And people from Watch Hill come down to Emond's Field; thus, the knowledge would be telephoned along.
And fine, I corrected my language. She's no longer racist, she's bigoted. Happy?
Remember how they treated the Traveling People later in the series before they got to know them? It's not like Egwene is totally out there in her thinking in that scene. The whole of the Westlands are pretty bigoted to the Tuatha'an ... they are the only group that collectively has a derogatory name, akin to a racial slur in fact, "Tinkers" are pretty much universally disliked by everyone (the Aiel are too, but for obviously different reasons). Perrin's reaction is actually the more surprising one in the beginning, but his later contempt for the Tuatha'an is actually sad, especially when you consider how Egwene actually learns from meeting them and overcomes her initial prejudice.
The overall narrative with them is pretty clear. "These are really, really, good people... With foolish, unrealistic, and indeed if you want to get technical even half assed, beliefs.".
They get it both coming and going. Both in how stupid it is in the face of armies of pure evil trying to end all existence, and it being shown in the Aiel flashbacks that they had conveniently "forgotten" one of the most critical parts of The Way of the Leaf... Leafs don't run, now do they?
It isn't just about not harming others, it is also about accepting whatever comes. Hell, the Aes Sadai had to come up with an elaborate ruse just to get the Aiel to run from the freaking Breaking of the world.
... Mind they "forgot" that part for a damn good reason(as is why any of them were still alive), but... That's kind of the whole freaking point. They had to compromise their beliefs in order to survive, because.. They ware out and out suicidal, only... They still are. They'd be dead if others didn't fight for them. They know this, and yet... They're still perfectly happy to be alive and following their beliefs.
Which of course is the fundamental difference between them and the Aiel of the AoL. The Aiel in the AoL rock the Way of the Leaf. They managed to make following it seem downright badass... In part because they actually do follow it.
We are supposed to see a group of people who are mistreated and outcast much like the Roma/Gypsy people of Europe have been for centuries. The Tuatha'an are the ultimate outsiders in a society as feudal as WOT. Very few people in this type of society travel/leave home for any reason. The majority would be considered strange for something like not keeping with the family trade or moving to another village. Nomadic people in such societies are typically vilified.
