Southern Water Tribe

History
History: Originally, the Water Tribe existed as one solely in the North Pole, however, following civil unrest, a group of warriors, benders, and healers journeyed to the South Pole to engender a new tribe. Due to the division, the two sects evolved quite differently. The Southern Water Tribe was once a beautiful city, like the Northern Water Tribe, but was destroyed following the attack on the Four Nations. Contact between the two Tribes were severed and the Southern Tribe was split into smaller groups and scattered across the Pole, its natives reduced to dwelling within simple sealskin tents and small igloos.

The Southern Water Tribe is currently in dire straits, teetering on the brink of extinction. Its remaining population is dwindling due to Fire Nation raids and is currently defenseless, as its warriors left for the Earth Kingdom to aid in the century-long war against the Fire Nation two years ago. With the departure of the sole remaining Waterbender, Katara, and warrior, Sokka, with Aang the Avatar, the people consist mostly of elderly and middle aged women and very young children. Recently a group of Waterbenders and healers from the Northern Tribe have been sent to the Southern Tribe to help rebuild.

Customs
The Tribe has a unique rite of passage called "Ice Dodging." This a coming-of-age rite that serves as a young boy's first step in being realized as a true warrior of his tribe. When a male tribemember turns fourteen, he is taken out on a boat with his father, and challenged to guide it through iceberg-studded waters. If and when the boy succeeds, he receives a mark on his forehead symbolizing his defining trait, and is declared a full member of the tribe. The mark of the wise is awarded for leadership quality and making decisions under pressure. The mark of the brave is given for inspirational dislays of courage. Finally, the mark of the trust is bestowed upon outsiders who prove themselves worthy of the trust of others.



Certain Southern Tribe members are more than willing to liberally adapt the ritual to new situations. In one instance, tribe member Bato took the fifteen-year-old Sokka, his younger sister Katara, and Aang, a twelve-year-old Airbender, on an "ice dodging" expedition in the rocky waters of the Earth Kingdom. When all cooperated in the ritual, he marked and declared them all full members of his tribe.

Children of the Tribe play a game called penguin sledding which consists of catching a penguin, and riding its back as a makeshift sled.

Gender Equality
The Southern Water Tribe has been noted to be less segregated than the north, which has specific societal roles for men and women. Though the Northern Tribe forbids women from learning Waterbending in anything except a healers capacity, it is stated on Nick.com's Avatar Information that Katara's father recognized her bending ability and searched for a master to teach her. Overall, the Southern Water Tribe live a more simple, open-minded kind of life. They allow girls and women to enter waterbending training and do not force women to enter into arranged marriages. Instead, they are free to marry whomever they see fit.



However, the Southern Tribe still retains elements of gender dominated society, as Sokka possessed a minor sexist attitude throughout the beginning of the series.

Village
The Village, positioned on a northern shoreline, is surrounded by a low, roughly circular snow wall, broken up by a snow watchtower (built by Sokka) to the north, and an ungated entrance to the south. Inside are eight residential tents, arranged semicircularly around a communal fire pit. A giant igloo hugs the east wall, while a handful of smaller ones cluster at the north wall. Outside, to the left of the entrance, is a small igloo-structure that serves as the village outhouse. The remaining population stands at less than two dozen, with ten married and/or elderly women, ten young children, and one domesticated polar bear.

The Shipwreck
West of the village lies a Fire Navy ship, torn open on jutting ice shelves. Though the shipwreck is a relic of the Fire Nation's long-ago first strike, its booby-traps are still in working order. In "The Boy in the Iceberg," Aang accidentally set off a flare that was meant to signal the Fire Nation.

Warriors
All adult male tribe members are fully-trained warriors. Their weaponry includes clubs, scimitars, and spears made of bone (also used in spearfishing), bladed boomerangs and machetes 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 are all masters of their element and wear face masks to cover their mouths and hoods. Two years ago all the men of the Southern Water Tribe were sent to fight in the war, leaving the village defenseless.

Fauna
The Southern Water Tribe is home to exotic fauna. Its sea lions are brown, with the dark brown striping and large ears of tigers. Polar bears are miniaturized and domesticated, with a black stripe running from spine to muzzle. The native penguins have four flippers, and are curiously beakless, instead sporting otter-like bewhiskered faces. White Hamsters inhabit the Shipwreck.