Despite their keen sense of oral history, the history of the Fremen prior to their arrival on Arrakis was distorted and partially lost over the millennia. They concluded that Arrakis was the final stop on the migration of the Zensunni Wanderers, a journey that they mistakenly believed started on the planet Poritrin.

Culture

To the Fremen, the fight for survival had long dominated their cultural identity. The brutal environment of Arrakis necessitated the frugal use of energy and resources, especially water. Additionally, their history with cultural persecution mandated the need for combat knowledge. These two aspects saw them emerge as efficient and hardy warriors, who used their skills and the environment of Arrakis to fend off off-world opponents who often possessed far superior technology and formal training.

The Fremen typically lived in patriarchal collectives, known as sietches, which were led by a Naib. Each sietch resides within one of the numerous rocky formations that dot the sands of Arrakis. Collectively, all Fremen belonged to the Ichwan Bedwine, or broad brotherhood.

Water played a vital role in the Fremen culture. Indeed, for Fremen, water was life. To conserve against the unnecessary loss of water in the desert, Fremen wore complex full-body filtration systems called stillsuits, which reclaimed the body's moisture. Additionally, specialized headgear prevented most of the normal loss through the scalp and forehead via perspiration, while masks and noseplugs reclaimed moisture from the wearers' breathing. Gloves were also available, too, but many Fremen opted instead to rub the juice of the creosote bush on their hands to inhibit perspiration. With a Fremen stillsuit in proper working order, the wearer lost only about a thimbleful of water per day.

The Fremen rule was that one's water belongs to the tribe. Thus when a Fremen died or was killed in combat, rather than being buried or cremated, he or she was rendered down into water. In the case of amtal, or ritual combat to the death between two disagreeing Fremen, since they fought without stillsuits, the water of the loser went to the victor to replenish him. What remained was measured and allocated to him, but the water itself was turned over to the watermasters.