| “ | Sister, did you hear our singing to you down the tunnels? We wanted you to know we were with you.
―Thethuthinnang to Hyzenthlay
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” |
Thethuthinnang is a doe who was a part of Efrafa but was rescued by the Watership Down rabbits. She is one of the ten does to escape from Efrafa.
Hyzenthlay and Thethuthinnang refer to one another as sisters in the miniseries, though it is unknown if they are biological sisters or if the term is symbolic.
Her name means "movement of leaves" in Lapine.
Books
Watership Down
Thethuthinnang is friends with Hyzenthlay and Blackavar and was originally part of the Right Fore Mark. She accompanies Hyzenthlay during her failed petition to the Council to let some of the does leave and start a new warren to mitigate the overcrowding. When Blackavar tries to escape on his own and is arrested by Captain Campion, the Council separates Hyzenthlay and Thethuthinnang from their friends and puts them into the Near Hind Mark under Captain Chervil in order to quell further rebellion.
Bigwig first sees Thethuthinnang and two other does listening to Hyzenthlay recite a poem. Later, when Hyzenthlay is planning with Bigwig, she says that Thethuthinnang is the only one that can be completely trusted with the secret escape plan. At silflay the next morning, Thethuthinnang and Hyzenthlay discuss the escape with Bigwig. Thethuthinnang wonders if Kehaar will really be able to attack the Efrafan sentries, and asks Bigwig which way they should run. She is concerned that they will have to confront Captain Campion.
Hyzenthlay and Thethuthinnang tell the other does about the escape plan right before they mean to run, but this first escape attempt is thwarted by Woundwort questioning Bigwig and they miss their chance. That night, while Hyzenthlay meets with Bigwig again, Thethuthinnang stays with the does and tries to stay awake and watch them to make sure they keep quiet about the plan.
During the escape, Thethuthinnang warns Bigwig that the Efrafans have got out the alarm, and later when General Woundwort appears with a patrol. At the river, she struggles to get to the boat as she gets slowed down by running into nettles. A moment later, Bigwig tells Thethuthinnang to convince the does to get onto the boat, but Woundwort appears before she can and they all jump onto the boat in fear. When Thrayonlosa gets struck by hitting a bridge, Thethuthinnang assists her in getting ashore and the two does sleep beside each other. However, Thrayonlosa dies during the night and Thethuthinnang is deeply distressed, since it was she who had picked Thrayonlosa as one of the more sturdy and sensible does in the Mark and persuaded her to join in the escape.
On the journey back to Watership Down, Captain Campion's patrol tracks them down. Thethuthinnang helps Silver with his bluff about sending for Kehaar in order to frighten the patrol. The bluff is not effective on its own, though it does succeed at unnerving the patrol, and Hazel eventually makes the patrol back down by showing them they are outnumbered.
When they arrive at Watership Down, Thethuthinnang is happy at finally being allowed to dig naturally. During the battle, Vilthuril expresses her worries about being recaptured to Thethuthinnang. After this point, Thethuthinnang is not mentioned, but is one of the Watership Down survivors at the end of the battle.
Tales from Watership Down
Thethuthinnang is mentioned as enjoying Flyairth's presence, though she has no major role in the book. She also passes a message along from Hyzenthlay. Vilthuril reveals that Thethuthinnang was the only doe who knew about the secret river besides herself and Hyzenthlay, though Thethuthinnang was less sensitive to it.
Miniseries
Thethuthinnang is more prominent in this version, and is Hyzenthlay and Nettle's friend. She appears to be the youngest doe, being rather small, at least compared to the others, and rather trusting and innocent. She also has faint white marks around her eyes.
The Raid
Thethuthinnang, along with Hyzenthlay and Nettle, is caught trying to escape by Vervain, who sends them to be judged by the Council. She worries that she is going to be separated from her friends, but Hyzenthlay reassures her. However, Vervain sentences them to be separated and re-marked. Captain Holly, Blackberry, and Bluebell, who have been captured by Captain Orchis, are also present at the marking. Later, Thethuthinnang is not with Hyzenthlay and Nettle when Holly and his friends escape, showing that she was separated from them.
The Escape
Hyzenthlay (left), Nettle (center), and Thethuthinnang (right)
When Hyzenthlay is arrested by Orchis, Thethuthinnang apparently sings down the tunnels to comfort her. However, Hyzenthlay tells her not to do so anymore, as all it does is annoy the guards and cause trouble for the does. As part of Orchis's test for Hyzenthlay, she, Thethuthinnang, and Nettle are all let back into the same Mark. Hyzenthlay tells her friends not to speak to anyone they don't know and trust.
When Clover is captured by the Efrafans, she is put into the same Mark as Thethuthinnang and her friends. Thethuthinnang shows her trusting nature when Clover tries and fails to get the does moved out of the sun. She speaks to Clover and tells her it was worth a try, but Nettle quickly silences her.
Once Clover and Bigwig earn Hyzenthlay's trust, they all work together on an escape plan and Thethuthinnang joins in. Thethuthinnang, along with Hyzenthlay, Clover, and the other does, digs an escape tunnel out to the surface where Bigwig is waiting for them. Kehaar was supposed to come and help them escape, but he fails to appear, so they decide to make a break for it. However, they are intercepted by Captain Campion and Sainfoin, along with a group of Owsla. Hyzenthlay attempts to tackle Campion, but Sainfoin quickly pins her to the ground. The does are then taken back to the deep burrows.
In the deep burrows, Thethuthinnang, Clover, and a perfidious Nettle continue plotting, but Hyzenthlay has lost hope and tells them to give up. Hyzenthlay's stay of execution ends, and when she is taken away to be executed, Thethuthinnang collapses from despair and heat exhaustion. She fears the does will be unable to escape without Hyzenthlay to lead them.
At sunset, when Hyzenthlay is taken to the electrical tower to be executed, Thethuthinnang begins singing a song about the hope of escape. The other does join in and manage to overpower Captain Chervil's attempts to shut them up. He makes it back up to the tunnel, and declares that he will have all of them punished, but Bigwig sneaks up behind him and kills him. All of them easily escape, as Hyzenthlay had given Nettle (who was a spy) false information about an escape attempt on the opposite side of the warren, which Nettle had reported back to Orchis. However, General Woundwort, along with the entire Efrafan Owsla, catches up to them and corners them beneath the railroad arch.
The Siege
Thethuthinnang meets Fiver at silflay
Kehaar finally arrives just as Woundwort is about to kill Bigwig, and knocks him to the ground. He then starts swooping through the Efrafan guards, causing enough confusion for the rabbits to escape. Along with the other escaped does, she moves to Watership Down. She is seen meeting Fiver at silflay.
Bluebell, Dandelion, Hawkbit, and Thethuthinnang hearing the Efrafans digging from above
The Efrafans manage to track down the rabbits to Watership Down and begin digging through the filled-in burrows. Thethuthinnang fearfully tells Clover that the Efrafans will tear them to pieces. She, Clover, and Strawberry fight a pair of Efrafan soldiers, and one of them kicks Thethuthinnang and knocks her down. Soon, she is shown to have recovered, she and Fiver battle the Efrafan guards by collapsing the burrow ceiling on top of them. Later on, when Captain Holly is killed by Efrafans, Thethuthinnang mourns him, along with everyone else trapped in the Honeycomb. Thethuthinnang survives and continues to live on Watership Down. At the very end, she is shown listening to Bluebell's story.
Trivia
- Her name is joked about in the Watership Down fandom due to how long and complicated it is.
- It is a popular fan theory that she becomes Bigwig's mate in the books.
- In the miniseries, it is possible that she becomes Fiver's mate, since several viewers have mistaken her for Vilthuril when she speaks to Fiver at silflay. She is also seen helping collapse tunnels with Fiver in the battle with the Efrafans.
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