[HPforGrownups] Firenze (was: Re: Pronunciation of Voldemort)

[Laura Ingalls Huntley]

No: HPFGUIDX 75780

Les:
>Are there female centaurs?

Dan:
>There'd probably have to be. I don't see why not. We >just haven't seen any.

This has actually been bothering me for awhile.  I've come up with three possibilities.

1) The centaurs are tribal (like the merpeople) and have a very strict division between the sexes.  That is, they are most likely highly patriarchal and prefer to keep their womenfolk at home (wherever that is).  While the studs are out hunting, etc., the "mares" stay home and tend the young/cook/clean/whatever.  

2) There *are* species in traditional mythology which simply *have* no females (such as minotaurs).  The assumption here being either that they must go after human women or that they do not reproduce in the normal way (that is, they are "made").

3)  There are actually two types of herds that wild (or, more accurately, feral) horses form.  The first is a group of mares and their foals controlled by a dominate stallion.  When the colts from these groups reach a certain age, however, they are ousted from the herd.  Due to their youth and inexperience, plus the general shortage of mares (not every stallion can have a large band -- there's simply not enough women to go around), they can't just start a new family of their own.  However, horses are very social animals and (for the most part) *need* a herd to survive.  So, these young males form "bachelor" herds.

Right now, I'm leaning toward option (3).  However, each of these possibilities has its drawbacks.

1) IF we are to believe that they behave at all like horses, the idea that they have some sort of "home-base" where they keep all their females seems highly unlikely.  Horses are "roamers" and herds generally keep on the move.  However, now that I think about it, the *reason* why herds do this is that otherwise they would quickly run out of grass to graze on.  Since centaurs are obviously hunter/gatherers, perhaps this is not an issue.

2) Sort of an icky place for JKR to go, esp. in light of Pavarti and Lavender's crushes. ^_~ 

3) All of the centaurs that we've met seem too mature to be in a "bachelor" herd.  However, this could explain the obvious antagonism and jostling for position that (most) of them engage in.  Another problem with this theory is that we don't really know the size of the Forbidden Forest -- is it large enough to house a number of traditional herds and at least one bachelor herd?  If the centaurs do roam like normal horses, this would mean the Forest would have to be *very* large, indeed.  Where is Hogwarts, anyway?  Scotland?  Is there room for a massive forest full of magical creatures to go unnoticed in Scotland?

Maybe I'm learning more toward option (2), now.

Blergh.

Laura (thinking that *proper* horses would never live in a forest, anyway.) 



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