Winkie Country

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The Winkie Country is a division of the fictional Land of Oz. It is distinguished by the color yellow which is worn by most of the local inhabitants as well as the color of their surroundings.

This was the country ruled by the Wicked Witch of the West before Dorothy melted her with a bucket of water in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; since then, the Tin Woodman has ruled the Winkies as their Emperor. The Winkie Country is separated only by the Deadly Desert from the underground Dominions of the Nome King.

Like all the countries of Oz, the Winkie Country contains various unusual sights and places. Among them are,

from The Emerald City of Oz:

the Scarecrow's house, which is shaped like an ear of corn
the house of Jack Pumpkinhead, a giant hollowed-out pumpkin

from The Road to Oz:

the palace of the Tin Woodman, created because the Wicked Witch's castle was too damp
the Truth Pond, which anyone can bathe in and be freed of an enchantment, but must always afterward tell the truth

from The Patchwork Girl of Oz:

the Tottenhots, small sprite-like people who sleep during the day and play at night

from Tik-Tok of Oz:

Oogaboo, a monarchy where items of value grow on trees; it is separated from the Winkie Country by a mountain range

from The Lost Princess of Oz:

Thi, where bipeds with heart-shaped chests subsist only on thistles and use mechanical dragons to pull their chariots
Herku, where the natives and extremely thin and muscular, strong enough to keep giants as slaves
Bear Center, in a forest where stuffed bears are ruled by the Lavender Bear and guided by the wind-up Little Pink Bear
Yip Country, a republic advised by the Frogman and separated from the Winkie Country at the top of a mountain

In Gregory Maguire's revisionist Oz novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and Son of a Witch, this area is called the Vinkus, and it is revealed that "Winkie" is considered a derogatory term. The Vinkus is inhabited by several semi-nomadic tribes, including the Scrow, the Yunamata, and the Arjiki. Fiyero, a major character in Wicked, is a Prince of the Arjikis, and the Wicked Witch's castle (here named Kiamo Ko) is actually Fiyero's ancestral home.

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