#nomadic tribe

[eywaseclipse]

A beautiful mountain clan Na’vi inspired by the nomadic Tibetan tribe I was reading about the other day. I felt very inspired and here’s a little bit about them

“The nomadic herding tribes that live here are known for the unique traditional style of 108 Braids, a reference to the 108 holy volumes of Tibetan Buddhism.

Once used as a form of communication—to share one’s relationship status or religious affiliation—108 Braids is now also a tribute to the region’s heritage. Once braided, hair is adorned with all manner of earthy ornaments, like pine cones, coral, and turquoise, each woven into the braids to denote a milestone in life.” Vogue

Photographed by Kin Chan Coedel

https://www.vogue.com/article/global-women-tibetan-braids

[demaparbat-hp]

Golden Boy (and Silver Girl) for the Kintsugi AU.

[atlaculture]

how do you think the calendar is organized in the atla universe? they have a twelve-month system like we do but what would those months each be called? do you think they have leap years?

Right off the bat, let me just say that hypothetical calendars and alternative timekeeping is one of my favorite topics to talk about so this reply is going to be lengthy.

First off, everything we know about the calendar system in Avatar comes from the planetary calendar room in Wan Shi Tong's library.

The innermost ring indicates the number of months in a year (12), the second ring indicates the number of days in a month (30), the third ring indicates the different Avatar eras (16 shown), and the outermost ring showcases all of the animals of the zodiac cycle (12). For this reply, we're only going to be focusing on the innermost and second innermost rings.

According to the episode, the ATLAverse appears to have only 12-month years, so no leap year 13th month like the East Asian lunar calendar. There also doesn't appear to be any months with more than 30 days, judging by the number of days shown on the calendar. This means that the maximum number of possible days for an Avatar year is 360. So it's safe to say that there are probably no leap years like ours in the ATLAverse. I guess their Earth's orbit is slightly shorter and more suited for timekeeping than ours.

As for what each month would be called in the ATLAverse, there's a couple of options. One option is to simply call the months by order: First month, second month, third month, etc. This actually ties back to Avatar's Chinese influence, as that's literally how months are named in Mandarin. This is straightforward, practical, and doesn't require any complex etymology or extensive worldbuilding.

However, I also think it would be fun to weave motifs into the calendar. Since there's so much emphasis on balance and cycles, why not divide the twelve months between the four elements? I imagine these months would be referred to as:

The 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Water Month

The 1st, 2nd & 3rd Earth Month

The 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Fire Month

The 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Air Month

For example, a person might say "I was born during the first water month, in the year of the rabbit." Naturally, there would be plenty of superstitions and horoscopes related to the combination of birth month and birth year.

The show also canonically mentions weeks passing by, although they never specify the number of days in their weeks. In a previous post, I mentioned that government officials during the Qin & Han Dynasty were given a day off every five days to bathe themselves. I think this would be a good basis for a week in the ATLAverse, four days of work and one day of rest. Each working day would be named after a cardinal direction (East-day, North-day, West-day, South-day) and the resting day would be called "Center-day", paralleling a compass.

In short, an ATLA month would be comprised of 6 five-day weeks and a year would be made up of 12 thirty-day months; the days would be themed around the cardinal directions and the months would be themed around the four elements. I think this would be a good way of adding texture to the world of Avatar, without weighing the setting down with too much worldbuilding or cultural baggage.

...And that would just be the default "world" calendar that spirit libraries and world travelers and international organizations would use. I think each nation would probably have their own unique calendar tailored to suit their own cultural and seasonal needs.

I might make a few posts on what each nation's calendar system might be, if anyone would like to read that.

Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^

https://ko-fi.com/atlaculture

[maulfucker]

racism in star wars will have wikis saying shit like "this species that is inspired on a real life non-white people is just too stupid to use the Force"

[queen-morgana91]

"Everything Changed When the Fire Nation Attacked"

[polls4you]

Avatar The Last Airbender: Choose your favorite character! (Quarterfinals)

[titanomancy]

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the ash wastes.

[xbuster]

This has become the new fake video game quote that everyone thinks is real for some reason like that one Final Fantasy Tactics image.

[feyburner]

I fucking hate DC lol. His race is Villain

[punkeropercyjackson]

So are we ready to talk about the fact the reason Atla fans refuse to spare victimhood to Aang is they don't see genocide as a form of violence but rather just a thing that happens?How they fight tooth and nail to defend 'What if the Water Tribe attacked instead?' aus and search for every scrap they can to make the Air Nomads look like they deserved it?How they pretend nobody could relate to Aang's plight but Zuko's is universal and assign Zuko's bad traits to Aang and play them up?How they speak over Atla fans who come from heritages that were colonized and preach Zutara as the best kind of interracial rep because of Zuko's people colonizing Zutara and completely unironically assert it's necessary symbolism to show 'maybe the other side isn't as bad'?How they talk about Aang like he's white despite looking tibetan and coming from a tibetan-coded culture and even facing the same discrimation and oppression tibetans do i.e etchnic cleansing and cultural erasure by an imperalist country?Are the gringo westerners ready for the conversation that was already done in the 2000s Nicktoon and continued on in the followup comics series that runs to this day that genocide is bad and shouldn't exist and that genocide survivors-tibetans,many other asian peoples,jewish people,black people,native people-are victims for it and it is what it is dosen't mean it should be what it is?Or is the Frumperella fantasy crowd still waiting for that validation they're entitled to treat moc and other 'men'(read:woc and trans women)like shit since we personally organized the universe's events so they can't get a man and are stuck in an arrested development where they refuse to be attracted to Zuko's canonical adult self out of 'childhood' yet accuse Aang of manchild behavior at 12

[leantailean]

Love seeing their happy family

[classycookiexo]

THIS 😔

[demaparbat-hp]

I didn't know Katara also had silver marks on the Kintsugi AU. How did you come up with that idea? Is it an in-universe cultural thing? If it is, is it exactly the same as Zuko's or does the Water Tribe have their own beliefs around it?

Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, I just really love how your mind works when it comes to these AUs 💖

Hello, and thanks for asking!

Initially, Kintsugi was a strictly Fire Nation tradition. Something to hold over the rest of the nations, and deepen their own belief of cultural superiority. Zuko hiding his scars played into that idea, since having gold inlaid in your body is a clear sign of Fire Nation blood—furthermore, High Fire Nation blood.

That being said, one lovely anon gave the suggestion that perhaps the other nations also have their own kinds of Kintsugi, and I fell in love with the idea. @ican-fixitbooks went even deeper into the particular philosophies of each nation regarding Kintsugi. I'll be using some quotes from them—watch for the italics.

It was during said brainstorming session that I thought of Katara having a silver Kintsugi scar, and how could it be used to enhance the themes of ATLA, Katara's arc, and this AU as a whole.

But a little background is necessary, I believe.

Kintsugi is a tradition practiced worldwide, with minor differences in philosophy/technique according to each nation.

The Earth Kingdom seal their scars with a substance that resembles bronze, as the mentality of breaking yourself down to build yourself back up better than you were is very central to their culture. It is used as a way to celebrate one's victories, made all the better if damage was taken to achieve it.

The elite have rather different views on this practice. They believe themselves to be above such things. That which is broken must be hidden away, which has interesting connotations when thinking about a certain blind earthbender.

The Air Nomad philosophy leans towards a naturalist approach. Anything natural doesn't need to be "improved" in their eyes. If a scar is there, it is there. Let it be there as a part of you, no different than any other, no need to be "made better", but in fact better to just "be".

Kintsugi is a cultural practice meant to celebrate making something beautiful out of something broken, arguably even making it better than it was. During Sozin's reign and forward, Kintsugi became a way to show the Fire Nation's superiority. Especially as that is essentially their philosophy for war: "Breaking the rest of the world so it can be reforged in fire, made a better, more perfect place."

As for the Water Tribes, there's the healing factor to take into account. The Northern Water Tribe isolated itself from the rest of the world once the war began, so they hold tight to their traditions and beliefs. If something is not broken, then why attempt to fix it? Kintsugi is scoffed at in the North—it is a foreign practice, one that is not necessary when all your wounds can be healed with bending.

However, the Southern Water Tribe has been exposed to the world. They have seen war. They have lived through it. They have suffered, but they are also free because of it, if only in spirit. The South is strong and proud and bold, so it comes as no surprise that silver Kintsugi becomes the mark of their warriors, their hunters, their people.

Katara was wounded during the last Southern Raid. After losing Kya in such a terrible way, Hakoda made sure to seal Katara's wound with the silver of their warriors, so that she would always remember that despite having been broken, she is still strong, beautiful, and proud.

The scar itself is long and thin, going from her right shoulder up to her jaw. It loosely resembles lightning.

And despite how she got it, despite all the things she lost on that day, despite it being a constant reminder of her mother's death—Katara loves her scar.

It grounds her. It pushes her forward. You are a warrior, it tells her. You are a survivor.

When Katara arrives at the North, her scar becomes yet another thing the Northerners hold against her. They use it to demean her, just as they do her gender and out-spoken personality.

The North believes a lot of things that Katara always considered natural to be a problem. What does it matter that she is a woman? What is wrong about being passionate? Why should having a scar mean she's broken?

This scar is something they cannot touch. The Northerners try to use it to demean her. To make her small. Self-conscious. Worthless.

They're scoffing at her mother's death.

Her strength.

Her beauty.

Her pride.

Her story.

And she will not allow it.

[atlaculture]

ATLA Writing System Pt. 1: The Opening

Wanted to do a series of posts showcasing my appreciation for the writing in Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise. To the say the series went the extra mile in its use of Chinese characters (Hanzi) is an understatement. Allow me to explain:

The everyday writing system of the ATLAverse is Traditional Chinese. This writing system is used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan in the current day; It was also used in Mainland China prior to 1956--- nowadays, they use Simplified Chinese characters.

However, the series will switch writing styles when it wants to highlight the "ancientness" of something. For example, in the show's opening, each element is written in either Bronze Script (over 3000 years old) or Seal Script (over 2000 years old).

Water, fire, and air are written in Seal Script. Earth is written in Bronze Script. As a point of reference, here's how these concepts look when written in Traditional Chinese:

水 (Water)

土 (Earth)

火 (Fire)

氣 (Air)

Also, the symbol on the left and right sides of the world map is a stylized way of writing "longevity". I go more in-depth about the character here:

...longevity is an appropriate symbol for the Avatar world. Not only are the world and the entity of the Avatar quite ancient, but our protagonist is literally 112-years-old.

And the texts at the top and bottom of the map? They translate as...

The powers are divided into four The world [all under heaven] is restored by one The bottom text is a slightly re-worded quote from The Analects of Confucius: Avatar Map Quote: 天下一匡 (The world [all under heaven] is restored by one.) The Analects of Confucius: 一匡天下 (Through one, the world [all under heaven] is restored.) Same characters, but different word order.

In Part 2, I'll highlight some interesting uses of different Chinese scripts within the actual show. ^_^

[yikes-kachowski]

I have a lot headcanons, okay?? Including extra kids for aang. And this is one of them. His second oldest, Yelaan.

They're southern water tribe and air nomad :)

On the left you got her air nomad clothes, on the left their casual clothes

- she/they

- they take up a spiritual role in the tribe

- they are more in touch with their water tribe culture (including religiously, for the most part. They are not vegetarian)

- they are a water bender

- they're lesbian

- they are close friends with Sakari

- they think of akiak like an annoying little brother

Their older brother, bumi

Their younger brother, tenzin

[queen-morgana91]

A reminder that Aang built a temple with houses in it, which belongs to both his culture AND Katara's culture :) Their house has air nomads and water tribe belongings in every corner and rooms <3

A reminder that they are wearing each other's colors in this official pic

Oh their scenes in the movie are gonna be SO GOOD ❤