Grounders



The Grounders or Outsiders ( by the Mountain Men ) is a term used to describe a person who was born on Earth rather than in space or Mount Weather. The Grounders alive today are descendants of humans who survived the nuclear apocalypse 97 years ago. Many of the Sky People have negative views toward Grounders, just like a lot of Grounders have a negative view of the Sky People. They were the primary antagonists of the first season.

The Grounders maintain a hostile relationship toward the Reapers, Mountain Men, and Sky People. When the Delinquents first landed in their territory and burned a village to the ground, they retaliated and a conflict broke out. The Sky People, however, continued to seek peace with them. At first, Lexa, the Commander of the 12 Clans, was willing to extend peace to the Sky People provided that the Sky People leave their territory. Eventually, the Sky People and the Grounders form an alliance and agree to work together to free their people from Mount Weather. After the Commander forms an alliance with the Mountain Men in exchange for her people imprisoned within Mount Weather, it leaves the Delinquents at the mercy of the Mountain Men and jeopardizes the alliance between the Sky People and the Grounders.

It is unknown how many Grounders are in the area. There are at least 12 Clans as well as an unknown amount of nomadic Grounders. Altogether, they do have the highest population count of the residents in the Tondc-Mount Weather area as witnessed by the sheer number of gathered warriors in We Are Grounders (Part 2), Long Into an Abyss, Rubicon, and Blood Must Have Blood (Part 1).

In Long Into an Abyss, Lexa confirms that Clarke burned three hundred of her warriors in We Are Grounders (Part 2). In Human Trials, Finn massacres 18 villagers in Tondc. In Rubicon, Cage Wallace sends a missile to Tondc, killing 250 Grounders and Sky People.

History
Not much is known about their history on Earth other than them being descendants of radiation-tolerant humans and doomsday preppers who survived the nuclear apocalypse 97 years ago. According to Dante Wallace of the Mountain Men, the DNA of the offspring of the Grounders who survived on Earth outside Mount Weather evolved and adapted, making them immune to the radiation that still lingers on Earth, much like the people from the Ark (who were immune through genetic engineering and exposure to solar radiation in space). It can be assumed that whatever was left of the human race after the nuclear apocalypse banded together and created the clans we see in the show.

56 years ago, when the Mountain Men first discovered the Grounders were able to walk above ground, they began conducting experiments on them. Through the use of the Cerberus Project, the Mountain Men would collect Grounders. Then through the Harvest Project, the Mountain Men would use the Grounders to help filter the radiation out from the Mountain Men's blood. During the time of the Mountain Men, the Grounders feared to pick up guns because they believed that if they did, the Mountain Men would wipe them out. Any Grounder who used a gun was punished.

Society
If a child is born with a mutation, they are cast out and abandoned. This action is believed to erase the stain from the bloodline.

Capital punishment in the form of Death by a Thousand Cuts occurs when every single member of the clan takes a turn cutting the convicted before feeding them to the bugs. For more egregious crimes, they start with fire and take the hands, tongue, and eyes. Everyone gets a turn with the knife before the Commander ends it with the sword, if the person is still alive by then.

Grounders have often been shown in some type of armor made out of a variety of materials such as: bone, leather, cloth, and animal furs. They often wear masks or helmets made out of bone and wood. Many wear war paint on their face and body when going into battle. Many members appear to have tattoos on their face and/or body.

Grounders fight with a variety of weapons: swords, daggers, spears, bows, and fists. Many members are skilled in hand-to-hand combat. They do not use guns as it is believed that if a Grounder picks up a gun, Mount Weather will wipe them out. After the first kill is made, the member is honored by receiving a mark on their shoulder or chest. Every mark signifies a person the warrior has killed. Oftentimes these markings look like welts on the skin as if burned.

Grounders are known for being fearless and do not show mercy to their enemies. They are willing to negotiate peace deals as seen in the formation of the Coalition of the 12 Clans, the alliance with the Sky People, and the truce with the Mountain Men.

Languages
Trigedasleng is a universal language, meaning most if not all Grounder clans know this language. Only the Warriors speak English, which makes them bilingual.

In Season Two, Lincoln teaches Octavia some of this language to help her blend in as a Grounder. With Lincoln being from the Woods Clan and them traveling to the Boat People, it can be assumed that all Grounder clans speak this language.

The Coalition
The Coalition, or Kongeda  (Trigedasleng)  is the collective name for the twelve clans who reside in the Tondc-Mount Weather area. It was originally assumed that all Grounders were a part of the same clan. It was revealed by Lincoln, however, that there is more than one clan. Since the Grounders don't use last names, their clan name is used instead. Every village within a clan has a leader, as in the case of Indra, the Chief of Tondc. Every clan also has a leader who follows the Commander. The clans choose their leaders differently, but most are chosen after the old leader has died. Lexa mentions in Survival of the Fittest that her spirit would find a new Commander after she dies.

A more definite number of clans is given by Gustus in Remember Me; while discussing with Lexa the alliance with the Sky People, he mentions how she is the reason the twelve clans united to fight against Mount Weather and without her, the Coalition would fail. Prior to that, the Ice Nation was the biggest threat to the alliance of the twelve clans.

The Woods Clan
The Woods Clan, also known as People of the Woods, Trigedakru, Trikru, or Tree People, are a group of Grounders that inhabit the expanse of Virginia's woodlands. Their borders also extend to the ruins of what once was Washington, DC and is near the ruins of the Lincoln Memorial. In Remember Me, it is revealed that Lincoln's village is named Tondc, probably due to a damaged sign nearby that reads "Washington DC 10 Miles."

Lexa, the Commander of the 12 Clans, is from the Woods Clan.

The Boat People
"In my book, there's a map. Chart a course to the Eastern Sea. There's a clan there, led by a woman called Luna, a friend. Tell her I sent you."

- Lincoln to Clarke in We Are Grounders (Part 1).

The Boat People, also known as Floudon Kru or Floukru, is a clan ruled by Luna. This clan is allied with The Woods Clan and, according to Lincoln in I Am Become Death, they live "east to the sea, then across it." Lincoln met Luna on his travels.

This is the clan where Lincoln was going to take Octavia to in order to keep out of the conflict between The 100 and Grounders. Octavia, however, decided to stay with her people instead of going with Lincoln. Lincoln also decided to stay. After he rescued Octavia from the battle, they were on their way there in the Season Two premier but never made it.

The Ice Nation
The Ice Nation, also known as Azgeda, is a clan ruled by Queen Nia. This clan is currently allied with The Woods Clan but they were previously at war.

This is the clan who captured Lexa's girlfriend, Costia, thinking she had information about the Commander. They tortured, killed, and decapitated her. Lexa, however, forced them into the Coalition to help fight Mount Weather and the Mountain Men.

Desert Clan
The Desert Clan, also known as Sankru, is where Caris is from. Little else is known about this clan, although it does seem to be separate from the Nomadic Grounders in The Dead Zone.

Nomadic Grounders
Nomadic Grounders, also known as Wastelanders, are Grounders who have no clan because they or a family member may have been seen as a "stain on the bloodline" due to birth defects and cast out. So far, they seem to inhabit The Dead Zone with some of them on their way to The City of Light in search of safe haven.

Notes and Trivia

 * Jason Rothenberg stated that there are multiple groups of Grounders in the show; Water Grounders, Ice Grounders, Boat Grounders, and Mountain Grounders.
 * The Ice Grounders are the Ice Nation and the Boat Grounders are the Boat People.
 * Some Grounders, such as the Nomadic Grounders, are not included in this list
 * Jason confirmed the names and symbols of all 12 Grounder Clans in the Coalition.
 * As of Remember Me, it is confirmed that there are twelve Grounder Clans.
 * All twelve Grounder Clans are part of an alliance with each other called the Coalition.
 * David J. Peterson created the Grounder language.
 * He also created the languages for the SyFy television series Defiance and the HBO television series Game of Thrones.
 * Trigedasleng is a Creole English that has evolved over three generations.
 * Grounders fear both the Reapers and the Mountain Men
 * The Mountain Men used Grounders to turn them into Reapers
 * The marks on their shoulders/chests serve as a tally for their number of kills in battle. Each scar equals 1 kill.
 * Gaining kill marks is a great honor and a highly prestigious act among The Woods Clan.
 * Jason has added that Lexa, along with Clarke, have too many kills to allow for kill marks.