Water Tribe

"water"

- The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.

The Water Tribe is a collective term for a nation of people who practice the art of waterbending. It is one of the four nations and its members, for the most part, inhabit the polar regions. There is also a small population of waterbenders located in the swamps of the Earth Kingdom, although they were isolated from their sister-tribes for generations and others were not aware of their existence until stumbled upon by Avatar Aang, Katara, and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe.

The people of the Water Tribes are peaceful. They strive to live in harmony with nature and with the other nations of the world. There are two primary groups of Water Tribes, the Northern and the Southern. In the time since the Fire Nation's attack began, contact between the two tribes has ended.

Waterbenders use their abilities for defense, never for aggression. Despite their peaceful nature, their goal was to do whatever it took to stop the Fire Nation from taking over the world.

The Water Tribe is less powerful than both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, due to its population size, geographic location and economy. Its economy is very small and is dependent on ocean resources, which can be attributed to the relatively small population of the Water Tribes as the third most populous nation.

The Water Tribe joined a global conflict known as the Hundred Year War against the Fire Nation during the life of Avatar Aang. The Southern Tribe was driven to the brink of extinction through a series of devastating raids, and the Northern Tribe proved to be unable to provide any resources for the War beyond its borders. With the War's conclusion, a reconstruction effort begun for the Southern Tribe.

Seventy years after the end of the Hundred Year War, the Water Tribe gained significant influence in world affairs, with two representatives on the United Republic Council, one for the Southern Tribe and another for the Northern Tribe, the latter representative most recently being Councilman Tarrlok.

Locations

 * Northern Water Tribe
 * Southern Water Tribe
 * Foggy Swamp Tribe
 * Western Water Fortress (Water Tribe Avatar Temple)
 * Southern Water Tribe compound

Appearance


Ethnically homogeneous, members of both tribes typically have light or deep brown hair, blue or gray eyes and a light brown skin tone. Water Tribe clothing is usually a set of blue anorak and trousers lined and trimmed with white fur, and worn with mittens and mukluks. Men may wear their hair long and half-up or in short ponytails, also known as "warrior's wolf tails". Women plait and braid their hair in various styles, sometimes with accent beads, and many sport "hair loopies" in various styles. In the Southern Water Tribe, women have been shown wearing their hair back in a bun with a decorative band. Women have been seen with hair braids in both Tribes. In the Northern Water Tribe, males appear to wear a darker blue than those of the Southern Water Tribe, and royalty often wears purple. Their influences and sometimes appearances are drawn greatly from Inuit and Native American fashion. In the Foggy Swamp Tribe, they wear very little; just leaf-hats, loincloths, and wristbands, all in green, reflecting the color of the water and their surroundings.

National emblem


The national emblem of the Water Tribe is a circle comprised of a waning (if up is taken to be north and the orbit of the moon in the World of Avatar is the same as the Earth's moon) crescent moon and three wavy horizontal lines representing ocean water. The emblem represents the relationship between Tui and La, the Moon and Ocean Spirits, who exist in perfect harmony with one another, like that of Yin and Yang. It is displayed on the pennant of the watchtower in the Southern Tribe Village, and is common in the architecture of the Northern Water Tribe. However in the Foggy Swamp Tribe, this symbol is not found. Perhaps this is due to the lack of communication with the other tribes.

Culture
The appearance of the Water Tribes is based on its corresponding element, water. Each of the nations has its own elemental color, which in the case of the Water Tribes is blue. However, the people of the Foggy Swamp go toward green or brown.

The Water Tribe is divided into three distinct groups, primarily based on their geography and affinity for waterbending. The Southern Tribe occupies the South Pole with Katara as its only known bending members during the War, the art having been almost completely erased from the South Pole as a direct result of the Fire Nation raids, and Korra (the new avatar, succeding Aang).

The Northern Tribe consists of the majority of the official remnants of their civilization, occupying the North Pole with a multitude of able benders. Though separated, the Southern and Northern Tribes continued to remain in contact prior to the Hundred Year War and at one time even retained a custom of coming together during a New Moon justly called the New Moon Celebration. The Foggy Swamp Tribe occupies a swamp in the Earth Kingdom, while most, if not all, of its members are competent benders with some unique talents, such as plantbending.

Customs


In the Northern Water Tribe, women are of marrying age at the age of 16. Males who wish to marry females gift them with a traditional betrothal necklace. This signifies that the woman is to be married. The ceremony is completely organized by the parents, and marriage of free choice is not practiced. However, in the Southern Water Tribe, it seems that people are allowed to choose their own spouses.

When they turn fourteen, Southern Water Tribe children are taken on a rite of passage known as ice dodging, a sport where the children must control a ship in turbulent water riddled with large, unpredictable chunks of ice. After completing the ritual, they are given "marks" of honor, they are the Mark of the Brave, the Mark of the Wise, and the Mark of the Trusted.

The names of the Southern and Northern tribes' citizens often include one or two "K"s and have an "AH" sound (Katara, Hakoda, Sokka, Pakku, Kya, Kuruk, Kanna, Arnook, Korra, Tarrlok, Yakone, Noatak, etc.), such as happens in Fire Nation with the letter "Z". However, this does not happen in the Foggy Swamp Tribe, perhaps because of their isolation from the culture of the two major Water Tribe factions.

Season
Each of the four nations is influenced by their own distinct, dominant season. The Water Tribe's dominant season is winter. To an effect, more waterbenders are born during winter than any other season and their waterbending is at its peak during the winter due to the longer nights and freezing conditions. In actuality, both polar tribes experience winter-like weather consistently, with snow falling year-round.

Natural resources
Inhabiting frozen poles near the seas, the Water Tribes inherently are dependent on the oceans for a majority of their natural resources and well as the bounty of the frozen tundra. Sea prunes are a favorite, while giant sea crabs are considered a delicious delicacy to those in the Northern Sea. Sea squid is a popular food that can be made into a variety of things, including sea squid soup. Seaweed can be used to make seaweed bread, seaweed soup, or seaweed sprinkles to top seaweed cookies. When traveling, blubbered seal jerky is a common snack to take along.

Skins from seals are used to create tents in the Southern Water Tribe. Pelts from polar bears and other furry animals are used as clothing and to cover barren surfaces. Naturally, hunters and fishermen of the Water Tribes are some of the best in the world in their field.

The Foggy Swamp Tribe uses the plants and fauna in their swamp to provide them with all they need, and they eat small game, such as possum chicken, fish, and giant bugs.

Government
System: Tribal Chiefdom.

Head of state/Head of government: Tribal Chief.

Military
As a result of the strong customary theme expressed by the two major sects, the Water Tribes' military is considerably less sophisticated than that of the recently industrialized Earth Kingdom or the highly industrialized Fire Nation. Nevertheless, the tribes also exhibit deep pride and willpower typical of a warrior race.

Warriors


All adult male tribe members are fully-trained warriors. Their weaponry includes clubs, bladed boomerangs, spears made of bone (also used in spearfishing), scimitars, and machetes laced with whale teeth on the dull side of the blade. Water Tribe warriors typically wear black and white warpaint on their full face before going into battle. waterbending warriors of the Northern Tribe are all masters of their element and wear face masks to cover their mouths and hoods. Warriors of the Northern Tribe paint their faces with three lines of red on their forehead. When the Fire Nation attacked the Northern Water Tribe, Chief Arnook called for warriors to volunteer for a dangerous mission. When they approached, Arnook marked three red lines on their foreheads with red paint.

The more organized Northern Water Tribe makes use of armories located on the warrior training grounds which serve as weapons storage and war planning rooms where orders are distributed. Their waterbenders engineer and utilize a countless amount of iceberg spikes scattered across the ocean just outside the city as a first line of defense against Fire Nation ships. The spikes are capable of ripping through solid metal and sinking even the largest ships. The currents in the iceberg fields are known to be extremely dangerous, but are easily traversed by Water Tribe vessels. The iceberg spikes themselves are also used as cover for warriors to hide behind, enabling to easily ambush any unwanted visitors.



While its sister tribe had been the victim of raids, the Northern Water Tribe has sufficiently been able to stave off the Fire Nation for over eighty-five years, thanks to a mixture of strong, man-made defenses and an imposing, icy landscape.

Two years before the Avatar returned, all the men of the Southern Water Tribe left to fight in the war, leaving their villages defenseless. The male warriors of the Southern Tribe are seen again, protecting the shores of Chameleon Bay, the single inlet leading directly to the outskirts of Ba Sing Se. The warriors had apparently achieved this so far with the use of tangle mines, which are buoyant, terrible smelling makeshift mines of Hakoda's invention, which he affectionately nicknames the "stink n' sink". The tangle mines are constructed with a bamboo frame and covered with dried animal skin, while the inside is filled with skunkfish and seaweed. These mines float in the water and detonate when a ship hits them. When the mines detonate, they erupt seaweed, which tangles around the propeller of the ship, incapacitating it, and skunkfish, and the terrible smell forces people to abandon ship. Though a very unusual type of mine, they had apparently been quite effective.

Ships of the Water Tribe


The ships of the Southern Water Tribe seem to be cutter sailing ships, containing wooden hulls and utilizing the wind for propulsion. The boats are shown to be operated by at least two people, one to maintain the main sail and one to control the jib, a smaller sail at the rear. The ships appear to be designed more for use as a transport vessel than combat.

The Northern Water Tribe's most common ship is a double-hulled vessel powered by waterbending. Though its small, compact size enables it to be used for a variety of applications, including transporting civilians across the canals within the city, its main purpose is to be used for short, open ocean trips. Even though its not necessarily designed for long voyages, it is capable of being used to travel over a thousand miles and withstanding the harshest ocean conditions. Warriors use this ship to patrol and protect the waters just outside the Northern Water Tribe.



Prior to the Day of Black Sun, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe commissioned the mechanist, an Earth Kingdom inventor, to build a series of waterbending-powered submarines for use in the invasion of the Fire Nation Capital. Although manufactured by the Earth Kingdom, these submarines can only be powered by waterbending. These subs resemble large whales in design, and are plated in gold shielding. These subs are perfect for ferrying dozens of troops to enemy locations, as well as at least one earthbending-powered tank. These subs are very strong and are capable of shooting ice torpedoes, which are perfect for blasting enemy barricades. However, these subs have a limited air supply, and must constantly resurface.

The Foggy Swamp Tribe uses Swamp Skiffs, which are not designed for combat. Instead they are used for hunting and transportation. They are powered using waterbending.

Trivia

 * The Northern and Southern Water Tribes are inspired by the Inuit culture of the Northern Arctic regions.
 * The Southern Water Tribe lands closely resemble Antarctica.
 * The Water Tribe is the only nation that was not at one time conquered by the Fire Nation.
 * A female has not been seen in the military of the Northern Water Tribe due to their sexist traditions. However, the other Water Tribes did not follow these traditions as female waterbenders were seen defending the Southern Water Tribe during the Fire Nation raids and females of the Foggy Swamp Tribe were seen during the Invasion of the Fire Nation.
 * Ironically, despite being connected to the element of water, very few people from the Water Tribes have been seen swimming. This may be because the two main tribes are based at the poles, and the arctic temperature of the waters may make it difficult for the people there to enjoy swimming.
 * Most of the known citizens of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes have names which contain a "k" in them (e.g. Sokka, Pakku, Korra). Less common, but still widespread are the "uh" and "ah" sounds.