Hama

Hama is a Waterbender who was born in the Southern Water Tribe.

History


In her youth she was close friends with Kanna. Over 60 years ago, Hama was one of the many Waterbenders of the Southern Water Tribe. When she was young, the Fire Nation began raiding the Southern Tribe, systematically weakening them with hit-and-run attacks and capturing Waterbenders. Hama and her fellow Waterbenders did everything they could to resist the ruthless Firebending army, and managed to freeze at least one ship into suspended ice. However, as the raids continued, more and more Waterbenders were captured until Hama was the last. Finally, she too was captured and led away in chains, with Kanna watching in tears.

While imprisoned by the Fire Nation, she and the other Waterbenders were completely separated from any and all water. However, each month she could feel the power of the full moon, and knew that there had to be a way to escape. She eventually realized that water exists within all living things, and during the full moon she began to manipulate water in the bodies of rats that crawled into her cage. She spent years developing this technique, "Bloodbending", which could only be used with the influence of the full moon enhancing her abilities. After mastering the technique, Hama controlled one of the guards, forcing him to unlock her cage, allowing her to escape after decades of imprisonment, unlocked by the very guards assigned to keep her locked in.



Hama later moved into a small Fire Nation village, becoming the keeper of a small inn. She used her powers to secretly abduct people every full moon, sadistically keeping them in a prison as revenge for the treatment she suffered. The disappearances caused the villagers to be afraid to go out during the full moon.

When Aang and his friends are camping in the woods, Hama suddenly appears, offering them a safe place to stay for the night, and telling them people in the woods had been mysteriously disappearing on full moons. The group accepts her offer to stay with her. Katara gets along with her very well. The next day, Hama shows them a water tribe comb, revealing to the group that she is a Waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe, but was captured a long time ago. She offers to teach Katara what she knows in order to carry on the tradition of the southern Waterbing. Katara happily agrees to learn, wanting to know more about her tribe's cultural heritage.

The next day, she teaches Katara a series of techniques for Waterbenders to obtain water in a foreign land. She first demonstrates that it is possible to pull water out of thin air. She tells her to keep an open mind, and that there's water in places she never thinks about. She then leads Katara to a garden filled with fire lilies, and tells her that water can even be drawn from living things. She demonstrates this by harvesting the water from the flowers around them and uses it to slice through a rock. However, drawing water from the flowers dries and kills them. While Katara is amazed by the demonstration, she regrets that the fire lilies were destroyed. Hama dismisses her concerns quickly, telling her that they were simply flowers and that a Waterbender in a foreign country has to do what they must to survive. She then tells Katara she has one more technique to teach: one that can only be used at the full moon. When Katara expresses hesitance due to the rumors of disappearances, Hama reassures her, stating that two master waterbenders under a full moon should be able to handle anything.



That night, Hama leads Katara into the forest and tells her about the technique of Bloodbending. Horrified by the idea of controlling another person's body, Katara refuses to learn Bloodbending. Hama argues with her, stating that it dosn't matter whether she wants to learn it or not that the power to use it exists either way, and that they must have vengeance on the Fire Nation for trying to wiping out their entire culture. The outburst leads Katara to realize that Hama has been causing the villagers to disappear, but Hama angrily states that the people of the Fire Nation deserve the same treatment that they gave to her and the southern Waterbenders. Hearing this causes Katara to adamantly refuse to learn Bloodbending and to try to stop Hama from further terrorizing the town. Hama uses the technique to temporarily force Katara into submission. However, Katara quickly regains control of her body, reminding Hama that she draws power from the full moon as well, and also stating that her Waterbending is more powerful than Hama's. The two begin to battle, each drawing water from the grass, the trees surrounding them and the air. After a furious fight, it becomes obvious that Katara is the superior combatant. Aang and Sokka arrive, having found and released Hama's prisoners, determined to stop her. Hama turns the tables on them, and uses Bloodbending to control the two, forcing them to attack Katara and then each other. Katara is then forced to use Bloodbending to subdue Hama and protect Aang and Sokka. Toph arrives with the other villagers, who handcuff Hama and take her away, vowing to imprison her. Hama remarks that her work is done, as Katara has already willfully used Bloodbending, and laughs as she is dragged off.

Name
Hama may be named after the Hama Yumi, a sacred bow by Yorimasu Minamoto used to kill a demon that was attacking the Japanese imperial palace in 1103. It also means beach in Japanese.