Sandbender Tribes

The Sandbenders are tribes of people who can control sand in the Earth Kingdom. Little is known about their history.

Sandbenders are the indigenous people of the Si Wong Desert. There are different tribes of Sandbenders, including the Hami Tribe. They have developed a special style of Earthbending, that revolves around bending the sand of their homeland. Because of sand's loose nature, Sandbending techniques resemble Water and Airbending more than they do standard Earthbending. Sandbenders travel the Si Wong Desert in their Sand Sailers, which they move with a tornado of sand. They are distrustful and dismissive of foreigners, and some Sandbenders make a habit of stealing from them, most notably Ghashiun and his gang.

Trivia

 * The Sandbenders bear a slight resemblance to the Tusken Raiders from the Star Wars universe, who in turn were inspired by the Fremen desert dwellers from the Dune novels.