Nations
The world of Avatar is divided into four nations: the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and Air Temples. Each nation has their own distinct culture, climate and beliefs and they tend to keep to themselves.
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Water Tribe
The Water Tribe is the second least populous nation and therefore, do not possess as much military power as the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. The Southern Water Tribe, in particular, has suffered a lot in the war against the Fire Nation. Through numerous raids, the Fire Nation took all of their Waterbenders except for one. Later on, all the men left to fight in the war, leaving the small tribe practically defenceless. Due to the lack Waterbenders and man power, the Southern Water Tribe is also much less developed compared to their sister tribe.
The Northern Water Tribe consists of one large city surrounded by high walls built of ice. The only way inside is either through a massive invasion or with the help of a Waterbender. They managed to survive against numerous Fire Nation raids, but ended up becoming isolated from the rest of the world, including cutting off all communications with their sister tribe.
The citizens of the Water Tribe tend to have tanned skin with bright blue eyes. They like to braid their hair and aside from the occasional hair ornament and betrothal necklace, they do not wear any other jewellery.
Both Tribes have similar cultures. Each tribe is lead by the Tribal Chief and the warriors are mainly all men. However, the Southern Water Tribe is more forgivening towards women who want to fight and are less rigid with their traditions. Female Waterbenders are seen fighting alongside the men as opposed to the Northern Water Tribe, where women Waterbenders are forbidden to learn combative skills and instead, must concentrate on the healing arts. The Northern Water Tribe has many more traditions such as women become of marrying age at 16 and are given betrothal necklaces by men who wish to marry them. Arranged marriages are still practised.
The people of the Water Tribe pray to the Moon and Ocean Spirits: Tui and La, whose physical forms reside in the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole.
| Yue: Our strength comes from the Spirit of the Moon, our life comes from the Spirit of the Ocean. They work together to keep balance. |
It goes without saying that most, if not all, of the Water Tribe resources come from the ocean. Their buildings and houses are made of snow, ice and animal pelts. The animal pelts are also used for clothing and to line their homes for warmth. Sea prunes is a favoured dish (it seems to be an acquired taste though) along with seal jerky. Of course, all sorts of other seafood is eaten. One of the well-known past-times of the Southern Water Tribe is penguin sledding.
Air Nomads
The Air Nomads were the smallest of the four nations but because of their spiritual beliefs, they were the only nation in which everyone was born a bender. The Air Nomads believed that all life is sacred and they were all strict vegetarians. They ate mainly fruits and vegetables (fruit pies!) and any resources they used were grown naturally with minimal disturbance.
The dominant season for the Air Nomads was the fall. More children were born in that season than any other. Also, while the other nations were ran by monarchs, the Air Nomads were led by a council of the oldest and wisest monks.
One tradition for the Air Nomads was placing arrow tattoos that wrapped around an Airbender's body and head to signify that he/she has mastered Airbending. The arrows take after the arrow found on the original Airbenders: the Sky Bisons. In order to master Airbending, an Airbender must pass the thirty-six levels of Airbending along with creating a new technique. At 12 years old, Aang became the youngest Airbender to receive his tattoos.
Appearance wise, the Air Nomads can be easily identified through their bald heads and tattoos. The male Air Nomads shave their heads completely, while the female Air Nomads only shave off the top portion. This allows their arrow tattoos to be prominent. Aang was the first Airbender to grow a complete head of hair.
The Air Nomads were definitely peaceful by nature and were known to have very good senses of humour. Because of their small population, they were the Fire Nation's first target. 100 years before the start of the series, Fire Lord Sozin used the power of a comet to attack and completely wipe out all of the Air Nomads, resulting in genocide. The only known Airbender that survived the ordeal was Aang.
Earth Kingdom
The Earth Kingdom is ran by a monarchy. The Earth King resides at the very center of Ba Sing Se and governs over the entire nation. Larger cities may also be ruled by their own "King", but technically, they still must abide the Earth King's laws. Over the years, the Earth King's role in the government diminishes until he is no more than a figurehead. The every day running is entrusted to various counsels (such as the Dai Li) and Generals.
It's shown in the series that the Earth Kingdom is only thriving superficially. Truthfully, the Earth Kingdom government has become extremely oppressive and corrupted within Ba Sing Se. It's forbidden to mention anything about the war and the capitol strong-hold has pretty much forsaken all the other citizens. That's why all the small towns and villages are slowly being taken over by the Fire Nation. Refugees are free to take shelter at Ba Sing Se, but they are placed in the Lower Ring, which is full of poverty and absolutely no access to prominent and influential figures.
The Earth Kingdom has a huge range of standards of living, from lower class citizens such as farmers and refugees to high class citizens like the nobles and rich businessmen. The citizens of the Earth Kingdom have brown or black hair and a variation of eye colours. Workers and farmers have tanned skins, while the nobles and the rich have lighter complexions. They like to dress is different shades of green, yellow and brown. Men tend to grow moustaches or beards.
While the Earth Kingdom is not as technologically advanced as the Fire Nation, they are able to harness many of the natural resources available to them. Naturally, they are able to use rocks and stones to create buildings, equipments, tools, and weapons. Some villages mine coal and they have plenty of trees and forests to use for lumber. The rich soil allows them to grow a large variety of crops, so food is plentiful.
Fire Nation
The Fire Nation is ruled by a monarchy, the head of state being called the Fire Lord. The title is passed down the family, traditionally to the eldest son, but ultimately, it's the reigning Fire Lord's decision. It was Fire Lord Sozin who instigated the war under the guise of sharing their prosperity with the other suffering nations.
| Fire Lord Sozin: Our nation is enjoying an unprecedented time of peace and wealth. Our people are happy. And we're so fortunate in so many ways. [...] We should share this prosperity with the rest of the world. In our hands is the most successful empire in history. It's time we expanded it! |
The Fire Nation places a lot of emphasis on honour and respect. It's common practise to bow when greeting an elder or superior as a sign of respect. When someone is disrespected or insulted, they may issue an Agni Kai. This is a formal duel with both person's honour at stake. The Agni Kai ends when one person is unable to fight anymore.
Women, unlike the other nations, seem to take on a more active role in the Fire Nation's military. They are treated more like equals and many of them can be seen as soilders and guards. Many of the prominent families send their daughters to schools that will develop their combative skills.
The people of the Fire Nation generally have dark-coloured hair and pale skin. Eye colour ranges from gold to brown to grey, but compared to the other nations, Fire Nation citizens have a more tilted eye shape. Citizens like to wear clothes that are deep red, brown and black with yellow trim and almost everyone ties their hair up in a top knot. Decorative pieces and silk fabric are often used to tie the topknot and it's an indication of rank.
The Fire Nation is skilled in using metal to make massive warships, tanks and other weapons. The also mine coal to make furnaces to power their warships. Citizens enjoy eating meat and spicy foods.
