Society in the World of Avatar

Society is a major part of life in the World of Avatar. Social classes are usually based upon titles, wealth, power, and accomplishments. Although people are usually born into their social rank, there are some exceptions in which people can gain a higher position due to important service to royals. Society differs between nations, as the society of the peaceful Air Nomads is not nearly as complicated as that of the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom.

Air Nomads
Of all the nations, before the genocide, the Air Nomads seemed to value equality the most, as all Air Nomads were monks and nuns. The only known Air Nomad authoritarian entity was the Council of Elders.

Council of Elders


The authority of the Council of Elders is not well known. However, it has been shown that they are not considered royalty. They were trusted with making difficult decisions of the community and were likely well respected by their people. Like the Fire Sages of the Fire Nation, the councils had one Head Monk or Head Nun, who seemed to have more authority than the other monks and nuns.

Average nomads
It seems that all citizens were considered equal in rights and in social rank. This seems natural because all Air Nomad citizens were benders and there were thus few differences between the abilities of various nomads.

Water Tribes
Water Tribe society differs between the Southern Water Tribe and Northern Water Tribe. While the smaller Southern Tribe seems to consider almost all members as equals, the Northern Tribe appears to have more social divisions.

Northern Water Tribe
The Northern Water Tribe differs from the Southern Water Tribe through its more complex social order, pointed out by Hahn while he was berating Sokka's surprise and displeasure on the subject of Yue's forced marriage.

In the Northern Water Tribe, the chief is considered royalty to some extent, as his daughter carries the title of Tribal Princess. The chief makes decisions for the tribe and can probably create and abolish certain laws and customs. Arranged marriage, however, does not seem to be one of them. However, the power of the Chief does have limits. For example, Chief Arnook stated that he could not force Master Pakku to take back pupils if he did not want them, even if that pupil is the Avatar.

Southern Water Tribe
In the Southern Water Tribe, chiefdom seems to be less complicated. The chief has the ability to lead his people and make decisions. Unlike Arnook's daughter, Chief Hakoda's children are not considered Prince or Princess, as Hakoda is not royalty. The chief can also personally lead his warriors in battle. At Chameleon Bay inside of a large tent, Hakoda was seen with a group of about seven individuals planning the next battle.

Chief's advisers
In the Northern Water Tribe, the chief has advisers to help him make decisions. They seem to be in position of high authority, as they sit beside the chief during meetings and other events. Even though the chief has more power than these advisers, they are still important members of the Northern Water Tribe society. Known advisers are the tribe's waterbending master, Pakku, and the chief's daughter, Princess Yue.

Northern Water Tribe
In the Northern Water Tribe, all citizens seem to be equal, as it is not the size of the vast Earth Kingdom or the advanced Fire Nation. However, women are deprived by law to learn how to waterbend. The female waterbenders are restricted to learning the healing capacities of the bending art.

Southern Water Tribe


In the Southern Water Tribe, all of the tribe's members, even the chief's children, are considered average citizens and have also been referred to as peasants; however, things may have been different before the tribe was nearly driven to extinction. In the current day, the tribe does not appear to have a well-developed society. There are no clear social differences for warriors. Before the Southern Water Tribe raids, a decent population of the citizens were waterbenders, but there is now only one remaining, and this may have affected the status and society of the tribe.

Earth Kingdom
Because a vast, diverse people populate the Earth Kingdom, its social hierarchy is correspondingly much more stratified.

Earth King


The Earth King is the King of Ba Sing Se and the ruler of the Earth Kingdom. He occupies the highest social position in the entire kingdom, and his palace and seat of government are located in the Upper Ring of the capital.

Previous Earth Kings exercised tremendous authority over the whole kingdom. Recently, a conspiracy had led to the decline of this position from a true leader to a mere figurehead, as was the circumstance of the 52nd Earth King, Kuei; the Earth King was treated as if he were a god to the citizens. When Kuei returned to power at the end of the War, with the conspiracy broken, he took the Earth King's original role in society.

Regional leaders
As a confederate monarchy, the Earth Kingdom has a number of leaders who exercise power over individual parts of the Earth Kingdom. While the Earth King has final authority over such leaders, these leaders do have considerable power over their lands.


 * King of Omashu - Omashu, a largely autonomous city in the Earth Kingdom, also has its own regional king. He however, is not powerful enough to fall in the Earth King's social class, as only the sole leader of the Earth Kingdom executes the title, but he still answers to Ba Sing Se.

Council of Five
The Council of Five is a group of the five most powerful generals of the Earth Kingdom. They are held in high respect. The Council of Five have very high authority and obviously have an extremely high social status, as they control the entire military.

Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se
The Grand Secretariat is a position held by the Leader of the Government of Ba Sing Se. It is his job to maintain law and order in the bustling city. This position is considered as a high social status, due to it serving as one of the prime advisers for the Earth King.

Nobles
Not much is known about the nobles, but it is presumed that they attain their status through birthright or by marriage. They lead lives of wealth and luxury.

Many nobles live within the walls of Ba Sing Se, in the Upper Ring. There are presumably other nobles scattered throughout the Earth Kingdom, though the only known example is the Beifong family in Gaoling, one of the wealthiest families of the Earth Kingdom, who have respect and many privileges throughout the kingdom.

Middle class citizens


Not much has been revealed about the middle class populace of the Earth Kingdom. It has been shown, however, that they do retain many rights and opportunities, as Long Feng was born as a middle class citizen and he eventually was able to secure a position as the Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se. Middle class citizens are also able to afford an education, as Ba Sing Se University is located in Ba Sing Se's middle ring.

Low class citizens
The majority of the Earth Kingdom consists of this social class. Farmers, craftsman, unskilled soldiers and refugees fall under this category. Ba Sing Se has a ring to contain all these people, the Lower Ring, which is the most densely populated and crime filled ring.

Unskilled laborers have no special tie to royalty, as they are considered mere peasants. The War caused many more people of the Earth Kingdom to become poverty stricken refugees.

Fire Nation
Fire Nation society is very structured. Most of its people are under strict rule.

Fire Lord


The Fire Lord has absolute power and is the supreme ruler of the entire Fire Nation. Anything they proclaim becomes law. The Fire Lord even has the power to deem members of the Royal Family traitors. The Fire Lord has the highest social rank in the Fire Nation.

Recently, the title of Fire Lord has been misused by the Fire Nation, as Fire Lord Sozin used his position to destroy an entire race of people and force the Fire Sages to be loyal only to the Royal Family. When Fire Lord Zuko rose to power over his father, Fire Lord Ozai, however, he declared the War over and ushered in a new era of peace.

Fire Lady
The Fire Lady is the wife of the Fire Lord. She retains one of the highest social statuses in the Fire Nation, with only the Fire Lord obtaining more power than her.

Women can actually become Fire Lord, as Ozai appointed Azula as his successor.

Prince and Princess
The Prince and Princess are the Fire Lord's children, and retain two of the highest social statuses in the Fire Nation. Only the Fire Lord, and possibly the Fire Lady, have more power than them. The oldest child of the Fire Lord is considered the next heir to the throne. If, however, the original heir is banished or killed, then the next oldest child will earn the title of heir.

Nobles


Nobles are ranked very highly in Fire Nation society, and have the possibility to befriend, marry and work with the Royal Family. All nobles seem to reside in the Fire Nation Capital, with the exception of appointed regional leaders. Many nobles have been seen, like Ta Min, Princess Ursa, Mai and her family, and Ty Lee.

Fire Sages
The Fire Sages are the religious authority of the Fire Nation and are socially ranked quite highly. The Fire Sages once led the Fire Nation, however, when the title of Fire Lord was created, they slowly lost their power. When Sozin became Fire Lord, he forced the Fire Sages to pledge loyalty to him.

The Fire Sages kept a high status even after they were forced to obey the Fire Lord, as they were still allowed in the capital city and they were still present at Ozai, Azula and Zuko's coronations to crown the Fire Lord showing that they are the ones to crown the Nation's rulers, this is done by the Great Sage.

High ranking military officials
During the Fire Nation's one hundred year war for world domination, military officials became of great importance. High military officials are very respected in the Fire Nation society. High Admirals and High Generals fall under this position. They seem to act as the Fire Lord's advisers, and are usually present during war meetings.

Middle class citizens
Not much is known about the middle class citizens, except that they are ranked as normal civilians. They have enough wealth to give their children an adequate education.

Lower class citizens


This social class is the lowest of all the classes. The people in it have little wealth and no power. An example would be the villagers of Jang Hui. Like in the Earth Kingdom, peasants of the Fire Nation have no special ties to royalty. They are of little concern to the Fire Lord and are subject to being bullied by military officers.

Avatar
The Avatar is in a social class by him or herself, being unique in the world and wielding vast bending powers. Before the War, the Avatar was considered to be without equal in the entire world, a sacred being representing the principle of balance and the planet itself. The Avatar's social standing before the War is never explicitly described, but many hints suggest that he outranked even the most powerful king. When all of the Fire Sages, the assembled Fire Nation nobility and the Crown Prince Sozin all bow to Roku when he is revealed as the new Avatar, with the Fire Sages, at the time sharing power with the Fire Lord in the Fire Nation, giving their allegiance to the Avatar. It has been shown that kings as well as upstarts like Chin the Great stood up to past Avatars, but without exception they were quickly put back in their place. Even when Sozin was already the Fire Lord, Roku had enough authority to openly defy and forbid him from pursuing his dreams of empire, as if the Fire Lord himself were a subordinate.

The Avatars are required to do what it takes to bring balance to the world and thus are not able to claim allegiance or conform to their native country. Examples of this include: Avatar Yangchen who was willing to resort to lethal matters, although it is against Air Nomad beliefs, Avatar Kyoshi who defied the Earth King, and Avatar Roku, who, despite being born in the Fire Nation, threatened Fire Lord Sozin's life if he were to continue Fire Nation colonization of the Earth Kingdom.

Also, the Avatar was revered and loved by the general populace, with shrines and temples across the four nations dedicated to him or her and spiritual groups tending to places connected to him. The people of the four nations viewed the Avatar as the supreme arbiter of any injustice done upon them or the world in general, vested with the power and authority of the great spirit of the World.

Avatars had no need of worldly possessions, as shown when the Fire Sages informed Roku of this. However they are not prohibited from having a family and owning property, as Roku settled with Ta Min on a remote island, and Kyoshi created what became known as Kyoshi Island when ousting Chin the Great. Aang had even stated he saw no reason he could not be in the position of a jewelry maker and the Avatar at the same time. However, their main duty is to the world, something not to be distracted by accumulating wealth and belongings.