Quote Originally Posted by Psyren View Post

We've seen very few learn it with no training at all, too small a sample size to draw universal conclusions from. Nynaeve is the most prominent, and then there are... two other named wilders? Three?
A wilder is anyone who learnt or started to learn to channel without Aes Sedai training. Moiraine and Siuan are both wilders by that definition, as was Liandrin, Nynaeve, quite a few of the Wisdoms of Two Rivers and a large number of others, such as many of the Kin, who all learnt to touch the one power without being trained, those that survived that is.

We also have the issue of the damane testing by the Seachan. It picks up every single woman who already had the spark (the damane) or could be taught to touch saidar (the sul'dam). We also know that anyone who can channel saidar who touches the a'dam caused immense physical pain (even death) to both parties.

That kind of makes it hard for it to be tradition as otherwise the testing wouldn't really work and would also lead to a lot of dead women, which isn't what happens.