Air Nomads
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Air Nomads is a collective term for a nation of people in the fictional universe of the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. One of the series' "Four Nations," the Air Nomads were wanderers by definition, but had four Air Temples, one at each corner of the globe, hidden away atop mountain ranges in the northern Earth Kingdom and on three remote islands. The Air Nomads were home to a monastic order of men and women who practiced Airbending, the mystical art of aerokinesis.
A century before the time of the series, the Air Nomads were the victims of genocide at the hands of the Fire Nation. The sole known survivor of the massacre ironically was the very person the Fire Nation sought to kill in its quest for supremacy: the twelve-year-old Airbender and Avatar, Aang, who had run away from the Southern Air Temple shortly before the war began and became trapped in suspended animation. He has since revived and begun a quest to restore balance and peace to the warring nations.
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[edit] Appearance
The Air Nomads could be seen wearing orange, saffron yellow, and brown clothing. Aang and other young Airbenders wear orange shawls over long-sleeved yellow shirts, a brown belt, yellow pants with brown on the back, and brown boots that reach the knees. Senior monks wear longer robes in shades of yellow, orange, and brown. Most Air Nomads have gray eyes and a light complexion.
Young boys to be trained as monks have shaven heads while monk elders grow beards and mustaches. Airbenders who have attained some level of mastery in the art will be marked with arrow tattoos on their bodies; for male Airbenders, a primary arrow tattoo is placed on their shaven head that extends down their back, along with four others, one on each limb that terminates in an arrowhead at the hands or feet. When an Avatar tattooed in this fashion enters the Avatar State, these tattoos are known to glow along with the Avatar's eyes and mouth.
Female Airbenders did not fully shave their heads, instead they remove the forward portion of their hair to expose the end of the arrow.
[edit] National Emblem
The Air Nomad insignia is depicted as a stylized swirling orb. Within the circle, coiling lines illustrate the wind. The symbol can be seen on the design of doors and surfaces in the Air Temples, as well as on pendants of monks' prayer beads.
[edit] Government
While the other nations possess royalty and are run by monarchies, the Air Nomads were led by an order of monks. The senior monks instructed future generations of Airbenders and were responsible for training the Avatar each time the reincarnation cycle returned to air.[1]
[edit] Culture
Much is unknown in regards to the Air Nomads as a result of their extermination by the hands of the Fire Nation at the start of the war a century ago. All that is known is that they were a peaceful society that dwelled at high altitudes in temples located at each compass point and traveled the world atop their cherished flying bison. Pious and forthright, Airbenders preferred to use the power they harnessed strictly for defensive purposes. The Air monks were the most spiritual of all cultures and strived to live in harmony with nature.[2] Though their race has ceased to exist, the spirit of the Air Nomads lives on with Aang, the Avatar and the last Airbender.
The Air Nomads are the only nation comprised entirely of benders, due to the highly spiritual nature of their lives in relation to retaining the smallest population of all the nations.[3] It is said that meditation was an important part of the Airbenders' daily routines, as it helped them to focus their energies and understand the potency of their element.[4] The arrow on an Airbender's head signifies that he or she has mastered airbending. This is an emulation of the natural arrows on the heads of Flying Bison, animals revered by the Air Nomads, who can naturally Airbend and are believed to be the inspiration for the first Airbenders. In order to receive the tattoos as well as the title of a master, an Airbender must pass the thirty-six levels of airbending along with engendering a new technique. In actuality, Aang had only reached the thirty-fifth level before he left the Jongmu Temple, his invention of the Air Scooter earned him the tattoos prematurely, making him the youngest airbending master in history.[5]
Air Nomads were known for their good sense of humor, an attribute illustrated numerous times, such as when Monk Gyatso employed a unique teaching method when tutoring Aang with his airbending skills — accurately blowing fruit cakes onto other monks' heads. The Nomads were also a fun-loving group of people, as they retained various games. One traditional Air Nomad sport was Airball, a fast-paced game that relied on an Airbender's speed, balance, and accuracy. Standing on top of wooden posts, players would use their airbending to pass the ball from one to another, with the goal being to get the ball through the wooden ring on the opponent's side.[6] Another game was Sky Bison Polo, which was actually played in the air. Similar to polo, Airbenders rode their flying bison while attempting to force the ball into their opponent's goal.[7] The Air Nomads had championship tournaments held for Sky Bison Polo at the Northern Air Temple.[8] Air monks also enjoyed Pai Sho, an ancient tile game combining skill and strategy played by all four nations.[9] Games of Pai Sho have been featured between Aang and Monk Gyatso and later Gyatso and Roku.[10][11]
[edit] Season
Each of the Four Nations is influenced by their own distinct, dominant season. Autumn is the dominant season of the Air Nomad race. More Air Nomad children were born during autumn than any other season, all retaining bending abilities most likely due to the increased amount of wind during fall.[12]
[edit] Natural resources and foods
As could be determined, air is the main and most significant power source and natural resource of the Nomads. With the power of air channeled under their control, the Airbenders were enabled to defend and protect their homes and way of life and travel across the globe.
The Air Nomads were a tranquil and environmentally friendly race of people and did their best not to leave a mark on the land. Any industry that they engendered, such as farming and gardening, were powered naturally. Storage rooms sealed off and filled with collected natural gas can be found within their temples.[8] They also produced their own food, with their diet mainly consisting of fruits and vegetables due to their vegetarian lifestyle.[13] Several monks, such as Monk Gyatso, were also excellent bakers, and constantly made cakes, fruit pies, dumplings, and other inventive desserts.[14]
[edit] Air Temples
Though the Air Nomads as a race would seem to be almost totally erased from their world, remnants of their legacy still hold a place within it. The largest, most predominant, permanent features of their past are the four Air Temples. Although Airbenders were primarily a nomadic culture, there are four Air Temples in various remote locations where councils were held and novices were raised. The temples were divided by gender, with the Southern and Northern temples reserved for male monks and the Eastern and Western for female nuns. Air Nomads not situated to a temple had no permanent home and traversed across the world individually or in small groups.[15]
Sections reserved for learning, quiet meditation, and the study and practice of their element were common features of the temples. Their outer grounds also featured grassy knolls for outdoor play, reflecting pools, and historical murals and monuments. At the four air temples there are large cylindrical room known as an Air Sanctuary, locked behind a door which can only be opened via airbending. At the Southern Air Temple, it has been shown to contain thousands of statues iterating in a spiral formation the previous incarnations of the Avatar. The Northern Air Temple's Air Sanctuary was converted to house weapons for the fire nation after the Air Nomads were killed, so its original state is unknown.
[edit] Southern Air Temple
Located in the remote Patola mountain range (Air Nomad Territory), the Southern, Jongmu Air Temple, supposedly only accessible via flying bison, was the boyhood home of the current Avatar, Aang, and his father-like mentor, Monk Gyatso. It was raided early in the war during Fire Lord Sozin's genocide on the Air Nomads.
This temple is large and peaceful, has an Airball arena, and is also where the "Air Scooter" was first invented by Aang. The temple itself primarily served as a training ground for Airbender students. Once inhabited by Flying Bison and Winged Lemurs in the days of the monks, it is now barren and abandoned by humans and animals alike. As a result of being built for and by the monks, several of the temples' doors and mechanisms are operable only through means of Airbending. A statue of Monk Gyatso stands at the entrance to the temple. Unlike the other three temples shown, the Southern Temple's spires are blue, instead of green.
[edit] Northern Air Temple
High in the mountainous Northern coast of the Earth Kingdom resides the Northern Air Temple. It was home to the Flying Bison polo championships in the days when the monks lived in it. Decades after the extermination of the monks, the temple was rediscovered by the Mechanist and his group of refugees. The Mechanist used the gliders within to give his paraplegic son Teo a new life in the air. However, he was extorted for weapons manufacture by the Fire Nation, who threatened to attack if he did not comply. He hid the machines in what was formerly the Sanctuary of the temple, unknown to the temple's other residents. Aang and the others discover the weapons cache, and convince him to revolt against the Fire nation, with the promise of protecting the temple from attack.
The Northern Temple was modified by the Mechanist to house more people than before, and many of the original structures were destroyed or expanded to help accommodate the new residents. The temple also underwent many technological "upgrades", as the Mechanist added new inventions to help make the lives of the residents easier. The new changes anger Aang at first, who sees it as a violation of the temple's original sanctity, but in the end he decides that the refugees are like the hermit crabs that inhabit the temple's corridors, and is happy that they have found this empty shell and made it their home.
[edit] Eastern Air Temple
Along with the Western Air Temple, the Eastern Air Temple exclusively housed female Airbenders and was home to Sister Iio. Like the others, the temple was destroyed by the Fire Nation at the start of the war. When Aang, the current Avatar, was to be separated from his mentor, Monk Gyatso, the elders of the Southern Air Temple had decided to send Aang to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his training without Gyatso's fatherly influence. However, before they could do this, Aang overheard their plans and ran away.
As seen in the episode "Appa's Lost Days", the Eastern Air Temple was where Aang chose Appa as a Sky Bison partner and is probably where Appa was born. In the present day, Guru Pathik has waited there for a few years awaiting the Avatar's advent, because he saw a vision of himself helping the Avatar in his future. Interestingly, the Guru wore clothes of the same color as those of the Airbenders, and identifies himself to Aang as a spiritual peer of Gyatso. In the episode The Guru, Pathik led Aang through the opening of six of his seven chakras in order to help Aang master the Avatar state. The opening of these chakras was performed at various sites in and around the Eastern Air Temple.
Unlike the Northern and Southern Air temples, the Eastern Air temple is housed on three mountain peaks.
[edit] Western Air Temple
The Western Air Temple is situated nearest to Fire Nation territory. Along with the Eastern Air Temple, it was one of the temples which exclusively housed female Airbenders. The temple is unique in that it's situated on the underside of a cliff rather than at top of a mountain, with structures built downward like stalactites. It is explored by Aang and the other invasion escapees during "The Western Air Temple," but little of the temple's interior is provided aside from description. Aang mentions that it contains a giant Pai Sho board and the Hall of Day-Long Echoes, while Teo also makes mention of a hall of statues.
[edit] Air Temple Fauna
[edit] Flying Bison
Air Temples are inhabited by exotic fauna, one species of which is the six-legged, three-toed, five-stomached, beaver-tailed, Flying Bison, giant domesticated flying beasts ridden by Airbenders. According to a behind-the-scenes interview with the show's creators, they are a hybrid between a bison and a manatee. These creatures have brown eyes, shaggy, light grey fur and a brown stripe that runs along their back, from tail-tip to forehead, where it terminates in an arrowhead. In "The Great Divide", Aang reveals that Appa has five stomachs. These creatures are the main source of transportation for Air Nomads.
All Flying Bison can use airbending to fly, utilizing their broad tails to steer through air currents and also to defend themselves. As shown in "Appa's Lost Days", they are also able to use their mouths and possibly their noses to Airbend. A fully-grown Flying Bison can easily weigh ten tons. They are revered by the Air Nomads, whose tattoos deliberately emulate their arrow-shaped markings, for inspiring the Airbending art, similarly to how Badgermoles inspired Earthbending. It was customary for young Air Nomads to choose a Sky bison to be their lifelong companion. Aang chose Appa at the Eastern Air Temple, when he was a baby calf, by giving him an apple.
To direct a Flying Bison to take flight, Aang uses the command "Yip-yip." To summon one from a far location, one may use a Flying Bison whistle. Though fairly docile, these creatures can be fearsome when aroused to fight. The most notable and possibly last surviving Flying Bison is Appa, Aang's pet and major means of long-distance transportation.
[edit] Winged Lemurs
The Winged Lemur species is also native to the Air Temple mountain ranges. Like the Flying Bison, Winged Lemurs are a hybrid species, being a cross between a lemur and a spotted bat. Sporting giant, bat-like ears and wing-like patagia on their arms, Winged Lemurs can glide and flap their winged arms to fly. It is unknown, however, whether they can actually Airbend in the traditional sense. Momo is the most notable of this species in the series. The Lemurs were favored as pets by young Air Nomad children thanks to their playful, carefree, and highly social personality. Their high intelligence and dexterous fingers also enabled them to perform various tasks, such as alerting others of danger and fetching airbending staffs that Nomads frequently dropped while on bisonback.[16]
[edit] Other animals
A less-known animal species that inhabits the Air Temples is small, land-dwelling hermit crab. They look quite similar to their aquatic cousins, with a similar shell-switching lifestyle, but are covered in a thick coat of black and white hair. They seem to prefer damp, dark places and are apparently very adaptable, as specimens in the Northern Air Temple survived a complete refurbishment of the entire complex, spearheaded by the The Mechanist. It seems fitting and is perhaps not coincidental that a nomadic animal by nature would live among the Air Nomads.
[edit] Notable figures
- Avatar Aang
- Monk Gyatso
- Avatar Yangchen
[edit] References
- ^ Mason, Tom; Dan Danko (2006). The Lost Scrolls: Air (Avatar: the Last Airbender). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, pp. 40. ISBN 1416918795.
- ^ Mason, Tom; Dan Danko (2006). The Lost Scrolls: Air (Avatar: the Last Airbender). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, pp. 18-19. ISBN 1416918795.
- ^ http://www.avatarspirit.com/con_reports.php?id=2
- ^ Mason, Tom; Dan Danko (2006). The Lost Scrolls: Air (Avatar: the Last Airbender). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, pp. 39. ISBN 1416918795.
- ^ Mason, Tom; Dan Danko (2006). The Lost Scrolls: Air (Avatar: the Last Airbender). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, pp. 40. ISBN 1416918795.
- ^ Mason, Tom; Dan Danko (2006). The Lost Scrolls: Air (Avatar: the Last Airbender). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, pp. 24. ISBN 1416918795.
- ^ Mason, Tom; Dan Danko (2006). The Lost Scrolls: Air (Avatar: the Last Airbender). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, pp. 25. ISBN 1416918795.
- ^ a b "The Northern Air Temple". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. 2005-11-04. No. 17, season 1 (Book 1).
- ^ "The Southern Air Temple". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. 2005-02-25. No. 3, season 1 (Book 1).
- ^ "The Storm". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. 2006-06-03. No. 12, season 1 (Book 1).
- ^ "The Avatar and the Fire Lord". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. 2007-10-26. No. 46, season 3.
- ^ Mason, Tom; Dan Danko (2006). The Lost Scrolls: Air (Avatar: the Last Airbender). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, pp. 19. ISBN 1416918795.
- ^ Mason, Tom; Dan Danko (2006). The Lost Scrolls: Air (Avatar: the Last Airbender). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, pp. 60-61. ISBN 1416918795.
- ^ Mason, Tom; Dan Danko (2006). The Lost Scrolls: Air (Avatar: the Last Airbender). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, pp. 38. ISBN 1416918795.
- ^ Mason, Tom; Dan Danko (2006). The Lost Scrolls: Air (Avatar: the Last Airbender). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, pp. 39. ISBN 1416918795.
- ^ Mason, Tom; Dan Danko (2006). The Lost Scrolls: Air (Avatar: the Last Airbender). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, pp. 20. ISBN 1416918795.
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