Foggy Swamp Tribe

"water"

- Didn't know there was waterbenders anywhere but here.

The Foggy Swamp Tribe is one of the three Water Tribes in the Avatar World. It is notable that they do not live at one of the poles; they are instead located in the Foggy Swamp.

History and culture


The Foggy Swamp Tribe is a waterbending settlement located in a swamp known as the Foggy Swamp, in the southwestern part of the Earth Kingdom. Though the Foggy Swamp Tribe waterbenders share the skill of waterbending, they were completely unknown to their polar cousins and vice versa, until Katara, Sokka, and Aang stumbled across the tribe.

Though technologically unsophisticated, the tribe consists of powerful waterbenders. These benders have specialized their skill to adapt to the swamp environment; for example, they use a rigid bending motion to propel river boats at high speeds. Members of the tribe have also discovered how to manipulate plants by controlling the water within them. Their diet consists of small game and giant insects, and they keep catgators as pets.

The members of the Foggy Swamp Tribe are attuned to their surroundings and have a keen understanding of the workings of the natural world. They follow the belief that all living organisms are connected and reliant on each other, which they taught Aang, who quickly accepted the concept.



The ancestors of the Foggy Swamp Tribe were migrating from the Southern Water Tribe thousands of years ago when they found the swamp. Because of all the water in the swamp, the waterbenders felt at home and decided to stay. Members of the Foggy Swamp Tribe do not share any cultural characteristics or any other societal traditions with those of either the Northern or Southern Water Tribes. For example, the people of the Foggy Swamp Tribe are light-skinned like Earth Kingdom inhabitants, not dark-skinned like the people of the Water Tribe. Their manner of speech is also less sophisticated.

Both female and male members of the tribe fought Fire Nation forces during the invasion. This seems to indicate that, like the Southern Water Tribe, the Foggy Swamp Tribe promotes greater gender equality than the Northern Water Tribe, which has a more patriarchal societal structure. For instance, when Due discovered that Katara was a waterbender, he did not show any surprise at seeing a female bender use waterbending for battle, unlike Master Pakku, but simply expressed delight in meeting another waterbender, referring to her as his "kin".

During the final year of the Hundred Year War, Avatar Aang and his friends rediscovered the tribe after they got lost in the swamp. Instructed by Sokka, Hakoda was able to find and contact the Swamp Tribe, recruiting them to help with the invasion of the Fire Nation during the eclipse. These participants, along with the rest of the invaders, were captured by the Fire Nation when the attack failed. However, they were all released after the Hundred Year War ended, and in turn represented the tribe at Zuko's coronation as Fire Lord.

Appearance


Although they wear green as opposed to blue like the members of the Southern and Northern Tribe, it could be pointed out that the water of the swamp, their native environment, is green and they are thus consistent with the other cultures of the Avatar World in using their element as a primary color motif. The male tribe members wear a giant leaf hat, loin-cloths, arm bands, and wrappings around their shins and fore-arms, while the women wear longer skirts and bands around their chest. The tribe members do not wear shoes or sandals. They also appear to use the plants around them for clothing and for camouflage as opposed to the hides or skins of the native fauna. Like their Southern and Northern cousins, their hair is generally darker shades of brown and black, but their eyes are green instead of blue, like Earth Kingdom citizens.

Bending style


The Foggy Swamp Tribe's waterbenders have a different style of bending from their polar cousins. While the Northern and Southern benders flow with the water, the Foggy Swamp style seems more rigid and straight, possibly reflecting the stagnant nature of swamp water. This can especially be seen when they are propelling their boats using a much more straight-backed style than when Northern waterbenders use to move their gondolas. Due to the diversity and abundance of flora in the swamp, the technique of plantbending is often utilized by the waterbenders of the Foggy Swamp Tribe.

During the Day of Black Sun, the swamp benders used this unique style of waterbending effectively in battle, featuring long and powerful water whips. Unlike polar benders, the swamp benders used noticeable foot movements in addition to moving their arms in the desired direction to shield themselves from harm before stepping and performing an elegant punching motion to attack.

Swamp skiff


Swamp skiffs are small, canoe-like crafts that the tribesmen use to travel around the swamp. They are propelled through the use of waterbending, and are guided by long poles that divert the vessels around obstacles present in the swamp's waterways. Swamp folk use these boats to hunt, fish, and travel around their watery environment.

Village
The village itself resembles the Southern Water Tribe in small ways. It is a relatively small village made up of huts, which are raised up by medium-length wooden poles that are meant to protect the buildings from floods. Near the center of the settlement lies a fire pit where Aang and the other tribesmen ate.

Notable figures

 * Due
 * Huu
 * Slim
 * Tho

Fauna

 * Catgator
 * Elbow leech
 * Giant fly
 * Possum chicken
 * Screeching bird

Trivia

 * In the English version of the series, the people of the Foggy Swamp Tribe have a style of speech that resembles mannerisms heard in the Mississippi Delta.
 * Foggy Swamp Tribe members were featured in the short Swamp Skiin' Throwdown.
 * Unlike the two other Water Tribes, the Foggy Swamp Tribe is not considered a political entity and thus did not have a representative on the United Republic Council.
 * Aside from Hama and Rafa and Misu, they were the only known Water Tribe members who lived outside the poles in another nation before the founding of Republic City, a place for people from all over the world.