avatar fact file

Na'vi

The Na'vi (English: The People) are a race of sentient extraterrestrial humanoids who inhabit the lush jungle moon of Pandora. Humans are known to refer to them as "blues", "savages", "the locals", "hostiles", or "the natives". Parker Selfridge at one point refers to them as "blue monkeys".

The indigenous Na'vi are, on average, approximately 3 meters (~ 10 feet) tall, with smooth, striped cyan-colored skin, large amber eyes, and long, sweeping tails. Their bodies are more slender than humans. They are the only known extraterrestrial species discovered to have human-like consciousness and intelligence. Although the Na'vi are hunter-gatherers with technology equivalent of Earth's Paleolithic epoch, they have developed a sophisticated culture based on a profound spiritual connection to other life on their moon, each other, and an encompassing "goddess" they call Eywa.

Various biomes of Pandora. Population concentrated in rainforest regions. Outlying clans have been detected on each continent and in subarctic, swampland, and mountainous regions.

Some Na'vi clans, including the Omaticaya clan and parts of the Tipani clan, live in tremendously large ancient trees they call Kelutral, or "Hometree".

The average Na'vi life span is longer than that of a human – approximately 30% longer – though they mature more rapidly

Little apparel is worn by the Na'vi. Cloth, most likely woven from native flora of the planet is the basic garment worn by all Na'vi. It is possible that very little clothing is worn by the Na'vi because it is simply what is needed for the Na'vi to work and live taking minimally from the environment. Clothes appear to also show the ranking of one in the hierarchy of a clan. For example, the Omaticaya clan leader, Eytukan, wore a garment made of brilliant or precious materials in comparison to a simple clothing piece worn by other clan members. Accessories are added to a Na'vi's attire as he or she moves up in the clan hierarchy. For example, Jake Sully, as an apprentice clan member, wore only an undecorated loincloth; as he learned more about the Na'vi culture, however, he wore armbands and necklaces to display his ranking. The Tipani clan is unique in their use of armor which is often made from leather and bone.

The Na'vi are humanoid creatures that live in various territorial clans across Pandora. Though their culture is essentially paleolithic, they have an egalitarian social organization, unusual in a society at such a stage in their development. A premium is placed upon young men and women growing up to become exceptional hunters and possibly warriors, as is necessary due to the nature of the Pandoran environment and the level of Na'vi technological advancement.

The populations of the Na'vi and other species may be controlled by the sentient intelligence they worship as Eywa. They choose to live in harmony and natural equilibrium with their surroundings. If they become too numerous, Eywa may devise a way to limit their numbers before they cause an ecological imbalance, for she maintains the balance of life. Over the millennia, the Na'vi have developed a healthy respect and reverence for their surrounding environment. In return, Eywa may have affected the environment to provide them with sufficient food and shelter, creatures to ride for ground and air transportation, and an ambient, comfortable temperature throughout the different biomes of Pandora. Oddly, there do not seem to be many harmful or irritating insects and disease organisms, but whether or not this is intentional will require further research. Small, flying creatures (insects?) are shown in various scenes, and further suggested by the apparent mosquito netting surrounding the avatar cots in the longhouse.

The Na'vi have failed to develop tools and weapons for purposes beyond possible primitive warfare with the surrounding clans and hunting/survival, an anomaly stemming perhaps from the fertility of the moon. For a race that is so connected to all other creatures, warfare would seem unlikely, but not unheard of, as indicated by numerous references to the term "warrior". However, there was no hesitation to go to the many other clans to ask for help, so if there is inter-clan conflict, it is probably the rare exception to the rule. They do, however, have a rich handicraft tradition and engage in extensive body decoration signifying both rank, activity, and individual tastes. With the caution that it is perhaps spurious to make cross cultural comparisons across star systems, the Na'vi are comparable to now extinct pre-Bronze Age hunter-gatherer societies that formed in some pre-colonial African, American aboriginal, and Australian indigenous tribes with trace similarities to the Norse culture of northern Europe. Lacking any tradition of formal science as Earth people know it, they experience Eywa as an all-knowing, all-powerful entity, and have possibly developed a complex animistic religion based upon their interactions with Eywa, and centered around the Tree of Souls and the Tree of Voices, two of many sacred