings. The inhabitants of Gillikin Country are called Gillikins.
Martin Gardner suggests the name Gillikin may be named after the purple blossoms of the gillyflower. [1] [2]
Jerry Griswold summarized Gillikin Country as "a place of mountains and lakes". In his observation of parallels between the land of Oz and the United States of America, he saw this northern part as similar to Michigan, which was familiar to L. Frank Baum from vacations. [3]
Like all of the countries of Oz, the Gillikin Country contains various unusual sights, creatures, and places. Among them are:
Note: The Gillikin Country is the only province of Oz not mentioned by name or visited by the characters in this particular book. The following locations are merely referenced by various characters through the story.
In Gregory Maguire's revisionist Oz novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and Son of a Witch , the Gillikin Country is simply called 'Gillikin'. It is portrayed as more prosperous and industrially developed than other regions of Oz, and is home of Shiz University. The Yellow Brick Road emerges from the Emerald City's northern Shiz Gate and leads to the Gillikinese capital, Shiz. From there, most of the Gillikinese cities are interconnected by the Great Gillikin Railway, which runs across the country along with the Gillikin River. (It is implied that the railway was built on the former route of the Yellow Brick Road.) In the west are the Pertha Hills, a mountainous region home to dairy farms, ancient pagan temples dedicated to fairy queen Lurline, and the tallest mountain in Oz, Mount Rouncible. In the east, the Great Gillikin Forest is home to a tribe of northern bears and lions living on the shores of Lake Corge. The railway keeps running further east to The Glikkus, where emerald mines are worked by miner trolls.
Galinda (i.e. Glinda) hails from Gillikin, as do (according to some) the ruling Ozma family. The people of this province are referred to as 'Gillikinese', and are distinguishable by their prominent foreheads and slightly gapped front teeth. They often have heads of curling blond hair, and are believed to be temperamental by non-Gillikinese.
Much of both of Edward Einhorn's modern Oz novels, Paradox in Oz and The Living House of Oz, are set in Gillikin Country. They feature the kingdom of Tonsoria, homes to Princesses Ayala and Talia, and in Absurd City, home of the Parrot-Ox.